Category: News

Despite a contraceptive programme aimed at managing their numbers, hundreds of baby goats continue to roam a north Wales peninsula, where the animals were gifted by Queen Victoria more than a century ago.

Female Great Orme Kashmiri Goats are rounded up every other year and given contraceptives to control their numbers.

But a count in 2023 revealed there were around 150 goats in the area, with the figure estimated to have now reached 180 – although an exact number will not be determined until a count is made this summer.

The goats gained global recognition during the Covid pandemic, and one resident said although they can be an annoyance in people’s gardens, “we love them really”.

Llandudno councillor Louise Emery said breeding of the goats is allowed to “make sure the line continues”, but that it has to be “very carefully managed”.

She added that it was unlikely the contraceptive programme would take place this year, describing it as “quite a task”, involving the female goats being rounded up into temporary fencing areas and injected with the contraceptive.

Ms Emery added that management did not take place during the Covid pandemic, with numbers reaching over 200.

“You did feel there was too many, and if you have too many it is not fair on them because the Orme is a small place,” she said.

Originating in the mountains of northern India, the goats have roamed the Great Orme in a wild state for more than 100 years, since they were gifted to Lord Mostyn, a prominent local landowner, by Queen Victoria.

The goats used to be owned by the Mostyn estate but are now classed as wild animals.

“They do need to be carefully managed because we brought them here,” Ms Emery said.

“They are not a native species, so we need to manage their numbers, otherwise, there will simply not be enough food for them.”

She added that the goats gained “worldwide recognition” during the Covid pandemic.

“They have become synonymous with the town. The people on the Orme, we hate them when they are in our gardens, but we love them really.”

The murder took place following a heated exchange of words, police said. (Representational)

After six days the remains were confirmed not to be Jack

• In early January, police found remains in the search for missing student Jack O’Sullivan. The family waited six days before being informed the remains were not Jacks

Jack O’Sullivan’s mother has spent “every day for a year” searching for her missing son, as a year has officially passed since his disappearance.

Catherine O’Sullivan has said she has focused only on getting answers since he vanished without a trace on 2nd March 2024.

Speaking on the first anniversary of Jack having gone missing, she revealed that she had been told by police that the remains of a man matching her son’s description had been found.

Jack, a 23-year-old student, disappeared on March 2nd 2024, after leaving a house party in Bristol.

He was last seen at 3.15am in the area of Brunel Lock Road/Brunel Way.

After waiting a long, painful week for confirmation that these remains may belong to her son, she received a phone call that they were in fact not connected to Jack.

Catherine said: “It was six days of utter torture while they tried to work out if it was Jack before it turned out it was obviously not.

“It was the worst six days so far. It was positioned and explained to us in such a way that we could not see how it could not be Jack.

“We were given a description and it fitted everything – height, age, range – that Jack fitted into but they said the could not be conclusive until DNA analysis. We found out after a few days that the process had not even started.

“That was pretty grim. We were hanging on every hour of the day for an update – and two to three days in they hadn’t even started. I think the communication was pretty shocking.”

“The day they phoned us with the initial info, they said they wanted to check how we would like to be told. I was so distressed I could barely hold the phone, and just said tell us anyway you can.

“I then got an email to say we had agreed to a phone call for news of Jack. It was such a difficult and traumatic time, and to date, it is the worst six days so far. People asked me if it would be better if it was him or if I wanted closure. I said no – when I heard it was, I was totally relieved.”

This happened at the beginning of 2025, between Saturday 4th and Friday 10th January.

Despite the lack of new leads in the case, the family are working with private teams and investigators, in contact with the police, to understand what happened to her child.

Speaking on her feelings reaching a year since Jack’s vanishment, Catherine said:

“For me, it is just another day – now every day for us is hell, and it won’t be any more significant from the first day he went missing.

“I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention or be out having vigils – I don’t want to do that.

“We think of Jack every day – so next Sunday is not a huge milestone for us. But it totally unbelievable that 12 months have gone by. It doesn’t feel real.

“It has been a whole year, and we have no idea what happened to him. We are still completely none the wiser. We get messages of hoaxes, ransoms, people telling me the have got him – but nothing has ever been proven.”

Catherine has revealed that she has to take every day as it comes, without planning too far ahead. She added, “It would be unforgivable to even think about stopping” the search.

Avon and Somerset Police said, “We contacted Jack’s family on Saturday 4th January, to inform them that a body had been located at Stout Bay, in Wales.

“Detectives worked with colleagues at South Wales Police to fast-track the DNA process to identify the remains and provide answers to the family.

“We were able to provide an update to the family on Friday 10th January, in which we were able to confirm the remains were not Jack’s. During these six days, the Superintendent overseeing the investigation made contact with the family on several occasions to give what update we could.”

The police have also issued a renewed appeal in light of reaching the one-year mark, hoping to get some new information from the public.

Just over a month since his parents died in the devastating American Airlines crash, figure skater Maxim Naumov has paid tribute to the pair in a heartbreaking routine.

Attending an event organised this weekend titled Legacy on Ice in honour of the lives lost in the accident, the 23-year-old performed a solo to ‘Ave Maria’ in tribute to his late mother Evgenia ‘Zhenya’ Shishkova and father Vadim Naumov.

The couple tragically died on 29 Jan after a commercial American Airlines flight travelling from Kansas to Washington D.C. collided in the air with a military helicopter, resulting in both aircrafts crashing in the Potomac River.

A total of 67 passengers died in the collision – including three that were travelling in the Black Hawk chopper.

28 of those killed had been members of the figure skating community.

Evgenia, 52, and Vadim, 55 – who themselves were 1994 world champions in pairs skating – had remained in Kansas several after watching their son skate at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.

They’d helped out by coaching the U.S. National Development Camp as part of their affiliation with The Skating Club of Boston, but tragically died during the collision – as per US Weekly.

This week, therefore, an event was held this weekend (2 Mar) in order to raise money for the victims’ families, as well as for the first responders who attended the scene in the wake of the crash.

Amongst those to perform on the night was Naumov, who dropped to his knees following the routine – which was done to his parents’ favourite song – before bursting into floods of tears.

Crowds of thousands of spectators took to their feet to applaud the sportsman, many of whom were left crying with him.

A video of the routine – which has since gone viral on social media – saw Naumov start the performance by carrying two white roses onto the ice with him, placing them onto a table which had been lade with the same flower.

At the end of the performance, the skater became emotional and was seen wiping his eyes before exiting the ice whilst holding a candle.

The high-profile event was attended by a handful of former Olympic skating champions, including former Team USA member Johnny Weir, who discussed Naumov’s tribute in conversation with press.

Naumov’s parents died in the collision (Photo Courtesy Skating Club of Boston)

The 40-year-old athlete subsequently told PEOPLE Magazine of the loss caused by the crash: “I think that when you’re an athlete, you’re taught to have ice in your veins and to push through anything that affects your community.

“And ours is so small that even if you don’t know everybody, you know them all. They’re all family in some way.”

Weir added: “There are so many little skaters out there, so I want to show them that it’s okay to continue and to dream and to sparkle for the people that we’ve lost.

“Losing these skaters, we lost a generation of dreamers.”

A BABY and three others have been rushed to hospital following a crash in Glasgow.

Mercy crews raced to Easterhouse Road, in the city’s east end, following reports of a two-vehicle smash around 8:30pm last night.

One of the drivers, a 28-year-old man, was arrested in connection and taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment.

The female driver of the other car, along with a baby and a teenager, were rushed to the same hospital as a precaution.

Cops have launched an investigation following the crash.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 8.30pm on Monday, March 3, 2025, we received a report of a crash involving two vehicles on Easterhouse Road, Glasgow.

“One driver, a 28-year-old man was arrested and taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital for treatment.

“The female driver of the other car, along with a baby and a teenager, were taken to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as a precaution.

“Enquiries are ongoing”.

BARIPADA: In a shocking incident, a 40-year-old man hacked his elderly father to death and was heading to the police station carrying the severed head of the deceased when he was arrested in Mayurbhanj district in the early hours of Tuesday.

The gruesome murder took place in Chandua village under Chandua police limits. The accused, Sambhu Singh (40), put his father’s head in a gunny bag and was on his way to the police station to surrender.

The deceased was identified as Baidhar Singh (70). Tension flared up in the village after the incident, and Chandua police, along with a scientific team from Baripada, reached the spot for investigation.

Police sources said the accused used to fight with his father every day, demanding money for alcohol. Late last night, Sambhu returned home in an inebriated state and asked for money.

Meghan Markle’s mother Doria Ragland has made a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in her daughter’s hugely anticipated series which finally aired on Netflix this morning.

Doria, 68, was spotted grazing on a ‘celebration brunch’ that the Duchess of Sussex, 43, lovingly prepared for the final episode of her eight-part cookery series.

Wearing a tan halter neck top and flowing orange trousers, Doria arrives to the sun-soaked brunch party as Meghan can be heard gushing: ‘Oh, Mommy’s here!’

While admiring the spread of champagne, mimosas, quiche, bacon, pancakes and salad, Doria asked: ‘Are the greens from the garden?’ to which the Duchess replied: ‘Yes, greens are from the garden.’

‘It’s lovely. Nice job!’, the proud mother said.

In episode two of ‘With Love, Meghan’, the Duchess reminisces on her own youth as she prepares children’s party food including sandwiches in the shapes of hearts and a ‘fruit plate that looks like a rainbow’.

‘I was a latchkey kid so I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners’, Meghan told The Office star Mindy Kaling. 

‘It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwavable kids meals that had compartmentalised, like…. do you remember them?’ 

Doria (left) reportedly has a granny flat at the couple’s home in Montecito

Her close pal Mindy replied: ‘The Hungry-Man meals. And there’s a little compartment that had apple crumble in it. I thought those were delicious as a child.

‘Yes!’ Meghan replied. ‘I grew up with that, watching Jeopardy and having a lot of fast food.’ I used to eat a lot of Pollo Loca and Taco Bell – extra hot sauce on the Mexican pizza and Jack in the Box because my mom loved their tacos.’

Doria, a yoga teacher, shares a close relationship with her daughter Meghan and reportedly has a granny flat at the couple’s home in Montecito.

She even stayed with the Sussexes at Frogmore cottage for more than a month when her grandson Archie was born, Harry’s book Spare revealed.

The dedicated mother has been described as a ‘rock’ for Meghan and Harry during the difficult months when they departed as working royals and moved to California – so it only made sense for her to attend the celebratory brunch.

A former confidant of Doria told the Mail on Sunday: ‘She is like the Queen – she never complains and never explains.’

Prince Harry is also among the flurry of guests enjoying Meghan’s spread of champagne, mimosas, quiche, bacon, pancakes and salad.

The yoga teacher hugs one of the other guests at Meghan’s ‘celebratory brunch’ 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pack on the PDA at her ‘celebratory brunch’

The loving husband assured his wife that she ‘did a great job’. Meghan also suggests he has a mimosa

The couple packed on the PDA as the Duchess huddled up to her husband, and said: ‘Good, right?’ 

‘Well done,’ he assured. ‘You did a great job. I love it.’

Harry and his mother-in-law Doria be seen proudly looking on and raising a glass as the Duchess thanks those in attendance for ‘loving her so much and celebrating with her’. 

‘This feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited that I get to share,’ she continued. ‘When I’ve been able to learn from all of you.

‘Thank you for the love and support. And here we go, it’s a business. All of that is that creativity that I’ve missed so much.’

‘To you!’ Harry can be heard toasting as Redbone’s Come And Get Your Love plays in the background.

Throughout the eight-part series, Meghan welcomes guests including The Office star Mindy Kaling and chef Roy Choi to the kitchen of a £5million mansion near the Sussexes’ Montecito villa.

While they prepare a variety of food items such as rainbow fruit salad and potstickers, Meghan has personal conversations with her guests.

‘With Love, Meghan’ lands on Netflix on Tuesday morning and is aimed at showing a new side to the Duchess of Sussex

In episode seven, Meghan speaks about ‘healing’ in an apparent jab at the Royal Family as she discusses Kintsugi, Japanese art of repairing broken pottery, with her millionaire neighbour Vicky Tsai.

The Duchess told her: ‘You gave me this idea, I think it’s so meaningful, that if you break something that is precious and valuable, it’s not broken. 

‘That that fracture, and you taught me this, that that fracture actually makes it more beautiful, that break makes it more beautiful.

‘And I just think that it felt really symbolic of saying to anyone if you’ve been through something, you’re not broken. It can be fixed, it can be sealed and healed at the same time.’

Ms Tsai then says: ‘Or celebrated because it’s what makes you beautiful… perfect isn’t beautiful. Things that have lived and been dropped and put back together again are more beautiful.’

In further moments during the new show: 

Meghan will be joined be some of her celebrity pals in the new show. Here she is seen with Suits co-star, Abigail Spencer 

In one clip of ‘With Love, Meghan’, the Duchess of Sussex is shown prepping vegetables with the chef Roy Choi before the pair high-five one another

Meghan, pictured, using edible plants while adding the finishing touches to one of her puddings 

The Duchess has faced criticism over authenticity for hosting With Love, Meghan from a Californian farmhouse, rather than her own Montecito home – and she acknowledges this in episode one.

‘This isn’t my house. Daniel’s (Martin) gonna be staying at my house, but I’m gonna prep everything here as I would at home and then bring it back to my house so I can have it there for him,’ she says in episode one.

Filmed in the kitchen of a rented £5million mansion in California – just around the corner from the Sussexes’ Montecito villa – the new show promises an intimate ‘at home’ experience with the mother-of-two. 

But royal sources have said the programme could be a make-or-break moment for Meghan and husband Harry as they seek to salvage a $100million deal with the streaming giant.  

Since the couple signed the mega deal in 2020, there has been one smash hit and three relative duds, sparking speculation Netflix might soon cut ties.

The biographical ‘Harry & Meghan’ was the streaming service’s biggest documentary debut, viewed in almost 29 million households in its first four days, and proved a global sensation.

But Polo, a sports docuseries, Live to Lead – which focused on ‘global justice activists’ – and Heart of Invictus, about Harry’s games for wounded soldiers, proved lacklustre additions that failed to set the streaming service’s viewing figures ablaze. 

‘With Love, Meghan’ sees the duchess trying to promote herself in a new way as a ‘domestic goddess’, baking cakes, arranging flowers and slipping into a beekeeper’s suit to collect honey.

Royal sources claim the new show could be the last roll of the dice for Harry and Meghan in a bid to strike a new deal with Netflix, following their $100million mega agreement in 2020 

Meghan’s new eight-part show features her showing how to host small events for friends 

However, in Los Angeles where Meghan and Harry live with their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, sources have said the Sussexes relationship with Netflix is on borrowed time, amid claims they have proven hard to work with. 

‘The word bandied around internally is “nightmare”,’ one insider told the Sunday Times, with others claiming the chances of a deal being renewed would rest squarely on whether or not ‘With Love, Meghan’ proved a hit. 

Unlike Polo, where the Sussexes had only a fleeting cameo, Meghan, 43, will be take centre stage in her new show, with Harry, 40, featuring in the background. 

The former Suits star-turned-royal will also have the support of her celebrity pals, like close friend and fellow actress Abigail Spencer and the comedian Mindy Kaling, who both feature in the eight-part series.  

And its hoped the show could be a big platform for the Sussexes’ future leisure brand, ‘As Ever’, to launch from, which will sell items like jams, tea, pet products and soaps in shops owned by Netflix. 

Sources say the success or failure of her products in the Netflix House superstores will would be pivotal in determining future Meghan’s entrepreneurial ambitions. 

‘This is make or break for Meghan,’ one source previously told MailOnline. ‘Her new show is rolling out the same time as the Netflix stores open.

‘The Netflix stores will offer products and merchandise from all their biggest shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things.

Meghan holds a chicken during an episode of her new Netflix show which came out today

‘This is a big move for Netflix. The first stores are in repurposed department stores inside two of America’s largest malls.

‘They will contain an onsite cafe so Meghan’s products like her strawberry jam will be featured on the menu too.

Meghan’s new lifestyle show was originally set to air in January but, according to Netflix, was pushed back because of the devastating LA wildfires.

Experts once thought a father’s health influenced birth weight—but new research says otherwise. Here’s what it really means for your baby.

Study: Association of Paternal BMI and Diet During Pregnancy with Offspring Birth Measures: The STEPS Study. Image Credit: VGstockstudio/Shutterstock.com

Birth weight and length are strongly affected by the mother’s body mass index (BMI) and diet. Some evidence from animal studies suggests an important role for paternal health measures also.

A recent study published in Nutrients looked for such associations in humans, concluding that the father’s body weight or diet does not affect the birth weight or length of the baby.

Introduction

Overweight and obesity are taking a heavy toll on public health worldwide. These conditions are associated with an increased risk of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as strokes, heart disease, kidney disease, liver and gallbladder disease, and some cancers.

Contributing factors may operate in fetal life, especially for diabetes and obesity. This emphasizes the need to understand how these mechanisms work.

Both birth weight and birth length affect neonatal health and death rates in this period. They are also associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in later life. The mother’s dietary habits, placental health, and mental health all play a part in proper nutrient transfer to the fetus.

Malnutrition during crucial periods of early development may leave their imprint on metabolism in adult life. Obesity before conception increases the chances of child obesity by 264%. However, the role played by paternal weight and diet is unclear, relying mostly on animal studies,

These have shown that DNA and embryonic changes, both structural and metabolic, are coupled with effects on birth weight in neonatal and adult life. Birth length may be associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia and is inversely correlated with overweight/obesity in adolescent males.

About the study

The current study focused on examining whether paternal BMI and diet quality affected fetal growth. The data came from the Finnish “Steps to Healthy Development of Children” (STEPS) study, including mothers who bore live children between 2008 and 2010 in a single Finnish hospital district, with the fathers of the children.

This is the first study to explore this area in a Finnish cohort.

It included 1,640 fathers with BMI or dietary data and 1,640 newborns.  Diet quality was assessed at 30 weeks of pregnancy using the Index of Diet Quality (IDQ). Scores below 10 were considered unhealthy/nonadherence to dietary guidelines, while 10-15 points indicated a healthy diet/adherence.

Study findings

The mean paternal age was 33 years, and the average BMI was 26 kg/m2. The average IDQ was 8.9, compared to 10.2 for mothers. Most children were born at term.

Surprisingly, 60% of fathers ate an unhealthy diet, compared to 33.5% of mothers. The mean paternal BMI indicates that they were often overweight.

The paternal BMI and dietary quality score showed no correlation with either birth weight or birth length, even after compensating for the mother’s weight and diet. 

Implications for fetal development

The paternal contribution to fetal environmental exposures requires further study. Conventional wisdom attributes adverse fetal developmental effects within and across generations to reduced paternal diet quality.

A deficiency of methyl donors like folate from green leafy vegetables and fruits, legumes, and beans has been linked to birth defects in mouse offspring.

Early pregnancy growth restriction may occur because of maternal malnutrition, smoking, or genetic factors. Paternal malnutrition may cause epigenetic changes in the sperms, affect semen quality, and reduce postnatal growth and weight in the offspring. These offspring may grow up to have metabolic disease as adults.

Despite the lack of association between paternal BMI and diet, and the birth weight and length of the offspring, longitudinal follow-up could conceivably reveal associations with later growth rates and obesity or overweight in adolescence and adult life.

These may be mediated by epigenetic changes and other factors that disrupt the normal growth and development of various organs and body systems. The ultimate outcome is a change in adult metabolism, behavior, and choices.

Conclusions

The findings of this study suggest that paternal BMI and diet quality do not significantly affect either birth length or weight. However, long-term follow-up is indicated to capture more long-term results of these paternal factors on offspring metabolic health and behaviors.

“A better understanding of paternal influences on offspring growth and development, including health outcomes, could have important implications for public health.”

A BBC Scotland journalist has recalled the haunting moment the father of missing Dinah McNicol was told police had found a body in a garden.

Home Affairs correspondent David Cowan was in Ian McNicol’s living room in Tillingham, Essex, in November 2007 when a colleague rang the bell to inform him of the grim discovery.

Days earlier the body of Vicky Hamilton – who went missing in Bathgate, West Lothian, in 1991 – was found in the grounds of convicted killer Peter Tobin’s former home in Margate, Kent.

When asked about the latest development at the search site Mr McNicol gave a response that has stayed with Cowan.

He told him: “Please be Dinah.”

The second body was later confirmed to be the teenager, who was 18 when she vanished in 1991, after hitchhiking home to Essex from a dance music festival in Hampshire.