The first incident, which took place at Broadfield Park, was reported to police at 6.15am this morning, and the second at Milnrow Memorial Park was reported at 8.38am.

Both women provided similar descriptions of the attacker, who was unknown to both victims.

The two victims are being supported by specialist officers.

The man remains in custody while police continue enquiries.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Greater Manchester Police on 101, quoting incident number 679 and 880 of  25/07/2026, or report information via GMP’s LiveChat service.

Information can also be submitted anonymously via the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Nasa is about to launch a space observatory that could help settle some of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy. The Nancy Grace Roman space telescope will study how the universe began, what it is made of and how it has evolved over time.

The observatory is named after Nasa’s first chief of astronomy and its first female executive. Nancy Grace Roman, who died in 2018 aged 93, made important contributions to our understanding of stars and played a crucial role in shaping Nasa’s space-based astronomy programme.

The telescope is undergoing final preparations ahead of a launch set to take place from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center in late August. It is eight months ahead of its original schedule, and under budget – a rare feat for a Nasa flagship mission.

Unlike the James Webb space telescope, which is designed to look at individual objects in extraordinary detail, Roman is built to survey the sky at scale. It will take in vast areas of the cosmos, allowing astronomers to build up a much broader picture of the universe and how it changes.

Roman has an unusual history. It began life as a “spare” spy satellite, donated to Nasa by the US government agency responsible for gathering intelligence from space.

Roman carries two main instruments, added by Nasa. These are the wide field instrument and the coronagraph. The wide field instrument will detect infrared light coming from the universe. Infrared light has wavelengths that are slightly longer than those of visible light. This allows the instrument to see through cosmic dust and look deeper into the cosmos.

Its field of view – how much sky it sees when pointed in a given direction – is about 100 times that of the Hubble space telescope’s infrared camera, but with similar sharpness. The wide field instrument’s capabilities also mean it can survey the cosmos about 1,000 times faster than Hubble. Observations that would take Hubble centuries could be completed by Roman in a fraction of the time.

The coronagraph is designed to block the overwhelming glare of nearby stars. The idea is a bit like placing a hand in front of the Sun to make it easier to see something faint beside it.

By suppressing starlight, the coronagraph will allow astronomers to test methods for directly imaging faint planets and discs of dust and gas around other stars.

Over the course of its mission, Roman is expected to detect billions of galaxies and tens of billions of stars. Roman’s combination of scale and precision gives the telescope its power. It will see enough of the sky to reveal broad cosmic patterns, while measuring galaxies and stars accurately enough to detect small but important effects.

Cosmic evolution

Modern cosmology – the study of how the universe originated and evolved – rests on a remarkably successful model. According to this model of the universe, ordinary matter – the stuff that makes up stars, planets and people — accounts for just a small fraction of everything out there. The rest of the cosmos is made up of two unseen, mysterious components.

The first is dark matter, which makes up about 25% of the universe. This form of matter neither reflects nor absorbs light, yet its gravitational pull helps hold galaxies together. The mission could help shed light on the nature of dark matter by tracking how it has shaped the formation of galaxies across different epochs of cosmic history.

The second unseen component is dark energy, which makes up around 70% of the universe. Its exact nature remains elusive, but dark energy is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate. For decades, astronomers assumed that it is constant, or uniform. However, recent results hint that dark energy could be changing over time. Roman will put these competing ideas to the test.

If dark energy is constant, it points to a universe that keeps expanding forever. If dark energy changes, it could point to new physics beyond our current theories.

Roman may help address a longstanding puzzle: why we observe the universe at a moment when the densities of matter and dark energy are roughly comparable. In the early universe, matter dominated.

In the far future, dark energy is expected to dominate completely. The present era appears to be a transition between the two – a cosmic intermission lasting billions of years, but brief in the lifespan of the universe.

This could be a simple coincidence or a clue to new insights about the cosmos. For example, it could be that dark energy is changing over time, that gravity behaves differently on cosmic scales or that some ingredient is missing from our model of the universe. Distinguishing between these scenarios would require observations across huge spans of cosmic time – exactly the kind of data that Roman will provide.

À lire aussi :
Dark energy: could the mysterious force seen as constant actually vary over cosmic time?

Beyond cosmology

Roman’s science extends well beyond dark energy. It will carry out the largest survey yet of planets beyond our solar system, detecting thousands of new worlds using a technique called gravitational microlensing.

Microlensing happens when the gravity of a foreground star briefly bends and magnifies the light from a more distant background star – acting like a natural magnifying lens passing between us and a distant object. If the foreground star has a planet, that planet can create a small extra brightening in the signal, revealing its presence.

Many of these exoplanets would be difficult to find with the two most widely used techniques to discover exoplanets – the transit and radial velocity methods. Using microlensing, Roman could find planets in wide orbits, low mass planets and even free floating worlds that are not bound to any star.

Roman is also part of a new era of survey astronomy. Its wide-field capabilities place it alongside other major missions. The European Space Agency’s Euclid space mission is mapping billions of galaxies to study dark matter and dark energy. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, built on a mountaintop in Chile, will repeatedly scan the southern sky.

Together, these observatories will help astronomers map the universe across different wavelengths, distances and timescales.

Roman will also work together with the James Webb space telescope, identifying large-scale patterns and unusual objects across the sky, which Webb can then study in detail. This combination of breadth and depth is increasingly important in modern astronomy.

Roman’s greatest impact may come from the unexpected. With repeated observations of large areas of sky, it will detect rare events and previously unseen phenomena. For astronomers, this is one of the mission’s most exciting aspects.

By mapping the universe in unprecedented detail, the Roman telescope will provide a powerful test of our current understanding of cosmology – and potentially point the way to new physics.

Over the past two seasons the Red Bull cars have had their issues, but Verstappen has generally been able to drive around them. Enough at least to win the 2024 title and push Norris to a final-round decider in 2025 with a strong finish to the season.

In 2026, there has been almost nothing to celebrate and frustration after frustration. There is little hope on offer heading into the summer break at the halfway point of a thoroughly trying season.

“For me, the whole qualifying session just went awful. We’ve been losing downforce on the car ever since FP3, and that just kept happening through qualifying, too. It’s just completely rubbish,” Verstappen added.

“There’s always something else that stops working or breaks down… I don’t know… I’m just fed up with it for now.

“They can see something went wrong again with the aero, that we lost downforce again, the car is just totally undriveable. If you take off wing, you get understeer; if you add wing, it just snaps. It’s simply impossible.”

Verstappen was not the only one to end the session with reason to be in a foul mood. His spin brought out yellow flags that compromised the final laps of the championship-contending Mercedes cars of Antonelli and George Russell.

For the first time this year there is not a Mercedes on pole position for a grand prix. Both Antonelli, who was again the quicker man, and Russell admit they were not in contention throughout the session, but that more would have been possible without the yellow flag.

Russell’s session ended with another mechanical issue as he was told to pull up on the pit straight at the end of Q3 because of a water leak. He was, though, a little more upbeat about making progress in the race.

“We were probably even further [away] yesterday, but we had the strongest race pace, which tends to say it’s not a car problem but a tyre problem,” he said. “Time will tell tomorrow if we struck the right balance between the qualifying setup and race set-up.

“We probably know we could make the car faster in qualifying trim at the expense of race performance. Time will tell tomorrow if we make that right balance. It’s going to be difficult to overtake. It would have been nice to be higher up.”

Wrexham and Leeds United face each other in Florida in the early hours of Sunday morning

Wrexham take on Leeds United in a pre-season friendly in the United States as both sides continue their preparations for the new campaign.

Wrexham head into the match after narrowly missing out on the Championship play-offs last season.

Phil Parkinson’s side finished seventh with 71 points from 46 matches following an impressive campaign at the Racecourse Ground.

The Welsh club will be aiming to go one step further this season, with the Championship play-offs expanding to include six teams for the first time.

The Red Dragons come into the game on the back of a 1-0 victory over Manchester United last weekend, while Leeds United are set to play their first pre-season fixture under Daniel Farke.

New signing Harry Wilson, one of several Welsh players at Elland Road, could make his first appearance for Leeds.

Kick-off time

Wrexham face Leeds United at 12:30am BST on Sunday, July 26, with the match taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

How to watch

The match will be shown live on Premier Sports 2, LUTV and Wrexham AFC Live.

Fans can also watch for free via BBC iPlayer and S4C Online.

Streaming

Supporters can stream the game through the Premier Sports app, BBC iPlayer and S4C Clic.

What they said

Phil Parkinson: “This pre-season has been about focusing on the group we worked so hard to put together last year, keeping them together and building on what we achieved. We want to get even more out of every player.

“If the right player becomes available and we believe they can improve the squad, then we’ll look to bring them in.

“Much of that work was done last season, and any additions will be players we feel can genuinely strengthen us.”

Ethan Ampadu: “It’s another pre-season and it’s always an exciting time for us as players.

“There’s plenty of running and hard work as we build our fitness and prepare for the season.

“Hopefully, we can improve on what we achieved last year.”

Tommy Fury has spoken out about the supposed effects of drinking breast milk and revealed his arms “doubled in size” after sampling some that Molly Mae left in the fridge

Tommy Fury has claimed that his arms “doubled in size” after drinking Molly Mae Hague’s breast milk. The boxer, 27, met Molly Mae, also 27, on Love Island in 2019 and they went on to have Bambi, three, together before welcoming son Midas into the world just over a month ago.

The reality star recently launched the What the Fury?! podcast with his dad John, and in the latest episode, he told his father: “I’ve drank breast milk,” to which John replied: “Are you kidding me?!”

Tommy explained that he had “a little taste” shortly after his eldest was born and added: “You know how much goodness is in that breast milk. Interestingly, there are also several growth hormones in breast milk. Although I’m not sure that they actually benefit a human adult in any way. My arms doubled in size.”

Tommy, who likened the taste of Molly’s milk to that of soy or almond milk, explained that he had recently drank some from a bottle that was in the fridge, and said: “Listen, power went through the roof, added another inch on my arms. It was fantastic!”

John, who is also father to Gypsy King Tyson Fury, couldn’t get on board with his son’s enthusiasm as he quipped: “I’d rather eat six tarantulas!”

The couple famously announced their newborn’s name announced his name with Tommy sharing the moniker on his shorts for his clash with Eddie Hall in Manchester.

Since then the public have been convinced the name Midas links to Greek mythology and the king of Phrygia, who was granted a wish that everything he touched turned to gold. However, Molly-Mae has now set the record straight.

In a recentvlog, Molly-Mae has revealed that their son was actually named after a robot boxing film, Real Steel. She said: “We have named our son Midas. His middle name is Thomas and his surname is Fury. So he’s Midas Thomas Fury. We had this name for a boy for quite a few years.

“I saw a couple of comments when the name was being rumoured about how the name originates from Greek mythology because there was a king called King Midas, and he was the king. I believe the story is that everything he touches turns to gold, and I do absolutely just like love that saying.”

She added: “But the same way Bambi is not necessarily named after the Disney character Bambi, is the same way Midas is not named after the Greek King. This is the most random story. I actually found the name from watching a film called Real Steel, which is like the most random film. It’s basically like Transformers.

It’s the most not me film ever. And I showed my mum it the other week. She was like, ‘This is so like random for you to like this film.’ And I was like, ‘I know, but it’s actually such a great film.

“It’s got Hugh Jackman in it, and it’s a film about robots boxing. And one of the robots in the film that was boxing was called Midas. I heard the name, and I thought this was years ago. I was like, “Wow, that’s a really cool strong name.”

“Like Midas, I’ve never heard of that before. I just thought Midas Fury, I thought, “Wow, what a strong name.” Then I mentioned it to Tommy, and he just absolutely fell in love with I don’t even know what timeline we’re looking at here.

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Around 10 caravans moved onto the Johnson Fold side of the popular park on Sunday (July 19).

Bolton Council officers visited the site the following day, carried out welfare checks and served directions to leave the land under Section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.

The authority previously said it would return after 24 hours to check whether the directions had been complied with and, if not, begin legal proceedings to obtain a court order requiring the group to leave.

Also at Moss Bank Park, the funfair confirmed it was closed today (July 25) following what the business described as incidents of antisocial behaviour involving children.

The family-run attraction said staff and customer safety had to take priority and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

Moss Bank Park funfair was closed today (Image: NQ)

Run by Moss Bank Park Amusements, the funfair had planned to launch a summer promotion offering unlimited rides for two hours for £5 this weekend.

No date has yet been confirmed for when the attraction will reopen.

The latest Traveller encampment comes just days after another unauthorised camp at Moss Bank Park, which was removed quickly earlier this month.

Traveller encampment today, July 25 (Image: NQ)

Earlier this year, Bolton Council installed barriers at entrances to Longsight Park in Harwood following repeated unauthorised encampments and concerns about antisocial behaviour.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by The Bolton News also revealed the council has spent more than £19,000 removing unauthorised Traveller encampments from council-owned land over the past two years.

The figures show the authority spent £16,926.90 during 2024-25 and a further £2,430 during 2025-26. No costs were recorded during 2023-24.

Traveller encampment (Image: NQ)

Unauthorised encampments on private land are generally the responsibility of the landowner, while Gypsies and Travellers are protected from discrimination under equality legislation.

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to treat someone less favourably because of a range of protected characteristics, including colour, race, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.

Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers have protected status under equality legislation.

Any criminal activity or anti-social behaviour should be reported to police via the non-emergency 101 number.

For further information, residents can email housingservices@bolton.gov.uk or call 01204 338721.

“Although the fire is now under control, firefighters will remain at the scene this evening tackling hot spots and carrying out damping-down operations to ensure the fire is fully extinguished. We continue to ask local residents to keep their doors and windows closed while crews remain on scene, as some smoke may still be present. Please also continue to avoid the area.

Officers received the first report at 6.15am from a woman who had been assaulted at Broadfield Park by a man she didn’t know.

The second report was made at 8.38am. This woman said she was assaulted at Milnrow Memorial Park, also by a man she did not know.

Police believe the two incidents could be linked as the two women both provided similar descriptions.

The force are looking for a black man, who was believed to be wearing a three-piece suit or smart black clothes and a dark coat.

He is also believed to have been carrying a suitcase.

A man matching this description has been on CCTV footage at Coco Lounge in the town centre.

He was seen leaving the venue at around 5am.

Police are now appealing for anyone who may have seen a man matching this description, as well as anyone who has CCTV, doorbell, dashcam, or mobile phone footage from the Rochdale town centre, Broadfield Park or Milnrow Memorial Park areas to come forward.

Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Willis said: “We have a robust investigation underway and are working at pace to identify and locate the man responsible. Detectives are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry and we are committed to identifying whoever is responsible and bringing them to justice.

“You will see an increased police presence in Broadfield Park, Milnrow Memorial Park and Rochdale town centre over the coming days and throughout this evening. Additional officers have been deployed to provide community reassurance and support our ongoing investigation.

“We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen a man matching the descriptions provided.

“If you were in the area, or have any mobile phone footage, dashcam, CCTV or doorbell, that could assist our enquiries, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please get in touch.”

Information can be submitted to the police on 101 or via the Live Chat function on the GMP website, quoting incident number 679 and 880 of  25/07/2026.

Alternatively, information can be submitted anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Good evening and welcome to our live blog on what is a massive night for Belfast’s own Caoimhín Agyarko.

The 29-year-old has dreamed about an opportunity like this for so long and now he finally has the chance to become a world champion on a massive stage.

The fight takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where the temperature is currently 34 degrees.

It is a huge night of boxing action as Anthony Joshua returns to the ring, but we will be focussing on Agyarko’s fight here, which is scheduled to start in around two hours’ time so here’s hoping everything goes to plan over there.

We will keep you up to date with all the action right here over the next few hours and hopefully at the end of it all Belfast has a new world champion!

The family of Madeleine McCann cheered on her younger brother Sean as he finished eighth in the final of the Commonwealth Games 400m men’s freestyle.

After a seven-hour wait in the East End of Glasgow, they returned for the biggest race of Sean’s young career after he qualified through the morning heats. 

His parents Kate and Gerry and twin sister Amelie watched proudly as they cheered on the 21-year-old and waved Saltire flags in the stands. 

Sean finished in a time of three minutes 53.47 seconds – 12 seconds slower than his morning swim. 

Kate donned a shirt emblazoned with the song title ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ – the song adopted by Scottish football fans.

Australia claimed gold, silver and bronze in the final, which Sean himself admitted he did not expect to qualify for.

But British eyes were on Sean, almost two decades on from the infamous Portugal family holiday which saw Madeleine abducted. The McCann family’s unimaginable tragedy still haunts him and Amelie, wherever they go. 

The 21-year-old had done exceptionally well to reach the final at his first major tournament 

Parents Kate and Gerry and sister Amelie in the stands cheering on Sean at today’s Commonwealth Games 400m freestyle final

The family sat with other Scottish fans in the stands and waved Saltire flags

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He is the younger brother of missing Madeleine McCann and was in the room when she was abducted from her family’s holiday villa in Portugal in 2007

But today, the family finally saw themselves talked about for a different reason as their son’s remarkable story took centre-stage.

Sean’s mother Kate has previously told how he ‘hated’ the water when he was first taken swimming – and yet he soon found his drive, attending up to nine two-hour training sessions every week, many requiring 4am starts.

Inspired by his sporting family – Kate and Gerry even went on a run on their first date – Sean’s dedication has paid off as he sets his sights on success in his first major international meet.

Sean came fourth in his heat and was cheered on today by both parents, as well as Amelie, who herself competes regularly in triathlons.

The elite distance swimmer is eligible to represent Scotland through his father, who was born in Glasgow.

This week a former member of Sean’s coaching team told the Daily Mail that the combination of a young man who was ‘really driven and never one to take the easiest route’, and parents who willed him on, had made him a powerhouse and his story an inspiration.

In his teenage years Sean’s parents would ferry him to training sessions at Braunstone Leisure Centre, a 20-minute drive from the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, where he would clock up an impressive amount of swim sessions a week, plus two or three punishing gym workouts.

For almost two decades Kate and Gerry McCann have been known as the parents of Madeleine (bottom right), the toddler who disappeared on a family holiday to Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007 – now the family will be known for something else

Amelie, Kate and Gerry McCann applaud as they watch the programme at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games on Saturday morning

Sean seen at the start of the final, which was dominated by his Australian competitors

Kate and Gerry ‘encouraged their children, but didn’t push them’ said the insider, who coached Sean as a youngster.

He remembered the young man being focused on the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad in 2023 and then deciding he wanted to race for Scotland and for GB in open-water events – so for swimming competitively he changed his nationality to Scottish.

‘For the Commonwealth Games, I was lucky enough to be at the trials in London when he was racing. It was great to watch him and talk to him between prep, to be a part of it and see his journey unfold,’ he said.

What a journey, too, for Sean, who is studying chemical engineering at Loughborough University – chosen for its unrivalled sports facilities.

Distance swimming is an unforgiving sport. Yet those who know Sean’s career describe a steady, determined progression, even during the Covid-19 lockdown when he would train out of the pool at home with Amelie, who is also a keen swimmer.

In the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, he reached the finals of the 400m and 1,500m freestyle, and has since qualified for the European Open Water Championships representing Great Britain.

Sean himself said this week that he was ‘very excited’ about the challenges ahead. ‘It’s the pinnacle really – of representing Scotland in the Commonwealth Games, and especially at a home games.

‘I’ve got lots of family up in Glasgow so that makes it even more special. I was there in 2014 watching as a kid, so to make it now, 12 years later, is really a full circle moment.

Amelie, Kate and Gerry McCann in the stands at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow ahead of Sean’s heat on Saturday morning 

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‘It’s my first senior games, so I’m just looking forward to be representing Scotland and doing my absolute best. I always tend to go out quite slow and build my way into a race. That’s just how I like to pace it.’

It’s quite the change from what Sean has been known for by many until now, solely for his close proximity to Madeleine’s disappearance.

He was, after all, in the same room when she was abducted from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in 2007 when he was just two.

Although he might not remember the international fallout, both siblings have grown up in the shadow of the mystery surrounding their older sister, who would now be 23.

The McCann parents have repeatedly spoken of their determination to ensure that Sean and Amelie could grow up with the most normal childhood possible.

‘Our worry is for our children,’ Kate said in 2017. ‘I think we’ve tried to educate them a little bit as well because obviously it’s not just us that has fallen victim to the downside of social media.

‘At some point you’ve got to realise that time is not frozen and I think both of us realise that we owed it to the twins to make sure that their life is as fulfilling as they deserve, and we have certainly tried our best to achieve that.’

Gerry also spoke about developing their independence. ‘I am certainly more protective than I was, but you can’t mollycoddle them,’ he said. ‘They have to be independent. There is increased anxiety but we can’t let that impact on them having a normal upbringing. Sean and Amelie are doing really really well; obviously they are not immune to the media, they hear things, they go to school, they hear the radio.’

For Sean, and by extension his whole family, this is his opportunity to step into the light of something new. The young swimmer is only just getting started – he has the 800m and 1,500m freestyle to follow.