Cleo Gray was delivered by her dad, Matt, with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck

A dad has delivered his baby after a “panicked” midwife fled the hospital room during a high-risk labour.

Cleo Gray was born on February 21, at the John Radcliffe Hospital Women’s Centre in Oxford. She was delivered by her dad Matt after a “panicked” midwife left the room. The umbilical cord wrapped around Cleo’s neck.

Matt, a former ambulance technician, was able to unwrap the umbilical cord from baby Cleo’s neck, the Sun reported.

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Matt’s wife Jo was cradling their little one when staff returned to the room. Jo was seething and told the Banbury Guardian: “It is terrifying. It could have gone so wrong.”

Cleo is the couple’s fourth child and the labour was expected to progress quickly. The birth was deemed high-risk, as Jo has several medical conditions.

The Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUH), which runs the hospital, apologised to the family.

Jo went to the John Radcliffe Hospital Women’s Centre after going into labour two weeks early. She said she had a “lovely” midwife initially, but a replacement came to attend to the birth after the initial midwife was needed elsewhere.

“It went downhill from there; it was really bad,” Jo said.

She said the new midwife seemed less experienced and was not communicative or reassuring.

Jo said went into delivery shortly after. She added that the midwife kept moving her and that the baby’s heart rate kept changing but it was after every contraction, which is considered normal.

“But she started panicking, which in turn, made me panic,” Jo added.

Jo said the midwife told her that the baby’s heart rate was dropping and it was getting dangerous. Jo added that she was going into a panic attack because she had a traumatic birth prior and nearly lost her son.

“Before we knew it, she’d left the room. We were left on our own.”

Matt ran out to fetch the midwife, who returned, but who left again shortly after.

They claim she was gone for 10 to 15 minutes.

“After she ran out a second time, I realised we were going to have to deliver the baby ourselves. I put some gloves on and minutes later, baby’s was born,” Matt said.

“Once she was out, I saw the cord was actually around her neck. I managed to unwrap it but wasn’t able to get rid of the mucus.”

“I cleaned her and dried her and gave her to Jo. They came in about two minutes afterwards and told me it was good that I’d put on gloves!” Matt said.

The couple said they could not reach the call button behind Jo’s bed to get help.

Jo said the staff did not apologise at the time, telling the couple the incident “was very unfortunate but everything was OK.”

A formal complaint with OUH and the Care Quality Commission.

A spokesman for OUH said the issues are being taken seriously and a full investigation into what occurred will be carried out.

“We are unable to provide further detail while that investigation is underway but are committed to openness and transparency when sharing our full findings with Jordan and Matthew once the process has been completed.”

The OUH maternity unit is one of the 12 being investigated in the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

An interim report found deep-rooted issues in NHS maternity care.

In a statement, the force said: “The decision to ban it this year is purely based on a risk assessment of this specific protest and counter-protests – we do not police taste or decency or prefer one political view over another, but we will do everything we can to reduce violence and disorder.”

James Atkinson, a trumpet player from Wales, died after being struck by a speeding BMW as he crossed the road

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The family of a trumpet player from Wales who was killed on his way to band practice say that he was a “true gentleman” who “lived for his music”. James Atkinson died aged 81 after being struck by a speeding BMW while crossing the road, having been walking to a social club in order to enjoy his “favourite past time”.

Fellow band members were later left “calling and messaging him, wondering where he was”, not realising that he had been fatally injured. But, in a fitting tribute, his instrument has now been donated to the organisation that “meant everything to him”.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that driver David Brown, of Malvern Road in Tranmere, Wirral, was travelling along Teehey Lane in Bebington in his BMW 1 Series shortly after 7.30pm on March 4 2024 when he struck Mr Atkinson as he crossed the road. The area was said to have been busy with fellow motorists and pedestrians at this time during dark and rainy conditions.

Robert Dudley, prosecuting, described how Brown had earlier been forced to slow down as he approached the junction with Village Road due to cars ahead of him having been waiting to turn right into this street. The 25-year-old then accelerated away “at considerable speed” along the 30mph route, overtaking parked cars and crossing into the opposite carriageway.

Mr Atkinson was meanwhile crossing the road as he walked to the Royal British Legion, having parked his own car on nearby Roland Avenue. Having taken eight steps into the carriageway, he was then struck by the driver’s side of the BMW.

After being rushed to Aintree Hospital with fractures to his neck, skull, ribs and facial bones, as well as “catastrophic” bleeding on the brain, Mr Atkinson, who lived in North Wales, was later transferred to the Walton Centre. However, he was pronounced dead at 5.05pm on March 6 as a result of his injuries.

A series of statements were read out on behalf of Mr Atkinson’s family during yesterday’s sentencing hearing. One, from his brother Donald, said: “Jim was my big brother, and I miss him dearly. Jim was the brightest out of the three of us, although I do remember one time when Jim encouraged our youngest brother to jump off an air raid shelter using a sheet for a parachute, resulting in a broken arm.

“Jim learned to play the trumpet and cornet as a child, and he played in the boys’ brigade. Music became such a big part of Jim’s life, and he formed a band with a few friends. He was a police cadet before working in the same factory as our dad in Warrington. Jim worked on the gas rigs in the North Sea. He soon started travelling the world as an accomplished engineer, working on gas installations, spending a lot of time in Saudi Arabia.

“Jim lived for his music. He would spend hours transposing music to make it into something his band could play. It was a Glenn Miller type of band. Every Wednesday, he would go to the British Legion in Bebington to play with his band. He loved going there, so much so that he would often go on other nights.

“After Jim’s death, I went to the British Legion and the landlady showed me where Jim would sit. They all knew him. She said Jim would sometimes go and not even have anything to drink. He just went to chat to everyone, and it was a long drive for him. It was where he was going the night of the collision.

“In the year before Jim died, he had been diagnosed and successfully treated for lung cancer. It made his breathing difficult, and so he was unable to play the trumpet. Jim would still go to the British Legion and watch his beloved band.

“He loved that place so much that we decided to have his wake there. We heard so many lovely things about Jim. Two days after the collision, Jim was due to be at the British Legion for the weekly Wednesday night band meeting. The other members were calling and messaging him, wondering where he was and checking to see if he was ok, not realising that Jim had sadly passed away.

“I usually spoke to Jim once a fortnight, and once he got into conversation he was quite bright and chatty. As people do, we always planned to arrange a get together.

“The memory of seeing Jim on the ward on life support will stay with me forever. Jim couldn’t speak, but we talked to him anyway. I think he knew we were there. We had a meeting with the doctors, and the decision was made to switch off the support. An hour later, surrounded by family, he quietly and peacefully passed away.

“We have donated Jim’s trumpet to the band. They were grateful, and we think this is what Jim would have wanted. His music and the band meant everything to him. I didn’t think it would affect me as much as it has. I get so upset. I find it hard to sleep. I cry and I am overcome with anxiety.

“This whole incident is so upsetting for everybody involved, and we do often think about the driver and hope he is coping. As a parent, I can’t imagine what he and his family are also going through. But to finish with Jim, my big brother. I wish we could have arranged that get together.”

Mr Atkinson’s other brother John said in his own statement: “It has been two years since my eldest brother, Jim, was mowed down and killed on that night. My brother was on the way to his favourite past time of listening to and watching the big band sounds. This is what has constantly been in my head for the two year period and is all I have been able to think about.

“We had to make the very difficult decision to turn off the machines, and we had to go in and watch Jim take his last breath. This is a thought that remains in my head every day, even nearly two years later.

“Now the trial has finished, I can finally start the grieving process and again start to close the part of a scarring memory and begin to finally move forward. I realise that the court process has had to happen, and any sentence would not bring my brother back and it will never allow him to have his retirement back, which he so thoroughly enjoyed.”

Son Stephen, who suffers from Huntington’s disease, meanwhile added: “I miss my dad deeply. I miss him being able to visit me and I miss going out with him together. We used to enjoy spending time together, and I have many happy memories with him growing up. These memories mean even more to me now.

“I have had my own struggles with my health, and preparing this statement is incredibly difficult for me. I am determined to let you all know about the sense of loss that I am feeling. My dad was always there to look after me and has always shown that he loves me. I will miss him always, and his loss will have a lasting impact on me.”

Brown was said to have briefly slowed following the collision but then drove onwards to his mum’s flat before returning to the scene of the accident in her company. She was said to have approached a police officer who had arrived in the area in the interim before the defendant told him: “I didn’t even see him, I just didn’t see anything at all.”

Under interview, Brown went on to tell detectives that he had been working with his dad in the Tranmere area and was driving to his mother’s for tea. The mechanic added: “Obviously, I haven’t seen the fella in the middle of the road. It was dark as I have come up the road. My mirrors just flew off the car, like something has been on my driver’s side, but I have not seen him because he has been in my blind spot.

“And then obviously I didn’t know what I hit, panicked, went straight down to my mum’s and my mum brought me straight back up. I just knew I had hit something, then I have just carried on going. I just went to my mum’s, and my mum has run me back to sort it all out.”

Brown also estimated that he was travelling at “maybe 30, just over 30” at time, although investigations subsequently found that he had been driving at between 39 and 42mph. He has no previous convictions, having held his licence since 2017 and had three penalty points which have since expired.

Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, told the court on Monday: “Your honour had the advantage of being able to see the defendant during the course of the trial. He did not portray a robustness. In my submission, he perhaps did not show the maturity of his age, rather an immaturity. That could well be, firstly, as a result of his dyslexia and, secondly, his learning, which was limited. But he had worked throughout his life, when he was able to.

“There is one shining member of the family, and that is his mother. At the time, he was not living with her. She finds it too upsetting to come to court. But his mother was the person who immediately took him back to the scene. Your honour will recall, at the scene, he was in tears. He was extremely upset.

“While he could not come to terms himself with the conviction, he was remorseful and wished that he could put the clock back, as many people do. In this case, I am going to submit that is genuine. He accepts that his driving caused the injury.

“It has affected him. His doctor refers to depression. This is a young man that custody is going to come very hard to. When he is serving his sentence, it will be much harsher for him than those who are more robust.

“This case brutally brings home the effects of such accidents. The family is devastated. Whatever happens today will not bring the situation back to the way it was before. It has brutally brought the situation home to him as well. He will not be able to see his young daughter.

“This is not a case of someone driving at 70mph. It was excessive. The jury have found that it was dangerous. But, in that sliding scale, it was not overly great. Secondly, it was for a short duration.”

Brown was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving by a jury and admitted failing to stop after an accident. Appearing in the dock wearing a navy blue suit over a white shirt and blue tie this morning, he was jailed for four years.

Sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: “You have maintained throughout that your driving was neither dangerous nor careless, and you still do. Mr Atkinson was 81 years old. He had worked all of his life. He travelled the world. He was a talented musician. He shared his talents for the entertainment of others. He want to the club every week and would play his trumpet and see his friends.

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“You liked cars. Your car, a BMW 1 Series M Sport, you said, was faster and more powerful than most cars. You were on your way to see your mother for dinner. It seems that you felt frustrated and accelerated sharply.

“You drove in the centre of the carriageway and did not return to the left hand lane. The only reason for not returning to the correct lane can be the one suggested by the prosecution, that you wanted to open up the oncoming left hand bend to take it faster than normal.

“This was a built up area. Mr Atkinson was walking slowly across the road. You failed to see him. When Mr Atkinson had walked across more than half of the road, he was at the driver’s side of the car. He had walked right across the path of your car.

“Had you kept a proper lookout and been going at a reasonable speed, you would have seen Mr Atkinson and the collision and resulting death would have been avoided. Had you returned to the correct side of the carriageway, the collision would have been avoided. You then drove off without stopping to check how Mr Atkinson was.

“The behaviour of your mother in this case has been faultless. She has behaved honourably throughout. This situation must be really difficult for her. When you arrived at her house and told her there had been a collision, she almost immediately took you back to face your responsibilities. She followed that up by making a statement and giving evidence for the prosecution.

“This case must be agony for her, as it must be for those who Mr Atkinson left behind. No sentence I pass can bring back James. You have never had a custodial sentence, and it will be difficult for you. I accept that. You will be separated from your daughter. Mr Parry Jones says that you have demonstrated immaturity. I accept that.

“This will be your first prison sentence, and probably your last. There is nothing in your case that makes me think you will trouble the courts again, but you have committed a really serious offence and you have not taken responsibility for it or owned up to blame. The pre-sentence report says that you are remorseful. The problem with that is, you continue to deny your guilt and say the collision was not your fault.”

Brown was also banned from driving for seven years and will be required to pass an extended retest before being allowed back on the roads. Mr Atkinson’s family issued a further tribute following the hearing, saying in a statement: “Jim. A loved eldest brother, father and grandfather. A talented musician and true gentleman who will be sadly missed.”

Emergency services were called to Peterhead Harbour after the alarm was raised at around 5.40pm on Tuesday.

Fire crews have raced to a huge blaze at a harbour in Aberdeenshire.

Emergency services were called to Peterhead Harbour after the alarm was raised at around 5.40pm on Tuesday. The Scottish Fire and Recue Service said they were alerted to the incident on Farmer’s Lane.

The fire is affecting a sign-making business in the Aberdeenshire town, which has been closed until further notice. Images from the scene show the building engulfed in flames with smoke seen billowing up into the sky.

The fire service said: “Seven appliances and a high-reach vehicle are currently at the scene of an incident on Farmer’s Lane, Peterhead. “Firefighters are working to extinguish a fire affecting a commercial building.

“We were alerted at 5.38pm on Tuesday, March 10. There are no reported casualties, and members of the public are asked to avoid the area.”

A sign-making company called Imagineering, which has been open since 2005, said it was shut because of the fire. A post on social media said: “Due to an ongoing fire at our premises we will be closed until further notice.”

North East Radio also posted on social media, saying they were off air as the power was out in the area.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rihanna, her partner A$AP Rocky, their three children and her mother were all at home when a woman now charged with attempted murder and many other felony counts is alleged to have fired at the property, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Ivanna Lisette Ortiz, 35, of Orlando, Florida, was charged with attempting to kill Rihanna, along with 10 counts of assault on a person with a semiautomatic firearm and three counts of shooting at an inhabited vehicle or dwelling, authorities said. No one was injured.

The singing superstar and her rap star partner were together in a trailer on the property at the time of the Sunday afternoon shooting, while other family members and staffers were in the Beverly Hills-area home, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside a court hearing.

Inside court, Deputy Public Defender Jamarcus Bradford, Ortiz’s attorney, at first entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf, but then withdrew it in favor of postponing arraignment until March 25. She was ordered held on $1.8 million bail. Ortiz wore blue jail clothes with her blond hair in braids and spoke to the lawyer through a glass divider.

Bradford didn’t talk to reporters outside court.

The LA County Public Defender’s Office said in a statement that it could not comment on the pending case against Ortiz.

“As in every case, we will work to ensure that our client receives the full protections guaranteed under the Constitution,” the statement said.

Ortiz could get life in prison if convicted on all charges. All 14 counts against her are felonies. The three counts of firing at a dwelling were for Rihanna’s house, her trailer, and a neighbor’s house, prosecutors said. The 10 assault counts were for Rihanna and family, two staffers and two people in the neighboring house.

“LA based celebrities should not be additionally worried because of this,” Hochman said, “in large part because of the response of the police.” He praised officers for arresting Ortiz soon after the shooting, several miles (kilometers) to the north in the suburb of Sherman Oaks.

Judge Theresa McGonigle issued a protective order for Ortiz to stay away from Robin Fenty and Rakim Mayers –- the legal names of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky –- and their home. McGonigle also said Ortiz is not allowed to possess any firearms or ammunition along with several other conditions.

The hearing was held in a courtroom a few floors from where Rocky went through a trial where he was acquitted just over a year ago. Rihanna was often in attendance, sometimes with their sons.

And the lead prosecutor in the new case is Alexander Bott, the deputy district attorney who successfully prosecuted rapper Tory Lanez in a trial where he was convicted of shooting hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion in the feet.

Hochman would not say where any of the bullets landed, would not say how long Ortiz had been in California, or discuss her motivation or any connection to Rihanna, saying all were under investigation.

Public records show her most recent address was in Orlando and that she has been a licensed speech pathologist for more than a decade.

AP also sent emails seeking comment from Rihanna’s publicist and manager.

In 2018, a man was accused of breaking into another home belonging to Rihanna in the Hollywood Hills and spending 12 hours there. The man pleaded no contest to felony counts of stalking and vandalism and a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest in 2019. He was sentenced to probation.

A nine-time Grammy Award winner, Rihanna has 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including “We Found Love,” “Work,” “Umbrella” and “Disturbia.” She founded the makeup brand Fenty Beauty in 2017.

She and A$AP Rocky announced the birth of their third child, a girl named Rocki Irish Mayers, in September.

___

Associated Press Writer Christopher Weber contributed.

Atletico, without being above average in those ill-fated 23 minutes, were 4-0 up, Micky van de Ven also failing to keep his footing to present Antoine Griezmann with a goal.

The final score makes the second leg of this last 16 tie a formality. Spurs only have a fight for survival now.

Tudor’s unique selling point in a chequered, nomadic coach career was supposedly his ability to provide an instant spark of impact. At Spurs, this has been The Midas Touch in reverse. The Minus Touch.

Four defeats from four games is the worst start by anyone in charge at Spurs, with each one more damaging and demoralising than the last. Tudor is not arresting the Spurs crisis, he is accelerating it.

On his own future, Tudor said: “This is not a topic for me. This is not about my job. It is about helping the team.”

As yet, Tudor has not fulfilled his part of the bargain. His days must now be measured in very small numbers.

Tudor has demonstrated he is not afraid to make the big calls. The snag is he is getting them wrong when Spurs can ill-afford it.

Opinion will be divided on his decision to substitute Kinsky after only 17 minutes, between a coach saving the keeper from himself or a hard-nosed act that might kill a young player’s career.

It was a stunning move, smacking of a coach who either feels he had nothing to lose or possibly feels he has lost it already at Spurs.

He said in a brief post-match inquisition: “It was a very rare thing. I have never done this in 15 years of coaching. I did it to preserve the guy and to preserve the team.

“It was an incredible situation.”

Of course, Tudor cannot be held responsible for what happened to Kinsky, but it was symptomatic of how things have got worse on his watch.

What is firmly at Tudor’s door was that it was his bold decision to drop Vicario and play Kinsky and to say it back-fired is a masterpiece of under-statement.

When Kinsky’s number went up, it was left to his Spurs’ team-mates and even Atletico Madrid’s fans, who pushed their passion and partisanship to one side to offer sympathetic applause, to console him.

Tudor did not appear to have consolation on his mind as the heartbroken youngster came off.

A deepening area of low pressure between Scotland and Iceland on Wednesday is bringing strong westerly winds, gales and even touching severe gales.

The Met Office has a yellow warning in force until 12:00 GMT in western and northern Scotland for gusts to reach 65-70mph (105-110km/h) and a small chance of up to 80mph (130km/h) in some locations.

The strongest winds will initially be felt in the Outer and Inner Hebrides before spreading into northern mainland Scotland and Orkney later on.

There could be some travel disruption such as cancelled ferries, flight delays and bridge restrictions for high-sided vehicles.

While Wednesday will be a dry and bright day for most of the UK, there will be some frequent showers across Scotland.

By Thursday the strongest winds across western Scotland will have eased but it will turn windy quite widely across the UK.

Gusts of 40-50mph (65-80km/h) will be seen widely, up to 60mph (97km/h) around western coasts of England and Wales and 65mph (105km/h) in northern and western Scotland.

We then need to keep an eye on the forecast for the weekend.

Another deep area of low pressure will pass to the south of Iceland with strong winds on its southern flank across the UK.

Paul Allen Rose, founder of Barrow’s Owl Sanctuary, was stripped of his MBE this month alongside eight other people who have been lost their honours for various reasons.

Rose, of Walney, was sentenced in May 2024, after pleading guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal and one count of failing to ensure animal welfare, contrary to Section 4 and Section 9 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

He was given a 20-week jail sentence suspended for two years.

A notice published on Thursday, March 5 by The Gazette says Rose had his MBE title stripped due to a criminal conviction.

A number of other individuals have had their honours removed in March 2026 including former rugby captain Stuart Hogg, who was stripped of his MBE after a domestic abuse conviction.

Here is a full list of those who have been stripped of their honours this year:

• Ian Ashbold, received MBE in 2016, stripped due to a Criminal Conviction
• Lloyd Hamilton, received MBE in 2011, stripped due to Criminal conviction
• Angela Middleton, received MBE in 2019, stripped due to bringing the honours system into disrepute.
• Nigel O’Connor, received MBE in 2015, stripped due to professional censure.
• Tony Reilly, received OBE in 2011, stripped due to professional censure.
• Paul Rose, received MBE in 2002, stripped due to Criminal conviction.
• Anant Shah, received OBE in 2020, stripped due to bringing the honours system into disrepute.
• Graham Trewhella, received MBE in 2010, stripped due to criminal conviction.
• Stuart Hogg, received MBE in 2024, stripped due to criminal conviction.

Nacon’s troubled prequel is finally ready for its full release on consoles and PC, as it attempts to live up to the lofty ambitions of the original game and its unusual setting.

Launching games in early access on Steam can be a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it helps nurture a community who’ll hopefully tell their friends to buy it on full release, while also giving developers a massive free play test. But on the negative side, players can get a deeply flawed first impression of a game that ordinarily wouldn’t be seen by the public for months, or even several years.

GreedFall: The Dying World (back when it was called GreedFall 2) entered early access in September 2024 and has not been getting an easy ride. The original game had more than its fair share of technical problems when it was released, and its sequel has come in for plenty of flack during its early access period, while at the same time its developer suffered a round of layoffs. Double-A games like GreedFall are rarely highly polished affairs, and now that it’s available in its final form it’s interesting to see how it fulfils what are once again quite lofty ambitions.

Like the first GreedFall, the backdrop to the sequel is a multi-polar colonial world, this time with a plague spreading across its continent. Your heroes come from the so far untouched island of Teer Fradee, their ornate dress and spiritual connection to their ecosystem reminiscent of Native Americans. The musket toting, technologically more advanced nations invading their land set up mines, carelessly annihilate swathes of wildlife, and call the indigenous people ‘savages’.

There’s a degree of historical realism about its setting, although you’ll also find huge mythical beasts and be able to use magic. Your first boss fight is against a freshly conjured nature golem that’s gone on the rampage, forcing you first to fight and then to flee. This proves to be only the first in a number of set pieces the game has to offer, as it alternates between limited open world sections and more linear exploration.

Conversations similarly vary between straightforward and consequential, your words and deeds sometimes affecting your reputation with party members and the wider community. The story propels you from place to place fairly frequently and membership of your group also changes, your standing with different teammates influencing how they support you, and whether they might be in the market for a little romance.

There are other, more significant changes and initially the most noticeable is that while some conversations are in English, plenty are spoken in Yecht Fradí, the invented language of the aboriginal people from which your hero hails. It sounds entirely convincing, its principle downside being the need to look at subtitles for many of the conversations, which isn’t always easy when you’re navigating or trying to follow someone’s tracks.

Combat has also changed considerably, and not entirely for the better. The fact that you’re offered three different approaches to controlling fights at the beginning of the game suggests its developer, Spiders, wasn’t sure about it either. What emerges is a semi-real-time tactical fighting system, inspired by BioWare’s early work but built with a drastically lower budget.

You can opt to just control your own character, as if you’re in a Mass Effect style action role-player, letting your party do their own thing, while at the other extreme you can pause time and issue specific orders to every party member, just like Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic. While it is possible to micromanage every aspect, other than the occasional boss fight we didn’t find it made much difference except to make battles take a lot longer to finish.

Battles are riddled with rough edges, the targeting system and the way you trigger different attacks working fine but never feeling necessary enough to make it all worth it, especially since your party seem quite happy to activate their own special moves if you let them.

Compared with Dragon Age: The Veilguard or Dragon’s Dogma 2, it’s all a bit clumsy and lacking in panache. Far more impressive are the game’s contrasting and architecturally distinctive environments. From the wilderness of Teer Fradee to the various cities and villages you visit, each area has its own wholly believable look and feel, as well as a population with their own beliefs, prejudices, and traditions.

GreedFall 2 offers first rate world building and unlike Avowed – which crammed its lore down your throat in huge, indigestible lumps – The Dying World’s conversations are admirably direct, whilst conveying all they need to about the lands and peoples you visit. Voice-acting is good and the script expressive enough to communicate emotion and societal mores without wasting your time with reams of tedious, unnecessary detail.

That’s just as well, because there’s a lot of talking, some of which comes with lasting effects. Like the original game, facial animation isn’t its strongest suit, but the combination of beautifully rendered environments, believable settlements, and a coherent sense of its warring nations, makes for a game that’s more than the sum of its parts, the over-ambitious tactical combat balanced by likeably earnest characters and a decent story.

Its other great success is giving you quests that can successfully be fulfilled in a number of ways. Depending on the skills you cultivate, you can wear disguises, bribe guards, use diplomacy to persuade, stealth to pilfer key items, or good old lethal force to just wipe everyone out – the latter proving especially cathartic after a failed negotiation with an annoying side character. It feels great to have options though and to be rewarded for exploring them.

Even post launch, GreedFall: The Dying World certainly has its issues. It also has an unusually well-developed sense of purpose and place. There are way too many bland fantasy role-playing games, but this one leans into its history and the tensions of its world, without letting that get in the way of the pacing or action. Look past the lack of polish, there’s an immersive world to explore, along with a compelling sense of progression as your party toughens up.

Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC
Price: £49.99
Publisher: Nacon
Developer: Spiders
Release Date: 12th March 2026
Age Rating: 16

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The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in California has resigned and pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering after prosecutors said he took more than $270,000 from his parish.

Pope Leo XIV announced Bishop Emanuel Shaleta’s resignation on Tuesday. Shaleta was arrested last week at San Diego International Airport while trying to leave the country, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

Prosecutor Joel Madero said Shaleta is accused of embezzling from St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego. But Shaleta’s defense attorney says those allegations are false.

Here’s what to know:

Bishop for more than a decade

Shaleta, 69, was born in Faysh Kahbur, a small town in Iraq near the Tigris River and the Syrian border, according to a biography on the St. Paul Assyrian Chaldean Catholic Church website. He entered seminary at age 15, training for the priesthood at St. John Minor Seminary near Mosul and Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. He was ordained by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

After receiving his doctorate in biblical theology, he was transferred to the United States, serving in Illinois, Michigan and California until 2015 when Pope Francis appointed him the bishop of the Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans in Canada.

Francis appointed him the Bishop of Saint Peter Apostle of San Diego of the Chaldeans in 2017.

Allegations involve rental payments

Madero, the prosecutor, said the embezzlement allegations are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church’s social hall, and that there were discrepancies in the church’s financial accounts.

A court document with details of the allegations has been sealed. But the San Diego District Attorney’s office says Shaleta has been charged with 16 felonies, including eight counts of embezzlement and eight counts of money laundering.

Shaleta has pleaded not guilty.

During a recent Mass, Shaleta said he has never “abused any penny of the church money.”

Shaleta faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the district attorney’s office said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 27.

The Chaldean Church released a formal statement, saying that the Vatican was investigating the matter and that “all perspectives are being taken seriously and require careful review, proper documentation, and time so that the truth may be fully and fairly discerned.”

The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released a statement in solidarity with Shaleta and asked for prayers for the church.

Chaldeans are important Christian church in the Middle East

There are several branches of the Catholic Church that recognize the pope. That means they may have their own customs and rules, but they agree on the same church teachings. It also means the pope may appoint branch leaders and approve resignations.

The largest branch is commonly known as the Roman Catholic Church, and it is sometimes also called the Latin or Western Catholic church. There are also 23 Eastern branches of the church, including the Chaldean branch, that are in communion with the pope.

The Chaldean Catholic Church represents more than a million Aramaic-speaking Christians. The church traces its founding to the Apostle Thomas in the region that is now Iraq. Today, the headquarters — or Patriarchate — of the Chaldean church remains in Baghdad, Iraq.

The Chaldean Community Foundation estimates that the Chaldean and Assyrian branches together have roughly half a million members in the U.S., primarily in Arizona, California and Illinois.

Case comes during time of turmoil

for the branch

The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for Eastern Rite churches, which allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.

Leo actually accepted Shaleta’s resignation in February, but appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation. Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator.

The head of the Chaldean church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, retired on March 9, and Leo announced the retirement at the same time as Shaleta’s resignation.

It’s not clear if the two departures are connected.

Sako, 76, said that he first discussed retiring with Pope Francis in 2024, but Francis encouraged him to remain. Sako said he asked Leo to retire again on Tuesday and Leo agreed.

Sako said he freely offered his resignation and was leaving “of my own will” to pursue prayer, writing and simple service. He had occasionally clashed with Iraq’s political leaders, and his retirement comes as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran has spilled into Iraq and other neighboring countries.

Before retiring, Sako wrote a letter to parishioners in the San Diego region, urging them to seek unity and “a compassionate, faithful heart, far from the spirit of revenge” during an “exceptionally painful situation.”

“Let the legal procedures take their course in revealing the truth and upholding justice,” Sako wrote. ____ Associated Press journalists Gregory Bull, Christopher Weber, Deepa Bharath, Nicole Winfield and Kathy McCormack contributed.