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The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Conviction of man who burned a Koran condemned as example of ‘de facto blasphemy laws'
THE conviction of a man who burned a Koran has been condemned as an example of 'de facto blasphemy laws'. Hamit Coskun, 50, yelled 'f*** Islam ' as he set fire to a copy of the religious text outside the Turkish consulate in South West London in February. 2 He was yesterday found guilty of a religiously aggravated public order offence and fined £240. The judge at Westminster magistrates' court called his actions 'highly provocative'. But Kemi Badenoch yesterday urged Mr Coskun to appeal against the conviction, saying that 'freedom of belief, and freedom not to believe, are inalienable rights in Britain'. The Tory leader said: 'De facto blasphemy laws will set this country on the road to ruin.' Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick added: ' Free speech is under threat. "I have no confidence in Two-Tier Keir to defend the right of the public to criticise all religions.' The Free Speech Union vowed to fight the conviction all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if needed. Religious texts ripped apart as Islamic school vandalised in Newcastle for the 'second time in three months' 2
The Sun
20-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
I was an alcoholic from the age of 14 – now at 37 I'm dying but consider myself lucky I hit rock bottom
WAKING up with a pounding headache, Abi Feltham feels herself in the grips of yet another hangover. Stumbling downstairs bleary eyed, the then 14-year-old flicks the switch on the kettle in the hope of reviving herself. 8 8 8 But rather than add a splash of milk to her brew, the teen splashes a glug of vodka into her cup instead. It might seem shocking but to Abi, now 37, it was the habit of a lifetime that saw her fall into decades of alcohol abuse. Abi says that she used booze to suppress " trauma" - which included losing her father after he took his own life when she was just three-years-old. Abi, a content creator, from South West London, says: "I was really reliant on substances - my addiction issues grew as my mental health plummeted. "Being alive and being me was too painful, so I didn't let myself sober up.' She drank "everyday" from the aged 14, when Abi would sneak vodka into her cups of tea and hide empty bottles in her room. At her worst, Abi was drinking two 700ml bottles of whiskey or vodka and six to eight small cans of beer a day. It was only when the coronavirus lockdown forced her to return to her childhood home in Berkshire, in March 2020, that Abi was able to address her addiction issues. Hiding bottles of booze in her childhood bedroom like she did as a teen was a "turning point" for Abi, she quit drinking on 1st April 2020 and turned her life around. Four years into her sobriety, Abi was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour, no relation to her drinking, and given 15 years to live. She has undergone two brain surgeries, radiotherapy and chemo therapy, and must continue to have MRI scans "every few months" to monitor the growth of the tumour. But despite her harrowing ordeal, optimistic Abi claims she still "has lots of living to do" and credits getting sober for preparing her to deal with "the challenge of cancer". "When I finally got sober, it was like something clicked in my head,' she says. "I knew I had to stop drinking forever. "I was diagnosed with a brain tumour four years into my sobriety. "I thought, 'thank god I'm dealing with this sober'. "I wouldn't be able to deal with cancer if I was still drinking - I'm grateful to past me for sorting myself out so future me could deal with this." Self-proclaimed "party girl" Abi drank throughout her teens, and knew "deep down" her drinking was "worse" than her fellow school friends. 8 8 8 She went backpacking in 2011 aged 23 - where she found other people "drinking to escape" like her. Abi worked in bars to hide her habit while backpacking around the world for ten years. She said: "I would drink a lot. When it was at its worst I was going through a couple bottles of spirits a day. "I would drink from the moment I woke up to when I would pass out in the evening. "I have always struggled with mental health issues. I had a lot of trauma from a young age. "I had a lot of loss and drinking was the only way to cope." While she occasionally had relationships she ays that her boozing had a serious impact. "I was always hungover, or on the way to the next hangover," she says. "I became irrational, argumentative - it's very difficult to live harmoniously in a relationship because you're so erratic - you're drunk. "I just wasn't capable of having relationships." Her addiction issues ramped up when she moved to Canada in April 2019, and Abi ended up in a psychiatric hospital in February 2020, after going into "full on self-destruct mode". Abi said: "There were so many events that should have been a wakeup call. "My relationship broke-down because of my drinking, I lost my job for drinking a bottle of vodka at work, I started smoking crack and eventually attempted to take my own life and ended up on a psych ward. Signs you might have a drinking problem It can be tricky to spot the signs of alcohol dependence. Doctors often tend to look for these specific signs: Impaired control over alcohol use - not being able to control how long a drinking session is, how much alcohol you consume when you do drink, how frequently you drink, being unable to stop drinking once you start, or drinking on inappropriate occasions or at inappropriate places. Giving increasing priority to alcohol - giving precedence to drinking over other daily activities and responsibilities, drinking is becoming more important to you than looking after your health, or carrying on drinking despite negative consequences for your health or life. Unwanted physical or mental effects from drinking - showing signs of increased tolerance to alcohol (having to drink more for the same effect), experiencing withdrawal symptoms, or using alcohol to prevent or alleviate withdrawal symptoms. If you think you may be drinking too much, or that your drinking is beginning to have a damaging effect on your life, Drinkaware also has a quick online test that can tell you if you should be concerned. Source: Drinkaware "But none of it was a wake up call, it was just another punch that I was rolling with." Due to covid, Abi moved back home to Berkshire in March 2020 - where she tried to hide her addiction issues from her friends and family. She said: "It was only when I was hiding bottles next to my bed in my childhood home, like I did when I was a teenager, that it hit me. "I had a full circle moment where I felt like a mirror had been held up to my face." Abi hasn't touched a drop of alcohol since her "moment of realisation" in April 2020 but admits that stopping cold turkey was "very dangerous". "Withdrawal was really scary, I was bed bound, slipping in and out of consciousness, hallucinating, shivering and sweating for five days." she said. "I was so lucky I didn't have seizures." Four years into her sobriety, Abi started having headaches, nausea and brain fog but put it down to caffeine withdrawal in October 2023. Eight months later, she was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour in June 2024, and is now taking things "one day at a time" as she lives with terminal cancer. She said: "I was told I have 15 years - I'm really stubborn though so I'll probably live until 100. "I'm very grateful for the life I have - every day I'm filled with gratitude. "Before I was diagnosed with cancer I was just going through the motions and not very happy. "Now I'm more positive and enjoy life now that I'm faced with my own mortality. "It's very clear to me how much good I have and I wouldn't want to waste another second not appreciating it." 8 8
The Sun
15-05-2025
- Sport
- The Sun
Chelsea star banned from driving after racking up more points on license than Man Utd have in Premier League
CHELSEA star Wesley Fofana has been banned from driving for two years after racking up 47 points on his licence. The French international's tally would see him finish higher than several Premier League giants this season — including Manchester United, who sit on 39 points. 2 2 Lavender Hill magistrates' court in South West London heard on Wednesday that he had committed eight offences in three different vehicles in less than a year. Fofana, 24, who did not appear at court, was dubbed a 'habitual speeder' by chairman of the bench John Soones, who slapped the defender with a further 38 points on top of his previous nine. Mr Soones said: 'We take into account the fact he is a habitual speeder, with access to powerful motor cars, who speeds at nearly double the speed limit.' The earliest offence was last March when he drove his Lamborghini Urus at 26mph in a 20mph zone in Brixton, South London. Fofana was then caught five times behind the wheel of his £300,000 Rolls-Royce Cullinan and twice in his blue 4.0-litre Audi — all in a 50mph zone on the A3 Esher bypass. He hit speeds of up to 88mph on the route he regularly uses to get to and from his home in Kingston-upon-Thames to the club's training ground in Cobham, Surrey. Fofana, who admitted all offences, had so many they were scattered throughout the building's courtrooms. Chairman Mr Soones said: 'He's got a flush. He is in court one, two and three. But we have gathered them all together'. His lawyer Imogen Cox told the court: 'He is a young man that plays football for a living and he works extremely hard, training, and has foolishly not complied with the rules of the road.' Fofana was fined £5,328, plus a £2,131 victim surcharge and £110 in costs. He was previously disqualified for six months in January 2023 for speeding. The player is regarded as a 'sick note' by Chelsea fans due to long absences after two major knee injuries since his £70million switch from Leicester City in 2022.
The Verge
12-05-2025
- Climate
- The Verge
Power failure knocks out London's train lines.
Jess Weatherbed The disruption reportedly stems from an outage that started in south-west London at about 2:30PM local time, according to the BBC, but there's no word on what caused the failure. Travel is suspended across the Bakerloo and Waterloo & City lines, and partially suspended across the Elizabeth and Jubilee lines. The Transport for London website is tracking the situation but also seems to be experiencing its own issues, with pages struggling to load or crashing entirely.
Sky News
12-05-2025
- General
- Sky News
Power outage hits London Underground
A power outage has hit the London Underground, causing major travel disruption in the capital. The website of Transport for London (TfL) sshowed the entire Bakerloo and Suffragette lines were suspended while there were severe delays and part suspensions on the Elizabeth line and the Jubilee and Northern lines. A spokesman for TfL said there was an outage in south-west London for "a matter of minutes" and "everything shut down" due to a "National Grid issue". The spokesman added that "some people would have probably been stuck in a tunnel for a little bit of time". TfL said it was in the process of "getting things back up and running again". Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
