“People feel that they’re being pressed out of their own town at times. I don’t necessarily fully agree with that, but at the same time, that’s how people feel. At the same time, these people are here for reasons, either legally or are asylum seekers, newcomers, migrants – they’re also looking for a better life.

Fire crews are at the scene of a fire which has broken out inside a 300-year-old Welsh pub on Thursday morning.

A number of fire engines have been pictured at the Hare & Hounds pub in Aberthin, Cowbridge.

It reopened in its current highly acclaimed format in early 2015 when local chef Tom Watts-Jones and his wife, Sarah, took over and renovated the site.

The fire service has said they received a call at around 8.30am to reports of a fire at a property on Maendy Road, Aberthin.

A South Wales Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “Crews, appliances, a water bowser, and an aerial hydraulic platform from Bridgend, Llantwit Major, Barry, Pontypridd, Kenfig Hill and Ely are currently in attendance. The incident is on-going.”

The pub has been awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide, which recognises good quality, good value cooking.

The guide states: “The chef’s passionate desire to make this 300 year old pub the most seasonal in Wales is laudable. Menus change twice daily and produce is from his 3 acre allotment and family farms – and he also hunts and forages. The cooking is unfussy yet dishes are absolutely bursting with flavour; if you get a chance, don’t miss the buttermilk pudding.”

Smoke is currently billowing out of the windows as firefighters try to control the blaze.

You can get live updates on the incident by following our updates below.

This is very much inspired by the wood-roast chicken and bread salad at Zuni Café in San Francisco. When I first ate there, its then chef the late Judy Rodgers hadn’t yet written a cookbook, so I had to guess how to make it when I got home.

I use Spanish migas – chunky bits of bread that are soaked in milk and then fried – as they have a great texture, both crisp and soft. A key characteristic is a crispy-skinned chicken and only small chickens achieve that well.

Requires additional resting time

The opening match of the 2026 World Cup gets under way tonight when Mexico face South Africa

The wait is officially over. Tonight, football takes centre stage as the World Cup kicks off in Mexico.

Fittingly, co-hosts Mexico will get the tournament under way in a historic Group A clash against South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

In a beautiful twist of football symmetry, tonight’s opener takes place exactly 16 years to the day these two nations met in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg.

With South Korea and the Czech Republic looming in the rest of Group A, points will be at a premium in what shapes up to be a brutal group to navigate.

While Mexico bypassed the drama of qualifiers as hosts, South Africa earned their spot the hard way by topping a gruelling group ahead of powerhouses Nigeria.

Here is all the essential matchday information you need ahead of the World Cup opener.

Match details and kick-off time

• Fixture: Mexico vs. South Africa (Group A)
• Date: Thursday, June 11
• Kick-off Time: 8pm BST
• Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

How to watch (UK)

• TV channel: ITV1 (Free-to-air coverage begins at 7.50pm BST, opening ceremony coverage starts at 6.15pm)
• Live stream: ITVX (Available via mobile, tablet, smart TV or desktop with a free account)

Quotes corner

Javier Aguirre (Mexico manager): “I want players who feel proud to compete—players who give everything for their country on the pitch. If they play well and offer versatility, even better. But above all, they must be genuinely eager to represent Mexico.”

Hugo Broos (South Africa manager): “You know, it will be a special and fantastic experience for us because my players have never played in this kind of situation before.

“It will be very important for us to stick to our game plan and not be distracted by what is happening in the stands. We all know there will be thousands of Mexican supporters inside the stadium and maybe only a few South Africans.”

The world of influencer boxing takes another surreal turn on Saturday when former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall faces reality television star and professional boxer Tommy Fury in Manchester.

The heavyweight contest at the AO Arena is understood to be an exhibition bout, meaning it will not count towards either fighter’s professional boxing record.

It is scheduled for six two-minute rounds, bringing together two Britons from entirely different worlds.

The event is promoted by Misfits and is the latest example of a boxing show that increasingly blurs the lines between professional sport, entertainment and social media celebrity.

Fury’s professional resume includes high-profile victories over influencers-turned-boxers KSI and Jake Paul.

He insists his ambitions remain tethered to world-title aspirations. In reality, however, the 27-year-old has cemented himself as the poster boy for the influencer boxing boom.

Hall, 38, headlined what was billed as ‘The Heaviest Boxing Match in History’ in 2022 against rival Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson.

After losing to the Icelander in the exhibition bout, Hall transitioned into MMA and scored a knockout victory over fellow former strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski last year.

The undercard perhaps best illustrates the unusual crossroads at which modern boxing now finds itself.

Sharing the bill is social media personality ‘The Ibiza Final Boss’, real name Jack Kay, who became an internet sensation in 2025 after videos of his confident dancing, distinctive bowl haircut and gold-chain-wearing persona went viral on TikTok.

Also appearing on the card is two-time Olympic taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones.

“This morning people are picking up the pieces, while fear within our migrant communities has only increased.”

A local MLA has slammed the “disgraceful scenes” as crowds attacked houses and burnt out cars on Wednesday night. North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett said he has been out reassuring residents following the destruction.

On Wednesday night, June 10, police were pelted with bricks and petrol bombs by rioters in Glengormley in the latest disorder following a knife attack in North Belfast on Monday night.

Speaking with Belfast Live at the scene on Thursday morning, Phillip Brett slammed the “absolutely disgraceful scenes” and said he has been speaking with local residents.

He added: “Residents have seen wanton destruction no one wants to see on the streets of Glengormley. Houses have been destroyed, people’s houses have been attacked, cars burnt out.

“A 90-year-old lifelong Glengormley resident lay in his bed last night terrified as a building very nearby went up in flames – no cause justifies what happened here.

“I have been on with residents today to reassure them we will do all we can to keep people away from violence and away from their streets.”

Twelve police officers were injured and 16 arrests were made as protesters attempted to march to the Chimney Corner Hotel, with riot police and several vans deployed to manage the demonstrations.

A Department for Infrastructure vehicle was left in flames as rioters confronted police near the Sandyknowes roundabout in Newtownabbey.

Footage showed dozens of men dressed all in black and wearing face coverings gathering on Antrim Road, where they could be seen tearing bricks from properties and smashing paving stones with sledgehammers to create projectiles to throw at police.

A derelict property near a petrol station was set alight, and petrol bombs were thrown at police lines.

The further disorder was also condemned by local councillor, Carl Whyte. He said: “For another night, masked figures came onto our streets, terrorised local communities, destroyed property and attacked police officers. This was a frightening experience for families living in these areas, regardless of where they come from.

“A number of police officers have been left with injuries. I thank them for their efforts and wish them a speedy recovery. We have also seen a number of arrests, many involving young people whose lives may be forever altered by their decision to take part in this disorder. This morning people are picking up the pieces, while fear within our migrant communities has only increased.

“The scenes we have witnessed over recent days have been motivated by nothing but hatred. This is racism, pure and simple. It has been whipped up by far-right agitators and anonymous social media accounts who have brought violence to our streets and Belfast to a standstill.

“We can take some heart that the violence was not on the same scale as Tuesday night, but we now need political and community leadership to bring this disorder to an end. There can be no equivocation. This racism must be called out for what it is, our migrant communities must be protected and those involved in this violence must face justice.”

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

Paula and Malcolm McGill were sentenced to four and half years in prison for their roles in the attack.

A daughter and her husband brutally attacked her mother in her own home have each been jailed for four and a half years.

Paula and Malcolm McGill left Kirsty Barrie, 56, with life-threatening injuries after bursting into her flat in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire on May 6 2024.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the mum and her 41 year-old daughter were estranged at the time and had not spoken to each other for around seven years.

However, the McGills and the victim lived near each other.

In the early hours, police had been alerted to a noise complaint in a neighbouring flat of the thug couple.

They went to the McGills door instead – Paula McGill said she had not heard anything so officers left.

The court heard around 10 minutes later, Miss Barrie then heard her buzzer going.

She looked out to find her daughter and her husband at the property.

Miss Barrie did not allow them in.

But, a short time later, the woman’s door was kicked open by 43 year-old Malcolm McGill.

Prosecutor David McDonald then explained: “Both McGills entered – Miss Barrie said she was in a state of shock.

“Paula McGill was shouting before Miss Barrie was dragged to the floor by the hair, some of it being ripped out.

“She kicked her multiple times on the face and head as she lay on the floor.

“Malcolm McGill stamped on Miss Barrie’s ribs once. She felt them ‘crunching’.

“Miss Barrie believes the whole assault lasted no longer than 30 seconds.”

The McGills fled with them being caught on a doorbell camera going out the close.

The stricken victim managed to crawl to her bedroom before a neighbour came in and got help.

Officers found the bloodied mum – she told them she had been attacked by daughter and son-in-law.

Police had to take her to hospital as there were no ambulances available.

She had a brain bleed, fractures to her nose, ribs as well as a collapsed lung, severe bruising and a wound to her lip.

Mr McDonald: “It was assessed at the time that the injuries would require ongoing treatment and further specialist input.”

She was able to leave hospital on May 12 2024.

The McGills were arrested that morning.

Paula McGill initially claimed she had been at a friend’s house at the time, but then admitted being in her mum’s close, but denied assaulting her mum.

Malcolm McGill made no comment.

Forensic evidence linked the pair to the crime including blood marks on Malcolm McGill’s “Crocs” shoes.

The pair pled guilty to a charge of assaulting Miss Barrie to her severe injury, permanent impairment and to the danger of her life.

The McGills returned to the dock today to be sentenced.

Lord Mulholland said the jail-terms would have been six years each, but for the guilty pleas.

He also imposed a non-harassment order on both banning them from going near or contacting Miss Barrie for life.

The judge said: “Breaching this order is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment.”

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The scheme is intended to be used for the processing of people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, without the need for a “personal interview”

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The Belfast knife-attack suspect was granted asylum under a fast-track application scheme because of his nationality.

Hadi Alodid, 30, only had to complete a Home Office questionnaire rather than attend a face-to-face interview because of the “security and humanitarian situation” in Sudan.

He travelled from the north African country to Paris and then on to Dublin before catching a bus to Belfast in February 2023.

Alodid was granted refugee status and given five years leave to remain in the UK, until 2028.

He appeared by video-link at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie.

The streamlined asylum process (SAP) scheme was set up when Rishi Sunak was prime minister, in an effort to double the average number of asylum claims processed per week in a bid to grip the backlog.

The Tory home secretary at the time, Suella Braverman, and immigration minister Robert Jenrick, have both since defected to Reform UK.

The scheme is intended to be used for the processing of people from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, without the need for a “personal interview”.

There are no longer any schemes for asylum seekers from any country that mean they do not have to be interviewed, it is understood.

According to guidance from when SAP was introduced in 2023, claimants from those countries had a grant rate of “over 95%”, meaning a less rigorous process could be followed to save caseworkers’ time.

Asked about her party’s part in introducing the scheme, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch told LBC Radio: “I wasn’t leader at the time, I also wasn’t in the Home Office at the time.

“All I can do is apologise to people.

“The people who enacted that policy have now run to Reform and pretending they had nothing to do with it. The rest of us are here trying to clean the mess up.

“Our kindness has been exploited. There was an assumption, certainly amongst the civil service, but even within the political class, that everybody claiming asylum was genuine. This is naive. We need to get tough.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said asylum seekers are now interviewed in “almost all cases”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “That was a system that was put in place by the last Conservative government, in part because they completely lost control of immigration… It was chaotic.

“And anyone who applies now is properly processed. Their details are taken and everybody is checked against the security databases.

“My understanding is, in almost all cases, that they will be interviewed.”

Once in the Republic of Ireland, Alodid would have been able to travel to Northern Ireland without facing any routine immigration border checks because of the Common Travel Area (CTA), the arrangement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which gives citizens the right to travel freely between both countries.

Gaps in the published data mean it is not known how many asylum seekers are travelling via Ireland to the UK or in the opposite direction.

But Home Office figures show the UK removed only one migrant under an asylum returns deal signed with Ireland in 2020.

The informal returns agreement was signed and then paused under the previous government.

The Government is preparing to intensify efforts to stop the CTA being used as a back route.

A minister said 1,500 enforcement operations linked to “illegal immigration” have taken place in Northern Ireland over the last 12 months with more than 1,200 arrests.

“It is something this Government takes very, very seriously,” Cabinet Office minister Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent told the Lords.

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