This morning, a package containing a device was discovered at Zakariyya Jaame Masjid on Derby Street.

The Bolton Council of Mosques (BCoM) said police were investigating the incident and urged people not to speculate while enquiries were ongoing.

In a statement, the organisation said there was “no cause for alarm” while urging members of the public to remain vigilant.

Rumworth councillor Ayyub Patel described Zakariyya Mosque as a longstanding focal point for faith and community life in the area.

He said: “I want to thank Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for their swift and professional response.

“Their ongoing enquiries are being conducted with the utmost care and diligence.  

“Our community stands together in calm and solidarity.

“We urge everyone to remain vigilant, cooperate fully with the authorities and avoid speculation while investigations continue.

“Rumworth’s strength lies in its resilience and shared commitment to peace and safety.”

Cllr Akhtar Zaman (Image: Bolton Council)

Bolton Council leader Akhtar Zaman also sought to reassure residents.

He said: “I would like to reassure the community that the local authority and GMP have always worked together to combat any threats to our communities.

“I am sure that GMP are doing everything they can to investigate this issue and I’d like to reassure people there is no immediate threat.

“People should not be worried about this.”

Further enquiries made by The Bolton News have clarified the circumstances surrounding the item, and there is no indication of any risk to the public.

It is understood that it was a USB battery pack which had been discovered.

Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park will be transformed for 11 days to allow families and fans to gather to watch the Games on giant screens, while getting the chance to try a diverse range of physical activities – inspired by the Summer of Sport.

Lanarkshire sports enthusiasts can enjoy free activities, sport and live screenings of Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games events at the Game On Live Site this summer.

Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park will be transformed for 11 days to allow families and fans to gather to watch the Games on giant screens, while getting the chance to try a diverse range of physical activities – inspired by the Summer of Sport.

The Game On Live Site, which is backed by £1 million from Scottish Government’s Summer of Sport programme and supported by funding from Commonwealth Sport, will be open from July 23 to August 2, with over 12 hours of daily coverage of the Games shown on three large screens.

Sport Minister Maree Todd said: “It’s ‘Game On’ for Glasgow and Scotland. This Live Site will help showcase the very best the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games has to offer, while bringing families of all backgrounds together to get active and stay active.

“We want the legacy of the Summer of Sport – the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Glasgow 2026 and the women’s hockey and cricket team world cup campaigns – to stretch far beyond the next few months.

“As part of our wider £40 million additional funding for the 2026-27 sport budget, our £20 million Summer of Sport funding can be truly transformational and will offer sporting opportunities across the length and breadth of Scotland.

“This is about ensuring that every child who attends a session still has the option to stay active in a year’s time and throughout their life.

“If we get it right, the impact will be felt long after this summer and will help to improve health and wellbeing, tackle inequality, strengthen communities and make sport accessible to all.”

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino defended World Cup ticket prices, saying Wednesday “if we are doing something wrong, everyone in North America is doing something wrong.”

FIFA priced tickets starting at $140 for the 48-nation, 104-game tournament that starts Thursday and priced regular seats up to $8,680 for the July 19 final in New Jersey. It raised prices for the final to $10,990 and then $32,970. After criticism, FIFA offered a small amount of $60 tickets to national federations for their regular supporters. He said Wednesday 130,000 tickets were offered at that price, out of 6 to 7 million total.

Infantino said the average ticket price was under $500 for the tournament and was comparable to other U.S. sports during their playoffs, a claim that while true for resale prices does not appear to be accurate for list prices. He said he was unconcerned about investigations by attorneys general in California, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

“We are very relaxed about it because before starting to sell 6.5 million or 7 million tickets we check what we do with the best lawyers,” he said. “We welcome every investigation.”

The NBA Finals have had wildly varied get-in prices, ranging from a minimum of about $500 for the first two games in San Antonio to about $10,000 for Game 3 in New York. Game 4 in New York was much less, dropping to about $4,000 on Wednesday

The Stanley Cup Final this year between teams in Las Vegas and Raleigh, North Carolina, has included a get-in price of at least $600 for each of the first four games of the best-of-seven series.

Infantino says FIFA is powerless to get US entry for denied Somali referee

Infantino said it was “unfortunate” that Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the U.S. and said people “should chill.”

He said FIFA cannot dictate to governments who to let into their countries, though it is working “behind the scenes.”

“We always try to make the situation as positive as possible and to find solutions,” he said. “Sometimes we manage, other times not.”

“We don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth,” he said.

He thinks FIFA deserves credit for ensuring Iran’s participation

Infantino praised FIFA for working through details that allow Iran to play in the tournament at a time the U.S. is at war with Iran. The Iranian team moved its training camp from the U.S. to Mexico and will fly to the U.S. before matches.

“I don’t know who else would have been able to ensure in these circumstances … Iran could come and play,” Infantino said.

Infantino claimed the tournament will be “the biggest event probably in the history of mankind.”

This press conference went smoother than Infantino’s opening comments in Qatar

Four years ago, Infantino scolded critics during a news conference ahead of the opener in Qatar. He lectured Europeans for criticizing Qatar’s human rights record during a bizarre availability in which he claimed to feel gay, like a woman and a migrant worker, among other bizarre claims.

Now 50, Infantino has been FIFA’s president since 2010 and intends to seek another term next year that runs through 2031.

Infantino kept an empty seat at the news conference for Christophe Gleizes, a French freelance reporter given a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria last year over an interview with a soccer official accused of ties to a banned separatist movement.

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AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The victim, who suffered multiple facial injuries and nerve damage, said her confidence has been shattered and her world has ‘become small’

A drunk rugby player repeatedly punched a woman in her fifties in the face as she sat in her car, a court has heard. Ben Jenkins reached through the open window of the vehicle to deliver a series of blows to his victim after she asked him to get out of the road.

The woman suffered multiple facial fractures and nerve damage in the attack. A judge said to describe what 28-year-old Jenkins did on the night in question as “disgraceful” would be to understate the seriousness of the incident.

The judge also said the defendant “did not have the guts” to admit his wrongdoing and tired to “brazen it out” at trial. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here

Swansea Crown Court heard that the incident took place on Guy Fawkes Night 2023 in the street outside the Nos Da bar on Victoria Road in Milford Haven.

When Jenkins – who had been “drinking heavily” – was asked by the victim to get out of the way so she could drive past he approached the driver-side door and repeatedly punched the woman in the face through the window. Georgia Donohue, prosecuting, told the court the victim was “unable to escape”.

The court heard that while the fractures have healed the victim continues to suffer facial swelling, has “mild facial asymmetry” which is likely to be permanent, and has “mild pain due to nerve damage” which again is likely to be permanent.

In an impact statement read to the court, the victim described the profound physical and psychological consequences of the assault. The woman said her confidence had been shattered and that her “world has become small”.

The court heard the Crown Prosecution Service originally decided not to charge Jenkins but the victim successfully appealed against that decision.

Ben Jenkins, of St Lawrence Avenue, Hakin, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, had previously been convicted at trial of inflicting grievous bodily harm when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

John Hipkin KC, for Jenkins, said the defendant was of previous positive good character, and is due to become a father in August. He said his client wants to put the “sad and tragic incident” behind him, and said in his submission Jenkins “is not a defendant the courts are likely to see again”.

The barrister said his client lost his previous employment as a result of his conviction but had secured a new job and was in a position to pay compensation to his victim.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said to call what the defendant did “disgraceful” would be to understate the seriousness of it. He told Jenkins: “You viciously attacked a woman in her 50s by punching her repeatedly in the face through her car window. You did so simply because she asked you, in your drunken state, to get out of the way of her car. You had been drinking heavily. I repeat – you, a rugby player, punched a woman in her late fifties repeatedly in the face”.

The judge said the defendant then “did not have the guts” to admit what he had done but instead chose to “brazen it out” at trial where a jury saw through his “lies”. He noted that Jenkins had written a letter in which he expressed his remorse for what he had done, and he said to the man in dock: “What a shame, Mr Jenkins, you were not man enough to do that two years ago”.

The judge said given the length of sentence Jenkins was facing the court was obliged to consider whether it could be suspended – he told the defendant that “By the skin of you teeth” he would avoid immediate custody.

Jenkins was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years, and must complete a 90-day alcohol abstinence requirement and do 250 hours of unpaid work in the community. The defendant was ordered to pay his vicitm £3,000 in compensation, and was made subject to a three-year restraining order banning him from contacting her.

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“In this case, the Met did not present its procurement strategy for approval, as required, and the process followed by the Met did not adequately demonstrate value for money for Londoners for a proposed contract at this value. Given the tight budgetary constraints the police are operating under, it’s even more important that robust processes are followed when awarding large contracts.

‘I don’t think any of us will ever be able to forget the image of a nine-year-old child and their family being put in the back of a Land Rover to be rescued from violent, racist thugs’

Twenty-seven people have been made homeless “because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals”, a UK minister has said.

Cabinet Office minister Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent told the Lords: “I think we need to remember what has actually happened and contextualise what’s happened in the last 24 hours, and what it’s actually led to.

“Twenty-seven people were made homeless last night because people went door-to-door to try and target foreign nationals to burn them out of their homes.

“I can only imagine the terror.

“A two-month-old is the youngest victim who had to be moved from her home and I don’t think any of us will ever be able to forget the image of a nine-year-old child and their family being put in the back of a Land Rover to be rescued from violent, racist thugs who were seeking to undermine them and to undermine their very sense of belonging in a country that many of them have lived in for decades.

“This is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

Lady Anderson was responding to Labour peer Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, the former SDLP MP for South Down.

Lady Ritchie said disorder in Belfast on Tuesday “seemed to concentrate on a pogrom of people of colour”.

Meanwhile, a school principal has hit out after pupils were forced to miss classes after being left homeless following a night of disorder in Belfast.

Terry Rodgers, principal at St Theresa’s Primary School on the Glen Road in West Belfast, detailed how a number of his pupils were forced to miss lessons today after they were burnt out of their homes last night or their families are too frightened to send them to school.

In a letter to parents, Mr Rodgers shared his sympathies with the victim of Monday’s stabbing incident and said that some of his pupils have been “left with horrific memories.”

Mr Rodgers said that “there can be no equivication nor justification for these actions.”

“As school leaders in West Belfast, we feel compelled to raise our voice. The terrible stabbing incident that occurred in North Belfast earlier this week was shocking and the thoughts and prayers of everyone in our school communities are with the victim and his family and friends at this time. No one deserves to suffer such an appalling attack, and like all right minded people we expect justice to take its course through the appropriate legal processes,” he said.

“Today, many of our classrooms have children missing. Some of the children were forcibly evicted from their homes last night by angry mobs and are spending today trying to find alternative accommodation, left with horrific memories that will last a very long time.

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

After years of preparation, a supersized World Cup has finally arrived.

This year’s tournament — which is hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — was expanded to 48 teams that will play in 16 stadiums in a record 104 matches over the 39-day tournament.

Mexico gets the World Cup started Thursday and will be a heavy favorite when it hosts South Africa in Mexico City. The second game of the day will be between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, Mexico. All four teams are part of Group A.

Canada and the United States will host their first games Friday. The Canadians will play Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto while the Americans face Paraguay in Inglewood, California.

What to watch June 11

Fox is the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the World Cup with all 104 matches in English on Fox or FS1. All matches are also available on the Fox One app. Telemundo and Universo will broadcast all of the matches in Spanish. Peacock is the streaming home for Spanish language broadcasts while Telemundo also has an app that includes all the matches.

1. Mexico vs. South Africa, 3 p.m. ET in Mexico City (FOX/Telemundo/Peacock)

2. South Korea vs. Czechia, 10 p.m. ET in Guadalajara, Mexico (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

Mexico is a heavy favorite against South Africa

Boosted by a home crowd, Mexico hopes to play better in this World Cup than in 2022, when it failed to advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1978. El Tri will be led by veteran Raúl Jiménez and 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora. Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa will be competing in the World Cup for a record sixth time. South Africa is playing in its fourth World Cup and first since it hosted the tournament in 2010.

The games in Mexico will be played at high elevation. The Azteca stadium in Mexico City is at roughly 7,300 feet while Guadalajara sits at 5,138 feet, meaning visiting teams will have to make a significant adjustment to the altitude.

South Korea hopes to build on ’22 World Cup success vs. Czechia

South Korea is one of the best teams in Asia and has qualified for 11 tournaments in a row since 1986. The Koreans made it to the round of 16 in 2022 before losing to Brazil. Son Hueng-min, 33, is the captain and might be playing in his last World Cup. The Czech Republic is back in soccer’s biggest showcase for the first time in 20 years.

World Cup sticker shock with sky-high prices

FIFA has faced pressure for sky-high World Cup ticket prices and sales tactics that fans say left them with worse deals than they wanted.

The attorneys general in New York and New Jersey, which is hosting eight World Cup matches including the final, announced last month that they are investigating whether FIFA’s ticketing practices violated consumer protection laws.

Some seats for the July 19 final are going for nearly $33,000.

In the U.S., bipartisan skepticism of Infantino, FIFA

In the deeply polarized U.S., few things unite elected leaders outside the White House quite like skepticism of Gianni Infantino and FIFA, the governing body for the world’s most popular sport.

It’s a sentiment that cuts across the divide and spans from Washington to state capitals and city halls.

There are mayors like Zohran Mamdani of New York and Karen Bass of Los Angeles, Democrats who’ve balked at ticket prices. Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who played Division 1 soccer at the U.S. Naval Academy, said FIFA has been “detached from regular people around the world.”

More World Cup news

Stats of the day

9. Only eight countries have won the World Cup, with six of those teams winning multiple titles led by Brazil’s five. The only first-time winners in the last 11 Cups came in 1998 when France won the first of its two titles and in 2010 with Spain.

10. There have been six defending champions who failed to make it out of the group stage, including in three of the last four editions. France made it back to the final in 2022 but Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and Germany (2018) all get eliminated before the knockout rounds.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Thomas Tuchel’s England have one last friendly ahead of next week’s Group L opener against Croatia

England’s match against Costa Rica has been delayed after lightning strikes and heavy rain in Orlando. Weather issues are set to cause major disruption to the tournament, with the warm-up game in Florida already falling victim.

Safety rules stipulate fans must be evacuated from stadiums and can only be allowed back in 30 minutes after the last recorded lightning strike in the area.

The game had been due to kick off at 9pm UK time but will now start later and could yet be abandoned if the weather persists. ITV afre reporting the new kick-off time will be 9.30pm but that is not yet official.

Here’s everything you need to know about watching England v Costa Rica.

What time is England v Costa Rica?

England v Costa Rica kicks was due to kick off at 9pm BST on Wednesday, June 10 but that will now not happen. ITV are reporting the match is expected to kick off at 9.30pm instead, although that has not been officially confirmed

The match will be played at Ineter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

Is England v Costa Ricaon TV?

Yes, the game will be shown live and free-to-air in the UK.

The match is being broadcast on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 8pm.

England v Costa Ricalive stream

Viewers can also watch the match live on ITVx.

All you need is a login to watch on mobile devices, tablets, smart TVs and desktop computers.

Quotes corner

England manager Thomas Tuchel: “We can’t be one of the favourites as we haven’t won it for so long.

“There are proven winners within the tournament. These are the favourites.

“We can compete for the trophy and dream big. We know what it takes.

“Our responsibility is on the effort – this is where the focus is – we see ourselves as competitors and challengers.

“We want to go all the way. I don’t think we’re heavy favourites.

“But we want to win. We know what it takes. It takes a calm mind and focus on our steps.

“If we want to reach the top of the mountain we go step-by-step otherwise we will get distracted.

“I have belief but it comes with responsibility, hard work, discipline and deal with setbacks. We dare to dream.”

You could win a £2m jackpot tonight as the National Lottery Lotto draw is made for the first time since a major change to the format was announced.

From tonight (Wednesday, June 10) players will have two chances to win from a single line of numbers. Each line will be entered into two draws, with two sets of six main balls and a bonus ball drawn using two separate machines.

A player could win in round one, round two, or both rounds, from a single Lotto line. The price will stay the same at £2 a line, and there will still be 59 balls. The games will also still take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays, starting from tonight.

National Lottery operator Allwyn says the chance of winning any prize will improve from one in 9.3 to one in 4.9, while the number of Lotto millionaires is expected to double from around 140 a year to around 345.

A life-changing jackpot of £5m could be won by one lucky person in tonight’s National Lottery Lotto draw.

It costs £2 per play. As well as being in with a chance of winning serious cash, playing the Lotto also helps raise around £30m each week for good causes across the UK.

Since its first draw on November 19, 1994, the UK National Lottery has distributed funds far beyond its winners. Around half of all ticket sales go towards prizes, while 28% supports good causes. The remainder is split between government duty (12%), retailers (5%), and the operator (5%).

The Thunderball will also be drawn tonight, offering a top prize of £500,000 – another shot at a big payout. We’ll have all the results as they come in below.

Players will have until 7.30pm to enter. Tickets can be purchased via the National Lottery website or at retailers across the UK.

The Lotto draw will take place at around 8pm, with the Thunderball results being drawn at around 8.15pm.

Follow our blog below for the results as they come in.

The nutrient could play a role in supporting cognitive health in later life

Consuming vitamin C could enhance brain function in elderly people, according to fresh research. Blood levels of the nutrient appear to be connected with brain connectivity amongst older adults, the study suggests. The research, which examined more than 2,000 Japanese individuals aged over 64, discovered that participants with reduced vitamin C levels in their blood plasma typically showed a smaller volume of grey matter in their brains.

They also displayed reduced connectivity across a group of brain regions called the default mode network (DMN), the study published in the journal PLOS One revealed. Scientists say their results indicate that maintaining optimal vitamin C levels may support brain health. Vitamin C, also referred to as ascorbic acid, is a vital nutrient that humans cannot manufacture themselves.

Research demonstrates it plays a key role in tissue building and repair, maintaining a robust immune system, and functioning as an antioxidant to shield cells from free radical damage. However, since the body cannot store it, daily consumption is necessary. Food sources include citrus fruits, such as oranges and lemons, bell peppers and chilli peppers, strawberries, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and tomatoes.

Earlier studies have identified connections between diets richer in vitamin C and reduced risk of cognitive decline in elderly people. Yet few investigations had examined blood plasma vitamin C levels directly and any possible links with brain structure and connectivity within neural networks. In the new study, researchers at Hirosaki University in Japan examined MRI scans and plasma vitamin C levels from 2,044 Japanese adults aged over 64. They measured each participant’s grey and white brain matter volume, taking into account individual variations in total brain size between subjects.

The team also assessed connectivity within the default mode network, which plays a role in various cognitive functions, including attention and autobiographical memory. After controlling for other factors that might influence brain structure and connectivity – such as age and education levels – the scientists discovered that participants with lower plasma vitamin C levels generally had reduced grey matter volume, alongside decreased connectivity within the default mode network, reports Gloucestershire Live.

Study co-author Dr Haruka Nagaya said: “These findings suggest the possibility that optimal levels of vitamin C in blood plasma could potentially support cognitive function and counteract cognitive decline. However, the findings do not confirm any such cause-effect relationship between vitamin C levels and brain health, and further research is needed to explore the biological mechanisms behind the observed statistical associations.”

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Researchers suggested that future studies could expand on these results by taking repeated plasma vitamin C measurements over time, factoring in additional lifestyle and nutritional influences, and incorporating participants from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. Co-author Dr Tomohiro Shintaku said: “Our study demonstrates that higher plasma vitamin C levels are associated with better preserved structural connectivity of the default mode network, a key brain network involved in cognitive function.

“This finding generates the exciting hypothesis that a diet rich in vitamin C might play a supportive role in maintaining brain health and mitigating age-related cognitive decline in older adults.”

He added: “What I found most fascinating about this research is that we were able to detect these subtle but significant associations between a single nutritional factor and large-scale brain networks by utilising a robust, community-based cohort of over 2,000 older adults.

“It truly highlights the potential impact of our everyday dietary habits on our brain structures.”