One of the men was caught igniting a firework and shooting it in the direction of police

Two men from Co Down have been jailed for taking part in race-related disorder in Ballymena last summer.

Stephen Ritchie, 28, from Bangor was sentenced to 34 months – 12 months in custody and the remainder on licence – today at Antrim Crown Court after he was convicted of riot. Meanwhile, Joel Gordon, 21, and also from Bangor was sentenced to four years’ custody with half to be served on licence for riot.

Both men were identified as having participated in serious disorder in the area of Harryville Bridge and Bridge Street in Ballymena on June 11, 2025. There was a large crowd, which included Ritchie and Gordon, throwing bottles and masonry at police.

Gordon was also seen igniting a firework and shooting this in the direction of police. His image was included in the Op Exposure release and identified as having been involved in riot.

Detective Chief Inspector Michael O’Loan said: “In shameful scenes, there was large-scale disorder by people intent on causing harm. Damage was caused to roads, homes, cars and local business premises with people left fearing for their lives.

“Our officers came under attack and many left injured after petrol bombs, heavy masonry and fireworks were thrown at them.

“At the time, we assured the public that we will work tirelessly to restore calm and ensure that anyone who chooses to take part in this criminality is brought to justice.

“Our dedicated investigation team has worked tirelessly to ensure that those involved are prosecuted – today’s sentencings are two of many over this disorder.

“We would also repeat our appeal to anyone who has been the victim of, or has any information on, any crime to contact police on 101, or 999 in an emergency. We can assure you that we will always act on concerns and information we receive.”

Alternatively, a report can be submitted online using the non-emergency reporting form www.reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals Should you wish to make a report anonymously, you can do so by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

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

For the past decade, global diplomacy has been dictated by one man’s social media musings. Since Donald Trump first glided into the Trump Tower atrium on his golden escalator, he – and what he has to say – has been the story, throwing red meat to the media and shaping the affairs of the US and the wider world through reactions to his increasingly imperial pronouncements.

But the 47th US president has been off-key of late, and his outbursts on everything from tariffs to the war in Iran have sent his popularity tumbling, not least in Europe where just 8% of Italians have a positive view of him, 10% of Germans and 13% of us in the UK.

As Trump-fever has cooled, one man has stepped forward to fill the ethical void. The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has taken a stand against his bothersome southern neighbour and, in so doing, has reoriented the free world’s moral compass.

Instead of looking to Washington DC for global leadership, global democracies are increasingly looking to the middle power man in Ottawa.

Carney is a banker – or at least that was the world’s view of him until recently. He was governor of the Bank of Canada during the financial crisis of 2008, before leading the Bank of England from 2013-2020.

He only became a politician when elected leader of the Canadian Liberal Party in March 2025 and ensuring his mandate through a landslide national elecion win the following month. But he has quickly emerged as a voice of political reason against the continued waves of Trump tirades.

This week Carney addressed the European parliament following EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s support for a proposal for Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member”. Much like his speech in Davos in January, Carney noted the current “geopolitical rupture”.

And, much like that Davos speech, he was calm, eloquent and displayed rare intellectual insight over how that rupture might be overcome. At Davos, he emphasised the need for middle powers to step up to the plate. This week in Strasbourg, he added flesh to the bones, stressing how Canada and the EU had complementary strengths. He made the case for a deeper partnership based on cooperation, delivering seamless digital trade in many goods and services, underpinned by people-to-people ties including the free movement of young people.

The Canadian PM laid out a vision where Canada and the EU were allied by “common values, our compatible systems and complementary strengths”. While it’s early days in the discussion of a Canada-EU relationship, it was a seductive pitch to “create a beacon for other democracies”.

Trump was not mentioned by name in the speech but was clearly listening and clearly riled. Amid a trade war with its northern neighbour, the US president heard Carney state that he did “not seek power to dominate others”, and was “not proposing a third bloc in order to become a great power rival – only with better manners”. The dig was pointed, the style was effortless.

Carney’s team write great speeches, and the Harvard-educated economist with a doctorate from Oxford delivers them well. But one senses he’s much more than a good autocue reader. He dropped a couple of German rhetorical phrases into his Strasbourg speech and built a strong historical context, drawing on the ties that have bound Canada and Europe from the first world war onwards, creating a memorable picture of the seeds brought back to Canada from Vimy Ridge (where Canadian troops won a hard-fought battle in 1917 with heavy losses) and then replanted in France a century later.

While evocative historical links underpinned his sentiment, the vision for a brighter, shared future brought hope where Trump sows only disquiet. My academic colleague Katie McGettigan, speaking at a British Library event, summed up Carney astutely, calling him “the new moral centre”. And, to date, he has backed his rhetoric with action.

This is far from an easy time for Canada. A trade war with its nearest neighbour and by far its largest trading partner is the last thing it needs. Clearly Carney recognises that an unbound Trump, surrounded by sycophants in his administration, is simply too capricious to engage with through the norms of rational diplomacy.

As Carney first stated in Davos, and emphasised this week, the best way to bolster against irrational imperialism is through collective power. The Canadian certainly polished his credentials as the emerging middle power leader.

On September 22, Trump will be centre stage once more as he addresses the UN general assembly. He may respond to Carney’s love letter to the Canadian-European relationship, but I’m not expecting much by way of deep intellect or sharp rhetorical flourishes.

Trump is no orator – and currently a long way from the moral centre. As at Vimy Ridge, Carney innately understands the value in holding the high ground.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection.

A man has been arrested and charged after senior members of the notorious Daniel crime clan family were targeted in Glasgow.

Police were called to a property on Curzon Street after receiving a report of men with weapons at 8.35am on Friday, August 21. Cops attended and there were no reports of any injuries.

Police have now confirmed a 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection. He is due to appear at Paisley Sheriff Court on Monday, September 21.

The Record understands the incident took place after senior members of the rival Lyons gang instructed Ross McGill’s Tamo Junto (TMJ) to launch the revenge attacks after the slaying of Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan in the Costa Del Sol last year. Following the incident on Curzon Street, hoods are believed to have travelled to Honeywell Drive in Stepps.

The individuals targeted are understood to be Ronnie Daniel, 41, and Robert Daniel, 51. Sources told the Record the TMJ footsoldiers allegedly ripped into the first property in Glasgow’s Maryhill before trashing the home in their pursuit for Ronnie.

The TMJ gang are then alleged to have travelled to Stepps in an attempt to target Robert but he managed to flee the scene.

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The same 30-year-old man is also understood to have been arrested and charged after a car was allegedly rammed into a house near Glasgow.

Emergency services raced Low Borland Way near Eaglesham, in East Renfrewshire, after the vehicle smashed into the property before fleeing the scene at 1.20pm on Friday, August 21. Crews attended and there were no injuries.

The 30-year-old is also due to appear at Paisley Sheriff Court on Monday, September 21, in connection with that incident.

Another man, aged 29, was previously arrested and charged in connection with the Eaglesham incident. He was due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Monday, September 14.

Images taken from the scene showed the plush two-storey property with a temporary fence erected around the front garden. The wall and front door were left visibly damaged by the impact, with brickwork moved out of place and a black scar above where the car had ploughed into the building.

Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were shot and killed in a targeted execution at Monaghans Bar in Fuengirola on May 31 last year.

The double murder marked one of the most violent episodes during the gang war, which exploded in Scotland last year after crime kingpin Mark Richardson’s cronies ripped off Ross McGill with fake notes in a botched £500,000 cocaine deal. McGill, otherwise known as Mr Big – who is the former head of Rangers’ Union Bears – has been targeting the associates of Richardson ever since.

Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) is on a brutal revenge mission in Emmerdale, swearing to make all those who had a role in Dawn Taylor’s (Olivia Bromley) tragic demise pay a costly price.

The Home Farm favourite has been consumed with grief in the wake of the death of his beloved Dawn, who perished earlier this month on the day that was meant to be the happiest of their lives.

Instead of spending time with his newborn baby at Hotten General, he has found himself determined to get revenge on all those he holds responsible for Dawn’s death.

Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontlze) an Kim Tate (Claire King) urged him to reconsider banning everyone – including Dawn’s children – from her funeral and tonight he ultimately relented.

Or so everyone else thought. When alone with Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), Joe asked for his help in seeking ‘retribution’.

What a cliffhanger, right? just wait until you find out what’s coming up. For a first look at what’s in store on Monday (September 21), you’ve come to the right place.

What happens next in Emmerdale? Spoilers for Monday, September 21 episode

The next episode sees a few select mourners arrive to pay tribute to Dawn on the day of her funeral. Graham, however, is nowhere to be seen – that is until he finally shows up.

What has he been up to?

That remains to be seen but, given what Joe asked of him at the end of Friday’s visit to the village, it cannot be good.

Joe attempts to deliver a eulogy but he struggles, with Kim stepping in to pay tribute to the woman she thought of as her own daughter. She promises to keep the family together but Joe, unable to cope, leaves the burial site.

In subsequent scenes, Graham and Kim argue about Joe’s absence and wonder what the future of the Tates will actually look like in the wake of all this devastation.

Joe, meanwhile, is seen standing at a gravesite, swearing vengeance for Dawn’s death. But who is in the grave?

It’s Ruby Miligan (Beth Cordingly), who has been buried alive!

Will she make it out before time runs out?

Elsewhere, Kev (Chris Coghill) offers Vinny Dingle (Bradley Johnson) some advice, urging him to hold it together and marry Lewis (Bradley Riches).

Kev reckons Vinny is talking about making things up to Lewis when he says he’s planning on ‘doing the right thing’ – but it turns out he intends to confess to what he’s done, seeking out Nicola King (Nicola Wheeler) to drop a bombshell on her.

Cain (Jeff Hordley), meanwhile, is taken aback when Moira (Natalie J Robb) thinks he withheld go cancer diagnosis from Sadie King (Patsy Kensit) because he was enjoying the attention. He clarifies the situation.

Emmerdale airs these scenes Monday, September 21 at 8pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX or YouTube.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us soaps@metro.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.

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In a small, dank, insect-infested cell in a Pakistani jail, a 73-year-old man is waiting to die. He is kept in solitary confinement for days on end. He cannot exercise properly, since the room measures only 6ft by 8ft, including the latrine.

There is no window, and sometimes the lights are switched off so he sits in blackness for days on end, waiting to be able to see again. For long periods he is given no access to books or newspapers, let alone visitors, with the result that he feels increasingly divorced from the outside world, and in fear of his mental stability.

It is now more than three years since he has been incarcerated in these conditions, enduring extreme heat in the summer and bitter cold in the winter. After shoddy and delayed medical treatment, he has lost 85 per cent of the sight in his right eye.

The conditions in which he is being kept have now been condemned three times, in the past two years, by the UN special rapporteur on torture. Amnesty International has voiced its concern, and – perhaps most importantly – so has the Supreme Court in Pakistan, which has ruled that the prisoner is being denied access to proper medical care.

He is, of course, Imran Khan, the former prime minister from 2018 to 2022, and his suffering is now becoming a global scandal. Since leaving office he has been subjected to a barrage of politically motivated cases, designed to eradicate him permanently from public life.

These charges have been so blatantly without merit that they have mostly collapsed – all except one: an accusation that Imran Khan’s government steered some UK government cash towards a certain property developer, who then made a handsome donation to a university that had connections to Imran and his wife.

Even if these accusations were true in every particular – and Imran Khan is appealing his conviction – the Pakistani prosecutors have conceded that neither he nor his wife stood to benefit financially from the university donation.

Even if it is true that Imran has some sort of case to answer in the so-called Al-Qadir case (and it is far from clear to me that he does), he has done nothing to deserve the kind of mental and physical torture he is getting. Above all, he deserves to have his appeal heard speedily and by an independent court.

Supporters welcome politician Sohail Afridi in Hyderabad, Pakistan, this month ahead of a planned protest demanding the release of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s founder Imran Khan

Instead he is being left literally to rot to death in jail. That is because this case was never about corruption, since he has been in fact one of the most open and transparent Pakistani politicians of modern times.

This case – like all of the lawfare he has faced since leaving office – has been driven by the desire of the Pakistani military to get him off the scene. His mistake was to take democracy seriously, and to try to use his prerogatives as the elected representative of the people of Pakistan.

Under the constitution, he had the right to appoint the head of the military – but when he wished to exercise his discretion, in favour of his preferred candidate, it turned out that the generals had other ideas.

Imran Khan tried to change the way Pakistan works, and paid a price. That is essentially why he is in jail.

I should declare that I of course know Imran, and like him. He did some good things as prime minister of Pakistan – or tried to. He had great ideas on forestry and the environment. He understood the cardinal importance in that country of female literacy.

Ask yourself why Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world with continued vast and unsustainable population growth – and the answer is obvious in the literacy figures. Apart from Afghanistan, Pakistan has just about the worst record in the entire world, with about 50 per cent of women still unable to read and write.

Imran understood that this was a disaster for his country, and tried to turn it round, with bonus payments designed to encourage girls to stay in school. He perhaps didn’t make as much progress as he would have liked – but that was mainly the fault of Covid, which kept everyone out of school, boys and girls alike.

He certainly wasn’t right about everything. I remember calling Imran the day after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, and finding that he was far from totally solid in his condemnation of Moscow; but then you could say the same, I am afraid, of some other notable friends and allies of the UK.

Nor was he 100 per cent sound on the Taliban; but then it is a longstanding policy of the Pakistani government to support anyone in Kabul, no matter how ghastly and fundamentalist, provided they are not aligned with India.

You can object to some of the attitudes he struck, and to his teenage anti-Americanism, but nothing he said or did can conceivably justify the brutality with which the Pakistani generals are treating the former PM: banged up in foul conditions, with deteriorating health, no date for a new trial and no apparent hope of release.

Why are they doing it? Simple: they are scared of him. Imran Khan is one of the greatest cricketing heroes Pakistan – or the world – has ever produced. He led his country to its first ever test victories over both India and England, and in 1992, at the age of 39, he steered Pakistan to its first World Cup victory.

What the Pakistani generals fear is that if they let him out, his millions of fans in Pakistan will simply bear him aloft to a tumultuous victory in the next available election. That is why they are treating him with such cruelty – refusing even to allow his two sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, to have visas to visit him in jail.

The continued jailing of Imran Khan is a pathetic and unnecessary act of cowardice by Pakistan; and the UK government has been correspondingly abject in its protests.

What the Pakistani generals fear is that if they let Khan out, his millions of fans in Pakistan will simply bear him aloft to a tumultuous victory in the next election, writes Boris Johnson

These two Khan boys have British passports. Imran Khan was himself educated at Royal Grammar School Worcester, read PPE at Keble and captained the Oxford Blues team before playing for Worcestershire and Surrey. He has millions of fans in this country, to say nothing of Pakistan, and yet the Foreign Office has barely raised a peep on his behalf.

Britain has longstanding, deep and in many cases familial ties with Pakistan. After three years of watching Imran in torment, it is time for us to stop pussy-footing around, use our leverage and call for his release.

The Pakistani generals, led by Asim Munir, are riding high. Field Marshal Munir has been the go-to man in the Iran negotiations. He is admired in the White House.

The Field Marshal has nothing to fear from a 73-year-old man in poor health, and it would be the obvious and humane thing to let Imran out, and if necessary keep him under house arrest pending his appeal.

That, above all, would be in line with Pakistan’s own Supreme Court ruling.

At the moment I am afraid that it looks as though the Pakistanis are actively hoping that he will die in jail. That would be a serious stain on the country’s reputation.

Unlock that cell – and free Imran Khan.

Joao Pedro was not in the matchday squad for Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Brentford due to a knee injury.

The Brazil international has enjoyed an electric start to the new season, scoring three and providing three assists in four appearances.

Pedro was absent from training this week, however, sparking injury concerns ahead of tonight’s game in west London having also withdrawn from the Brazil squad ahead of upcoming games.

Pedro was not named in Xabi Alonso’s squad tonight with Danny Welbeck leading the line in his absence.

Alonso gave little away when discussing Pedro’s fitness this week but ESPN Brasil report he was examined by doctors on Tuesday, with the striker nursing a sprain of the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments during last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Hull City.

It has been recommended he takes three-and-a-half weeks to recover.

When will Joao Pedro return from injury?

While it ruled him out of Friday’s game, the timing does benefit Chelsea with an extended three-week international break now looming large.

Based on the reported timeline, Pedro will be available when Chelsea return to action on 10 October.

Chelsea were also without Moises Caicedo and Reece James against Brentford.

Caicedo is still to start a game this season, aggravating a muscle injury just 14 minutes after coming off the bench against Brighton in August.

James meanwhile was close to making the squad for the Brentford game but just missed out, according to his manager.

‘He’s had a little injury in his hamstring,’ Alonso said of kick-off ahead of Friday’s game.

‘He tried and we waited until this morning. He tried to make it but he couldn’t now we have enough time to prepare for the next one. He was just short of recovering.’

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Whitby RNLI, along with North Yorkshire Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and coastguard crew, were called to the area shortly before 12pm today (Friday, September 18).

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A RNLI spokesperson said its crews had launched its inshore lifeboat to provide medical assistance to the driver, who was then transferred into an ambulance.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “We were called with a report from Whitby that a car at the Marina car park had entered the water, shortly before midday today, and was fully submerged.

“Our officers attended immediately, alongside other emergency services.

“It’s believed that the driver had suffered a medical episode. He was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “Whitby and Lythe [assisted] assisted the coastguard and police with reports of a person who had driven into the harbour and was submerged by water inside their vehicle.

“The vehicle driver was rescued by a passerby prior to fire crews arrival.

“Crews administered immediate emergency care prior to the arrival of ambulance crews who took over the care of the driver on their arrival. The driver was taken to hospital via road ambulance.”

An analyst is said to have used a chatbot that wrongly identified the nature of the Chinese ship’s cargo.

The US reportedly “almost started a war” against China after an AI chatbot wrongly concluded a Chinese ship was carrying a nuclear weapons component.

The incident happened this spring, when the vessel was spotted in the Middle East amid America’s war with Iran. The US was preparing to board the vessel and planes were circling, with plans to intercept the ship underway.

But, once officials had a more detailed look into the intelligence report that led to the large-scale response, they realised it had been generated with the help of AI, CNN reports. An analyst is said to have used a chatbot that wrongly identified the nature of the Chinese ship’s cargo, suggesting the vessel was transporting components of a nuclear weapons programme.

“This is a deeply concerning finding, but it should not be interpreted as proof that autism itself makes influenza ten times more deadly”

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A 23-year-old man has been arrested after a woman was left in a critical condition

A woman is fighting for her life following a stabbing in Liverpool. Emergency services were called to an address in the city centre at approximately 2.55am on Thursday, September 17, after reports emerged that a woman had been attacked.

The victim was rushed to hospital with stab wounds to her stomach and arm, where she remains in a critical condition. Footage from the scene shows a significant emergency response on Henry Street, with armed officers and multiple ambulances at the scene.

One witness described seeing armed police “searching every floor” of a building on the street. A 23-year-old man from Liverpool was subsequently arrested on suspicion of Section 18 wounding. He remains in custody at a police station in Merseyside, while officers continue their enquiries into the incident.

Detective Inspector Daniel McWhinnie said: “I would like to reassure residents that we believe this was an isolated incident that happened early this morning.”, reports the Liverpool Echo.

“Although an arrest has been made our officers are still investigating what happened at the address in our city centre after a woman was left with serious injuries.

“Therefore, I would appeal to anyone who lives in the area, that has any doorbell footage that may have captured anything suspicious to get in touch as soon as possible so we can continue our investigation.”

If you have any information on this incident please contact Merseyside Police’s social media desk via X or Facebook @MerPolCC or ring 101 with reference 26000765447.

You can also report information via the force’s website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101.

Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.

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