Two people are in custody

Two people have been arrested after a man was stabbed in Piccadilly Gardens tonight (Thursday, June 18).

Emergency services attended shortly after 7.20pm after reports of a ‘large disturbance.’

Officers found a man in his 20s with injuries ‘consistent with a knife’, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said.

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He was taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing.

A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.

A 24-year-old woman has also been arrested on suspicion of affray. They are both currently in custody for questioning.

Tony Farrell, 55, who lives in the Northern Quarter, was passing the Gardens earlier this evening and said he suddenly heard ‘sirens coming from all directions.’

He said: “I saw a man on the floor. I didn’t think much of it at first but then I saw police officers around him, tending to him and giving him first aid.

“He looked like he was holding his back. Paramedics attended as well and police taped off a big section of the Gardens, near the tram stop. There were detectives there as well.”

“It was just shocking” he said. “But it’s no surprise. It looks like there’s no end to it.”

A dispersal order has been authorised for Piccadilly Gardens and the surrounding area following the incident.

It will be in force until 8.40am tomorrow morning (Friday) and it covers Princess Street, Miller Street, Great Ancoats Street, the Mancunian Way, Fairfield Street and Whitworth Street as well as the Gardens.

Initially a large section of the Gardens including the track next to Piccadilly Gardens tram stop was taped off.

That led to Metrolink services being disrupted. The cordon has now been scaled down with services running again.

The Bee Network website says however: “Due to an earlier police incident, we are experiencing a minor delay on the Altrincham, Bury, Ashton, and Eccles Line.”

Two key players have been included in the Kingdom’s match-day 26 for Saturday’s huge Round Three clash with Ulster champions Armagh in Killarney

Kerry have been handed a major boost ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Armagh with two key players returning to their match-day squad.

All-Star goalkeeper Shane Ryan and fellow All-Star Sean O’Shea have been named in Jack O’Connor’s 26 while the Kingdom have one change in their starting team from last weekend’s victory over Kildare with Paul Murphy replacing Evan Looney.

Skipper Paul Geaney was a late replacement for Tony Brosnan the last day and retains his place.

O’Shea has been sidelined with a foot injury since the League final loss to Donegal while Ryan hasn’t played in 2026 so far with a quad injury.

Dublin, meanwhile, have made two changes for Sunday’s clash with Donegal in Croke Park with Eoin Kennedy and Sean Bugler favoured in place of Lee Gannon and Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne.

Elsewhere, Monaghan boss Gabriel Bannigan has named an unchanged team for Saturday’s clash with Leinster champions Westmeath in Clones.

The Farney return to St Tiernach’s Park one week on from beating Connacht champions Roscommon and Bannigan has kept the faith with the same starting 15 with Stephen Mooney and Stephen O’Hanlon retaining their places after being drafted in prior to throw-in against the Rossies.

There are three changes to the Dublin hurling team for their All-Ireland quarter-final meeting with Clare in Thurles on Saturday with Eoghan O’Donnell, Sean Currie and Ronan Hayes replacing Liam Rushe, Darragh Power and Brendan Kenny.

Kerry (v Armagh): S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; B Ó Beaglaoich, M Breen, G O’Sullivan; M O’Shea, S O’Brien; J O’Connor, P Clifford, D O’Connor; D Clifford, P. Geaney , D Geaney. Subs: S Ryan, E Healy, E Looney, K Evans, T Brosnan, C Trant, A Heinrich, G White, K Spillane, T Morley, S O’Shea, T Kennedy.

Dublin (v Donegal): E Comerford; G McEneaney; N Doran, D Byrne; S MacMahon, C McMorrow; E Kennedy; T Clancy, B Howard; S Bugler, C O’Callaghan, N Scully; P Small, C Kilkenny, C Costello.

Monaghan (v Westmeath): R Beggan; R Wylie, K Lavelle, D Byrne; D Ward, R O’Toole, C McCarthy; M McCarville, K Gallagher; S O’Hanlon, M Bannigan, O McGorman; J McCarron, A Woods, S Mooney

Dublin (v Clare): E Gibbons; C McHugh, P Smyth, E O’Donnell; C Crummey, P Doyle, C Burke; B Hayes, C Donohoe; F Whitely, D Burke, S Currie; R Hayes, J Hetherton, C Ó Riain.

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After dining lavishly on lobster, caviar and truffles in the opulent surrounds of the Palace of Versailles last night, Donald Trump affixed his signature to the much-anticipated memorandum of understanding that will, all being well, begin a 60-day ceasefire between the US, Israel and Iran.

The document was subsequently signed in Tehran by the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

“This was not easy,” the US president reportedly remarked as he wielded his trademark Sharpie marker pen – a statement that may go down as a huge understatement. The text of the deal reveals the Iranian negotiators drove a very hard bargain in return for opening the Strait of Hormuz, which the world now hopes will enable the global economy to recover from the considerable disruption of the past three and a half months.

This war has been an utter disaster for the US and Israel, writes Arshin Adib-Moghaddam of SOAS, University of London, who has been researching and writing about Iranian affairs for many years. Trump and his ally, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have failed to secure any of the outcomes they set out to achieve when they attacked Iran on February 28. In fact it has arguably left Iran, while battered, stronger strategically than it was before the war.

It’s not as if Iran-watchers haven’t warned of the danger of using blunt force against Iran. As Adib-Moghaddam notes here, he and fellow scholars and analysts have been stressing for years that the Islamic Republic was well prepared for the sort of asymmetrical conflict we have now seen it wage. And now, of course, it has demonstrated to itself – and the rest of the world – what a potent deterrent it has in its ability to shut down the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

À lire aussi :
Iran ceasefire deal confirms what we’ve been saying for years: military might doesn’t work

The state banquet at Versailles followed the 2026 summit of the Group of Seven (G7), which has been taking place this week in the French spa town of Évian-les-Bains. As Natasha Lindstaedt of the University of Essex notes, this was a clever move dreamed up by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who was desperate to avoid a repeat of last year’s summit in Alberta, Canada, when the US president walked out a day early.

On that occasion he refused to sign the usual unified G7 statement, complaining that he didn’t like the language on Ukraine. There was no such reticence this year. Macron was cock-a-hoop at what he called a “very deep change in the US approach”. It was, he said, “re-synchronisation” for the G7 on the war in Ukraine, which released a statement pledging unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its territorial integrity, which Trump also signed after what the US president said was a “very good” meeting with Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky on the summit’s sidelines.

Key to achieving this unity, says Lindstaedt, was the approach of the other G7 leaders towards the US president: flattery. As we know, this is something that has proved highly effective in the past.

À lire aussi :
Macron plays ‘Trump whisperer’ as the US president signs Iran ceasefire deal after a successful G7 summit

Republicans unimpressed

If Trump’s dining companions at Versailles were effusive in their congratulations for the US president’s deal, the reaction from many prominent Republicans in the US has been less than positive. “Reagan is rolling over in his grave,” commented Senator Bill Cassidy, who added that the war had been “the worst foreign policy blunder in decades”. It’s a view shared by much of the party’s old guard, who see the deal as a capitulation.

Quite how Iran managed to gain the upper hand in a conflict against two of the world’s best-armed militaries will make for an important case study for students of war. Jim Lamson and Matthew Moran of King’s College London explain how Iran managed to turn the tables and emerge not only undefeated, but arguably stronger.

À lire aussi :
How Iran gained the strategic upper hand in the war with the US and Israel

Israelis livid

Meanwhile, if the US president’s critics in the US are unimpressed, Israelis – friend and foe alike – are positively livid. David Horovitz, the editor of The Times of Israel, called it “a catastrophic capitulation”. Others have been less polite.

Benjamin Netanyahu has made no public comment since the deal was signed. It has been reported that he wasn’t shown the finalised agreement before it was signed (Trump commented this week of their alliance that: “We are the big partner and he is the very small partner”, which will give him an idea of where he stands).

The fact is, writes Simon Mabon, a Middle East specialist at Lancaster University, that despite being close allies, the US and Israel – but particularly Trump and Netanyahu – are at loggerheads over what they want from the war from any peace agreement that ends it. Most Israelis see any bid by Iran to develop a nuclear weapon as an existential issue, for which there can be no compromise. The war, meanwhile, is deeply unpopular in the US, where rising fuel prices and inflation are really beginning to hit home.

The war has also hurt Trump’s popularity which is at a new low, just months before November’s midterm elections, at which the Republicans are likely to lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, if not both. Netanyahu also faces an election in October. So the idea of a ceasefire with no resolution of the nuclear issue is anathema.

To further complicate the situation, the deal stipulates an end to the conflict being waged in southern Lebanon and makes the US responsible for guaranteeing that country’s territorial integrity. This would require Israel to withdraw, something the Israeli prime minister has firmly ruled out, setting the scene for some serious discord between the two leaders.

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All of which means we may well be hearing some more fairly ripe language from Donald Trump, who has recently told the Israeli prime minister he is “fucking crazy” and that he has “no fucking judgement”.

Strong words. But not without precedent. As Andrew Gawthorpe, an expert in US politics at Leiden University notes here, Netanyahu has a long track record of moving US presidents to profanity.

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Why US presidents end up cursing Benjamin Netanyahu

The red coloured vehicle, a 2010 Nissan Qashqai Diesel, is sitting in a prominent position within the street.

Motorists in Ayr are being driven round the bend by a seemingly abandoned car that is causing an obstruction in Parkhouse Street.

The red coloured vehicle, a 2010 Nissan Qashqai Diesel, is sitting in a precarious position within the town centre.

And motorists are having to dodge past the vehicle as they enter the one-way street because the car is jutting out at an angle and onto the roadway.

It is believed that the vehicle has been sitting there for around three weeks. Traffic wardens have placed at least six tickets on the front windscreen.

And questions are being asked as to why action hasn’t been taken to remove the vehicle from situ.

One prominent Facebook page, ‘C**p Parking in Ayrshire,’ which flags up poor parking in the region, has already picked up on the rogue vehicle.

One man posted this message: “This car has been here for three weeks now. The back end that is sticking out over the parking bay into the carriageway has been clipped.

“Instead of plastering it in parking tickets, shouldn’t the traffic wardens be contacting the appropriate body to get it lifted before somebody else clips it?”

Another message read: “We questioned this this morning thinking maybe owner in hospital or something. Why can they not trace owner’s address and do a wellness check?”

Another contributor said: “Traffic wardens need an education! You can’t just put ticket on. Only the first ticket is valid.”

Another poster said: “Phone the police. They will come and get the registration details and contact the owner to move it. My parents had a car that sat outside for four weeks. Police were called by a couple of the neighbours and the car was moved within a day.”

Ayrshire Live contacted Ayrshire Roads Alliance and was told that the vehicle has been reported to the police for uplift. ARA don’t have the powers to remove it.

Mayor Wu signed a letter of intent and a formal agreement will follow next April during Tartan Week.

Boston’s mayor admitted she placed on traffic cone on a statue of Bill Russell outside the city halls amid the Tartan Army’s antics.

Mayor Michelle Wu laughed when asked about the trend after she officially made Boston and Glasgow sister cities.

“I think we may see some lingering traditions from their visit, and I have to admit I also put a cone on Bill Russell’s head outside today,” Mayor Wu said.

“It’s been fun. I mean, the cones are pretty fun.”

She added: “I think that it’s such a sense of playful, joyful surprise when you can see that happening.

“We do need cones that need to be in the right place to stay in the right place, so we need to find additional cones for that, but it’s just a sense of joy everywhere.”

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The traffic cone tradition is most associated with the statue of the Duke of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow.

Since the late 1980s, a cone has been atop the statue’s head and it has been persistently replaced whenever it is removed.

Mayor Wu also praised the Tartan Army for bringing positive energy to the city and for cleaning up after themselves along the way.

“No Scotland, no party’ has been absolutely been stuck in my head all the time,” she said.

“I think one other bit of incredible feedback that I’ve gotten is that in space after space, where the Tartan Army has has occupied, whether it is the fan march or other spaces, they’re cleaning up after themselves completely.”

Mayor Wu added: “They’re gathering all the litter, putting it away when the trash cans are overflowed, putting it in a little pile next to the trash cans.

“It’s a mayor’s dream, really.”

Mayor Wu signed a letter of intent at The Haven, Boston’s only dedicated Scottish bar, which has served as the unofficial Tartan Army headquarters throughout the tournament, on Thursday.

A formal agreement will follow next April during Tartan Week.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Mayor Wu said the sister city agreement is “an enduring partnership from there on out”.

She called First Minister John Swinney a “lovely leader” and said it was an “honour” to welcome him into Boston’s City Hall.

She said they had a conversation about the shared history and heritage that Boston and Scotland communities have.

They also discussed how devoted they are to tackling hunger and poverty, especially for children.

“There were a lot of shared values there, and a lot of places where we’ll look to work together,” Mayor Wu said.

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Amen Teklay, 15, died after being found seriously injured on Clarendon Street in Maryhill last March.

A trial was shown CCTV and footage of a teenager being chased down a street in Glasgow with a weapon just days before he was allegedly murdered.

Amen Teklay was found seriously injured on Clarendon Street, Maryhill, on the evening of March 5 last year and died at the scene.

Two teenagers aged 16 and 17 have gone on trial accused of murdering the 15-year-old in a sword attack in Glasgow.

The trial began at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday and jurors were shown CCTV and mobile phone footage leading up to the day of Amen’s death.

Footage filmed on a phone on February 12, 2025 – nearly a month before Amen was murdered – showed Amen being assaulted by a group of three boys on Great Western Road.

Prosecutor Adrian Stalker said the altercation was “three against one”.

The jury was also shown footage from March 2, 2025 – three days before Amen’s death.

At approximately 8.45pm, a group of three young males, apparently including one of the accused, was seen on CCTV footage outside the Lismore pub in Partick.

Detective Sergeant Jennifer Piggot, the first witness in the case, told the court that Amen could be seen approaching the group before a stand-off took place.

Mr Stalker said: “It looks like there’s been some kind of confrontation.”

He added that the group of three could be seen “circling Teklay around the bus stop” by the pub.

“It appears both [the accused and Amen] have weapons at some point.”

Ms Piggot confirmed to the jury that it looked like both teenagers possessed “large knives or machetes”.

One of the accused teenagers could then be seen on mobile phone footage, apparently chasing Amen down the street.

The video ends with an image of the accused holding a large knife that Mr Stalker said “widens then tapers on the end”.

The murder charge alleges that the two teenage boys, with their faces masked, assaulted Amen and brandished a frying pan and a sword or similar instrument at him at Glenfarg Street and Clarendon Street on March 5 last year.

It is alleged that the pair, who cannot be named due to their age, chased Amen and struck him on the body with the sword, leaving him so severely injured that he died.

The two boys deny the charge and the 16-year-old has lodged a special defence of self-defence.

The 16-year-old boy is also charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice on March 5, 2025 by hiding a blood-stained top and disposing of a sword or similar instrument, by means unknown to the prosecutor.

It is also alleged the 16-year-old, while acting with another person, behaved in a threatening or abusive manner on March 2 last year in that they brandished a sword and metal barrier or similar instruments at Amen and chased him.

The 16-year-old is also charged with unlawful possession of a blade, namely a sword or similar instrument, at a number of locations in Glasgow between March 2 and 5, 2025.

It is also alleged that, while acting with two other people, he assaulted Amen on February 12 last year on Great Western Road, Glasgow.

The two teenagers have both pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Jurors were sworn in on Thursday at the trial which is taking place before Lord Colbeck at the High Court in Glasgow.

Addressing the jurors, he told them: “You must reach your verdicts based on the evidence.”

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Earlier, a large section of the Gardens including the track next to Piccadilly Gardens tram stop was taped off.

That led to Metrolink services being disrupted.

The cordon has now been scaled down with services running again.

The Bee Network website says however: “Due to an earlier police incident, we are experiencing a minor delay on the Altrincham, Bury, Ashton, and Eccles Line.”

Ivory Coast forward Elye Wahi was arrested in France on suspicion of spot-fixing just two weeks before the World Cup started

Canadian authorities have confirmed that Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi will be permitted to represent his country in Saturday’s clash against Germany in Toronto, having previously been refused entry. Wahi was arrested on suspicion of spot-fixing just a fortnight before the World Cup got underway, in connection with an incident during a match for French side Nice last month.

This initially prevented him from crossing into Canada, putting a crucial group stage fixture for the Ivory Coast in jeopardy. Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey was also refused entry into Canada, missing Wednesday’s match against Panama in Toronto. However, with no formal charges brought against Wahi, Canadian authorities granted him clearance to enter the country and feature against Germany.

Wahi started in Ivory Coast’s 1-0 victory over Ecuador in their World Cup opener on Sunday, with Amad netting a 90th-minute winner in Philadelphia. It was a monumental result for the nation, who could secure a place in the knockout stages with a victory over either Germany or Curacao.

The Athletic reported on Thursday morning that Wahi would be absent from the squad for Saturday’s showdown with Germany. The Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) confirmed in an official statement that Wahi had been denied permission to enter Canada.

“The administrative authorizations required for his entry into Canadian territory could not be obtained at this point,” the statement read.

The FIF also confirmed that Wahi would remain in the United States, with the team based in Philadelphia for the duration of the tournament. Hours later, the FIF announced that Wahi would be permitted to enter Canada following a U-turn by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The IRCC confirmed in a statement: “Canada has been consistent that hosting major events does not change Canada’s immigration laws. Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies, while maintaining the safety and security of Canadians as a top priority.

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“In exceptional circumstances, Temporary Resident Permits may be granted to a person who is inadmissible or does not meet the requirements to enter or remain temporarily in Canada.”

Wahi remains the subject of an ongoing investigation, with allegations that he deliberately picked up a yellow card during a match against Metz on 17 May, before being arrested by French police on 29 May.

Following his release from police custody, Wahi was given the green light to travel to North America for the World Cup. While Wahi has now secured clearance from Canadian authorities, Ghana midfielder Partey was not afforded the same leniency by immigration officials.

The IRCC told the BBC: ”Canada has been consistent that hosting major events does not change Canada’s immigration laws. Every person seeking to come to Canada is assessed individually, based on the facts available and the law that applies.”

Partey is facing eight criminal charges, relating to incidents from 2020 to 2022.

Ghana could return to Canada for the Round of 32 if they finish second in Group L, which would mean Partey would miss out on the knockout clash.

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An application from Cook & Holman Ltd to convert the former Grant Ashley Hair & Beauty Salon, in Poppleton Road, into The Carriageworks bar have been withdrawn.

City of York Council planning officers stated they would take no further action on the application.

The reason for the plants being withdrawn have not been publicly stated.

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Plans stated the bar would have served coffee along with beer and wine for consumption on and off the premises.

The plans would have seen the venue open from 8.30am to 4.30pm from Monday to Wednesday and until 11pm from Thursday to Saturday.

It would have closed on Sundays.

No amplified music would have been played and there are no plans to put seats outside.

A noise impact assessment lodged as part of the application found there would have been no change to ambient noise levels as a result of the conversion.

The front of the building has stood vacant since Grant Ashley closed in April 2024.

Plans stated an extension built at the back of the building in 2012 would remain in use by another hair salon business.

A flat on the first floor of the building is above the proposed shop and bar and is out of the application’s scope.

They added the conversion would put the empty space to positive use and bring activity to the corner of a residential street.

The boy failed to attend school and his parents couldn’t be reached, prompting police in Taiwan to issue a missing-person alert before he was found safe at sea

A frightened youngster was discovered adrift at sea on a massive polystyrene slab a day after he failed to appear at school.

The 11 year old pupil was absent from lessons on Tuesday morning, and alarmed by his unusual non-attendance, his teacher tried reaching his parents but got no response, reports the Mirror.

The lad, identified only by his family name Tsou, had previously been flagged by social services as belonging to a vulnerable household, triggering a welfare visit to the family residence. Despite numerous knocks at the door, there was no answer, leading officers to issue a missing-person bulletin.

That same afternoon, while the hunt continued, a fisherman noticed a child bobbing in the water at the mouth of the Zhonggang River off Zhunan Township, Taiwan, perched on a chunk of polystyrene.

He promptly alerted authorities and coastguard personnel raced to the location and succeeded in bringing the youngster, subsequently confirmed as Tsou, safely ashore in an urgent rescue mission.

Following the rescue, they got in touch with his father, who is employed in Hsinchu, and made arrangements for him to pick up his son.

Preliminary enquiries indicate Tsou may have journeyed unaccompanied from nearby Houlong Township to the coastal spot to play.

The precise details and his reasoning are still being examined. The Miaoli County Government’s Education Department has now stepped in and is offering counselling and assistance for both the youngster and his parents. Two years ago, a youngster was discovered trapped inside a large inflatable bubble drifting at sea by a shocked sailor who was enjoying a family boat trip.

Rafael Graça do Prado, then 32, was out on the water with his children when he spotted the unusual object floating off Lazaro Beach in Ubatuba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 24.

Video footage captures the see-through bubble bobbing in the waves with the young lad, approximately eight years old, trapped inside.

It’s understood the child had been playing with his parents on the shore inside the bubble, which was tethered by a rope to prevent it from drifting away. However, the rope had broken and the youngster floated out to sea before being fortunately spotted by Rafael.

His immediate worry was whether sufficient oxygen remained inside the ball.

“I was worried about whether he was able to breathe or not because the balls can be dangerous,” he said. “There is a certain amount of time that you can breathe inside it. I calmed him down, and that was when my daughter started filming.”

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