Martyn Woods, who was caged for 14 years for the sexual assault of two children, died aged 79

A depraved predator who was jailed for the historic sexual abuse of children has died in prison. Martyn Woods was caged for 14 years in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to 12 counts of sexually assaulting a child.

A court was told how a young girl repeatedly sexually abused by Woods over a number of years and that a teenage boy was also sexually assaulted as he lay in bed. The abuse took place in Bolton, Radcliffe and Rawtenstall between 1962 and 1976.

His offending was revealed in 2017 when one of his victims came forward and reported it to the police, prompting an investigation. Woods’ victims were both left ‘suffering severe emotional trauma’, police said.

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Then aged 72, Woods was jailed for 14 years after pleading guilty to the offences. After being jailed, Woods was told he would also be placed on a one year extended license after he was set to be released and would remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

However, a report from the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) published on Wednesday (April 15) has confirmed that Woods died six years into his prison sentence, in September of 2024.

An independent investigation was carried out after the prisoner’s death at HMP Wymott, in Leyland, on September 29. He was 79-years-old when he died of empyema of the left hemithorax, which is a collection of pus between the lung and chest wall.

At an inquest held on January 9 of this year, the coroner concluded that Mr Woods had died of natural causes. His family, and next of kin received a copy of the PPO’s report and made no comments.

After being jailed, Woods was told he would also be placed on a one year extended license after he was set to be released and would remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding in the Home Office, said: “The unacceptable abuse of this route, which protects genuine victims from the devastation of domestic abuse, is utterly shameful. I have personally seen the deplorable impact of this type of underhanded tactic.

Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety disorders, has been placed under a nationwide recall.

Viatris, the maker of Xanax, recalled the medication last month because of “failed dissolution specifications,” according to a recent notice from the Food and Drug Administration.

This means the pill may not break down in the body and release the drug at the right speed. If the medication doesn’t dissolve correctly, it could reduce its effectiveness.

Last week, the FDA classified the recall as Class II, meaning the affected pills could cause “temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the agency.

Here are some additional details about the recall:

A Viatris spokesperson told The Independent, “Patient safety and the quality of our medicines are of the utmost importance to Viatris. The voluntary recall of Xanax XR in the U.S. is specific to one lot of one strength (3mg) of the brand product only, and no other batches of the Xanax XR brand product, or its generics, are impacted.”

“The vast majority of patients in the U.S. are dispensed generic alprazolam, which this recall does not affect,” the spokesperson added.

Viatris said patients don’t need to take any action in connection with the recall and that wholesalers and pharmacies have been provided with instructions on how to return the affected Xanax. The drug maker said they have not received any reports of adverse reactions from the recalled product as of Wednesday.

Xanax is a benzodiazepine medicine. Benzodiazepines are depressants that slow down the body’s central nervous system, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. They are used to treat anxiety, but can also be used to relieve muscle spasms and reduce seizures, the DEA says.

The Xanax website warns against taking the drug more than prescribed or sharing it with other people.

Patients who take Xanax can reach Viatris customer relations at (800) 796-9526 or customer.service@viatris.com.

Consumers should also check their medicine cabinets for cough drops that were recently recalled.

Last month, China-based Xiamen Kang Zhongyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. recalled 15 cough drop products sold across the U.S. The recall was classified as Class II last week.

The cough drops were recalled following an FDA recommendation based on “certain observations” during an inspection of the manufacturing facility last August that “may bear on product quality,” according to an agency notice about the recall.

Labelled as “reservation hijacks”, hackers accessed customer details that experts fear will fuel a spike in fraud, as travellers are duped into sending money directly to criminals.

Some users have reported receiving suspicious messages linked to their bookings.

Bookin.com says it has reset PINs for affected reservations and is emailing customers to warn them about the increased risk, but the Dutch firm is not disclosing how many people or which regions are involved.

The platform, which has handled almost seven billion check-ins since 2010, confirmed in emails seen by the BBC that it had detected “suspicious activity” affecting several reservations and moved quickly to contain the problem.

The company says the attackers were able to obtain names, email addresses, phone numbers and details of past and upcoming stays, but insists no financial information was taken from its own systems.

Security specialists caution that this level of personal and trip-specific data is highly valuable to fraudsters.

Cybersecurity firm Norton has dubbed the emerging fraud “reservation hijacks” because criminals are contacting users while posing as hotels, inventing urgent issues with reservations to pressure people into sending money.

Booking.com advice for users

These scams have existed for some time, but Norton’s Luis Corrons warns that the newly stolen data makes them “much more dangerous”.

Criminals can quote the real property, real dates and correct contact details, making their messages sound like routine customer service.

Booking.com is urging guests to be on high alert for phishing attempts.

It stresses that it will never ask customers to share card details by email, phone, WhatsApp or text, nor request bank transfers that differ from the payment instructions in the original booking confirmation.

Do you use Booking.com? Let us know in the comments

Sky Cinema Animation will close and merge with another later this month, it has been revealed.

The channel regularly shows cartoons and family films, but is being scrapped as part of a new move to streamline the service.

Sky Cinema Animation closing down this month after 6 years

Sky is axing its Cinema Animation channel which launched in 2018 (Image: David Jones/PA)

Sky Cinema Animation was originally launched in 2018, before becoming permanent in 2020, showcasing an array of animated adventures.

As of writing, it is channel 312 on satellite (Sky Q) and 315 on Sky Glass & Stream, while 5Action/EE TV viewers can find it at 500/514.

Top films on the channel include Angry Birds 2: The Movie, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Lego Movie 2, the Sky website says.

While the channel is being axed, its content is not disappearing completely, but merging with another.

The news of the channel changes was revealed in an update on the EE TV channel guide.

EE said to customers: “On April 30, Sky Cinema Family and Sky Cinema Animation are merging.”

“All of the content on both channels will be housed on a channel called Sky Cinema Family.”

Sky has also been contacted for comment.

Other TV channels that are closing or at risk of closing down

The Sky channel is not the only popular channel closing down.

Children’s channel CITV has reportedly been turned off by ITV for good as of April 10, having launched in 1980.

The channel was home to hit shows like Art Attack, My Parents Are Aliens, Tots TV, and Fraggle Rock.

CITV first began as Watch IT, then was rebranded as Children’s ITV and later shortened to CITV.

In 2006, its late-afternoon slot on ITV1 was axed as it got its own channel on Freeview, but was still available on weekend mornings on ITV channels.

The CITV Freeview was later shut down and replaced by the streaming service ITVX Kids Hub on ITVX in 2023, with the weekend showings moving to ITV2.

CITV has now officially closed after 43 years (3rd January 1983 – 10th April 2026) pic.twitter.com/EZWxY7nN8b

— Willzzz (@Willzzz123) April 10, 2026

Meanwhile, shopping channel QVC, owned by the QVC Group, is at risk of shutting down.

It was founded in 1986 in the US and has since grown into a multinational corporation, specialising in televised home shopping.

Launching in the UK in October 1993, QVC became the UK’s first full-time home shopping channel.

Now, the channel is on the brink of collapse, with it in discussions with creditors after reports suggest it missed a regulatory filing deadline.

QVC Group is reportedly late with a regulatory filing deadline and is in discussions to voluntarily restructure its debt, according to Bloomberg.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the parent company of QVC and HSN said it was unable to submit its annual financial report on time “without unreasonable effort or expense”.

QVC Group CFO Bill Wafford has confirmed that uncertainty linked to those negotiations has delayed the preparation of its financial statements.

The company has also warned about a “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating.

The QVC Group previously highlighted $2.9 billion (£2.2 billion) in debt due in October.

QVC Group intends to file its delayed results within 15 days, Broadband TV News reports.

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It has also been rumoured that any potential bankruptcy filing is expected to be a Chapter 11 protection.

This would allow the company to restructure its debt while continuing operations, rather than liquidation.

What is your favourite TV channel? Let us know in the comments.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Major League Baseball honored Jackie Robinson on Wednesday with every player, coach and umpire wearing his No. 42 to mark the 79th anniversary of the infielder breaking the sport’s color barrier.

Robinson debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. He went on to win Rookie of the Year honors, become a six-time All-Star and the 1949 National League MVP. He played in six World Series, and won his only championship in 1955 with the Dodgers.

“Every player of color who now enjoys our great sport, they owe it to this man,” said Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

Robinson made his pro debut with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues in 1945. He was there five months before Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey interviewed him for possible selection to Brooklyn’s International League farm club. Rickey wanted to make sure Robinson could withstand the racial antagonism without reacting angrily.

“What he did was incredibly difficult under some of the most harsh circumstances you could ever imagine,” Kendrick said. “He had to go out there and deal not only with the racial hatred but he was carrying 21 million Black folks on his back when he walked across those lines. Had he failed, an entire race of people would have failed. That’s an enormous amount of pressure. How he did it with such grace, class and dignity is absolutely incredible. And no, we should never forget Jackie Robinson.”

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets gathered around the centerfield statue of Robinson stealing home at Dodger Stadium. Among the Dodgers were Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernández, Will Smith, Roki Sasaki, Alex Vesia and Will Klein. Shohei Ohtani, who has attended previously, was not there ahead of pitching against the Mets later.

“A special day, especially for me as a Latino. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t because of him,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Talk about dealing with pressure at this level, imagine what he dealt with back in the day.”

Dave Roberts, one of just two Black managers currently in the majors, told the teams Robinson would be proud that they reflect his dream and vision of what equality and unity would look like.

“My ask is that we remember how we got here,” Roberts said.

In New York, Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wore his pinstriped pants loose and blousy and rolled at the knees the way many players did in the 1940s, including Robinson.

A video commemorating Robinson and narrated by former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was played on the stadium scoreboard before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels.

“You look at the diversity in our game as far as now, worldwide, and Jackie was the start of opening those doors to not just Black players being able to play but Latin America,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “and now we have people from all over the globe playing this, and Jackie was the start of all that.”

In Pittsburgh, Pirates manager Don Kelly said, “It doesn’t seem like one day is enough to really give back to Jackie and what he meant to baseball and to people.”

Two of Robinson’s granddaughters joined the teams at Dodger Stadium, not far from Robinson’s adopted hometown of Pasadena. He was a four-sport star at Pasadena Junior College before going on to UCLA, where the Georgia native was better known for football than baseball.

Last year, a historical marker honoring the Robinson family was unveiled by the city of Pasadena at their former home.

“We’re really carrying the legacy now and it’s an incredible honor,” said granddaughter Ayo Robinson, whose father David is Robinson’s youngest son. “It’s a weight that feels good because it keeps you grounded in what is so important. I feel like the legacy is just as important today as it has ever been.”

Robinson’s widow, Rachel, turns 104 in July. She lives in New York and still visits the Jackie Robinson Museum.

“She’s the strong matriarch of our family, surrounded by love and intention to continue to allow her to live a life that she wanted,” said granddaughter Sonya Pankey Robinson, whose father was Jackie Robinson Jr.

Also on hand in Los Angeles were recipients of scholarships from the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

For the first time in at least two decades, the percentage of Black players on opening day rosters increased this season. Major League Baseball says 6.8% of players on opening day rosters, injured lists and the restricted list were Black, up from 6.2% at the start of the 2025 season and 6.0% at the start of 2024.

“He’s an icon,” Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “To take this day and make it something special says a lot about the character of the game.”

___

AP Sports Writers Will Graves in Pittsburgh, Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Gary Wilson is back at the Crucible but his performance in his final qualifier left him with ‘complete embarrassment’ in an ‘absolutely nuts’ contest.

The Tyneside Terror beat Xu Si 10-9, but it looked likely to be far more comfortable than that when he burst into a 7-2 lead, making two tons and five half-centuries on the way.

At that point, having thrashed Allan Taylor 10-1 in the previous round, things were looking very peachy for Wilson, but he says he never felt comfortable during either match.

Xu surged back into a 9-8 lead with the Englishman faltering, before scrapping to force a decider and then making a break of 126 to win it.

Wilson was thrilled to win, but could not see many positives with how he played, even in his initial demolition of Taylor.

‘Absolutely nuts,’ Wilson told WST of his win over Xu. ‘People weren’t believing us the other day when I played Allan [Taylor] and it was 10-1 and I said I’m struggling. I was genuinely struggling.

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‘From ball one today I had no cueing whatsoever. Again I got a good lead, I was getting chances again, maybe he was a bit nervous. I potted a few good balls, but I was making breaks just steering in and trying.

‘The table was playing lovely so it was allowing us to get away with things. Tonight was even worse I just couldn’t cue a ball even more, I thought it was a complete embarrassment.

‘At the end there, it’s the biggest tournament we have, if you can’t try everything here, when are you ever going to try? That last break at the end there was just sheer try. I was stabbing at them, steering them and yipping them and all sorts.’

Making a century in a deciding frame to reach the Crucible is an achievement in itself, but Wilson will not be content until he feels comfortable at the table.

‘It’s all that counts but it doesn’t count for much going forward and that’s always the problem with me,’ he said of the impressive break.

‘If I play anything like that at the Crucible I’ll be happy to pick up me points, pick up me walk-ons for the two sessions, pick up me money and anything after that is a bonus.

‘I seriously need to try to find a way to cue the ball properly to have any chance to do what I feel I can do deep down, which is play much better than that, go deep in tournaments and win tournaments again.

‘It’s so frustrating but at the same time I’m over the moon to try my hardest there and somehow scrape through. I’ve always known I’ve got bottle and that’s all that was.’

The 40-year-old will be in the World Snooker Championship draw for a sixth time on Thursday morning, learning his fate at around 8.45am.

Wilson has been to a Crucible semi-final before, reaching the last four in 2019, but has won just one match at the iconic theatre since then.

The three-time ranking event winner has had a mixed season, with his three standout results all coming in China, with a Wuhan Open final run, a semi-final at the Xi’an Grand Prix and World Open quarter-final.

He will be looking to add to his three ranking titles with the biggest one of all over the next three weeks.

World Snooker Championship field

Top 16

Zhao Xintong
Judd Trump
Neil Robertson
Mark Williams
John Higgins
Kyren Wilson
Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy
Berry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong
Wu Yize
Chris Wakelin
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Mark Allen
Si Jiahui
Ding Junhui

Qualifiers

Hossein Vafaei
Zhou Yuelong
Matthew Stevens
Antoni Kowalski
Dave Gilbert
Stan Moody
Pang Junxu
Liam Pullen
Jak Jones
Ali Carter
He Guoqiang
Fan Zhengyi
Zhang Anda
Gary Wilson
Lei Peifan
Liam Highfield

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The sausages are so juicy and the new potatoes are crispy.

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Getting dinner on the table during the week needs to be straightforward, quick and taste good. It’s all too easy to fall into the trap of serving up the same meals on repeat.

However, there’s one reliable favourite that I turn to. It is a fuss-free sausage traybake that tastes far more impressive than the effort it requires.

This sausage, red onion, pesto and new potato traybake couldn’t be simpler, as everything gets put into a single dish. The oven takes care of rest, freeing you up to make the most of your evenings rather than being tied to the kitchen.

The sausages come out succulent, while the new potatoes are crispy after being squashed before roasting. It’s a crowd-pleaser for the whole family and a way to get plenty of vegetables into one meal.

Since I first discovered this traybake a couple of years back, it’s become a regular on my dinner rotation, and it could well become yours too once you’ve tried it.

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Sausage and new potato pesto traybake

Ingredients for four people

• Bag of new potatoes
• Four garlic cloves, peeled
• Eight sausages
• One red onion, largely chopped
• A glug of olive oil
• Three tbsp pesto
• 200g frozen peas
• Salt and ground pepper for seasoning

Method

Begin by heating your oven to 220°C/200°C Fan.

Put the new potatoes into a saucepan of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and put them into a large roasting dish. Gently press down on each potato using the base of a drinking glass.

Scatter the red onion, garlic and sausages across the tray, making sure there’s room for everything. I sometimes give my sausages a five-minute head start in the air fryer before adding them to the tray, though this step isn’t essential.

Drizzle oil over the ingredients as well as salt and pepper. Put the tray in the oven for roughly 35 minutes, until the sausages are thoroughly cooked and the potatoes turn golden and crisp.

Take the tray out of the oven and add the frozen peas along with the pesto. Mix everything together well.

Put it back in the oven for another five minutes, until the peas are cooked through. Serve and enjoy.

Gary Sheel was due to be sentenced for assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he attacked a woman in Hartlepool.

The 38-year-old appeared at Teesside Crown Court via a video link from Holme House Prison in Stockton but audio problems resulted in the case being adjourned.

Sheel, of Malvern Crescent, Darlington, was remanded in custody until Friday, April 17 when he will be brought to the court to be sentenced.

Judge Richard Clews said: “You need to be able to follow these proceedings and understand everything that is being said.

“It is very difficult for you to do that from where you are.

“So, what I am going to do is adjourn this case until Friday and direct that you are brought to court.

“You will be able to sit in the courtroom where you will able to lipread everyone properly and then we will finalise the case.”

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s sea blockade against Iran appears to be working.

Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that have left the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz have stopped or turned around, shipping data firms say. They appear to have jammed or faked their locations in some instances, complicating an uncertain and risky shipping situation.

The blockade that started Monday “has been fully implemented,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command. “U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going in and out of Iran by sea.”

The action could put serious pressure on the Iranian economy, while Tehran’s earlier cutoff of the waterway crucial to oil and gas supplies has sent energy prices higher during the war with the U.S. and Israel.

Here are key things to know about the blockade and the situation at the Strait of Hormuz:

How the US Navy is enforcing the blockade

The blockade is being enforced “impartially against all vessels of all nations entering or leaving coastal areas or ports in Iran,” U.S. Central Command said. Vessels avoiding Iranian ports are not affected.

The military set up the blockade in the Gulf of Oman beyond the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, said the strategy is to observe vessels subject to the blockade leave Iranian facilities and clear the strait before intercepting them and forcing them to turn around.

The official said that the military relies on more than just automated tracking beacons that all merchant ships are required to carry, called AIS, to determine merchant ships were coming from a port in Iran but wouldn’t go into more detail citing the need for operational security.

Ships are turning around as traffic adjusts

U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that no vessels have made it past its forces during the first 48 hours of the blockade.

It noted that 10 vessels have complied with directions to turn around and return toward an Iranian port or Iran’s coastal area. Navy warships are telling merchant ships that they are ready to board them and use force to compel compliance.

On Tuesday, the first full day of the blockade, only eight vessels, most of them linked to Iran or sanctioned, transited the strait, said Ana Subasic, trade risk analyst at data and analytical firm Kpler. The environment is still considered “extremely high risk” despite the ceasefire, she said.

“Most of the vessels have appeared to halt or have reduced movement after clearing the strait,” she said, “which tells us that the effect of the blockade is starting to show up because most of these vessels that have crossed have some kind of history with carrying Iranian-origin sanctioned cargo.”

The Rich Starry, a Chinese-owned tanker previously sanctioned by the U.S. for smuggling Iranian petroleum products, left the strait and then turned back this week, according to publicly available ship tracking data.

Radio transponder data for the vessel, which is sailing under the flag of the landlocked East African nation of Malawi, shows it entered the Persian Gulf on April 4 empty of cargo. It turned off its transponder for more than a week, a tactic smugglers often use called “running dark” to avoid showing its location.

The Rich Starry’s signal popped back up off the United Arab Emirates on Monday laden with oil, though it is possible the ship wasn’t transmitting its accurate location. Smugglers sometimes “spoof” their locations by transmitting inaccurate coordinates.

The ship went through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night before abruptly reversing course in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, heading back through the strait and toward Iran’s coast Wednesday.

Other Iran-linked tankers transited the strait this week only to stop. For example, the oil-products tanker Elpis left Iranian waters Monday, passed through the strait before cutting its engines in the Gulf of Oman, tracking data shows. The ship turned off its radio transponder Tuesday and its current location couldn’t be independently verified.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward said that vessel behavior was “indicating a fragmented and uneven response to the blockade” as sanctioned and false-flagged vessels continued to be active, some transiting the strait, others delaying or reversing course.

Trying to break Iran’s chokehold

Iran has blocked the strait by threatening to attack shipping, cutting off 20% of the world’s typically daily oil consumption, sending oil prices sharply higher and leading to warnings about higher inflation and recessions in leading economies.

Vessels were hit with aerial and undersea drones as well as unknown projectiles, killing 11 crew members. While those attacks have dwindled, the risk of navigating the area means that ship traffic has dropped by more than 90%.

Some of that blocked oil is making it out from Gulf producing nations through pipelines to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. But those pipelines can’t make up for the effective closure of the strait.

Iran has started vetting and collecting money from the few vessels daring to pass. Vessels must submit detailed information on cargo and crew to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and pay a $1 fee per barrel of oil or fuel products before being allowed to pass, according to Kpler.

The US blockade has a rule book

The terms of the U.S. blockade have contributed to some uncertainty. According to a notice to mariners, the blockade is being enforced in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, not at the Strait of Hormuz. So simply passing the strait doesn’t mean a vessel beat the blockade.

“Humanitarian shipments including food and medical supplies essential for the survival of the civilian populations” can pass with inspections.

That last provision aligns with international law on naval warfare, which bars blockades solely intended to starve civilians, according to a legal guide from the U.S. Naval War College cited by maritime historian Sal Mercogliano, who runs a YouTube channel on shipping.

“Neutral” ships can pass — though they may be inspected — but it’s not clear what “neutral” means. The Lloyd’s List Intelligence maritime data firm said the U.S. action “has plunged shipowners into fresh uncertainty around enforcement.”

So ships from Iranian ports can be detected passing the strait — and still face the risk of being stopped farther out. Container ships heading for Iranian ports could be allowed in or out if they’re carrying food — or not, if they’re carrying other goods.

Iran says it would halt Gulf trade if blockade doesn’t end

Unless Iran can export oil, available storage will fill up and it will have to shut down wells that are difficult to restart. Additionally, Iran imports gasoline since it lacks the refinery capacity to turn its own oil into fuel.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command warned Wednesday that Iran would completely block exports and imports across the Persian Gulf region, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea if the U.S. does not lift its blockade on Iranian ports.

“Iran will act with strength to defend its national sovereignty and its interests,” Ali Abdollahi said. He added that the U.S. blockade is “a prelude to violating the ceasefire.”

—-

Toropin and Biesecker reported from Washington.