“I’m lucky my son walked away from this alive, but the next child might not,” she said.

The mother of a child injured after being hit by an e-scooter has called for them to be banned.

The four-year-old had been hit by an e-scooter as he exited a leisure centre in the Twinbrook area after going in to use the toilet.

The child required hospital treatment after suffering injuries to his face, legs and arms.

The child’s mother Trionagh Hunte said that he was lucky to walk away from the incident alive.

Trionagh added:”Something needs to be done about this before someone is kilt [sic]! I’m lucky my son walked away from this alive, but the next child might not! Get them off the road now.

“The state my child has been left in is an absolute disgrace.”

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West Belfast MLA Danny Baker called on parents to reflect on e-scooter use before it is too late.

“There was a serious accident yesterday where a child was hit by an e-scooter. I hope the wee man injured in Twinbrook makes a speedy recovery; yesterday was a very traumatic day for him and his family,” he said.

“On a daily basis, more and more accidents are taking place, people are being seriously hurt, mostly children. This is something we all must reflect on as a community and as parents. These scooters, along with e-bikes and scramblers, are illegal to drive on roads and footpaths.

” PSNI has been seizing some of the scramblers and e-bikes, but it is wider than scramblers. We all must be reflecting. I don’t believe parents, when buying e-scooters, think their child will get hurt or will hurt others, but some scooters are just so powerful, and it is a miracle no one has been killed. As a community, as parents, we must reflect before it is too late.”

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police received a report of a road traffic collision involving an e-scooter and pedestrian in the Twinbrook Road area of Dunmurry at approximately 3pm yesterday afternoon, Tuesday 26 ^th May.

“Officers, along with colleagues from other emergency services, attended, and a child was taken to the hospital for treatment for their injuries. Police inquiries are still ongoing.

“Police in Dunmurry are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed what happened or to anyone with CCTV, doorbell or other footage that could assist the investigation, to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 1120 26/05/26.

“Alternatively, you can submit a report online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

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Elena Rybakina crashed out of the French Open as the second seed fell to a three-set defeat to Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva in the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, looked on course for the third round when she won the opening set but Starodubtseva turned the match around in what became a lengthy battle in gruelingly hot conditions.

The world No 55 built on a one-sided second set to earn a double-break in the third, but Rybakina responded to force the deciding match tiebreak.

Starodubtseva, however, immediately took charge of the tiebreak to convincingly close out a 3-6 6-1 7-6 (10-4) victory, claiming the biggest win of her career and first top-10 victory.

“It’s hard to describe, I’m super happy,” Starodubtseva, 26, said in her on-court interview. “Elena is one of the top players. She has had an incredible year and I’m super proud of myself that I was able to do this today. It was a hard third set, but got it done.

“She’s again one of the top players, and you, you can’t be thinking that it’s going to be easy today. Even at 3-0 [in the third set], I had a feeling it might not be that easy. Tough match, but happy to be the winner today.”

Rybakina could have replaced Aryna Sabalenka as world No 1 depending on their performances in Paris but is still yet to progress past the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in eight attempts.

The former Wimbledon champion had won a clay-court title this year, however, triumphing in Stuttgart, and her early exit removes a potential obstacle from four-time champion Iga Swiatek’s side of the draw.

Meanwhile, Starodubtseva equals the best result of her career by reaching the third round of the French Open for a second consecutive year.

She is the third player from Ukraine into the third round of the women’s singles draw at Roland Garros, following seventh seed and Italian Open champion Elina Svitolina and 15th seed and Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk.

“I think clay is not the worst surface for me,” Starodubtseva said. “And the crowd was very, very nice today to me. Thank you guys. I really, really felt the support today. I heard my name so many times and I really appreciate it.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two key senators involved in a long-simmering debate over fixing college sports will introduce a bipartisan bill designed to break a congressional logjam that would regulate payments to players, limit them to one “free” transfer over their careers and create a “Lane Kiffin Rule” to restrict coach movement during the season.

Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees college sports, briefed The Associated Press on details of the bill they crafted in hopes it can get the 60 votes needed to clear the Senate.

“This is a stability bill, not just an NIL bill,” Cruz said, referencing the name, image and likeness payments that have led to football rosters with $30 million payrolls and reshaped the industry.

Cantwell said she and Cruz teamed on the legislation “because he and I really do believe the college sports system is in a bit of chaos.”

The bill looks very much like a “best of” pair of legislative proposals — one called SCORE, another called SAFE — that have gone nowhere over the past several months. It contains two elements the NCAA has supported: a limited antitrust exemption and a clause that would preempt much of the patchwork of state laws currently regulating NIL.

College sports has been looking to Washington for help as it grapples with rising costs of paying players and an out-of-control transfer portal that have threatened smaller sports, many involving women, that make up the backbone of the U.S. Olympic pipeline.

This bill, called the Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), would offer what Cruz and Cantwell said was very “targeted” antitrust protection — which was part of the largely Republican-backed SCORE Act that many Democrats opposed. That would be in exchange for what Cruz said would be “public-facing protections” for athletes in 10 areas, including guarantees for health insurance and scholarships and more stringent regulations for NIL deals from third parties.

“I think it’s better predictability,” Cantwell said. “Why did we do it? Because when you’ve got thousands of athletes being cut, hundreds of programs being cut, the risk to the whole infrastructure was too high to not try to get better predictability.”

The bill would limit players to one unrestricted transfer over the course of their college careers — a widely supported idea across the country — and would adopt something close to the five-year eligibility period that the NCAA appears ready to enact next month.

The bill also tries to regulate coaching movement. Kiffin’s sudden move to LSU from rival Mississippi while the Rebels were preparing for the College Football Playoff last season put a fine point on an issue that has only gotten worse in an era where teams spend millions to fill out rapidly shifting football rosters: Schools have less patience (and more money) to devote to hiring coaches for a quick fix.

Under terms of the bill, midseason coaching changes would be prohibited.

“It’s not fair or right to poach a coach in the middle of the season while the team is still competing,” Cruz said. “There’s a reason the NFL has a rule that you can’t do that. Obviously, NFL teams hire coaches away from each other but they don’t do so in the middle of the season.”

The bill would rework the Sports Broadcasting Act to allow conferences to pool their TV rights — a move proponents have said could add billions of dollars to the ecosystem in a conclusion the Southeastern and Big Ten Conferences believe is inaccurate.

The senators said leagues wouldn’t be required to join the media pooling but those that do would have to use a percentage of any increase from that to support women’s and Olympic sports. That alone could be a dealbreaker for the SEC.

“If you do nothing, then obviously, all these other women’s and Olympic sports and less revenue-driven activities are going to suffer,” Cantwell said. “I’ve heard directly from my institutions, they say they’re counting on this. Not creating this stability now would be a missed opportunity.”

The SCORE Act, which garnered little support from Democrats, was on the House schedule last week but was abruptly pulled off when the Congressional Black Caucus and NAACP came out against it.

But even if it had squeaked by in the razor-tight House, it had virtually no chance of passing as written in the Senate, where it would need 60 votes to break a possible filibuster.

“The Congressional Black Caucus and I have the same objective: stop the ‘SEC SCORE Act,’” said Cantwell, referencing the SEC as one of dozens of conferences who have supported that bill.

Some Democrats were reluctant to support a bill, like SCORE, that prohibited college athletes from being classified as employees of their schools. The new bill takes what Cantwell said was a “neutral” stance on the issue of employment.

“Senator Cruz and I have been very concerned about producing a bill that’s not just about the 1% of athletes who go on and have a professional career,” she said. “We took care of the entire ecosystem and have opportunities for athletes to continue to have that collegiate experience.”

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

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The UK has already seen unusually hot weather this year, with temperatures high enough to make sun safety a live issue well before many people have packed for their summer holidays.

For many of us, the instinctive response to good weather is to get outside while it lasts. But sudden bursts of hot, bright weather are also a reminder that sun protection needs to start before we are already on the beach.

UV exposure is not only a problem on foreign holidays or during peak summer. In the UK, UV levels can reach 3 or above from as early as April – this is the point at which many public health bodies advise taking sun protection seriously, especially for people who burn easily.

Abroad, particularly in southern Europe or long-haul destinations, levels commonly reach 8, 9 or 10 in summer. That is a significant jump from what most people living in the UK are used to at home, and one reason holidays are often when their skin is most at risk.

My research with holidaymakers suggests that people want to manage sun exposure better – especially when they are given clear, location-specific information about UV levels, plus practical reminders about when to protect themselves.

Staying safe in the sun works best as a combination of habits: seeking shade, wearing a hat, covering up, limiting time in strong midday sun, and using sunscreen properly.

Not just sunscreen

One of the most effective things you can do is seek shade during the middle of the day, when UV levels are at their highest – typically 11am-3pm in the UK and during similar peak hours abroad. A wide-brimmed hat, a long-sleeved layer for the hottest part of the day, and sunglasses that offer UV protection all add meaningful protection that sunscreen alone cannot provide.

Planning ahead makes this much easier. Before you head out, check the UV index for your destination. Most weather apps now include this. Then plan the highest-exposure parts of your day around it.

À lire aussi :
What is the UV index? An expert explains what it means and how it’s calculated

Think of sun protection as part of your morning routine: apply sunscreen before leaving the house, just as you would brush your teeth, and pack a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen in your day bag. It is also worth taking a light cover-up such as a T-shirt, kaftan or sarong to protect your shoulders and chest.

When you stop for lunch, that is your natural cue to reapply sunscreen. Many people on holiday take a midday break anyway. A shaded lunch, and even a short siesta during peak UV hours, is not just a pleasant holiday habit. It is good sun safety.

By the time you head back out later in the afternoon, you’ll have rested, cooled down and reapplied sunscreen, and you are making better use of the lower-UV part of the day.

Simple “if-then” plans can help too. If the UV index is forecast to be 3 or above, then I will cover up and seek shade. If I am heading to the beach, then I will reapply sunscreen as soon as I arrive and again after swimming.

One thing our research consistently shows is that most people underestimate how quickly their skin can burn, particularly in strong sun. Rather than trying to calculate a safe window, treat the UV index as your guide. If it is 3 or above, cover up and seek shade during the strongest part of the day.

Sunscreen works best when applied generously and reapplied regularly, but guidance on how much to use can feel vague. Our research suggests a helpful rule of thumb: for your face, neck and ears, aim for around a teaspoon’s worth. For a full body application, you need considerably more than most people use, roughly the equivalent of a golf ball.

Applying more than you think you need, and reapplying every two hours when you are outdoors, makes a real difference to the protection your skin gets. You should also reapply after swimming, sweating or towelling off, even if the product is labelled water resistant.

Apps are useful – if they change what you do

Studies of sun protection apps suggest these digital tools can help when they give people specific, usable information rather than vague warnings. In my research into holidaymakers’ views of these apps, participants valued UV index information and location-based reminders because these helped them to plan their day, rather than simply reacting once already in strong sun.

Personalised guidance can make sun protection feel less like guesswork by taking account of your skin type, where you are and how strong the UV is at that moment.

If you use a sun protection app, look for one that provides real-time, location-specific UV forecasting and concrete, practical advice, rather than general reminders. Even a basic UV index tracker can help you decide when to cover up, when to seek shade and when UV levels are lower.

The SunSmart Global UV app (supported by the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the UN Environment Programme and the International Labour Organization) shows what this can look like. It gives users location-specific UV information and indicates when sun protection is needed.

That is the kind of practical guidance holidaymakers in my research said they wanted: advice that helps them make decisions in the moment, not just general messages about staying safe in the sun.

Enjoy the good weather

Sun protection does not mean staying indoors. It means making the sun easier to enjoy: checking the UV index, packing a hat and sunscreen, seeking shade when UV is strongest, and reapplying before your skin reminds you.

Skin cancer is largely preventable, and small habits add up. The aim is to make sun protection part of the day – not an afterthought once you are already hot, tired and turning pink.

The former officer was suspended after allegations were made

A former police officer was found making indecent content of children. Robert Askew, 27, and a former Suffolk Police officer, appeared at Norwich Magistrates Court today (Wednesday, May 27).

Askew, of Quay’s Road in Risby, pleaded guilty to one count of making a category C movie of children. He will be sentenced on July 13.

Askew was arrested on August 13, 2024, after information was received regarding the uploading of illegal material online. Officers attended an address in Stowmarket and during a search of the property, police seized digital devices which were later examined by specialist forensic officers.

Askew was interviewed following his arrest and then charged. He was suspended as soon as the allegations were reported to the police’s Professional Standards Department (PSD).

DCC Dan Vajzovic said: “The overwhelming majority of our officers and staff are professional, committed and passionate about safeguarding our communities. This former probationary officer’s actions were abhorrent and undermine the fantastic work of so many of our officers and staff in protecting our communities.

“The public rightly expects the highest standards of behaviour from both police officers and staff, and we remain steadfast in our determination to continue to root out those who betray the confidence of the community we serve and fellow colleagues.”

Askew resigned from the force in April this year.

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