What has Achraf Hakimi been accused of hours before Scotland v Morocco? | Wales Online
Scotland v Morocco has been overshadowed by news about PSG player Achraf Hakimi
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Achraf Hakimi accustation and bombshell news hours before Scotland v Morocco
Scotland face Morocco in a pivotal World Cup Group C match, knowing a positive result could move Steve Clarke’s side closer to the knockout stages.
The build-up to the game has been dominated by news involving Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, one of the tournament’s highest-profile players.
Hakimi is set to stand trial in France over a rape allegation dating back to 2023, following a ruling by a French Court of Appeal.
The 27-year-old has consistently denied the allegations against him, and has publicly maintained his innocence throughout the legal process.
No trial date has yet been set, with reports indicating proceedings are expected to take place after Morocco’s World Cup campaign has concluded.
Despite the legal developments, Hakimi remains with the Morocco squad and is expected to continue captaining the team at the tournament.
The defender is regarded as one of Morocco’s key players, with Scotland manager Steve Clarke describing the North Africans as one of the strongest teams in the competition and potentially even better than the side that reached the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.
Scotland head into the match after beating Haiti 1-0 in their opener, while Morocco impressed in a 1-1 draw with Brazil, setting up a potentially decisive contest in the battle to qualify from Group C.
A drone strike ignited a fire that engulfed two gas vessels at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, the Egyptian cabinet confirmed on Thursday, stating the blaze was the result of an attack rather than an accident.
The incident, which occurred near the strategically vital Suez Canal – a crucial evacuation route for Saudi oil to global markets – has yet to be claimed by any party.
Authorities have launched an investigation and are implementing measures to safeguard Egypt’s national security. British maritime security firm Ambrey had initially assessed on Wednesday that a drone struck a US-owned gas storage tanker at the port, raising concerns about a potential escalation of conflict across the Middle East.
Trading sources familiar with the event identified the affected vessels as the floating storage tanker Energos Winter and the Gaslog Salem, with the fire reportedly starting on the starboard side of the Energos Winter before spreading.
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The drone attack unfolded shortly after Iran launched a missile strike against US forces in Jordan, and following retaliatory actions by Washington and Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq.
President Donald Trump had threatened retaliation against Iran after they launched a missile strike against US forces (AP)
US president Donald Trump had threatened retaliation against Iran, while Yemen’s Houthi group declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, indicating a widening of the conflict since the US and Israel began bombing Iran in February.
Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the fires were swiftly brought under control by firefighting and security teams, with no injuries or fatalities reported. Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi visited the site to oversee the response efforts.
The Energos Winter, a floating storage and regasification unit, is owned by US-based Energos Infrastructure and managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a Singapore-based subsidiary of Norway’s Wilhelmsen Group.
The incident arrives at a sensitive juncture for Egypt’s gas market. Having become an LNG exporter following the development of the giant Zohr offshore gas field, Egypt has recently reverted to being a significant LNG buyer due to declining domestic production and surging demand. Any prolonged disruption could significantly impact LNG traders, affecting demand and spot prices.
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Sources indicate that the vessels are expected to remain out of service for an extended period, with one reporting a breach in a tank on the Energos Winter, potentially prolonging repair work.
The Energos Winter possesses a regasification capacity of approximately 450 million cubic feet per day, which accounts for roughly 7 per cent of Egypt’s daily gas consumption and 16 per cent of its total LNG receiving and regasification capacity, according to Egyptian consultancy ElAdl Studies.
While the outage is not anticipated to create an immediate supply gap, given Egypt’s alternative import facilities and fuel options, it will reduce spare capacity during a period of peak summer demand.
Potential mitigation strategies include maximising other regasification units, increasing the use of fuel oil as a backup, tapping into renewable energy capacity, and, as a last resort, temporarily reducing gas supplies to certain industrial sectors.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has started documenting and screening thousands of detained Myanmar nationals as part of a repatriation program agreed with Myanmar, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said Thursday.
Saifuddin said Myanmar had committed to accept up to 5,000 of its citizens currently living in Malaysia and an unspecified number currently in Cox’s Bazar, a town in south east Bangladesh.
Malaysia had identified up to 4,000 Myanmar nationals in its 19 detention depots, who will be moved to a single site for security screening and documentation purposes, he said.
“We will certainly meet the target of 5,000 individuals once this process is complete,” Saifuddin told to reporters, adding that the foreign ministry will handle the next stage of the repatriation process with Myanmar.
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Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said Wednesday that those being repatriated were Rohingya refugees.
“People ask why we do not simply send them back. Send them where? Myanmar had refused to accept them before. Now, because of our good relations with Myanmar, they have agreed to take back 5,000 from Malaysia,” Anwar was cited as saying by the New Straits Times.
However, Saifuddin, who did not explicitly identify the 5,000 individuals as Rohingya, said only Myanmar nationals with refugee status were being repatriated.
Foreign ministry officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
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Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, a commissioner for refugee, relief and repatriation in Cox’s Bazar, told The Associated Press by phone that he was not aware of any repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh.
In Naypyitaw, the capital of Myanmar, officials also rejected reports that the government would accept Rohingyas.
Han Win Aung, director-general of the ASEAN department at Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said the repatriation program was focused solely on verified Myanmar nationals currently held in detention centers in Malaysia.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, does not recognize the Rohingya as one of the country’s 135 lawful ethnic minorities, instead referring to them as Bengalis to imply they are natives from Bangladesh and are illegally settled in Myanmar.
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“This is not about bringing back Bengalis. There are Myanmar nationals who are being held in detention centers in Malaysia for various reasons,” Han Win Aung told the AP. “Both sides are still at the stage of coordinating to repatriate only those whose identity as genuine Myanmar citizens has been verified.”
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He said the plan follows earlier repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 of its nationals stranded in Malaysia.
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Han Win Aung said the number of people to be repatriated and the timeline for transfer remain under discussion.
Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the U.N. refugee agency, including about 126,000 Rohingya who make up one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee community. Despite hosting them, Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
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Journalists Julhas Alam in Bangladesh and Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Money worries can keep us up at night, but could decades of financial stress leave a lasting mark on the brain itself? That’s the question my colleagues and I set out to answer in a new study – and the answer, it turns out, is yes.
Most research on money and brain health looks at people’s financial circumstances at just one point in time. This makes it hard to know whether a few difficult years have the same effect as decades of enduring struggle. For our study, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, we tracked the same people throughout their adult lives to find out.
We used data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development, also known as the 1946 British birth cohort study. A cohort study follows a group of people born in the same period throughout their lives. This is the world’s longest continuously running study of its kind, tracking thousands of people born in one week in March 1946 – participants who celebrated their 80th birthdays earlier this year.
The study’s origins go back to the economic anxieties of the 1930s, when the Great Depression left many families worrying about money and the cost of raising children – making it a fitting dataset to revisit those same questions decades later. Using this rich resource, we examined the financial circumstances of 2,759 participants at multiple points across adulthood.
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Participants reported their household income at ages 26, 43 and 53. We classed those in the bottom 20% of the group on at least two of these occasions as having persistent low income – about one in six people. Separately, we measured financial hardship by asking whether people struggled to manage on their income or had trouble paying bills, at least twice between ages 36 and 53. This applied to about one in eight.
At age 53, participants took tests of verbal memory and processing speed. A smaller group also had brain scans between ages 69 and 71, which let us measure brain atrophy (shrinkage) and ventricular expansion – the widening of fluid-filled cavities within the brain, a recognised marker of poor brain health.
We found that people who had experienced more financial hardship and low income scored lower on the cognitive tests at age 53. These links held even after we accounted for their childhood thinking skills, education and childhood disadvantage. Among those who had brain scans, persistent low income was linked to greater brain shrinkage in later life.
People who had faced more financial hardship tended to perform worse on cognitive tests. Microgen/Shutterstock.com
When we looked at how memory changed from age 53 to 69, those who had faced persistent hardship actually showed slower decline over that period. We believe this is because they had already lost more ground by age 53 – they started from a lower point, so there was less left to lose.
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We also found that the link between financial adversity and brain shrinkage was stronger for men, for those who grew up in disadvantaged homes, and for carriers of a gene that raises the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
For men of this generation – born in 1946, when the male breadwinner model was the norm – the pressure of being the main earner may have made financial stress more acute. Disadvantaged men also had higher rates of smoking and drinking than disadvantaged women.
The finding on genetic risk suggests that people who are already biologically vulnerable may be more susceptible to the effects of financial strain. These subgroup findings are based on smaller numbers within our sample, so we are treating them as suggestive rather than conclusive.
We acknowledge that our study cannot prove cause and effect, and the results, drawn from a single generation of British adults, may not apply directly to other populations or countries. But following the same people over many years gives us a clearer picture than studies that only look at a single moment in time.
Financial hardship is increasingly recognised as one of several factors – alongside things such as hearing loss, smoking and physical inactivity – that may shape our risk of cognitive decline in later life. Our findings suggest that reducing chronic financial hardship among working-age adults, wherever they live, could help protect brain health and potentially reduce dementia cases in the future.
PRAGUE (AP) — Keepers at Prague Zoo used tons of ice on Thursday to give its animals some much-needed relief as yet another heat wave hit Europe.
Polar bears Aleut and Gregor wasted no time and were rolling in the beds of ice cubes after entering their outside enclosure.
The twins looked to have fun with the ice treat that was meant to keep them cool amid the extreme temperatures forecast to soar to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) later in the day.
“The bears cool off with it and at the same time it’s an enrichment of their life in the zoo,” said zoo spokesperson Filip Mašek.
The polar bears, who were born in Nuremberg, Germany, 16 years ago and have adapted to the European climate, were the ones who enjoyed it the most.
This year, the plan was to order ice for the animals in July and August, which are traditionally the hottest months. But the first heat wave struck early and the Czech Republic experienced its hottest day ever with 41.9 C (107.4 F) on June 28.
“The weather keeps surprising us,” Mašek said. He said the ice will be ready sooner next year. “We’ve been taught a lesson.”
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Other animals that have benefited from the provision of ice to keep cool in previous years include otters, elephants and parrots.
Some animals in the zoo are used to heat, others could stay in the shade or inner enclosures and use various pools to keep cool. Gorillas were given pieces of ice with frozen fruits in the previous years.
As Edinburgh introduces a visitor levy this week, we look at what a decade of tourist tax-funded investment has done for one of Europe’s most infamous resorts
It is a bright early summer evening in Mallorca and Jaime Mora Bosch is reclining in a waterfront restaurant in a cream suit. Behind him, Port Adriano is filled with multimillion-euro yachts as their passengers settle into restaurants overlooking the marina, where rosé and mineral water are being poured.
Mora Bosch is director of tourism for Calvià, a district of mountain trails, luxury resorts, exclusive harbours… and Magaluf, the resort with a reputation as the place where Britons go abroad to behave badly.
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Cheap lager, sunburn, public nudity, stag dos and hen parties turned ‘Shagaluf’ into a tabloid genre of its own. Mora Bosch insists that picture is years out of date and argues that the tourist tax introduced a decade ago has helped drive that change.
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“If you’re in Magaluf tonight, yes, you will find some people drunk, you will find some British people without a T-shirt, maybe swimming, maybe drinking in the streets,” he says. “But in general it has nothing to do with the past.”
From Port Adriano, Magaluf is only a short drive away, but the contrast is immediate. On Punta Ballena, the street universally known as the strip, music pounds from open-fronted bars as scantily dressed women try to entice groups of men inside with promises of cheap booze.
A group of men in their early 20s, here for a stag weekend, offer grins and gestures when I ask why they chose Magaluf. A party of women from Sunderland celebrating a friend’s engagement give roughly the same answer. What is striking, though, is how dated the strip feels. There are plenty of groups of young adults, but also a surprising number of 40- and 50-somethings who seem to be trying to relive their youth, many of them accompanied by their bored-looking teenage children.
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Several premises are boarded up, while others have the sticky, faded air of places waiting for one final summer. The soundtrack leans heavily towards ’90s dance anthems. At around midnight on Saturday, we walk into Joker’s, a karaoke bar just behind the main strip, and find ourselves its only customers. Sam, an English DJ in his 60s, is waiting beside a dancefloor on which nobody is dancing. “I came over in the 1980s and never left,” he says. “Why would I?”
A few families eventually arrive with children younger than you would expect to find in a bar at midnight, but the room remains fairly empty. The larger clubs still pull crowds and the strip is certainly bustling, but groups of revellers seem to be searching for ‘the place to be’ – a place that perhaps no longer exists.
On the waterfront promenade, just a block away from the strip, are well-presented hotels, fashionable beach clubs and fine-dining restaurants serving families, couples and older visitors. The two versions of Magaluf remain close enough to hear each other, but they are growing increasingly distant.
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The promenade in Magaluf was built using tourist tax funding. Image: Calvia Tourism
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The strip’s faded air reflects changing tastes, but its decline is also the result of a deliberate effort to diversify the tourism model that created it.
That model took shape in the 1960s, when Mallorca opened up to mass travel and hotels rose at extraordinary speed. Dennis Saro, a local guide, has watched Calvià wrestle with the consequences. “We made a lot of mistakes at this time in the 60s,” he says. “We started building, building, building… and we didn’t think about the future. This is what we are fixing now.”
By the 1990s, Magaluf had a reputation for cheap booze, cheap rooms and being a resort where rules did not apply, where almost anything went.
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The moment that forced the authorities to confront its reputation arrived in 2014, when a video showed a young British woman performing sex acts on multiple men in a bar as part of a drinks promotion. It travelled around the world, becoming a brutal advertisement for Magaluf’s tourism economy. “It used to be a lawless city,” says Mora Bosch, who says it was at that point that the authorities knew something had to be done.
Calvià restricted pub crawls, street drinking and alcohol promotions. Shops in designated ‘excess tourism’ areas were banned from selling alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am. Noise rules were tightened and police inspections increased, while many venues began opening earlier as daytime clubs.
The Balearic Sustainable Tourism Taxfollowed in July 2016, charging visitors according to their accommodation and the time of year. By July 2025, close to 300 projects worth almost €850m (£730m) were being financed through the programme.
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Newly developed hotels have sprung up across Magaluf. Image: Calvia Tourism
“The main aim of the tourism tax is to compensate for the impact generated by tourist activity,” says Miguel Rosselló Jiménez, tourism co-ordinator at the Balearic Islands’ ministry of tourism, culture and sport. “It helps fund projects to improve the destination, making it more sustainable in environmental, social and economic ways.”
The levy funded investment in public spaces, water infrastructure and cultural projects. Alongside private investment, EU funding and political support, it became part of a wider effort to rebuild and rebrand the region.
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Magaluf’s beachfront now has a bright promenade linking the hotels, restaurants and waterfront. There is level paving, planting, seating and room for buggies and wheelchairs. Native plants and reclaimed water reduce pressure on local supplies, while beach showers use seawater. The €3m (£2.5m) second phase, completed in May 2026, was funded entirely through the tourism tax.
The space feels safe, open and easy to use, more in keeping with the waterfront at Port Adriano and other parts of the island. Nearly every venue I pass is serving couples and families. There are groups of men and women, but most are restrained rather than rowdy.
The official inauguration of Magaluf’s promenade in June 2026. Image: Calvia Tourism
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By 11pm, most of the larger groups make their way towards the strip as almost all the venues on the waterfront close or prepare to shut. Staff know inspections will check whether alcohol service has stopped on time, whether music has crept above the permitted level and whether customers are smoking where they should not be.
For residents, better paving and calmer evenings only go so far if tourism still consumes the places where they live. Marta, a Calvià resident, supports the move away from sheer numbers, although she understands why some neighbours have lost patience altogether.
“We want more quality and less quantity,” she says, adding that many locals “just want to be able to go to a beach and find a spot”.
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The campaign to diversify tourism has also involved broadening the range of hotels on offer. BH Mallorca, once one of the main engines of the resort’s 18-to-30 economy, was bought by the Mallorca-based Fergus group and its partners, with around €20m (£17m) committed to dividing the complex into three hotels aimed at families and higher-spending visitors.
Nicky Beach on Magaluf waterfront has replaced many older bars. Image: Calvia Tourism
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“They used to specialise in drunk-tourism – the 18-to-30 market,” says Mora Bosch. “They’d have 1,200 people in this hotel, and you might find 3 or 4 people in a room … But two years ago Fergus bought it, a local brand who specialise in family activities, and we’ve seen a huge difference. The change is everything.”
Richie Prior arrived as a holiday rep in 1990 and is now managing director of Pirates Adventure, one of Magaluf’s longest-established attractions. Writing recently about the changes, he said Mallorca had “changed dramatically” and added: “Personally, I think it’s a positive move,” pointing to improved hotels, restaurants and a more international crowd.
The authorities argue that fewer visitors spending more can create greater economic value with less pressure on streets and emergency services. “Fewer people but their per head spend is a lot more,” says Mora Bosch.
That strategy has been helped by broader changes in habits. Younger adults drink less, the cost of living makes indiscriminate spending harder, and many visitors now want a better room, a decent meal and somewhere attractive to share on social media. As Mora Bosch puts it, people increasingly want to show off, a shift reflected in the designated ‘selfie route’ created along the promenade.
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We just want to be able to go to a beach and find a spot
That does not mean Magaluf wants to stop young people from coming and letting off steam as this is still a major part of the local tourism economy. Stag and hen parties still arrive and the major clubs continue to buzz, but it feels as though Punta Ballena’s heyday is behind it. Calvià council has bought 11 obsolete commercial premises in the area, using a €6m tourism tax grant to acquire, demolish and redevelop them. The scheme will remove unsafe buildings and return the land to public use, while the fading bars suggest the market may be retreating.
Calvià is also creating reasons to visit that do not depend on nightlife. The council plans to restore the 16th-century Torre de Torrenova and turn neighbouring buildings designed by local architect Josep Ferragut into an international artists’ residence. It is one of several physical and cultural projects under way, including the restoration of the Galatzó public estate, the development of Puig de sa Morisca archaeological park, a series of refuges for walkers, a film-location trail, a €10,000 literary prize and Conecta Magaluf, which recently brought together 400 film and television professionals from 29 countries.
Nearly 2,000 kilometres north, Edinburgh is beginning an experiment of its own. Since 24 July, the Scottish capital has charged visitors 5% of the pre-VAT accommodation cost for the first five nights, becoming the first UK city to introduce a mandatory city-wide visitor levy.
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The 16th-century Torre de Torrenova will be turned into an international artists’ residence. Image: Tom Pattinson
The levy is expected to raise up to £50m a year by 2028-29. Of the available funds, 55% will go to city operations and infrastructure, 35% to culture, heritage and events, and 10% to destination management. The first three-year programme is worth more than £90m, including funding for Leith Theatre, public toilets, historic streets and an annual £5m housing and tourism mitigation fund.
An early consultation found that 85% of respondents strongly supported a levy, although the final 5% rate proved more divisive. Hospitality businesses argue that Edinburgh is already expensive and that visitors may spend less elsewhere.
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Tony Lankester, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, supports the principle while warning that the festival needs to see a tangible return. “At its most basic level, I think the tourist tax is a good thing because for too long the impact of tourists… has been borne by the people who live here,” he told The Stage.
Magaluf’s challenges are very different from Edinburgh’s: visitors come to the Scottish capital for its heritage and world-famous literary and arts festivals, but in both places the costs of mass tourism are often left for residents to absorb. Calvià shows that a tourist tax, combined with private investment, regulation and political will, can help transform a destination. It did not save Magaluf by itself, but it has helped the resort build a future in which it may no longer need saving.
Main image: Calvià Tourism
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Four people died trying to cross the Channel in small boats overnight, French officials have said.
One man died after a vessel capsized off France’s northern coast late on Wednesday, with a one-year-old child among those injured.
Separately, three people were found dead aboard a small boat early on Thursday after launching from Dunkirk overnight, some 100km (62 miles) up the coast.
French officials confirmed their deaths after several hundred people crossed the Channel into the UK on Wednesday.
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The first boat capsized off the coast at Hardelot around 23:30 local time (21:30 GMT) on Wednesday.
The man is thought to have been in his thirties or forties, officials added. Six other people including the child sustained minor injuries.
Security officials “neutralised” the boat and an investigation into the incident has been launched.
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The second boat launched from the Dunkirk area overnight and was spotted near a breakwater off the coast at 06:00, the French coastguard said.
Search and rescue officials subsequently found three unconscious people on board. Their deaths were later confirmed by emergency medical personnel.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Every death in the Channel is a tragedy and a stark reminder of the dangers posed by criminal gangs exploiting vulnerable people for profit.”
What’s in my cabinet now? Prequel Gleanser (£20, Spacenk.com) my must-try, non-stripping, glycerin cleanser for the face and body; the Prequel Multi-Quench serum (£30, Spacenk.com), a multi-level, rehydrating formula with dual-weight polyglutamic acid, glycerin, osmolytes and ectoin, plus Prequel AM/PM moisturiser (£20, Spacenk.com).
There are plenty of places to grab a bite to eat across the week
The Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is right around the corner, and with so many events on across the week, you will build up a hunger.
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There are so many fantastic food options across Belfast, and there are plans to open several pop-up food markets alongside the well-established markets throughout the city to meet the demand.
With so much happening, we have broken down all of the major food markets taking place across the city in one easy place for you.
Craic & Craft Food Market at ICC Belfast
Set just outside this busy competition and performance venue, the Craic and Craft Market offers a unique opportunity to experience Northern Ireland’s artisan food, drink, and craft producers alongside family-friendly entertainment.
Opening hours: Sunday, August 2, to Wednesday, August 5: 10am–5pm Thursday, August 6, to Sunday, August 9: 10am–10pm
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Visitors can enjoy: Street food vendors, Artisan stalls, Family activities, Ferris wheel, Live music, Space to relax between competitions and sessions.
St George’s Market
Enjoy musical performances, dancing, artisan arts and crafts and street food at the market.
During the Fleadh, St George’s Market will be open: Sunday, August 2, from 10am to 3pm, and Monday, August 3, to Wednesday, August 5, from 10am to 5pm, and Thursday, August 6, to Sunday, August 9, from 10am to 10pm.
Fleadh food and drink village
A food and drink village beside Belfast Cathedral, operated by Market Place Europe on behalf of Belfast City Council, will provide a dedicated destination for local traders, producers and growers to showcase their flavours to visitors.
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The family-friendly space will be open from 11am to 6pm on Sunday, August 2, and Sunday, August 9, 10am to 8pm from Monday, August 3, to Wednesday, August 5, and 10am to 11pm from Thursday, August 6, to Saturday, August 8.
It will include a delicious, diverse menu celebrating the region’s unique flavours and the best local ingredients, alongside relaxed, communal seating, a covered dining area and a performance space for live music, providing the soundtrack to your snack.
Fleadh Cheoil is the world’s biggest celebration of Irish music and culture, hosted in Belfast for the very first time – competitors from all over the world will showcase the very best of traditional music, song, dance and language in All-Ireland competitions.
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The Fleadh at North St. will host live traditional music every day, serve Heineken and Beamish at the bar, and offer local street food and artisan coffee during the eight-day celebrations.
According to the Fleadh guide, it will be open from 3pm until late.
Titanic Quarter Night Market and Titanic Food Festival
Further along the Maritime Mile, a packed programme of activities will also get tastebuds tingling, with the Titanic Quarter Night Market (4pm to 10pm, Thursday 6 and Friday 7 August) and the Titanic Food Festival (11am to 5pm, Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 August).
Common Market
Common Market has become a fan favourite for its raft of food stalls in the popular market and it gets even better for the week of the Fleadh.
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With spots like Phat Dragon, Wing Society and Sal’s mixed with hours of live entertainment in collaboration with 39 Gordon Street, it’s going to become the spot to be.
They are set to have a week of unforgettable celebrations of Irish music, culture, food, and great craic! Join them for live traditional music, fantastic local vendors, delicious food, and a brilliant atmosphere for all ages.
HALT at Weaver’s Cross
From Sunday 2nd August to Sunday 9th August, HALT is the place to soak up the atmosphere with live music, incredible food and great company.
With 7 amazing food vendors, ice-cold drinks and one of Belfast’s best outdoor spaces, there’s no better place to enjoy the week.
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Around 100 local businesses will also be selling their wares through successful applications for street trading – 60 inside the pedestrianised event zone, at High Street, Bridge Street and Royal Avenue, and a further 40 outside of this special scheme.
Many more will be extending their premises with additional outdoor space for food and drink, as well as longer opening hours to offer live music and other entertainment.
Keep an eye out for Fleadh-Friendly signs in windows across the city centre. Tons of local spots will be running their own exclusive taster menus, festival offers and pop-up acoustic sets.
The victim was punched in the head during an assault
A man suffered serious injuries after being punched in the head during an assault. Lincolnshire Police were called to a “large-scale disturbance” in the Sheep Market area of Stamford, near Peterborough, at around 9.50pm on Saturday, July 25.
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Police are trying to piece together the events that led to the assault. A police spokesperson said: “We are now appealing for the public’s help to identify the two men, as we believe they may have vital information that could assist our investigation.
“The first man is described as being of stocky build, with dark hair and stubble. He was wearing grey knee-length shorts and a tight white t-shirt, with a grey man-bag with black strap. The lower halves of his left arm and left leg are heavily tattooed and he was wearing black trainers with a white marking on them.
“The second man is described as being of slim build, with ‘slicked back’ neck-length mid-brown hair. He had a moustache and goatee beard of a similar colour. He was wearing a white t-shirt and light beige cargo-type shorts.”
Anyone with information should contact Detective Sergeant Mike Hanson or call 101 and quote incident 559 of July 25.
Staying on top of the latest fashion trends can sometimes mean sacrificing your own health and comfort for style.
Modern fashion trends including suffocating shapewear, flimsy ballet flats and oversized tote bags have caused misery for many wearers. But these trends are tame in comparison to many of history’s fashion fads — some of which were even lethal.
Concerns were soon raised over the heels’ potential to cause harm. In 1953, British photojournalism magazine Picture Post ran a feature titled The Hazards of the Stiletto Heel, which cited concerns from doctors about the impending dangers that wearing these shoes could bring, from turned ankles to broken bones.
However, it’s not only the act of wearing stilettos that causes harm. In 2016, The Telegraph reported that stilettos had been used as weapons in hundred of assaults. In 2013, US citizen Ana Trujillo, nicknamed the “Stiletto Killer”, received a life sentence for stabbing her boyfriend 25 times with a blue suede stiletto heel.
2. The deadly corset
The corset has had a long and often controversial history, one which can be traced back centuries. From the 16th century, it was an undergarment made either from whalebone and sometimes steel that was used to shape the waist.
But over the years, concerns were increasingly raised about the potential harms of wearing corsets – particularly from the practice of “tight lacing.”
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For instance, in 1793 the German medical doctor and anatomist Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring published a book discussing his concerns over prolonged tight lacing. In it, he writes that the practice could compress the ribs and other internal organs and inflict deformities on the rib cage.
In June 1890, The Lancet also published an article illuminating the devastating effects of tight lacing – including causing broken ribs, damaged organs, breathing difficulties, deformities and even death.
While the trend for tight corset wearing may have subsided, there are still concerns over the impacts that more modern versions in the form of shapewear can have on the body. Research has shown that wearing tight clothing, such as shapewear, can have detrimental effects on breathing.
3. Poison gowns
During the Victorian era, a deadly trend emerged for a particular shade of emerald green which became popular for fabrics, furnishings and fashion. But green was a challenging colour to produce. So to achieve this vibrant and fashionable hue, Victorian dressmakers would use a particular dye called Scheele’s green which was laden with arsenic.
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The public wasn’t aware of how harmful these arsenic-laden dresses were until renowned chemist AW Hoffman published an article in 1862 called The Dance of Death which exposed the dangerous toxicity of the green dye. The following week, the popular satire publication Punch Magazine featured a cartoon titled The Arsenic Waltz which featured a skeleton in a ballgown.
To achieve the emerald hue, dresses were coloured with arsenic-laden dye. Wellcome Collection
The Queen achieved her pale complexion through the use of Venetian Ceruse, a lead-based makeup which is believed to have caused her eventual death. Recent research has found that Queen Elizabeth I’s white makeup was actually a combination of lead and white vinegar, which would allow lead to pass through the body in higher quantities than other recipes of Venetian Ceruse.
The early 20th century also witnessed an unusual and hazardous trend for radium-infused products – including radium hair tonics and oils. Some products claimed that radioactivity would help with hair growth and cure dandruff. In some instances, radium was also brushed into the hair so it would glow in the dark. Yet long-term exposure to radium had many detrimental effects, including on the bones and blood – even years after use.
6. Flammable fibres
In 1871, Oscar Wilde’s young half sisters attended a Halloween party in Ireland. As society figures, they were both dressed in the height of fashion, wearing voluminous hooped crinoline skirts. But as they danced, their huge skirts caught light from a candle and both sadly perished.
Just as fashion trends change, so too do the hazards that can come from wearing them. But we might consider ourselves much more fortunate than our predecessors that today’s fashion trends are largely less lethal than many used to be.
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