OSLO, Norway (AP) — A Norwegian court said Monday that it will announce its verdict next month in the trial of the eldest son of Norway’s crown princess on charges including rape, following proceedings that cast a shadow over the royal family.

The Oslo District Court said that the verdict in the case of Marius Borg Høiby will be delivered on June 15.

During six weeks of court proceedings that ended on March 19, prosecutors sought a prison sentence of seven years and seven months for Høiby, who denies the rape allegations.

Høiby, 29, is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit by a previous relationship and the stepson of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to Norway’s throne. He is charged with 40 offenses in total, including four counts of rape between 2018 and 2024.

Defense lawyers for Høiby, who has no royal titles or official duties, said that there was no evidence to support the rape charges. He has, however, admitted to lesser offenses, including drug possession, transporting 3.5 kilograms (7.7 pounds) of marijuana in 2020, traffic violations and breaches of a restraining order involving a former partner. He has also partially admitted to acts related to violence and threats but disputes key aspects of those allegations, including intent.

The defense team has said that a maximum sentence of 18 months would be appropriate for the charges he has admitted to. It argued that Høiby has lived under extraordinary media pressure due to his royal connections, which they said has shaped public perception of the case.

While the trial has played out, Mette-Marit separately has faced scrutiny this year over her connections with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That has raised questions over her judgment, though she is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Martin Farrell, who manages the Chapmans store in Glasgow Road, made it round the 26.2 mile course in Manchester in under three hours raising money for Alzheimer’s Research.

A Wishaw butcher has raised cash for charity and produced a great time at a recent marathon.

Martin Farrell, who manages the Chapmans store in Glasgow Road, made it round the 26.2 mile course in Manchester in under three hours raising money for Alzheimer’s Research.

A Chapmans spokesperson said: “A huge congratulations to our very own Martin Farrell, the manager of our Glasgow Road shop in Wishaw, who ran in the Manchester Marathon on Sunday, April 18.

“He raised over £1100 for Alzheimer’s Research and came in 920th place of the 28,000 participants who crossed the finish line.

“He finished the race with his own personal best time of 2 hours and 57 minutes, and all at Chapmans are proud of his achievement.”

The Adidas Manchester Marathon is the UK’s second largest marathon and one of Europe’s largest is an iconic event drawing participants from all over the world to the vibrant streets of Greater Manchester.

Many regular runners find this the ideal event to get a personal best time, whilst everybody finds the incredible Mancunian support throughout the course unforgettable.

Alzheimer’s Research UK currently has a network of 15 centres of research excellence across the UK supporting hundreds of scientists.

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The charity is dedicated to making life-changing breakthroughs by forging partnerships and investing in research in the UK and across the globe.

It also funds research into understanding the diseases that cause dementia, improving diagnosis, finding out more about how to reduce risk, and developing treatments.

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READ MORE: SNP’s Clare Adamson claims Motherwell & Wishaw seat for third victory in a row

Asking for the tag to be removed, the solicitor said as the weather improved Taggart wanted to wear shorts and take his child swimming and to sports grounds

A Belfast man facing domestic abuse offences had a bid to remove two of his bail conditions refused today.

A solicitor acting on behalf of 28-year old James Taggart said a request to remove an electronic tag was to enable his client to wear shorts and take his son swimming and to sports grounds in the summer.

The bid to remove the tag was refused, as was a request to remove a 10pm to 5am curfew, at Belfast Crown Court.

From Cu Chulainn House on Victoria Parade, Taggart is facing eight domestic-related offences spanning a period from December 1, 2024 to April 27, 2025.

These offences include two counts of non-fatal strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage.

He has not yet been arraigned on the charges due to the current withdrawal of services by criminal barristers in a dispute over Legal Aid but his solicitor told Judge Philip Gilpin that Taggart was “vehemently contesting” them.

Taggart’s solicitor said his client has been on bail for 13 months and has abided by the conditions imposed with “no hint” of any breaches. The solicitor added that due to the strike it was “unlikely” the case could proceed this year.

Asking for the tag to be removed, the solicitor said as the weather improved Taggart wanted to wear shorts and take his child swimming and to sports grounds.

Saying Taggart not being able to do this was affected his mental health, the solicitor also presented the Judge with a photograph of an injury on his client’s leg whilst wearing the tag.

Opposing the bid to vary Taggart’s bail to remove the two conditions, a Crown barrister said both were deemed necessary to protect the complainant.

The Crown barrister told the Belfast Recorder: “She remains supportive of the prosecution and she has advised the police that it gives her sufficient and significant piece of mind knowing that he has a curfew and a tag that prevents him from attending her house.”

Saying Taggart was “not a man who is a stranger to these courts”, the Crown barrister revealed he has 61 previous convictions which included prior incidents of a domestic nature against the same woman.

Regarding the domestic-related charges currently faced by Taggart which he denies, the Crown barrister said this included an allegation that he attacked her whilst she was driving. The woman also alleges that Taggart regularly grabbed her by the neck, punched her in the face on a number of occasions and tried to attack her with a hoover.

Branding Taggart as a “man with a propensity for violence” and one unable to “contain his impulses”, the Crown barrister said the tag and curfew were “designed to put a curb on those impulses” and should not be removed.

The prosecutor said: “Your Honour will be very, very well aware that unfortunately our courts are overwhelmed with the number domestic violence cases.

“We’re asking, for the protection of the complainant and her children, that Your Honour do not remove what are two very necessary conditions.”

The Crown barrister added: “It’s simply not good enough to say ‘I want to wear shorts so I don’t need a tag anymore.’”

After listening to submissions by both the Crown and defence, Judge Gilpin said he accepted Taggart has been on bail for a “significant period of time” without issue and that if he disputed the charges it would be “some time” before a trial takes place.

Refusing the application to remove the tag and curfew, Judge Gilpin said this was because they restricted Taggart’s movements and offered reassurance to the complainant.

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James Charles is walking back his explosive tirade against a former Spirit Airlines worker who asked him for help after losing her job.

The beauty influencer, 26, sparked backlash after he posted an expletive-filled rant about a woman who sent him a GoFundMe link in a message asking for support after she said she was laid off in Spirit’s sudden shutdown last weekend, which cost over 17,000 people their jobs.

In the original video, which has since been deleted, Charles said: “I just got a DM on here from a girl that said, ‘Good morning, James. I know you’ll probably never see this, but if you could just take one minute to read it would really mean a lot to me. I’m really struggling right now because Spirit Airlines just filed for bankruptcy and I have lost my job. Here’s a GoFundMe link. Any donations help.’”

While laughing, he responded: “I’m sure they do, sweetheart. I’m sure they do. You know what else would help you? Getting another job. Yeah, try that.”

He continued: “Because in the time that it took you to copy and paste the same f*** ass message to myself — who you don’t follow, by the way — and probably a hundred other influencers and celebrities, you could’ve applied for a hundred other jobs. But you didn’t, ’cause you’re a lazy piece of s***, and you’re entitled, and you think that influencers and celebrities should fund your life for you. Why would I ever help you?”

The video quickly raised eyebrows online, with social media users criticizing Charles as “entitled,” as one wrote on X: “‘Welcome to the real world’ yet he doesn’t even exist in that world as an influencer. He is so beyond out of touch and is acting like he understands the struggle.”

Charles deleted the clip and went on to issue a shirtless apology Saturday on TikTok, where he called his video “stupid” and “unnecessary.”

“It was rude, it was obnoxious, it was privileged, and most importantly, it was completely f***ing unnecessary,” Charles said. He went on to acknowledge that he could have ignored the message, but instead made a mistake in bashing the jobless woman.

“It was obnoxious, and I shamed her for asking for help in a situation where she was clearly struggling, and this could have been her absolute last resort,” Charles said. “I feel awful because that wasn’t my intention. And I really hurt a lot of people.”

He added: “I’m super sorry, especially to the woman from Spirit Airlines.”

Millwall welcome Hull City to The Den with the prize of a trip to Wembley and a chance to continue their quest of achieving Premier League football next season

A place in the Championship play-off final is on the line on Monday as Millwall host Hull City in the semi-final second leg at The Den.

The bookies have priced the hosts as the odds-on favourite in this tie at 4/6 with BetGoodwin while Sky Bet have Hull at 10/3 and Betfair 13/5 for a draw. You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers.

The tie is finely balanced after Friday’s first leg ended 0-0, with Millwall denied a late winner when Ryan Leonard’s effort was ruled out for a foul. The Lions finished third in the regular season – their best second-tier placing since 1993-94 – after missing out on second spot by a single point, and they remain on course to chase a first-ever Premier League campaign.

Alex Neil’s side return to a ground where they have been tough to beat, winning four of their last six home matches without conceding. Millwall kept 11 clean sheets in 23 home league games this season — the best record in the division — although they have not beaten Hull at The Den in their last four attempts since April 2022.

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Hull, by contrast, only sealed sixth place on the final day after edging Norwich 2-1, and will hope their previous play-off pedigree counts for something, having gone up via this route in 2007-08 and 2015-16. But they travel to London short on momentum, with just three wins in their last 13 matches and five draws in their last eight.

The Tigers are also winless in their last five away games and have not won on the road since beating Wrexham on March 10. Even so, they have won their last two away meetings with Millwall, including December’s 3-1 victory, and will be aiming to rediscover that cutting edge after a flat attacking display in the first leg.

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Millwall vs Hull City Team News

Millwall will again be without Lukas Jensen, Caleb Taylor, Daniel Kelly and Massimo Luongo due to injury.

Alex Neil is expected to name a similar side, although Barry Bannan has given him something to think about after a lively cameo at the MKM Stadium. Josh Coburn will also hope to keep his place ahead of Mihailo Ivanovic after overcoming a hip issue to play 86 minutes in the first leg.

Hull, meanwhile, are still missing Eliot Matazo, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Cody Drameh, though Drameh could return in time for the final if the Tigers make Wembley. Sergej Jakirovic may stick with an unchanged XI if there are no fresh problems, with Oli McBurnie set to lead the line after ending the regular season as the division’s joint-second top scorer with 17 goals in 38 games.

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“I think that is quite an exciting journey in terms of where we pivot to next,” she told reporters

A “seismic political shift” following last week’s elections has been hailed as exciting by Northern Ireland’s First Minister.

Michelle O’Neill was speaking after the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru topped the polls in Scotland and Wales.

She said that she and Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald have spoken with Scottish First Minister John Swinney and Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth, who is set to become First Minister of Wales.

She said they spoke of “the potential that we have to find the common ground to work together to build towards a brighter, better future for our respective people”.

“We have had a seismic political shift in terms of the outcome of the election,” she told reporters in Parliament Buildings in Belfast on Monday.

“I think it’s quite an exciting juncture, the very first time we have nationalist first ministers in Scotland, Wales and here with myself.

“I think that is quite an exciting journey in terms of where we pivot to next.

“We want better for our people, we want a better arrangement for our people, and we have committed to work together on that common ground, to work out how we can bring about positive change for our people, and at the core of that change is about independence for our people, free from the limitations of Westminster, free from the disregard from Westminster and towards a bright, more positive future.”

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SDLP leader Claire Hanna said the UK is “changing substantially”, adding her party is determined that Northern Ireland “won’t just be a passenger in that”.

“The symbolism of the first ministers is significant, but we’ve got to use the power that we have here, and we’ve got to do the work of persuasion,” she said.

However, she also pointed out that “symbolism doesn’t put bread on anyone’s table”, and emphasised the need to “use power responsibly and change people’s lives”, adding her party in Opposition is “working every day” to press ministers in terms of their responsibilities.

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However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson dismissed the view, describing a vote against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and not for the dismantling of the United Kingdom.

He also described “two and a half” nationalist first ministers, referring to the joint office at Stormont shared by his colleague Emma Little-Pengelly.

“The First Minister of Northern Ireland is in a joint office with this unionist,” he said, motioning towards Ms Little-Pengelly standing beside him.

“Nothing has changed, Scotland had a First Minister that believed in Scottish independence last week, and the week before, votes for nationalism in Northern Ireland have not increased by one iota in percentage terms since 1998.

“More importantly, right throughout the United Kingdom, unionist parties got more votes than anywhere else, and anybody else in the elections last week.”

He added: “People in Scotland were voting against Keir Starmer, not the union, people in Wales were voting against Keir Starmer, not against the union, and when we get our chance, people in Northern Ireland have their say next year, I guarantee that unionism will win that election, and if unionists can bring themselves to co-operate they will win in a way that cannot be ignored.”

Meanwhile Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said it is “clear that people are fed up with politics”, across the world.

She called for reform of political systems, and particularly criticised the first-past-the-post election system as “biased towards extreme views”, adding it “doesn’t give the narrative of the majority”.

“We need to reset the dial.

“People are not wrong to be frustrated at politics, though I may not agree at how they express their frustration. If we as politicians don’t step up and make the difference that is required, the public are going to make a difference, whether that’s a difference that will lead to better outcomes for them, I think, is highly questionable,” she said.

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The Saffrons had a remarkable 6-17 to 2-26 win over Carlow in round one while the Erne County defeated Longford. Down begin their Tailteann Cup campaign this Saturday against Leitrim

Antrim and Fermanagh have been rewarded for their round one wins at the weekend with home draws in round two of the Tailteann Cup.

The Saffrons had a remarkable 6-17 to 2-26 win over Carlow in Netwatch Cullen Park after extra-time on Sunday with Cargin’s Benan Kelly scoring the winning goal.

Mark Doran’s men will now face Tipperary in round 2A with the winners progressing to the quarter-finals.

Fermanagh are also just win more win away from a place in the quarter-finals following a hard-fought 1-24 to 2-17 win over Longford in Brewster Park on Sunday.

The Erne County will now face Wexford, who were promoted from Division Three, next weekend.

Should Down see off Leitrim this Saturday evening, they would be on the road to Offaly in Round 2A. If they lose, they will have home advantage for a Round 2B clash with Carlow, with the losers of that game being eliminated.

London take on Laois in the other 2A clash while one of Wicklow and Limerick will be gone from the Tailteann Cup after they drawn against each other.

Clare and Longford is another eye-catching knockout pairing while Sligo will seek to bounce back from their home loss to Tipp when they travel to Waterford.

All games are set to take place on the weekend of May 23/24 with times and venues to be confirmed by the CCC later in the week.

Tailteann Cup Draw Round Two draw

Round 2A

Antrim v Tipperary

Fermanagh v Wexford

Offaly v Winner Down/Leitrim

London v Laois

Round 2B

Wicklow v Limerick

Clare v Longford

Waterford v Sligo

Loser Down/Leitrim v Carlow

** First named team at home

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Burton Constable Hall will host its first-ever 1940s weekend on September 26 and 27, following the success of last year’s VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations.

Alasdair Hutson, chief executive of the Burton Constable Foundation, said: “The response to our VE Day celebrations last year was fantastic and showed there’s a real appetite for events that bring history to life.

Burton Constable Hall near Beverley is planning to build on last year’s VE Day celebration (Image: Supplied)

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“We’re excited to build on that with our first dedicated 1940s Weekend, creating an immersive experience that we hope visitors of all ages will enjoy.”

Expanding from a one-day event to a full weekend, organisers promised a lively and authentic journey into wartime Britain.

From uniforms and music to poignant stories of service and sacrifice, the weekend promises to be a meaningful step back in time.

Images from a 2025 VE Day celebration at Burton Constable Hall (Image: Supplied)

The event will feature living history, military displays, firepower demonstrations and period entertainment, alongside re-enactments, vintage vehicles and themed traders.

A Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast is also planned, pending confirmation.

A Hall spokesperson said visitors will be able to explore the East Riding Yeomanry exhibition inside the hall, which has been on display since opening during the VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations last year and highlights the region’s wartime contributions and heritage.

Evening events will extend the experience into the night, with live music and dancing planned for both Friday and Saturday.

Images from a 2025 VE Day celebration at Burton Constable Hall (Image: Supplied)

The Leeds City Stompers will headline Friday night, while The 309s will perform on Saturday.

Burton Constable Hall said it hoped the weekend will attract both local residents and visitors from further afield, offering an opportunity to learn, remember and celebrate together.

Tickets are now on sale, with options including day tickets, parkland access and weekend passes.

Evening dance tickets must be purchased separately.

For more information visit https://www.burtonconstable.com/DB/events/1940s-weekend

Skye lost her hearing for six years

A mum left virtually deaf for six years after using cotton buds to clean her ears can finally hear properly again after undergoing wax removal treatment. Skye van Rensburg first damaged her hearing after accidentally perforating her left eardrum while cleaning her ears with a cotton bud.

Years later, she suffered another ear mishap after using a cotton bud in her right ear – leaving her with almost no hearing at all. The mum, 21, said she had become so used to the silence that she did not realise how bad her hearing had become until she underwent microsuction treatment six days ago.

A video she shared of the wax removal procedure has since racked up 583,000 views and more than 54,000 likes on social media. Skye, from Winsford, Cheshire, said: “It first happened at my home and I realised I had hearing loss pretty much instantly. I was cleaning my ears in the shower with a cotton bud and went too far.

“The pain came within two minutes and was severe. I pushed the cotton bud in too far and perforated my ear drum.”

Skye added: “Symptoms were extreme earache and tinnitus that sounded like metal gates crashing. The pain travelled down the side of my face and neck resulting in four phone calls to 111.”

After seeking medical help the following day, she was told she had perforated her ear drum and needed excess wax removing by a specialist. But Skye was too frightened to go through with the procedure. She said: “I didn’t go because I thought it would really hurt after the perforation.

“At the time I didn’t know perforations healed themselves. I was terrified I had completely lost hearing in my left ear.”

Over time, she adapted to the hearing loss – but it soon began affecting daily life. Skye said: “I have a toddler and I was struggling to hear her cry at night from the other room.

“So I bought a camera. I also struggled hearing knocks at my door and my balance was really off. I would constantly hear the crashing metal gates sound from the tinnitus. I felt really vulnerable.”

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She later damaged her right ear while using another cotton bud. Skye said: “Luckily, this time I didn’t perforate it. I just pushed wax up against my ear drum resulting in muffled hearing. So I had no hearing at all in my left ear and minimal hearing in my right ear.”

The mum eventually visited an audiologist who carried out microsuction treatment to remove the built-up wax. Skye said: “He told me my perforation had completely healed. And once the procedure was finished 100% of my hearing came back.

“I was mind blown. I didn’t realise how deaf I was. Now I can hear absolutely everything like I should.”

She is now warning others not to use cotton buds in their ears. Skye said: “Everybody uses cotton buds in their ears and don’t realise the damage they’re doing. You think you’re cleaning your ears but you’re just pushing the wax in and compacting the ear canal.

“Just throw the cotton buds away – it’s not worth it. I didn’t realise how loud the world was until I had my ears cleaned and I can function properly now.”

Viewers shared similar experiences online. One person said: “I did that with a Q-Tip last year, I got lucky my hearing came back. Never used one again.”

Another added: “Now I’m scared to use cotton ear buds.”

Someone else said: “I got a double ear infection in both ears because of cotton buds. I warn everyone about them. Don’t put ANYTHING in your ears.”