A ROCK weighing 3.5 kilograms found at the top of Ireland’s tallest cliffs had hairs and blood stains with DNA matching a dead OAP, a jury has heard.

Robert ‘Robin’ Wilkin’s body was found in the sea eight days after it is alleged the two accused threw him over the Sliabh Liag cliffs in Donegal.

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Dr Conor Young of Forensic ­Science Ireland today told the trial of Alan Vial, 39, and Nikita Burns, 23, that the blood staining could be explained by direct contact between the rock and Mr Wilkin, 66, or by contact with a surface that was heavily stained with his blood.

The trial also heard from Detective Garda Jeanette O’Neill, a ballistics expert with the Garda Technical Bureau, who told Bernard Condon SC for the prosecution that she found the rock on the edge of the Sliabh Liag cliffs near a viewing point used by tourists.

Nearby were other items including a man’s reading glasses, a silver chain with a broken clasp and a five cent coin.

Further down the cliff, Det Gda O’Neill found a frame from the rearview mirror of a car which appeared to have a blood swipe on it.

Garda searchers also recovered a heavily bloodstained blanket and a man’s Ravel wristwatch.

Inside a Volkswagen Passat in which the prosecution alleges the assault on Mr Wilkin happened, Det Gda O’Neill found blood spatter on the roof, on the rear passenger window and the rear window.

From the pattern of the blood spatter, she concluded that the assailant may have sat in the front passenger seat when the assault took place.

A brother of Mr Vial has testified that after the alleged murder, the accused man borrowed a vacuum to clean his car and when it was returned, it was “full of gunk” which the witness assumed was “red wine vomit”.

Nikita Burns of Carrick, Co Donegal and Alan Vial, of Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, Co Donegal have pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert Wilkin on June 25, 2023 in Donegal.

The trial continues.

Terrie Burton -The Sun Dublin

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Правоохоронні органи США продовж останніх двох днів здійснюють рейди в різних штатах з метою виявлення та арештів нелегальних мігрантів, які незаконно перебувають на американській території. За офіційною інформацією, правоохоронці заарештували більше тисячі нелегалів, передає Укрінформ із посиланням на CNN. «Служба імміграційного та митного контролю (ICE) Сполучених Штатів у понеділок офіційно повідомила про здійснення щонайменше 1179 арештів», — […]

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HE’S got some of the largest numbers of young fans on the BBC – but that doesn’t mean that Lord Sugar agrees with a ‘woke’ work ethic.

The business mogul, 78, also slammed one growing work habit and called the modern practice the “kiss of death”.

PA

Lord Sugar has revealed one sure fire way to get fired from working with him[/caption]

BBC

He will be joined by 18 new candidates in the boardroom this week[/caption]

He told The Sun: “People come to interviews and the first thing they ask is, ‘How long can I work from home and are my times flexible?’ – they don’t ask about the job at all. 

“To me, that’s like the kiss of death, and they don’t get very far past the next question.”

Lord Sugar, who will once again be joined by Tim Campbell and Karren Brady in The Apprentice’s new series, which begins tomorrow night, added it’s all about ‘work ethic’.

He said: “Work ethic has changed in my lifetime and in my opinion it’s getting too relaxed. 

“There are companies that have beds there and are allowing people to turn up at 11 in the morning so they can detox from boozing the night before by going and laying in a pod somewhere, to pop out at 3 in the afternoon after having their two minutes of genius. 

“Hard graft is gone – and anyone working for me who wants a two-hour lunch break to go to the gym, I’m afraid to say they would have to stay on the treadmill all day because it’s not my culture.”

It’s all part of Lord Sugar’s commitment to hard work – which means he is still keen to shy away from the celebrity aspect of his role, like appearing on other reality shows. 

He added: “I’ve been asked to participate in other shows and I respectfully decline.

“I enjoy doing The Apprentice, but there’s a limitation to how much I want to be seen on screen. 

“I get approached by production companies who come up with new ideas and new formats, but I say, ‘Not me, go somewhere else’.

“There are some people that will go to the opening of an envelope – but I haven’t got any other shows and I tend to turn down invitations to everything, including chat shows and things like that.”

Nonetheless, he’s not worried about being replaced on the BBC One series anytime soon, or with a new replacement show, ahead of the airing of a 20th anniversary series next year. 

Lord Sugar explained: “You’ve got to understand that I am part of the show. 

“I’ve done everything, all these tasks these people are asked to do… I’ve loaded lorries, I’ve packed parcels, I’ve travelled all over the world.

“I don’t ask any of these people to do anything that I can’t do myself, and that’s why it all rolls off my tongue when I’m in the boardroom. 

“I’m interacting with the people and I think that’s very authentic, and even if I say so myself, it is very authentic.

“Unfortunately, any of the imitations, often copied and often failed, are, with all due respect, pretty pathetic.”

The Apprentice airs Thursday at 9pm on BBC One

IN Ayden Heaven, it seems Arsenal have got one hell of a player – if they can keep hold of him.

The 18-year-old centre-back made his competitive senior debut in October in the Gunners’ 3-0 win at Preston in the Carabao Cup fourth round – from the bench in the 80^th minute.

Reuters

Ayden Heaven is greeted by Mikel Arteta after his debut against Preston[/caption]

Reuters

The defender (right) made his Gunners bow in the Carabao Cup at Deepdale[/caption]

Getty

Heaven (second left) with other Arsenal academy stars after beating Bolton in the Carabao Cup[/caption]

Before that, he was one of several academy stars to feature on the club’s pre-season summer tour of the States with boss Mikel Arteta starting him against Manchester United.

Heaven – standing at 6ft 3in and a left-footer – was at fault for United’s opener, outmuscled and outpaced by Rasmus Hojlund, but he recovered well as Arsenal won the game 2-1.

He has gone from strength to strength since then, and now rivals United are closing in on a deal to sign the defender.

HOW DO THEY PLAY AND WHO DO THEY REMIND YOU OF?

The first thing you notice about Heaven is his size and physicality, the body of a young, raw Patrick Vieira who is not afraid to get stuck in.

As shown against Hojlund in the summer, Heaven still needs time to bulk up and prove he can mix it with the biggest and most intimidating strikers in the Prem.

But Arteta remained calm in that department, mainly because of Heaven’s technique and calmness on the ball.

Avid watchers of Arsenal’s academy sides know Heaven very rarely loses his cool, appears unflappable in possession and has the ability to ping cross-field balls like a prime Steven Gerrard.

Arsenal have another William Saliba-style defender in the making – one who is big, quick and able to start attacks from deep.

TELL US ABOUT THEIR RISE?

Heaven is extremely highly thought of at Arsenal, having also made the bench for their last 16 first Champions League clash at Porto back in February.

He is a trusted member of the senior squad, expected to step up when called upon, especially after Arsenal’s injury woes at the start of this campaign.

After featuring against Preston, Heaven said: “I’ve waited a long time. Today the day finally came, I’m just happy. I thank my team-mates, my family and everyone that’s got me here.

“I feel like Mikel has trust in me. I feel that’s a big part in it and yeah, I just feel like there’s trust when it comes to making your competitive debut.”

Heaven signed for the Gunners in 2019 after being released by West Ham as a 12-year-old, having also had trials at Chelsea and Fulham – turning down the latter because training was too far from his north London home in Edmonton.

Before being picked up by Arsenal, he played for Sunday League outfit Levels – a grassroots club who give players opportunities to compete against elite football academies.

But Arsenal were always going to be his first pick given he was a boyhood fan – his idols being Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott.

Heaven explained: “Arsenal were knocking on the door and that made more sense given that, firstly I’m a fan, but also the location was much more convenient.

“Hale End was only a 15-minute drive, so everything fell into place perfectly. Signing for the club I’ve supported and my mum was so happy for me – she even cried!

“My family are so important, they’re my motivation, I’ve got two younger siblings and an older sister that mean the world to me.”

Heaven flourished under former Arsenal U18s coach Jack Wilshere, helping him get chances in the first team and training under Arteta at London Colney.

The teenager added: “The intensity is crazy! You get dizzy sometimes because it’s at such a quick tempo. The difference between under-18s, under-21s and the first team is unbelievable.”

I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this at his age

ARTETA AFTER PRE-SEASON GAME AGAINST MAN UTD

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

Arteta is not one for over-hyping a young player too quickly, but the Spaniard had some nice words to say about Heaven after the pre-season victory over United.

He said post-match: “At 17, I don’t know how many players are able to do that on a stage like this.

“He’s lost a duel against one of the strongest and fastest players in the world, it can happen.

“But the reaction afterwards, the composure, the quality, the body language that he had were all remarkable. I’m really happy with him.”

WHAT DOES THE NEXT 12 MONTHS HOLD?

Heaven’s future at Arsenal is not set in stone.

After signing scholarship terms with the club last summer, he is yet sign a new deal.

His contract expires in June 2025. There was confidence an agreement could be made for such a young talent in the coming months.

But United emerged as contenders to nab the Gunners academy product as they look to bolster their defence.

The Red Devils made contact with Arsenal over signing the teenager and lead the transfer race over Barcelona and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Arsenal still hope to keep hold of Heaven and have started talks over a new contract offer to persuade him to stay.

A MUM-OF-THREE was left fuming after being fined an eye-watering £320 for taking her children on a fun winter holiday to Lapland.

Mum Danielle, who jetted off to the tourist hotspot earlier this month, dubbed the hefty fine ”absolutely ridiculous”.

TikTok / @daniellemsands23

TikTok / @daniellemsands23

Taking kids out of school for holidays is frowned upon as it can disrupt their education.

Last year, Labour’s Bridget Phillipson slammed “disrespectful” parents who do so.

As of August 2024, the fine for school absences across the country rose from £60 to £80 if paid within 21 days.

If parents fail to pay a fine issued within 21 days, they will have to pay double – £160, to be precise, up from the previous £120.

The Department for Education said this rate tallies with inflation, and is the first time the amount has gone up since 2012.

Parents can only accrue two fines within a three-year period – however, once this limit has been reached, additional actions such as parenting order, or prosecution will be implemented.

However, this hasn’t stopped some families from going abroad during term time, especially as they can often find cheaper holiday deals when it’s off-season.

Raging about the fine, Danielle said her family were in Lapland, Finland, for a week and she viewed the time-off as an ”educational trip”.

”I actually wrote a letter of every single thing that we were gonna be doing in Lapland and how education this trip was gonna be,” she was fuming in the video.

”We weren’t sitting on a beach or random pool laying down for seven days – we actually had activities that we were doing every single day.

”It’s stuff that my children were never ever gonna gain by sitting in a classroom.”

Some of the things she had noted down in the list included ”seeing and learning all about the Northern lights” along with a special ”tool book” that explained the phenomenon and visiting ”a husky safari” where they’d be ”learning about the history of dog sledding”.

She went on in the video: ”Reindeer tour – learning about the culture of reindeer and reindeer herding, getting to meet and feed the reindeer and experience a reindeer sleigh ride.

”Snowmobiles – learning about different means of travel in Finland, learning how to drive a snowmobile and we got to drive over a frozen lake and to experience the wilderness of the Finnish Lapland.

”We also crossed the Arctic Circle and there’s basically so much more.

”We got to meet the real Father Christmas, of course, we got to experience skiing,” she listed the fun activities the family got up to.

In the video, Danielle said she was ”gutted” the school couldn’t see the seven-day holiday ”as an education trip”.

Slamming the system, the mother-of-three shared her confusion about her daughter’s Year 6 upcoming ”residential trip” that’s booked in the UK.

”They’re going for three, four nights – and that’s acceptable?”

Although Danielle was fuming, she didn’t blame the school – and instead, was furious at ”the government, the corruption, the council”.

In her eyes, schools should finally stand with the parents and mark the educational trips as ”authorised absence”.

According to the mum, who said they’d ”play the game” from now on, explained the same holiday would set the family back a whopping £6,000 to £7,000.

”But if I take them out during September when there’s a couple of inset days, it’s like £1,000 cheaper.

”I understand why they have things set in place – but we should be allowed to have at least one holiday with our children a year,” said Danielle, adding her partner works long hours and ”doesn’t get to see his children”.

”Nine times out of then, he’s home when the children are in bed. On the weekends sometimes he does private work or we’re busy catching up on things we can’t do during the week.”

‘It’s all about the money’

Hundreds of social media users flooded to the comments – where a fierce debate took place.

Whilst many agreed with Danielle and her frustration, others thought the implemented fine was essential for education.

One said: ”Could you imagine all 30 children in a class taking 1-2 weeks off school during term time? You could have a child missing every week of the year.”

Someone else chimed in: ”I think schools should now double the fines, it’s quite clear the current levels are not being respected by middle class parents.”

A third wrote: ”As a teacher I’m totally against these fines. The only thing I would say is that the teacher shouldn’t be expected to have to repeat anything that the kid has missed, exams or anything.”

”It’s all about the money. They don’t care about the kids,” is how another person felt.

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