Police confirmed they have ‘limited information’ as officers in Thailand investigate why two boys are in the country

Two British teenagers have been detained in Thailand, triggering a police investigation into the “circumstances” surrounding their trip. South Wales Police confirmed on Friday evening that it has “limited information” about the arrests of the 17-year-olds, who are both from Cardiff, reports the Daily Star.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working alongside Thai authorities while police officers are “gathering as much information as possible”.

South Wales Police stated: “We are investigating the circumstances which led to the boys travelling to Thailand. We understand this is a very concerning time for the families and wider community.”

A spokesperson for the FCDO said: “We are supporting two British nationals detained in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities”.

Anyone with information pertaining to the case has been urged to contact South Wales Police, quoting reference number 2600200125, or to reach out to Crimestoppers anonymously

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Going into the final day of group play at the World Cup, there are essentially eight teams vying for four spots in the round of 32.

Tournament co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico have all advanced, along with France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Norway and others.

The U.S. will face Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, while Canada heads to Southern California to face South Africa on Sunday. Other marquee matchups are set, including Morocco versus the Netherlands, Japan versus Brazil and Norway versus Ivory Coast.

Third place in a group is no guarantee of advancing. The eight best third-place teams get in with ties broken by goal differential and goals scored, if necessary.

Teams with four points — a win, a draw and a loss — almost certainly will make the round of 32. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sweden, Ecuador and Paraguay have already advanced that way.

Scotland and its passionate fans are waiting for lots of things to go right to make the knockout stage in a long shot bid with three points.

Here’s what to watch Saturday:

Group L

Panama vs. England and Croatia vs. Ghana (5 p.m. ET): England and Ghana advance with anything other than blowout losses and could still advance. Croatia gets through with a win or a draw, while Panama has already been eliminated.

Group K

Colombia vs. Portugal and Congo vs. Uzbekistan (7:30 p.m. ET): Portugal advances with a draw and finishes first in the group with a win, while Colombia has already advanced and is atop the group by beating or tying Portugal. Congo is in with a win or draw but out with a loss, and Uzbekistan has long odds and likely needs to win in a romp.

Group J

Algeria vs. Austria and Jordan vs. Argentina (10 p.m. ET): Barring a multigoal loss by Croatia against Ghana earlier, the winner of Algeria-Austria advances and the loser still has a chance, while a draw would get Austria in and probably Algeria, too. Argentina has won the group, while Jordan has already been eliminated.

Here are the round of 32 matchups already set:

US vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, July 1

The Americans had their powerful momentum from two consecutive victories stalled in the loss to Turkey. But in the knockout round, they’ll face a Bosnia-Herzegovina that is 62nd in the FIFA rankings — the lowest-ranked World Cup qualifier from Europe. Bosnia finished third in Group B with four points. U.S. star Christian Pulisic entered as a substitute in the second half against Turkey. He had not played since leaving the opening win over Paraguay at halftime with a calf injury. “We play every game like a knockout game,” said U.S. midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who scored against Turkey. “You saw that in our intensity and the way we worked. For us, it’s keep doing what we’ve been doing.”

South Africa vs. Canada, June 28

These nations have already made history. It’ll be the first time both are in the knockout stage of the World Cup. Canada advanced as runner-up in Group B with four points — one win, one draw and one loss. South Africa was runner-up in Group A, also with four points, including a surprising win over South Korea.

Brazil vs. Japan, June 29

Japan advanced as Group F runner-up with a hard fought 1-1 draw against Sweden and the Samurai Blue’s reward is a knockout match against five-time World Cup champion Brazil. It’ll be a full-circle moment for Japan, which brought in Brazilian great Zico in 1991 to professionalize the country’s new domestic league and support Japan’s successful bid to co-host the World Cup in 2002. Now, the Japanese have a chance to show how far they’ve come against a country that has set the standard.

Netherlands vs. Morocco, June 29

The Netherlands won Group F after a draw with Japan and outscoring Sweden and Tunisia by a combined 8-2. Morocco went unbeaten to finish second in Group C in pursuit of becoming the first African winner of the World Cup. Morocco reached the semifinals four years ago in Qatar.

France vs. Sweden, June 30

France came in as the tournament favorite and remains it after winning all three of its group games to set up a matchup against Sweden, which had a 5-1 win, a 5-1 loss and a draw.

Germany vs. Paraguay, June 29

Germany comes into the knockout stage off a similarly low-key late defeat as the U.S., having already clinched its group with little to play for. Germany is a significant favorite against Paraguay, which lost to the U.S. 4-1 in its opener but steadied itself enough to move on.

Australia vs. Egypt, July 3

This may be one of the most evenly matched round of 32 games, after Australia beat Turkey, lost to the U.S and drew with Paraguay. Egypt got through as the second-place team in Group G after a late goal by Iran on Friday night was called back for offside.

Argentina vs. Cape Verde, July 3

Defending champion Argentina faces the smallest country to qualify for the knockout stage at a World Cup. Unsurprisingly, Cape Verde goes in as a massive underdog.

Brazil vs. Japan, June 29

After an opening draw against Morocco, Brazil won its next two by 3-0 scores, with Vinícius Júnior scoring to silence critics and Neymar returning from injury. Japan has a couple of draws and a 4-0 rout of Tunisia to show for itself so far.

Norway vs. Ivory Coast, June 30

It would have taken beating favored France for Norway to win Group I. Instead, coach Ståle Solbakken opted to rest Erling Haaland and all but one starter. That sets up a matchup against the Ivory Coast at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here.

Matthew McIlroy, 31, died following the collision yesterday evening

Police have named the man who died in a single-vehicle collision in Co Antrim yesterday evening.

Matthew McIlroy from the Co Antrim area died following a collision in Ballyclare on Friday, June 2. The emergency services attended the incident but sadly the 31-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are asking anyone with any information that could help them in their investigation into the collision to contact them.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland can confirm that a man who sadly died following a single-vehicle collision in Ballyclare on Friday evening, 26 ^th June, was 31-year-old Matthew McIlroy, from the Co Antrim area. “Police received a report at around 6.45pm on Friday of a black Audi A5 car which had crashed and overturned in the Green Road area. “Officers, along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, attended, however, sadly Mr McIlroy was pronounced deceased at the scene. “Enquiries are continuing and anyone who witnessed the collision, or who may have any information which could assist with the investigation – including dash-cam or other footage – is asked to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting reference number 1619 of 26/06/26. “We would appeal for anyone with information about the collision to contact police using our witness appeal form at https://reporting.psni.police.uk/appeals “You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.”

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“FP1 was a very strong session for us both, we looked really good, and then straight out of the blocks in FP2, McLaren looked flying,” Russell said. “It was a disrupted session on my side, but their race pace, their single lap pace looks pretty decent. I think it was more everyone else had a pretty troubled [FP1] session. Every time I saw the TV screens it was drivers in the garage with problems. Lando [Norris] only got out at the end, I think Lewis had some problems, Max [Verstappen] had some problems. So, I think that probably flattered our pace a bit in FP1, but things were feeling good. It was a real surprise just seeing that first lap of the McLarens in P2, just right at the top. And their race pace, especially on Lando’s side looked a bit better than us.”

Lando Norris took pole here last year and went on to win the race ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri. McLaren, who have yet to register their first win of the season, are one of a number of teams that have brought upgrades for this weekend. Piastri felt his team had a good Friday but still believes the advantage currently lies with Mercedes.

“It was a pretty good day,” Piastri said. “We were a step behind Mercedes, or at least Kimi, which we expected. I think for Kimi to do that kind of time on his second lap on the soft is quite impressive, so we will have to wait and see. We cannot invent anything overnight, but there is definitely going to be areas for probably both of us to learn from each other, so we will just try to apply those bits and see where we end up.”

Elsewhere in the World Cup, it looks like Iran have had enough.

Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei told FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ‘stand up’ to the United States – while captain Mehdi Taremi has described the World Cup as a ‘disaster’. The Iranians have faced challenges on and off the pitch during the tournament, which for them will come to an end if results don’t go their way on Saturday.

skipper Taremi said: “Since the beginning, it’s a disaster World Cup,” the striker bemoaned. I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately this they couldn’t solve since the beginning. Mr Infantino came to our changing room [after the] first game and he said, ‘It’s just the beginning’.

“But [the] group stage finishes tomorrow and we don’t have our logistic people here, they don’t have a visa. How [is that] possible?”

Asked if he believed that FIFA and the US wanted Iran knocked out, Taremi replied: “We have to fight against everything here. I don’t know what people want or know, but as we see it by our perspective, yeah, they’d like that, I think.”

“Six hours of non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies”

The new series of “real-time thriller” Nightsleeper is set to be filmed in Belfast.

The first series followed the fictional Heart of Britain sleeper train travelling from Glasgow to London, where two strangers were forced to work together to save the lives of its passengers.

Launching in September 2024, the series became the BBC’s biggest new drama launch of the year, with episode one reaching 8.5 million viewers.

Following the success of the first series, the second instalment will see the action move from the rails to the open water, as a new high-stakes thriller unfolds aboard a ship travelling across the Irish Sea where “behind every cabin door is another story, another surprise”.

Writer Nick Leather said: “It’s so exciting to set sail on season two! The passengers and crew on tonight’s Belfast to Liverpool passenger ferry are about to experience six hours of non-stop thrills and spills, secrets and lies, triumphs and tragedies.

“None of them are quite as they seem. Nothing in their lives will ever be the same again. Not all of them will make it to the other side. The new Nightsleeper is going to be more nightsleepery than ever…”

Kate Harwood, Executive Producer, added: “Audiences embraced Nightsleeper in such a huge way, and we’re incredibly excited to return with a bold new story.

“Nick has once again created a brilliantly tense thriller packed with new characters, twists, emotion and edge-of-your-seat drama. We can’t wait to bring this new drama from the high seas.”

The new 6×60 series was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, and is produced by Element Pictures (Normal People, The Cage), a Fremantle label, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.

Filming will take place in Belfast later this year.

Richard Williams, CEO of Northern Ireland Screen, said: “We’re proud to support Element Pictures and the BBC as Nightsleeper returns with an exciting new story rooted in the Irish Sea.

“It’s wonderful to see Northern Ireland’s world-class crew, locations and creative talent playing a part in bringing this ambitious series to audiences around the world.”

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For something that affects millions every month, period pain remains surprisingly poorly treated.

A recent analysis of supermarket transaction data from over three million shoppers found that paracetamol is the most purchased painkiller for menstrual cramps – despite being a less effective option than ibuprofen for this type of pain. The finding highlights a mismatch between what people buy and what actually works.

Period pain, or dysmenorrhoea, is caused by hormone-like chemicals called prostaglandins. As the womb lining is broken down each month, the uterus releases these chemicals, which trigger strong contractions to help shed the lining.

High levels of prostaglandins make these contractions more intense and reduce blood flow to the uterus, creating the cramping, dragging pain many people experience. Prostaglandins are linked to inflammation and may also cause other effects during a period, such as nausea.

Ibuprofen may work better than paracetamol for period pain because it belongs to the family of NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs). These medicines block cyclooxygenase (Cox) enzymes, which are essential for prostaglandin production. By reducing prostaglandins, ibuprofen tackles the cause of period pain.

Paracetamol works differently. Unlike ibuprofen, paracetamol only weakly inhibits peripheral Cox enzymes, therefore lacking significant anti-inflammatory effects.

Paracetamol’s effects are mainly exerted in the brain and spinal cord. It reduces the perception of pain by blocking pain signals from the body to the brain. This explains why it is helpful for headaches but far less effective for period pain.

This difference is reflected in clinical evidence. A major review of 80 trials involving more than 5,800 women found that NSAIDs were substantially more effective than paracetamol for period pain. The reason it nevertheless remains the most purchased option is likely because it’s familiar, widely marketed and perceived as gentler.

Pain relief

Ibuprofen is also widely used for period pain because it’s effective, inexpensive and available over the counter. But it’s not the only NSAIDs that can be used. Others include naproxen, mefenamic acid and aspirin.

Aspirin is less commonly recommended. This is because it can make periods heavier due to its blood-thinning properties. It’s also not recommended for those under 16 years old because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome, a rare but serious condition which can cause organ damage, especially in the brain and liver.

However, in terms of different NSAIDs’ effectiveness at relieving period pain or their rates of side-effects, the evidence shows no convincing differences. In practice, this means that if ibuprofen does not work well for someone, another NSAID may. Mefenamic acid, for instance, is sometimes preferred because it may also reduce heavy bleeding. However, it is only available on prescription.

It’s important to note as well that timing matters. Although NSAIDs can reduce period pain when taken at any point, they work best when started early in a period – usually one to two days before bleeding begins and continued through the first couple of days of bleeding. Taking NSAIDs ahead of the prostaglandin surge means they can shut down prostaglandin production, preventing the cascade that leads to menstrual cramps.

NSAID alternatives

Although NSAIDs are safe for most people when used short-term, they can irritate the stomach and, in some cases, increase the risk of ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding. They may also affect kidney function and, with long term use, heart health. People with asthma, kidney disease, heart problems or a history of stomach ulcers should seek medical advice before using NSAIDs.

NSAIDs can also interact with blood thinners, some antidepressants, some blood pressure medicines and steroids.

And although NSAIDs are currently the most effective medicines for period pain, they don’t work for everyone. Around 18% of people with dysmenorrhoea don’t get enough relief from these drugs. Another option sometimes used for period pain is hyoscine butylbromide, an antispasmodic that is more commonly used for treating stomach cramps. Unlike Nsaids, hyoscine does not affect prostaglandins. Instead, it relaxes smooth muscle in the gut and uterus, reducing spasms.

Hyoscine can be helpful for people who cannot take NSAIDs or for additional relief, albeit they’re less effective overall. One study showed that hyoscine butylbromide, combined with paracetamol, reduced pain more than a placebo. However, large-scale studies are needed to compare hyoscine butylbromide directly with NSAIDs or as a combination specifically for period pain.

The combined oral contraceptive pill can also help with period pain by preventing ovulation and thinning the womb lining, which reduces prostaglandin production. This leads to lighter, less painful periods and is often used as an alternative option, especially when contraception is also needed. But the oral contraceptive pill can come with potential side-effects such as nausea, breast tenderness, spotting and mood changes.

Non-drug measures can also help alongside medicines. Simple approaches, such as applying heat from a hot water bottle or heat patch to the abdomen, can ease cramping.

Some people also benefit from transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (Tens), particularly when it’s used at a high frequency. Tens devices are small, portable and use mild electrical pulses delivered through electrodes placed on the skin to disrupt pain signals and reduce pain. When used correctly it is generally safe, though it should be avoided in situations such as pregnancy, epilepsy, or in people with pacemakers.

When period pain is severe, worsening or interfering with daily life, it’s important to speak to a healthcare professional to rule out conditions such as endometriosis or fibroids.

A man has been charged with murder following the discovery of the body of a two-year-old girl at an address in Chertsey.

Officers were called to an address in Pyrcroft Road about 17:40 BST on Thursday, following reports of a concern for safety.

Kevin Kerjean, 31, has also been charged with the rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 and is due to appear at Guildford Crown Court on Monday.

Surrey Police had previously said the girl was three years old.

An investigation into the death remains ongoing and the force says it is not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Kerjean was described by police as a French national who was born in the Central African Republic.

Det Ch Supt Jon Groenen said: “This is a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the child’s family, as well as all those who knew her.

“Our teams are working hard to build a picture of what happened, and a significant police presence will remain in Pyrcroft Road over the coming days,” he added.

On Thursday, several bouquets of flowers were left at the entrance to Syward Place, an apartment complex located on the corner of Pyrcroft Road and Bell Bridge Road.

“We appreciate that the incident itself, as well as the significant police presence, will be concerning for residents,” said Groenen.

“We would like to thank them for their cooperation as we conduct our investigation.”

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Millionaire Hot Seat is returning to ITV and on the hunt for contestants

Are you ready to take the Hot Seat in one of ITV’s newest game shows?

Jeremy Clarkson is hosting another exciting series of Millionaire Hot Seat and they are looking for contestants from Belfast to take part.

Each episode of the ITV show sees six hopefuls compete for a £1 million prize, but only one player can take their place in the Hot Seat at a time, answering multiple-choice questions to work their way up the Money Ladder.

But unlike classic Millionaire, each question is against the clock. If a player answers correctly, they remain in the Hot Seat and continue up the Money Ladder.

However, if they get a question wrong, they are eliminated, the top prize drops down, and the next player takes their place.

The stakes are high, leaving no room for indecision, and in every episode, one player has the chance to walk away with £1 million.

If you would like the chance to win, then you can apply here. Application closing date is Friday, October 16 2026.

Audition/Casting Period: Monday, 15th June 2026 – Friday, 6th November 2026. Applicants must be 18 years of age or over.

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