Husna Anjum

GCSE results will be available through schools from 8am on Thursday, with exact collection times set by individual schools. For the first time, many students will also be able to access their grades through the Education Record app from 11am, following a trial involving 95,000 students in Manchester and the West Midlands. Students unable to attend school may arrange collection by email, post or an authorised representative.

Jake Bolton was sentenced to 46 months in prison and banned from driving for 72 months after pleading guilty to causing the death of Himabindu Yadla by careless driving. Bolton was sleep deprived, using a hands-free phone and had more than twice the legal cannabis limit in his blood when his Audi S3 struck Yadla as she crossed Tramway Lane in Bamber Bridge in October 2024. Yadla died in hospital after 18 days on life support. Her family said she had been working to bring her eight-year-old daughter from India to the UK, a plan that ended with her death. The judge accepted Bolton's remorse but described driving after taking cannabis as an avoidable and unwarranted risk.

Five UAS Skymagic X245 drones collided and fell into the River Thames during a nighttime light-show rehearsal near the London Eye on March 23. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch found that several drones experienced degraded positional accuracy, possibly because they reverted to a lower-accuracy positioning mode or because an RTK antenna was partially obscured. Two additional drones also descended out of control, but no injuries were reported. The operator subsequently raised the antenna and introduced checks to ensure an unobstructed signal before flights.

Britto Lorence was sentenced to an 18-month community order, including 150 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £914 in costs and a victim surcharge after pleading guilty to outraging public decency on an Emirates flight from Dubai to Newcastle. The court heard he performed a sex act under a blanket while seated beside a woman and her young child, causing the woman significant distress. District Judge Kate Meek refused his later attempt to withdraw the guilty plea, noting the seriousness of the offence and the passengers' inability to escape the situation.

Gerry Duffy pleaded guilty at Willesden Magistrates' Court to damaging his neighbour Andreas Ptohides's pond, pumps and pipes and unlawfully destroying five or six koi fish. Duffy had repeatedly complained about noise from the pond's water pump and had warned Ptohides he would act if the problem was not resolved. CCTV showed him entering the garden and damaging the equipment, while the prosecution said motor oil and detergent caused about £565 in damage. The defence attributed his actions to frustration, sleep deprivation and feeling driven insane by the noise. Duffy received a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £565 compensation.

Ski Yodl Ltd, which traded as Yodl and sold ski holiday packages including trips to the French Alps, has entered voluntary liquidation. Shareholders approved the winding-up on July 22, with Richard Cacho of RCM Advisory Limited appointed liquidator. Package holidays booked through the company have been cancelled, although ABTA says it does not believe there were current package-holiday bookings at the time of liquidation. Customers with accommodation-only bookings must seek card refunds through their issuer or register claims with the liquidator, as those bookings were not ABTA-protected.

A widespread outage affected Facebook, Instagram and related Meta services across the US, UK and Europe, with users reporting logouts, app failures and website issues. Down Detector logged a sharp rise in error reports beginning around midday, with most problems tied to the app and login functions. Users shared frustrations on other platforms while Meta’s major social apps were simultaneously impacted.

An 18-year-old man, Sonny Horsfall, was jailed for three years after driving a poorly maintained Audi A4 dangerously in Redcar, striking an 84-year-old man and fleeing the scene. Court evidence showed he had recorded reckless driving on Snapchat and later messaged friends admitting he believed he had killed someone. The victim suffered severe injuries, required surgery and rehabilitation, and lost much of his independence. Horsfall, who was disqualified from driving, pleaded guilty to multiple offences, with the court hearing he expressed remorse and had been assaulted in custody. He was also banned from driving for four years.

A 14-year-old rugby player, Louis Cramp, died after a long battle with osteosarcoma, initially diagnosed following a leg fracture in 2024. Cardigan RFC, where he played since age seven, issued a tribute highlighting his character and the deep impact of his loss. His community previously rallied to support him through fundraising and solidarity gestures during his treatment. His mother expressed gratitude for the support from the rugby club, medical teams, and charities involved in his care.

A Scottish man, Danny Vettrino, was shot dead in the Gym Hill area of Canouan in St. Vincent and the Grenadines after returning from a day out. Police found him with multiple gunshot wounds and have launched an investigation, with two men reportedly detained for questioning. Vettrino had lived and worked internationally before taking a job in the Grenadines. Family and friends shared tributes expressing grief and describing his positive character.