A former police officer took selfies while on duty at the scene where a teenager had been killed, a court has heard.

Ryan Connolly, 41, then a serving officer with Merseyside Police, was on duty at the cordon of the scene where 16-year-old Daniel Gee-Jamieson was killed in Belle Vale, Liverpool, in 2018.

It was then that he took photos of himself in the area, Manchester Crown Court heard, ‘instead of guarding the scene’.

Prosecutor Peter Wilson showed the jury photos found on Connolly’s phone, which included one selfie showing the officer standing up in his police uniform and another of him lying on the grass.

The court heard nothing sensitive could be seen in the images, which also included pictures of police tape at the scene.

The former constable of Huyton, Merseyside, denies four charges of misconduct in a public office.

Wilson said Connolly was arrested in February 2020, and when his mobile phones were seized, a number of photographs were recovered from the sent folder of the messaging app WhatsApp.

He said: ‘The images are mainly of members of the public who are clearly being dealt with by Merseyside Police.

‘They also include pictures of other police officers on duty or even selfies of the defendant himself whilst he is on patrol guarding a murder scene.’

Twenty-four photos found on devices showed people who were detained at police stations, hospitals or mental health premises.

The jury heard some photos showed members of the public as they lay on hospital beds, were receiving treatment or were in handcuffs.

One image showed a missing child after he was found and taken to a police station, and another showed two people who appeared to be asleep in bed, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, one woman, shown hiding in a cupboard in a photo, said she found it ‘degrading and upsetting’.

Connolly is also accused of taking pictures containing details of force systems, suspect images and police incident logs.

Wilson said: ‘The prosecution says he has wilfully misconducted himself by taking inappropriate photographs where, we say, there is no professional need to do so. He’s then retained them and sent them on.’

He said Connolly’s actions had crossed the threshold and amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust in the police.

Mr Wilson said the defendant claimed the images, on his personal mobile phone, were taken for work purposes, but the court heard they had not been uploaded to police systems.

The trial is expected to last four to five days.

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Fan site WikiGacha is already overwhelmed with traffic as it offers the joy of opening trading card booster packs without charging you a penny.

One of the big problems with collectible trading card games, like Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon, is that they’re a huge money sink if you want to play competitively or are a completionist.

That’s partially why Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket for mobile is so appealing. since you can earn cards daily for free, but the game still tries to tempt you to part with money. to more frequently open booster packs.

But the premise of an entirely free collectible card game is now a reality, thanks to one of the most charmingly strange fan creations we’ve seen in a while: a Wikipedia gacha game.

Labelled Wikipedia Gacha, or WikiGacha for short, and created by someone known only as Harusugi, the website lets you open up to 10 booster packs a day; each of which contains five cards.

You can open more packs by completing daily missions, like opening five packs or actually visiting Wikipedia, and there’s also an achievement list to complete.

The cards don’t just exist to be collected, though, as the site has its own battle system. It’s not super complicated, but every card does have its own attack and defence stat.

However, you don’t build decks, you just pick one card to fight another and whichever depletes the other’s health first wins. So it’s more like Top Trumps.

Attack is determined by a Wikipedia article’s popularity, with the number of pageviews it has multiplied by the rarity of the card. Defence, meanwhile, is determined by the content length of an article multiplied by card rarity. So, the more popular and dense an article, the stronger its associated card.

As for how the game determines the rarity of each card, it’s based on another unofficial website, WikiRank, which grades Wikipedia articles on their popularity.

This is why, based on our own pulls, our anadasmus caliginea card is treated as a common card with low stats, while our Canadian Screen Award for Best Feature Length Documentary card is a Super Rare card with an incredibly high defence stat.

Currently, there are options to have a random battle (it’s unclear if it’s against other players or just an AI opponent) or take on a raid battle, with the site promising plans for a story mode of consecutive battles.

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We weren’t able to open many packs or test the battle system out much, since the website seems to be struggling with heavy traffic at time of writing, but that’s go to see.

The simple act of opening booster packs is inherently moreish and since it’s all completely free, all you’re losing is time. Although there is an option to donate to the creator’s Buy Me A Coffee page.

Plus, with how many Wikipedia articles there are, there’s a surprise factor to seeing what cards you’ll obtain. What other game has cards based on author James Maxey, the 1986 Virginia Slims of Arizona tennis tournament, and Hurricane Waldo?

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WINDER, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia man who gave his teenage son the gun he’s accused of using to kill two students and two teachers at a high school was convicted of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter Tuesday.

Jurors took less than two hours to find Colin Gray guilty of all charges in the September 2024 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, northeast of Atlanta. Gray is one of a number of parents prosecuted after their children were accused in fatal shootings across the country.

Colin Gray was found guilty of second-degree murder in the deaths of two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo. Georgia law defines second-degree murder as causing the death of a child by committing the crime of cruelty to children. Gray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the killings of teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53.

Another teacher and eight other students were wounded. Gray was also convicted of multiple counts of reckless conduct and cruelty to children.

He showed little emotion as the verdict was read and then as he watched each juror being polled by the judge. Deputies then handcuffed him behind his back as he stood at the defense table, consulting with his lawyer. He will be sentenced at a later date. Second-degree murder is punishable by at least 10 but no more than 30 years in prison, while involuntary manslaughter carries a penalty of one to 10 years in prison.

Some relatives of victims wept as the verdicts were read. They declined to comment after court. Gray’s defense lawyers left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

“We talk a lot about rights in our country,” Barrow County District Attorney Brad Smith said after the verdict. “But God gave us a duty to protect our children, and I hope that we remember that, as parents, as community members, to protect our children because that is our God-given duty.”

The teen’s mother, Marcee Gray — who testified that she had urged Colin Gray to take any guns and lock them inside his truck so they were not accessible to their son — declined to comment when reached by phone after the verdict. She and Colin Gray were separated in the months leading up to the shooting, and Colt lived mostly with his father during that time. She wasn’t charged in connection to the shooting.

Prosecutors said Gray gave his son, Colt, access to a gun and ammunition “after receiving sufficient warning that Colt Gray would harm and endanger the bodily safety of another.”

Colt Gray, who was 14 at the time of the shooting, was indicted on a total of 55 counts, including murder. He has pleaded not guilty and the judge in his case has set a status hearing for mid-March.

Investigators said Colt Gray carefully planned the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school attended by 1,900 students.

He boarded the school bus with a semiautomatic, assault-style rifle in his book bag, the barrel sticking out and wrapped in poster board, investigators said. He left his second-period class and emerged from a bathroom with the gun and then shot people in a classroom and hallways, investigators said.

Colin Gray had given his son the gun as a gift the Christmas before the shooting and allowed him to have access to the gun and ammunition, despite his awareness that his son’s mental health had deteriorated, a prosecutor said.

Colin Gray knew his son was obsessed with school shooters, even having a shrine in his bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, prosecutors said.

Gregor Poynton has met with Blair McDougall, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation), to press for urgent action to secure the future of Uphall Post Office.

Livingston’s MP has raised the Uphall Post Office closure directly with the UK Government’s Post Office Minister.

Gregor Poynton has met with Blair McDougall, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation), to press for urgent action to secure the future of Uphall Post Office.

Mr McDougall holds ministerial responsibility for the Post Office. During their meeting in Westminster, Mr Poynton outlined the impact the closure of Uphall Post Office is having on local residents, older people, and small businesses who rely on services in the village.

The Uphall branch on West Main Street closed following the resignation of the previous postmaster.

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Mr Poynton raised concerns about the disruption this has caused and sought assurances about what support the Government can provide to help Post Office Ltd secure a new postmaster and restore services as quickly as possible.

He said: “The closure of Uphall Post Office has had a real and immediate impact on local constituents. For many residents and small businesses, the services provided by the Post Office is essential.

“I met directly with the Minister responsible for the Post Office to make clear the strength of feeling locally and to ask what support can be offered to help secure a new postmaster for Uphall.

“It is vital that Post Office Ltd moves at pace to appoint a new operator and restore full services. I will continue working at every level, locally and nationally, to secure the long-term future of post office provision in Uphall.”

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Mr Poynton has pledged to remain in close contact with the Minister and with Post Office Ltd while a new operator is sought.

It is not yet known how long the West Lothian village will be left waiting for the restoration of the service.

The Post Office area change manager wrote to residents and local representatives in February to inform them of the decision.

He said: “We are writing to inform you that, regrettably, following the resignation of the postmaster.

“The provision of a Post Office service to our customers in the local community is important to us, and we will continue to work hard to restore services in the area as soon as possible.

READ MORE: West Lothian man spotted with ‘bladed weapon’ in street as police rush to scene

“We would welcome any applications from potential retail partners interested in running a branch locally on our behalf.

“We apologise for the inconvenience the closure may cause. We hope that our customers will continue to use Post Office services and details of possible alternative Post Office branches in the area.”

A statement released by West Lothian Council earlier in the week said: “Uphall Post Office on West Main Street, is set to close from 6pm on Wednesday, February 18, following the resignation of the postmaster at the branch.

“The Post Office is welcoming applications from interested parties to ensure a post office service can be continued in the area.”

READ MORE: Nurseries challenge West Lothian Council’s budget decision

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Tributes have been paid to people killed in a mass shooting at a Texas bar – as it was confirmed a third victim has died.

Austin Police announced on Monday evening that Jorge Pederson, 30, had died from his injuries.

The other two victims of the shooting on Austin’s West 6th Street have been identified as Savitha Shan, 21, and Ryder Harrington, 19, who were both university students.

The gunman, identified as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne by the Department of Homeland Security, was fatally shot by officers at the scene.

Though police said it was too early to identify Diagne’s motive, the shooting is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that Diagne was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words “Property of Allah”. He had not been on the radar of authorities, federal and local investigators said on Monday.

More than a dozen people were also wounded in the shooting, during which Diagne drove past Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden before circling back and firing with a pistol from his SUV at people on the footpath and inside the bar.

Police say he then got out of the car and began shooting at people with a rifle.

Mr Harrington’s brother paid tribute to youngest victim, on Facebook, saying it was “unfair, to say the least, that my little brother was only given 19 years on this earth”.

“Watching the man he had become, and seeing all the lives he touched, leaves me certain that this world was robbed of a great future,” Reed Harington said.

Mr Harrington joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Texas Tech University in 2024, the fraternity said in an Instagram post.

“Ryder had a rare ability to truly enjoy life to make people laugh, to make moments feel bigger, and to make ordinary days unforgettable,” the fraternity said.

“If anyone embodied what it meant to live fully and love deeply, it was Ryder.”

Texas Tech said in a statement that Mr Harrington had been enrolled as recently as the autumn 2025 semester but had not been taking classes during the current semester.

“Our thoughts are with Ryder’s family, friends, and all those affected by this devastating situation,” the statement said.

Ms Shan’s LinkedIn profile said she was a dual-degree student majoring in management information systems and economics at the University of Texas at Austin.

The university’s president Jim Davis said her death was “devastating” and that several other students were wounded in the attack.

“Some of these are very serious and we are hoping for the best outcomes, while others are on the path to recovery,” he said.

“I have met with many of these families and will continue to pray for them.”

Read more from Sky News:
Brits stranded in Doha and Dubai tell of strikes and evacuations
Videos of Clinton depositions in Epstein investigation released

The shooting took place a day after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, and authorities are investigating a potential link to global political events.

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The narrative from members of the US administration seems to be built on shifting sands. What is the real reason for America’s intervention in Iran?

“Our ultimate goal in everything we do is to determine the motive,” Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said during a news conference.

Investigators are examining thousands of hours of video and police said there are more than 150 witnesses to interview.

“We are still in the early hours of this investigation,” said Austin Police chief Lisa Davis.

The gunman legally bought the weapons used in the attack – a rifle and a pistol – several years ago in San Antonio, Ms Davis said.

Diagne was from Senegal and first entered the US in 2000 on a B-2 tourist visa, before becoming a lawful permanent resident six years later after marrying an American, the US Department of Homeland Security said.

Three people were taken to hospital in a critical condition, though police said on Monday one victim would be taken off life support, Sky News’s US partner NBC News reports.

Spring is almost here, so it’s the perfect time to jet off for a sunny escape or a cheeky city break

Spring is almost here, so it’s the perfect time to jet off for a sunny escape or a cheeky city break in warmer climes, and you can do so from Wales.

There’s no need to go all the way to Heathrow when Cardiff Airport is offering flights and holidays to an array of destinations this spring and beyond.

Cardiff Airport is an important hub for travellers to and from Wales. Situated just 40 minutes from Cardiff city centre, it’s convenient to reach for a European city break and beyond.

Fly direct from Cardiff and enjoy the perfect TUI package holiday from just £345 per person, and spoil yourself with some vitamin D, or head for a city where you can enjoy spring weather.

Benalmadena, Costa del Sol

Sunny Benalmadena is a popular destination in the Costa del Sol, and you can book a TUI Holiday from Cardiff.

The town is divided into three main areas: the traditional hilltop Pueblo, the central Arroyo de la Miel, and the seaside Costa, and there’s plenty to do here.

Sure, like most places in the Costa del Sol, you have bars for boozed-up Brits with blaring music, souvenir stores hawking tat, and vape shops, but there’s also a gorgeous seafront, swish marina and tasty tapas.

Plod along the 10-kilometre stretch of sandy beaches, including Blue Flag options like Santa Ana Beach. The palm tree-lined promenade is also dotted with ocean-view restaurants and bars where you can buy an Aperol Spritz and watch the waves.

Puerto Marina is also worth a visit. The major, uniquely designed marina features shopping, dining, and the Sea Life aquarium (when it’s not closed due to rain, despite the marine life living in tanks).

Attractions in the area include the 33-metre-tall Buddhist Stupa, Colomares Castle, and the Teleférico (cable car) to Mount Calamorro for panoramic views. Read more about my trip to Benalmadena here.

Paphos, Cyprus

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Located on the southwest coast of Cyprus, Paphos (Pafos) is a lively coastal city with a temperate climate and plenty of fun activities. It’s one of my favourite places in Cyprus!

You can fly to Cyprus from Cardiff Airport on a TUI holiday and book with no deposit.

Paphos is divided geographically into two parts. Connected by a busy traffic artery, Kato Pafos (Lower Pafos) and Ktima (Upper Pafos) are two contrasting and distinctive districts in Paphos.

Kato Pafos is the more tourist-oriented part of the city. It’s where you’ll find swish hotels, resorts, restaurants, and a palm-fringed promenade and seafront.

Culture fans can marvel at the various mosaics, catacombs, ruins and archaeological sites at this UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sun worshipers will find beaches, bars, boat trips and resorts to entertain them.

I find it best to embrace the contrasts and enjoy a mix of the two in this sprawling, intriguing city. Walking shoes by day, party shoes by night. Sorted.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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The Dutch capital has plenty to offer visitors seeking out history, art and culture this spring, and you can fly direct with KLM.

You can lose many hours just wandering or biking the canal-woven streets, lined with historic and distinctive Dutch architecture.

Some of the main highlights include the iconic Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Vondelpark, Foodhallen, and, of course, the moving Anne Frank Museum.

Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, so one of the best ways to explore it is to rent a bike and get around like a local.

Spend some time stopping at cafes, boutique stores and galleries as you bike along the excellent cycle paths in the city.

Make sure to read up on the rules of the road here, as bikes are treated just as importantly as cars. Pop into Amsterdam’s Tourist Information Centre to find out more about how to bike in the city and what guided biking tours you can book.

Faro, the Algarve

Faro is the gateway to the Algarve, and while many people just fly there and head straight to the resorts and beaches, the city itself is also worth exploring.

The city offers history and culture as well as cafes, restaurants and bars serving delicious Portuguese cuisine and local tipples.

As it’s not a huge tourist hotspot, you can explore the historic centre in relative peace, away from the Algarve crowds.

Spend a day wandering the cobbled streets looking for neoclassical architecture, historic cathedrals and the impressive range of chic boutiques, cafes and great value seafood restaurants.

You can also hop on a bus to Praia de Faro [Faro beach] if you fancy a spot of sunbathing. Faro is also an excellent base from which to explore the wider Algarve region, and you can take many day trips and organised excursions from the city.

Alicante, Spain

Alicante is an underrated port city in Spain’s southeastern Costa Blanca and is the capital of the Alicante province. Its old town, Barrio de la Santa Cruz, is known for its narrow streets, colourful houses, and energetic nightlife.

The main port also has an impressive range of restaurants, bars and pubs serving local dishes, including seafood, tapas and Spanish wines.

Spring and summer are perfect times to visit the city, making the most of the beaches and enjoying cultural events, al fresco dining, concerts, and street theatre.

You can fly direct to Alicante with Ryanair for as little as £70 return in April.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Head to the historic city of Dubrovnik, affectionately dubbed the City of 1,000 Monuments and well known as a Game of Thrones filming location.

Dubrovnik draws vast crowds with its distinctive Old Town, where massive stone walls, built in the 16th century, still encircle the historic city.

Visitors can admire its well-preserved architecture from the baroque St Blaise Church to the Renaissance Sponza Palace and the Gothic Rector’s Palace, which now houses a history museum.

For a city, Dubrovnik has a surprising variety of beaches ranging from pebble to gravel, stone, and concrete, where you can swim, kayak, and sunbathe near clear waters.

Some popular options include Banje beach, renowned for its proximity to the old town and impressive views, and Sveti Jakov beach, which offers a peaceful escape with crystal-clear waters and stunning sunset views.

Watch the sun go down at one of Dubrovnik’s many beach bars. The best bar for outdoor drinking in Dubrovnik is the uber-cool Buza bar, located on a secluded beach outside the city walls, with tables set among the rocks.

This Unesco World Heritage site is just a three-hour flight from the UK, and you can fly there from Cardiff Airport with KLM with a connection in Amsterdam.

Tunisia, Africa

Tunisia has been one of the main centres of Mediterranean culture for 3,000 years and has epic beaches, as well as the village of Douz, gateway to the Sahara.

Located at the footer of the desert dunes, which is what earns it this title, you could really be in another world from Cardiff if you’re heading here sometime soon.

You can fly direct from Cardiff Airport with TUI and stay in a fancy all-inclusive with no deposit. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here