Firefighters in Gironde are still struggling to bring the blaze under control.

“The weather conditions are favourable, with less wind. But there are still active fires,” Captain Wilfried Schneider of SDIS 33, the Gironde Fire and Rescue Service, told the AFP news agency.

“The most active of these is between Marcheprime and Pierroton” on the outskirts of the Bordeaux metropolitan area, he said.

Live wildfire trackers show the fire is around seven miles from the wine city, which has a population of around 850,000.

The image below, shared on Instagram by SDIS 33, shows the blaze ravaging woodland in Saumos, a village around 25 miles west of Bordeaux, last night.

“Another night of intensive work. Determination intact, total commitment. We’re carrying on,” the fire service wrote in the caption.

BERLIN (AP) — Gunther von Hagens, the German anatomist who generated both fascination and revulsion around the globe with his “Body Worlds” exhibits of preserved human corpses, has died. He was 81.

Von Hagens’ family and the Institute for Plastination, which he founded, said he died on Friday. A statement they issued on Monday gave no further details. Von Hagens had announced in 2010 that he was living with Parkinson’s disease.

Von Hagens trod a fine line between science, entertainment and commerce with his touring exhibits, as well as headline-grabbing actions such as a public autopsy.

At the heart of von Hagens’ work was the so-called plastination process — replacing body fluids with liquid plastic that then hardens. That technique, which he started developing in the 1970s, prevented decay, left tissues intact and allowed him to display preserved corpses and their inner organs.

The resulting exhibition, “Body Worlds,” first went on show in Japan in 1995.

Two years later, the collection of partly skinless corpses went on display in von Hagens’ homeland, overcoming an attempt by local church leaders to block its opening on the grounds that it was disrespectful. Von Hagens said he was helping viewers understand how their bodies work.

The anatomist “is forced in his daily work to reject the taboos and convictions that people have about death and the dead,” von Hagens said of his work.

“I touch here a taboo, which is our body, and nothing is so near as our body is to us,” he said.

The shows used the corpses of people who agreed to donate their bodies for plastination. Critics argued that von Hagens bordered on sensationalism with his works, which included a corpse riding a plastinated horse, and a pregnant woman with an eight-month-old fetus inside.

Von Hagens “plays with the corpses like a child plays with dolls,” the Rev. Ernst Pulsfort, spiritual rector of Berlin’s Catholic Academy, said when the show first opened in the German capital in 2001. He argued that it catered to a “public lust for sensation.”

During a “Body Worlds” show in London in 2002, the anatomist — wearing, as ever, his trademark black fedora — conducted Britain’s first public autopsy in 170 years before a sellout crowd of hundreds, defying government warnings that it might be illegal.

Von Hagens declared it a “huge success.” The British Medical Association’s head of ethics, Dr. Michael Wilkes, said it was “degrading and disrespectful.”

Lindsay Clancy murder trial begins

American musician Carly Simon has opened up about her health following years out of the spotlight.

The 83-year-old You’re So Vain singer issued a statement to fans, confirming that she has Parkinson’s disease and was previously diagnosed with a form of cancer.

‘So many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence, asking how I am and what I have been doing. The truth is, I’ve been learning how to live with Parkinson’s disease,’ she began in her personal message.

‘It has taken me some time to understand the diagnosis, to adjust to it, and to decide how much I wanted to say about it publicly. Parkinson’s is different for everyone, and it can be unpredictable.

‘Some days I’m so tired I can’t get the day moving at all. On others, it gives me a little more room to move, think, work, and feel like myself.’

Simon recalled to People how she first noticed symptoms of Parkinson’s – a disorder of the nervous system that affects movement and worsens over time – when she underwent surgery.

‘The problems began with arthritis in both knees and one hip. I eventually had all three joints replaced, out with the old and in with delicate bouquets of metal and plastic.

‘After three replacement surgeries, I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process.

‘But my mobility continued to worsen. I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm. Overstuffed furniture became my enemy.

‘Once seated, I could feel as though I had been swallowed by the chair and might remain there permanently, like a guest who had badly overstayed her welcome.’

Simon said she eventually encountered periods where she could not walk at all without ‘considerable help’.

Her family also recognised that something was not right. After an ‘extensive evaluation’ at the Mayo Clinic, she was diagnosed.

While there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, she began treatment to manage her symptoms shortly after. Symptoms typically include tremors, muscle stiffness, and slowness of movement.

At the same time, however, she learnt that she had basal cell carcinoma on her face. BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for approximately 70% of all skin cancers.

While she was able to have the cancer removed, the procedure had a devastating impact.

‘The surgery affected my appearance and made me more self-conscious about being seen in public.’

Simon also survived breast cancer in 1997. She underwent a double mastectomy (surgical removal of both breasts), reconstructive surgery, and chemotherapy.

‘I have always been more critical of my appearance than anyone else could possibly imagine,’ she confessed, name-checking the ‘ironic’ lyrics of You’re So Vain and explaining how her health battles only ‘gave [her] inner critic new material’.

Ultimately, this led to her withdrawing from public life.

‘If a person is allowed to hibernate during both winter and summer, then I have become an all-season bear.’

Still, she has vowed to keep going, expressing her ‘deep’ gratitude for her children, family, and friends, plus medical professionals, for their support on days when ‘[her] own reserves were not enough’.

She also decided to speak out about her health woes due to the number of people reaching out with ‘genuine concern’, which she has been ‘touched by’.

What’s more, she’s been in the recording studio, with new music on the way.

‘I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working.’

Titled Comes in Waves and set for release on August 14, it marks her first record release in almost 20 years, her last one being in 2008.

‘The album includes songs and fragments of songs that had been waiting for me, some for years. There were melodies, verses, and ideas written down and tucked away for some unknown future when I would have the time and attention to finish them,’ she shared.

‘Apparently, that future is now.’

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This is the moment a violent rapist who abducted a teenage girl at knifepoint escaped from his guards and fled court.

CCTV footage from outside the High Court in Edinburgh showed the moment Aaron Strachan wriggled off two guards and made off on foot after sentencing was adjourned on January 13 earlier this year.

Strachan was about to be sentenced for stalking and abducting a 15-year-old girl before taking her to his basement lair where he raped her.

The 21-year-old wore a balaclava when he ‘left his lair’ and went ‘out hunting for a vulnerable victim’.

He tracked her to a bus stop, where he ran towards her with a knife and threatened to harm her. 

He then marched her through the streets and led her into his filthy basement in York Place, where he dragged his blade down a wall before raping her.

At the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, a judge told Strachan that he may never be released from prison. 

Judge Michael O’Grady KC told Strachan his actions were ‘the stuff of nightmares for every woman and every young girl, and every parent who waits at home for their child to return home safely’.

The 21-year-old pleaded guilty to the rape and two assaults on December 4, 2025, and on Monday pleaded guilty to attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Strachan was then seen walking down another street wearing a blue hoodie

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The violent criminal also stabbed one man in an ‘unprovoked’ attack on the same day he carried out his abduction.

Three days later, he struck again and attacked another man with a hammer – leaving the victim needing 11 titanium plates inserted into his fractured skull. 

His teenage victim told her mother about the attack and a major police search was launched.

Strachan was arrested while hiding behind the bushes in the Dalry area of the city.

He had been due to be sentenced earlier this year, but the hearing was delayed after Strachan escaped from a prison van following a hearing in January. 

Judge Michael O’Grady KC imposed an order for lifelong restriction on Strachan with a minimum period of five years in custody.

Strachan first approached the 15-year-old girl as she waited at a bus stop in Edinburgh city centre in the early hours of May 25.

After feeling uneasy, she walked away towards Princes Street, and Strachan was caught on CCTV following her, with his face covered by a balaclava.

He then ran towards the girl as she sat at a second bus stop, threatening to harm her while brandishing a knife.

After seizing her by the shoulders, he forcibly led her to the basement on York Place, where he blocked the door with wooden pallets before raping her.

After attacking the teenager, Strachan forced his victim to show him her bus pass so he could learn her name and would be able to find her. 

Judge O’Grady said: ‘The word predatory is perhaps overused in these courts, but it is an inescapable adjective to describe this truly bestial crime,’ he said.

‘You left your lair and went out hunting for a vulnerable victim.

‘Finding one, you stalked her, threatened her at knifepoint and took her to a dingy basement and raped her.’

Strachan pictured walking down another Edinburgh street after fleeing custody

The court was also shown CCTV footage of the moment Strachan slipped his cuffs and ran off while being led from the Court of Session to a waiting prison van.

The footage shows Strachan, dressed in a red top, walking between two guards towards the van, before ‘yanking’ his hand free and sprinting away in the direction of the Royal Mile.

He was then seen on CCTV walking down another street, now wearing a blue hoodie. 

Strachan’s lawyer Simon Collins told the court it had been ‘a moment of impulsiveness’ on Strachan’s part, saying his client had noticed the handcuffs linking him to a security guard were ‘not tight enough to prevent him from removing his hand’.

Describing the other two attacks, Judge O’ Grady told Strachan they had been ‘unprovoked’ and carried out on ‘virtual strangers’.

He said the attack on May 25 – the same day as the rape – had left his victim with two knife wounds to his right hand.

In the later attack, the judge told Strachan he had struck his victim on the head with a metal hammer, leaving him ‘semi-conscious’ on the ground and suffering seizures.

The man was later found to have a suffered a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, with the judge saying the consequences of the attack for the man had been ‘catastrophic’.

The judge also laid out Strachan’s ‘concerning’ criminal record, telling him he had appeared in court on 18 previous occasions in relation to 38 separate charges, eight of which involved possession of weapons.

The judge told Strachan he was ‘entirely satisfied’ he met the criteria for an order for lifelong restriction order – an indeterminate sentence that means an offender is not released until deemed to no longer pose a risk to the public.

The judge told him: ‘You are likely to remain in prison for many years, if indeed you are ever released.’

Strachan, who remained handcuffed to security officers throughout the hearing, showed no reaction as the sentence was handed down.

Earlier, Mr Collins told the court his client’s actions were ‘extremely serious offences’.

‘I accept that, and Aaron Strachan accepts that,’ Mr Collins told the court.

‘The inevitable outcome of the offences of this seriousness is that he is facing an extremely lengthy period in custody.’   

Faye Cook, procurator fiscal for High Court sexual offences, said: ‘Aaron Strachan’s actions in abducting his victim before raping her were calculated, predatory and caused profound harm.

‘Although this type of stranger offending is rare, this conviction reflects the gravity of his crimes and the commitment of prosecutors and police to bring him to justice.

‘Sexual violence and the use of weapons to intimidate and harm have no place in our society.

‘We will continue to take action against perpetrators while supporting victims throughout the prosecution process.’

Detective Inspector Gillian Wells, from Edinburgh’s Sex Offender Policing Unit, said: ‘This was a particularly harrowing attack which was carried out in the busy city centre area and had a profound effect on the young victim.

‘I hope this sentence brings her some sense of closure.

‘The other assaults also demonstrate what a violent individual Strachan is, with no consideration of the consequences of his actions.

‘I would like to thank local officers for their excellent work which ensured Strachan was quickly identified and arrested.

‘Police Scotland remains committed to tackling sexual crimes and bringing those responsible to justice. I’d encourage anyone who has been a victim of such crimes to come forward and report it to us.

‘We’ll thoroughly investigate and have specially trained officers and partner agencies to support you throughout.’

The judge praised the actions of the co-workers in the unit who had received the Snapchat messages and had reported Corvan’s actions to managers

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A care worker who took degrading pictures of dementia patients and sent them on Snapchat has been handed a probation order and given 100 hours of community service.

Ciara Corvan, 28, committed the offences while working as a healthcare assistant at a specialist ward for dementia patients at the Bluestone Unit at Craigavon Area Hospital.

Passing sentence at Craigavon Crown Court on Monday, Judge Patrick McGurgan said Corvan, from Cathedrals View in Armagh, had failed to treat patients in her care with the respect and dignity to which they were entitled.

Among the images Corvan sent to co-workers on Snapchat was a picture of a female patient in the bath; a video of her shaking a patient’s hand while music played in the background with a caption claiming she was having a “rave”; and a picture of her and a patient with their noses almost touching with the caption “why the f*** is she so close to me?”.

Earlier this year, Corvan pleaded guilty to a total of seven counts of ill treatment of patients under the Mental Health Order (NI) 1986.

The offences, which covered the period from the autumn of 2022 to the summer of 2023, involved four dementia patients being cared for on the ward. All four have since died.

Police said the case was the first prosecution of its kind in Northern Ireland.

Judge McGurgan told Corvan her crimes were committed while she was in a position of trust.

“You were employed to provide care for some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” he said.

“It is a hard enough decision, in my view, for a family to make to place a loved one in a care setting, particularly when that loved one is as vulnerable as the victims were in this case.

“The very least families can expect is that those who are entrusted to care for their loved ones are treated with respect and dignity.

“You, Ms Corvan, failed to do that.”

The judge praised the actions of the co-workers in the unit who had received the Snapchat messages and had reported Corvan’s actions to managers. Police were then alerted.

He said her offending involved the “degrading and humiliation of those who were completely helpless to defend themselves”.

During the hearing, Judge McGurgan summarised victim impact statements provided to the court by relatives of the patients involved.

He then sentenced Corvan to a two-year probation order and 100 hours of community service.

The judge warned Corvan, who now works for a grocery business, that if she breached the order she would be returned to court and would face the imposition of a custodial sentence.

A barrister for the defendant told the court she had written a letter of apology to the families.

The barrister said the letter said that Corvan was “truly sorry” and acknowledged that she could not expect to be forgiven, but did express hope that the families could see the “sincerity of her regret”.

The barrister added: “I just wish to be quite clear that Ms Corvan is not in any way trying to minimise her actions, and has the deepest regret for the pain and suffering that both the victims in this case and their families and extended families and loved ones have suffered as a result of her actions.”

After the sentencing hearing, the families affected said in a statement: “Our relatives were private, kind individuals who could not speak for themselves in their final years, and what was done to them was a gross violation of their basic human rights.

“While no sentence can undo the harm, we are grateful for the acknowledgement that this type of behaviour is indeed criminal conduct and that justice can be served against those who mock and torment the vulnerable.

“Every caregiver must be held to the highest standard of trust.”

The families said Corvan “sought entertainment in humiliating” patients who were already “tormented every day through the slow and cruel loss of their ability to do even the most basic personal tasks”.

“At a point when our loved ones depended on her to support them in making it through their final days, she not only chose to mock and degrade them but then distributed it through social media,” they said.

“She took advantage of the fact that our family members were suffering from a disease that meant they could not even communicate what they had endured.

“We now live every day with the thoughts that our loved ones had no way of saying or showing how much of the fear or the pain that she caused lingered with them until their final days.

“We are saddened by the seemingly lack of morals in this social media generation and hope that this sentencing today makes people stop and think about their conduct online and how they treat people.

“It has been shown today that this is criminal behaviour. If you are in a position of trust and care and not taking that position seriously, heed this warning. Please stop and think – if that was your mother or father, how would you want them to be treated?”

Detective Chief Inspector Claire McDonald from the Police Service of Northern Ireland said the victims in the case were “some of the most vulnerable in our society”.

“They and their families depended on former health care assistant Ciara Corvan to take care of them and they trusted that she maintained their health and their dignity as part of her care role – she did not,” she said.

“The victims were subjected to degrading and mocking behaviour. Corvan took photographs and video recorded her victims on her mobile phone and then shared the imaging with degrading comments via a social media messaging app.

“Corvan exploited their vulnerabilities, specifically their lack of capacity and communication, for her own entertainment. Today her actions are proven criminal, in the first case of its kind for Northern Ireland.”

Omar Majed appeared at Birmingham Crown Court via video-link from HMP Brinsford on Monday in front of Judge Andrew Smith KC.

Majed, who wore a grey prison T-shirt and tracksuit bottoms, did not speak during the hearing, choosing only to nod when asked to confirm his identity by the court clerk.

(Image: PA)

Sat at a table next to a prison officer, Majed grinned during the short hearing with his arms crossed and put his head down on the table multiple times.

A pre-trial review hearing for Majed, of Saltley, Birmingham, who was charged with communicating false information to police contrary to the Criminal Law Act, was set for September 30.

The defendant has not yet been arraigned due to the need for psychiatric reports.

At a previous hearing, which was cut short after Majed started to take his clothes off, a trial date was set for November 3.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Smith said: “You will next appear before this court on September 30 this year.

“Between now and then, various doctors will need to speak to you and you should co-operate with these doctors.

“You will, between now and September 30, remain in custody as you currently are.”

At the end of the hearing, Majed stood up and appeared to bow multiple times before the link with the prison was cut.

Kay, 52, was ushered off stage during his show at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on May 1 and the show was cancelled after the evacuation.

West Midlands Police later said “nothing suspicious was found” during searches.

In an update on May 2, the force said: “An evacuation of the arena was ordered yesterday evening after a report of a suspicious bag being left in the area.

“Following searches, nothing suspicious was found and we are grateful to everyone for their co-operation and understanding.

“As always, our priority is the safety of the public.”

The show was part of Kay’s Better Late Than Never national tour, which will see all proceeds donated to 12 cancer charities.

Smoke filled the air as the fire broke out on Sunday

Firefighters have shared the cause of a large field fire in a Cambridgeshire town. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called to Aliwal Road in Whittlesey at around 4.30pm on Sunday (July 26).

Smoke could be seen in the air as firefighters dealt with the incident. The cause of the fire has now been confirmed to be arson.

A fire service spokesperson said: “Cambridgeshire Constabulary has said there have been no arrests, a crime of arson has been raised and an investigation is on-going. Anyone with information or CCTV footage should use reference 35/57036/26.”

Fire crews scaled down the fire overnight. They reinspected it throughout Sunday and today (Monday, July 27) to make sure the area was safe.

A fire spokesperson added: “At 4.29pm on Sunday (26) crews from Stanground, the north roaming fire engine, Dogsthorpe, March, Thorney, Whittlesey, Wisbech, the Peterborough Volunteer Brigade, along with a specialist 4×4 vehicle from Thorney were called to a field fire on Aliwal Road in Whittlesey.

“Firefighters used hose reels and beaters to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading further.”

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Millions of benefit claimants could see their DWP payments arrive early in August 2026 due to the summer bank holiday

Millions of people claiming benefits could experience delayed payments from the Department for Work and Pensions next month, due to the summer bank holiday on Monday, August 31. Other payments will be issued as usual for the majority of the month.

Wales, England and Northern Ireland have the summer bank holiday on the same date. Payment dates that coincide with bank holidays are typically processed on the preceding working day.

Official government website guidance regarding bank holiday payments states: “Benefits are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account.

“If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday you’ll usually be paid on the working day before. This may be different for Child Benefit,” reports the Liverpool Echo.

Currently, approximately 24 million people across the UK claim some form of DWP-administered benefits, including state pension recipients, accounting for roughly one in three individuals. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here

The benefit payments that could be impacted by the August bank holiday include:

• State pension
• Universal Credit
• Pension Credit
• Child Benefit
• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Attendance Allowance
• Carer’s Allowance
• Employment and Support Allowance

The revised payment schedule also affects the state pension. The basic state pension is normally transferred directly to your bank account every four weeks.

The specific day you receive it corresponds with the final two digits of your National Insurance (NI) number. Here’s when payment should arrive based on those digits:

00 to 19: Monday

20 to 39: Tuesday

40 to 59: Wednesday

60 to 79: Thursday

80 to 99: Friday

The altered dates mean that funds will need to stretch further than in previous months, due to payments being made earlier. Should you be anticipating your benefits but they haven’t landed into your account, you’ll need to contact the Department of Work and Pensions on 0800 328 5644.

Bear in mind that the DWP may be closed during bank holidays.

Harry Heslop died at Cedar House on Foxwood Drive, Stockton, in the early hours of July 21, Cleveland Police previously said.

Appearing at Teesside Crown Court on Monday, Rebecca Hackett was not asked to enter any pleas to charges of murder and possession of a bladed article.

The 41-year-old, of Hartington Road, Stockton, will next appear at court for a plea hearing on September 24.

Judge Francis Laird, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, remanded the defendant into custody, with a trial listed to begin on January 11 next year.