The Juniper Street property in Irvine was deliberately set alight in the early hours of Thursday.

A house has been nearly destroyed and left covered in black soot after being torched in the early hours of the morning. Ash and discarded items cover the driveway of the Juniper Street property in Irvine, North Ayrshire, which was deliberately set alight at around 4.30am on Thursday, September 3.

Emergency services rushed to the Annick Gardens estate with firefighters on the scene for around seven hours. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews battled to get the blaze under control until around 11.15am.

Photos from the scene show the house all but destroyed after the shocking fire, which looks to have taken hold of the garage and upstairs rooms. The garage roof looks ready to collapse while the windows are charred from the black smoke and soot.

Archie Thorburn was a well-known and hugely talented valleys rugby player who represented Wattstown and Pontypridd

A valleys rugby club is set to pay tribute to one of their greatest ever players this weekend following his death.

Wattstown RFC confirmed the sad passing of club stalwart Archie Thorburn in a post on Wednesday morning. Thorburn, who was 59, made nearly 200 appearances for the club, and also played for Pontypridd RFC during his career.

He also played in four Worthing Welsh Districts Cup finals in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997.

During his time with the club, Thorburn scored a century of tries and will go down as one of the club’s greatest ever players.

The club are set to honour Thorburn with a minute’s silence ahead of their National League 1 East Central clash with Llanishen at the weekend.

In a post confirming the news, the club said: “Everyone at Wattstown RFC sends our deepest condolences to Archie Thorburn’s family at this incredibly sad time.

“A true Wattstown legend, Archie made 195 senior appearances, 10 youth appearances and scored an incredible 100 tries, renowned for his devastating pace.

“He also represented Pontypridd RFC and earned a Welsh District cap before returning home to Wattstown.

“This Saturday, we will honour Archie and his family with a minute’s silence before both our 1st XV fixture at Wattstown Park and our Athletic fixture against Dowlais.

“Once a Duck, always a Duck.

“Rest in peace, Archie.”

Andrew Wheeler, a committee member at the club, told WalesOnline: “Wattstown went through an era back then when they were known as one of the toughest sides in the Rhondda. Archie was a big part of that.

“I know it sounds a bit much, but it felt like they had every hard man in the Rhondda playing for them. Other teams didn’t want to play them because they were an aggressive very physical side.

“Archie was in the backline, so he was like, you know, a smaller build guy.

“But he had a lot of wolves in the pack doing all the dog, and he was a very fast guy. He could then run rings around people with the ball.

“He was a very, very nice gentleman,” he added.

“He had a lot of time for people. He was polite. He, yeah, he, he was a really nice man and you can see that in the amount of people who have spoke about him, really.”

The news has sparked a number of tributes on social media.

“Terrible news this, absolutely gutted when I heard,” read one. “Excellent player and more importantly a lovely person. My sincere condolences to the family and also all at WRFC. R.I.P. Archie.

Another said: “Archie was a great guy and brilliant rugby player, always greeted you with a smile and was a genuine nice man. Godspeed Arch.”

“So very sad to hear this. Deepest condolences from everyone at Treorchy RFC,” was the message from nearby Treorchy RFC.

ChatGPT has gone offline in a major outage.

Visitors to OpenAI’s chatbot saw an array of strange behaviour – including the site attempting to download an unusual file.

Users joked that the outage meant they would have to use their own brains at work. But it also led to an array of problems across other sites and apps, many of which rely on OpenAI for their artificially intelligent features.

Some users reported similar problems at other rival chatbots, such as Anthropic’s Claude and X’s Grok. But those appeared to be at least more minor in their scope, and continued to work for many visitors.

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1976: Founders Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne created the company on April 1, 1976, as they set about selling computer kits to hobbyists, each of which was built by Wozniak.

The first product was the Apple I. 

1977: Apple released the Apple II in June, which was the first PC made for the mass market. 

1981: Jobs became chairman.  

1984: The Macintosh was introduced during an ad break for the Super Bowl and later officially unveiled during a launch event. It was discontinued a year later and Jobs left the firm.

1987: Apple released the Macintosh II, the first colour Mac.

1997: Apple announces it will acquire NeXT software in a $400 million deal that involves Jobs returning to Apple as interim CEO. He officially took the role in 2000.  

Steve Jobs, then-chief executive officer of Apple, with the iPhone

2001: Apple introduced iTunes, OS X and the first-generation iPod.

The first iPod MP3 music player was released on October 23, 2001, at an event in Cupertino and was able to hold up to 1,000 songs.

2007: Apple unveils the iPhone. 

2010: The first iPad was unveiled.

2011: Jobs resigned in 2011 due to illness, handing the CEO title to Tim Cook. Jobs died in October from pancreatic cancer.

2014: Apple unveiled the Apple Watch. It also unveiled its first larger iPhones – the 6 and 6 Plus. 

2015: After purchasing Beats from Dr Dre, Apple launched Apple Music to compete with Spotify and other music streaming services. 

2016: Apple returned to its roots and announced the 4-inch iPhone SE. Meanwhile, the firm is embroiled in a legal battle with the FBI, involving the agency demanding access to the locked phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California, with his wife. The court order was dropped on March 28 after the FBI said a third party was able to unlock the device.  

2017: Apple introduces the iPhone X, which removes the home button to make way for a futuristic edge-to-edge screen design and a new FaceID system that uses advanced sensors and lasers to unlock phones with just the owner’s face.    

Jobs at an Apple event at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California

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2018: In a first for the company, Apple introduces new features in its latest operating system, iOS 12, that encourage users to manage and spend less time on their devices. The move was spawned by a strongly worded letter from shareholders that urged the firm to address the growing problem of smartphone addiction among kids and teenagers. 

2019: In January, Apple reports its first decline in revenues and profits in a decade. CEO Tim Cook partly blamed steep declines in revenue from China.

2020: In March, Apple closes all its brick-and-mortar retail stores outside of China in response to coronavirus. 

2021: In an online virtual event in April, CEO Tim Cook declares Apple’s goal of becoming carbon neutral for Earth Day. Later in the year, the iPhone 13 was announced. 

2022: In September, the iPhone 14 was announced. One of the new features included a new sensor to detect if a user had been in a car crash, as well as an improved camera system. 

2023: Apple brings back its ‘Home Pod’ after the first generation was discontinued. The ‘Home Pod’ can be seen as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home, as it is powered by voice commands. 

2024: Apple makes its first steps into artificial intelligence with the release of Apple Intelligence. The features are not all released at once, with many delayed until the following year. 

2026: Apple announces a leadership shakeup. After 15 years leading the company, Tim Cook steps aside from his position as CEO to become executive chairman. John Ternus, 51, Apple’s widely respected hardware chief, will take over as CEO on September 1. 

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The body of the former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic, who died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide and other atrocities during the war in Bosnia, will be flown to Serbia on Thursday, President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Vucic told reporters that the U.N. court in The Hague, Netherlands, has released Mladic’s body after he died in a hospital there. The court did not immediately comment.

Vucic said Mladic’s family will announce funeral plans in the coming days. He predicted that Mladic’s admirers could come to the funeral in large numbers. Many Serbs consider Mladic a hero despite his conviction for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the U.N. tribunal.

“It will be hard to secure and guarantee security to everybody,” Vucic said. He added that Serbia’s police and the state security agency predict that “tens of thousands” could attend. “It will be a demanding job for our (security) services and we will use everything at our disposal to provide security.”

Mladic was sentenced in 2017 for orchestrating the massacre of more than 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995; the yearslong siege of Bosnian capital of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 conflict; and other war crimes, including setting up concentration camps for detained non-Serb civilians and enemy soldiers.

After Mladic died last Thursday, thousands of Serbs held vigils and marches in his honor. That drew condemnation in the volatile region that remains ethnically divided more than three decades after the war, which started when Bosnia’s Serbs took control over swaths of the country’s territory to form their own state.

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Families of Mladic’s victims have said that his conviction by the U.N. court brought at least some justice for the brutal deaths of their loved ones.

Serbia, which backed the Bosnian Serbs during the war, is formally seeking European Union entry but remains defiant over its war role. Vucic last week accused the West and The Hague tribunal of blaming only Serbs for the crimes and bringing no justice for the Serb victims. He also accused the court of uncivilized behavior for not releasing Mladic on humanitarian grounds to die at home.

The massacre in Srebrenica was Europe’s first acknowledged genocide after World War II. A U.N. “safe haven” for Muslims, Srebrenica ended up being overrun by Serbs who forced men and boys to strip, killed them and bulldozed their bodies into mass graves.

Mladic was one of the most notorious figures of the war in Bosnia that left more than 100,000 people dead and over 1 million homeless before it ended in 1995 in a U.S.-brokered peace agreement.

Krisstoffer Henshall was walking on the eastbound carriageway of the M56 between junctions 14 (Hapsford) and 12 (Runcorn), at around 12.50am on Monday when he was involved in a collision with three cars – a black Dacia Duster, a red Kia Niro and a black Ford Focus.

Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, 38-year-old Kriss, from Golborne, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His next of kin have been informed and they are being supported by specialist officers.

Enquiries to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident are still ongoing and officers are continuing to appeal for information from the public.

Detective Sergeant Russ Sime, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said:

“We are aware of a number of rumours circulating in relation to this collision, including reports that Kriss had been to Creamfields, which are simply incorrect and I would urge people not to speculate.

“This is an extremely difficult time for his family and friends, and our priority is to establish what took place.

“As part of the investigation we are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident or believes they may have seen Kriss on the motorway prior to the collision, to get in touch.

“The same goes for anyone with any dashcam footage which may aid our investigation.

“Anyone with any information should contact Cheshire Police on 101 or via www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us, quoting IML-2407733.”

Following Kriss’ death, his family issued a tribute.

They said: “Our family is heartbroken by the sudden loss of Kriss, and we are struggling to understand and process this devastating news.

“He will be missed beyond words. We respectfully ask for privacy as we mourn his loss and support one another through this difficult time.”

Detective Sergeant Tom Barker, from North Yorkshire Police, said it is believed that the offenders were trying to steal car keys from the homes in Pateley Bridge, Dacre Banks, and Summerbridge on Thursday morning (September 3).

He said no one has “come to any physical harm”, as he moved to reassure residents by saying “incidents like this are rare”.

DS Barker said it is “unusual for offenders to return to the same area in quick succession”, but urged residents to “remain vigilant”.

He said there will be an increased police presence as the force investigates the three reports of burglaries at homes in Pateley Bridge, Dacre Banks and Summerbridge.

The detective said residents should “ensure appropriate security measures are in place to make it as difficult as possible for criminals to target their homes and vehicles”.

Anyone with information that could help the police investigation is asked to phone 101 quoting reference 12260172459.

Information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

​Wilson’s Food Hall in Seamer, near Scarborough, wants to construct a “modest” glass extension which would replace a currently “undefined outdoor seating area”.

​The popular and well-rated establishment said that the extension aims to provide additional, “comfortable seating that can be used throughout the year, rather than only during favourable weather”.

​“This would allow the business to trade consistently across all seasons, reducing its exposure to seasonal fluctuation and improving its long-term financial resilience.

The Type Of Glass Extension Propsoed By Wilson’S Food Hall In Seamer. Courtesy Of Applicant

​“The additional capacity would enable Wilson’s Food Hall to meet existing demand that currently cannot be accommodated, safeguarding both the business itself and the local jobs it supports,” it added.

​If plans are approved by North Yorkshire Council, the glass extension would protrude 3.2 metres from the front elevation and would be 7.3 metres wide.

​The business’s outdoor seating hours were extended to 7.30am to 7pm, Monday to Sunday, earlier this year.

​“Although the scheme was found acceptable, some initial concerns were raised regarding the impact on amenity by local representation and the council’s environmental health team. This proposed development would, in fact, reduce the impact on amenity by controlling the noise emissions,” the applicant said.

​“The proposal is a modern intervention and would improve the overall appearance of the existing building. In regard to heritage, the application sits within the Seamer conservation area and as such, the proposal is considered to preserve, and to some extent, enhance the conservation area,” according to a planning statement submitted to the council.

Elevations Of Extension Propsoed By Wilson’S Food Hall In Seamer. Courtesy Of Applicant, Harrison Pick.

​It comes as the business is hoping to turn the Newby and Scalby Community Hall into Wilson’s Food & Community Hall. However, the proposal has been met with objections from local residents who are concerned about a lack of consultation by the trustees of the current community hall.

​North Yorkshire Council has not set a date for deciding on the proposed extension plans which are currently open to representations from members of the public.

Hazel McQueen, one of the organisers from the Say NO To Larbert Data Centre group, told the Press Association: “When you see the amount of people here today, and the fact that Larbert alone had 7,000 objections, [Mr Swinney] needs to listen to the people, he needs to listen to the people of Larbert and the people of Scotland.