A mother of three in Dublin died after being electrocuted while using her charging phone in the bath.

Ann-Marie O’Gorman, 47, from Shanliss Avenue in Santry, was discovered unresponsive by her husband, Joe, in October last year. She was taken to Beaumont Hospital but was later pronounced dead.

At an inquest, pathologist Heidi Okkers told Dublin District Coroner’s Court that O’Gorman had sustained electrocution-type burns to her chest and left arm.

Joe explained that he had left home with their youngest daughter, Megan, at around 6.40 p.m. and phoned his wife on the way back shortly before 8 p.m. When he returned, he found her lying on her side in the bath with her phone and charging cable submerged in the water.

As he attempted to lift her out, he said he felt a mild electric shock.

He told the court: “The only thing you hear about is how these phones are great in up to six feet of water. It gives people the idea that you can have your phone near water. There should be warnings that this is dangerous. There’s nothing being done about this whatsoever by any provider to say this is a hazard you could die from. That is all that people have to know.”

Joe added that phone companies promoted a “false illusion of safety” by advertising their devices as waterproof. He also said there were no warnings on iPhones about the risk of electrocution if they come into contact with water while charging.

South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has been found guilty of contravening South Africa’s Firearms Control Act after firing a gun during a public rally.

The ruling came from the East London Magistrate’s Court, where Magistrate Twanet Olivier delivered the judgment following a lengthy trial. The case stemmed from the EFF’s fifth-anniversary celebration in 2018 at Sisa Dukashe Stadium, Mdantsane, where viral footage showed Malema being handed what appeared to be a rifle by his then-bodyguard, Adriaan Snyman, before discharging it into the air before cheering supporters.

Malema’s defence team argued the firearm was only a toy prop used for dramatic effect. However, the court dismissed this claim, citing visual evidence and multiple witness testimonies as decisive in proving the case beyond reasonable doubt.

Magistrate Olivier emphasized that there was no sign of bias in the state witnesses’ testimonies, reinforcing confidence in the credibility of the prosecution’s case.

Alongside Malema, his former bodyguard Adriaan Snyman was also charged for unlawfully providing the weapon and faced additional counts of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The conviction concludes a years-long legal battle triggered by the high-profile incident, which drew widespread attention both nationally and internationally. Sentencing details are expected to follow.

A child r@pist, Ian Hoggins, has been sentenced to an effective life imprisonment in South Africa after a brave testimony of a four-year-old victim. 

The Thembalethu Regional Court sentenced Hoggins after the State successfully argued that there was no other fitting sentence following his conviction for child r@pe, s3xual assault, and illegal possession of 124 child pornographic images. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in a statement on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, said the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm and ordered his name to be entered into the National Register of S3x Offenders.

Regional Court Magistrate Eugenia Jacobs sentenced 55-year-old Hoggins to life imprisonment for rape, 5 years direct imprisonment for s3xual assault and 8 years direct imprisonment for the illegal possession of child p0rnographic images. 

The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. It further ordered his name to be entered into the National Register of S3x Offenders and declared him unfit to possess a firearm. The court further ordered that the court record be sealed to protect the identity of the minor complainant.

“This successful prosecution and sentencing of the accused in this case are record-breaking, as the victim is the youngest person to testify in her own rape case in South Africa successfully. She was three years old when she was raped and s3xually assaulted. 

She also testified that the accused photographed her private parts, but she could not be successfully identified in the images found on the cellular phone of the accused. She was four years old when she testified for four consecutive days,” the statement read. 

This necessitated a lot of patience and King Solomon’s wisdom on the part of Adv. Gerda Marx, as the victim, grew tired and had a short attention span.

Adv Marx had to request the court to take breaks to ensure that the victim did not lose focus and was able to respond during her testimony and the rigorous cross-examination that followed. She also used anatomically correct dolls for the victim to demonstrate what had happened to her.

She testified that she visited the accused’s household and would play with the accused’s daughter. 

When the incidents happened, the accused’s wife was at work, and his daughter was in another room watching movies. She testified that the accused called her as she walked to the toilet, took off her pants, diaper, s3xually assaulted her, raped her, and took pictures of her private parts using his cellphone. She further testified that the accused told her not to tell anybody.

On the evening of 30 August 2020, she told her mother that Ian had hurt her; he had hurt her very much. She was taken to a doctor who examined her genital organs. 

She also testified that she reported to the doctor what happened. During cross-examination, she was asked to relay the whole story of what the accused did to her. She said, “Hy het net daai goete gedoen, Ian.”

She testified that she fears the accused. She does not want to visit their house again. They do not visit the house of the accused anymore because the accused has hurt her. 

Her mother was shocked and did not know how to deal with it. She persisted and touched her mother’s face to ensure her mother was paying attention. Then she said, “Mamma hy het”. 

She kept on repeating for about 30 minutes as to what happened. The mother and her sister took the victim to the George Thuthuzela Care Centre (TCC), where she was examined and reported a case to the police. 

The victim’s mother testified that her daughter was afraid, anxious, and avoided people. She would hide behind her mother and would turn away from male persons. Did not want to have contact with people.

Arguing in aggravation of sentence, Adv Marx told the court that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances which allowed the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment. 

The accused was known to the victim; from time to time, his daughter and his wife would look after the victim. There was a trust relationship built over time. 

The gruesome crimes had a direct impact on the victim as she started to have nightmares after the incident and was taking prescribed medication for anxiety. Adv Marx further argued that the accused failed to take responsibility for his actions.

After his sentence, the accused, through his legal representative, Adv Knoetze, informed the court that he intended to appeal both the conviction and sentence. 

He requested the court to extend his bail pending the finalisation of the appeal. Adv Marx successfully argued this, and the court ruled that the accused must serve his sentence, as it believed that no other court could come to a different conclusion. 

Immediately after the delivery of this decision, the accused attempted to commit suicide in court and had to be rushed to the hospital.

Western Cape Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Adv Tommy Bunguzana applauded the minor for being able to successfully testify about what happened to her and assisted to ensure justice for herself and her family. 

He also applauded the investigation, the prosecution team, staff at the TCC, the Court Preparation Officer and the intermediary for the different roles they played to ensure justice for the minor victim. 

He thanked the Homeland Security Investigations American Embassy for their assistance in downloading the child pornographic images, which led to the accused’s conviction on the charge.

Adv Bunguzana said all cases of sexual violence encroach on the rights to dignity and privacy of the victims as enshrined in our Constitution, hence the NPA will continue to aggressively prosecute them.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, September 28, Russia fired more than 600 drones and missiles at targets across Ukraine in one of the largest barrages of the entire war.

 The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia launched 595 drones and 48 missiles, including powerful cruise and ballistic weapons. Air defenses managed to intercept or suppress 43 cruise missiles and the vast majority of the drones, but the massive scale of the attack underscored Kyiv’s persistent challenge.

The assaults resulted in immediate casualties and infrastructure damage. At least four people were killed in the capital, Kyiv, including a 12-year-old girl, with 42 people injured in the city and surrounding region. Another 31 people were injured in Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the Cardiology Institute in the capital was damaged and called the attacks a "war against civilians."

The timing of the bombardment was noted by the Ukrainian leadership. President Zelensky stated, “This vile attack took place practically as the UN General Assembly week was concluding, and this is exactly how Russia declares its real position.”

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha warned that "Putin must know that each such attack brings him closer to Russian assets being fully used for Ukraine’s defense," referring to the ongoing process within the EU and UK to seize frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s support.

Poland scrambled fighter jets in its airspace early Sunday as a preventive measure due to the proximity of the threat and recent Russian drone incursions over its territory.

Amid the heavy bombardment, Kyiv continues to strengthen its air and long-range capabilities. Zelensky reported that Ukraine recently received a Patriot missile defense system from Israel and is expecting two more from Germany, calling the batteries "critical."

Furthermore, Zelensky announced a significant diplomatic breakthrough following a "very good meeting" with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, where they advanced a "$90 billion megadeal" to buy U.S. weapons systems.

Following that meeting, Trump made a sharp turnaround in his stance, stating that Ukraine was now in a position to "fight and WIN" the war and take back all occupied land.

Russia, for its part, maintained that its forces had launched a "massive strike" against military industries and airfields in Ukraine.

A young woman, April Buckles has, has got people talking after gifting her husband, Kevin Carter, a custom built Porsche.

The couple who got married in 2024 are expecting their first child. 

She took to Instagram on Saturday, September 27, to share photos of the new ride packed beside her own car, a Cadillac V.

“My most expensive hobby. I bought the husband a custom built @porsche that matches my @cadillac V ;),” she captioned the post. 

A throuple—comprising three men in a polyamorous relationship—has been granted legal adoption of a three-year-old girl from Quebec's child protection services. 

This marks the first instance in Quebec, Canada, where an all-male polyamorous trio has been recognised as legal parents of a child, Visegrad24 reported. 

The adoption was finalised following a comprehensive home study and court approval process. 

Two of the men have been officially listed as the child's legal parents, while the third is actively pursuing full legal recognition under Quebec's updated family laws, which now accommodate multi-parent families. 

This legal shift follows a 2025 ruling by the Quebec Superior Court that recognised the right of children to have more than two legal parents, compelling the provincial government to amend the Civil Code accordingly. 

This legal development comes against the backdrop of changes to Quebec’s civil code. 

In April 2025, Quebec’s Superior Court had ruled that restricting parental status to one or two people was unconstitutional, setting in motion amendments to allow for greater recognition of multi-parent families. 

Meanwhile, reports of the asoption has sparked mixed reaction, with many expressing concern for the kind of upbringing the 3-year-old girl would have.

A man who k!lled at least four people and wounded eight others on Sunday, September 28, at a Michigan Latter-day Saints church is a 40-year-old Iraq War veteran who served in the US Marines. 

Iraq War veteran Thomas Sanford rammed his Chevy Silverado truck into the church building before opening fire on worshipers at a Sunday service of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, USA. 

The vehicle had two large American flags behind the cab and a set of deer antlers attached to the bumper. 

He also set the church ablaze, causing the entire structure to burn down. Authorities fear there may be more victims in the fire. 

A Facebook post by Sanford’s mother says the gunman — who di£d at the scene in a shootout with cops — served in Iraq from 2004 to 2008. 

He was k!lled minutes after the first 911 call came in. 

A Department of Natural Resources officer and a local township cop responded to the scene in about 30 seconds, authorities said. 

Authorities later confirmed that Sanford, from nearby Burton, Michigan, is the lone suspect. 

The source of the blaze was not immediately known, but sources told The Post that authorities found improvised explosive devices on church property, which a bomb squad was investigating.
A bomb squad was also searching Sanford’s house. 

Cops said there were hundreds of worshippers inside the church when the attack began, with aerial footage showing an enormous plume of choking black smoke rising up from the structure as it burned. 

Social media accounts believed to be connected to Sanford show he’s a family man, with a wife and young son. 

A dormant GoFundMe page from 2015 raised more than $3,000 for the couple’s now-10-year-old son who was born with congenital hyperinsulinism, or CHI, a rare, genetic condition where the pancreas releases too much insulin. 

Pictures from the Sanfords’ Facebook page show the family smiling, posing in the beds of pickup trucks or in a field of tall sunflowers. 

An unnamed witness told Fox 2 Detroit that the attack started at about just after the congregational hymn, when hundreds of people were inside the building for the 10 a.m. service 

Churchgoers reportedly heard a loud bang as the attacker crashed his truck into the church. 

“We at first thought someone had accidentally crashed into the church, so we went out to help him,” the man told the local TV station. 

Paul Kirby, 38, who also ran outside to render assistance believing it to be an accident, told the New York Times he saw the man getting out of the truck from about 10-20 yards away before he realized what was happening. 

“He started shooting at me,” Kirby said, saying a bullet whizzed through a nearby glass door, clipping his leg with a piece of shrapnel. 

He then rushed inside the church to find his wife and two sons before they fled through the back of the church and loaded as many people into their car as they could before speeding away. 

Grand Blanc resident Tony Deck told USA Today that he drove by the church after hearing sirens and saw “at least four yellow canvases over de@d bodies.”

A disturbing case in Zimunya, Zimbabwe has led to the arrest and conviction of a 19-year-old man for engaging in a s3x act with a chicken. 

The incident, which occurred earlier this month, was detailed in proceedings before the Mutare Magistrates’ Court, which delivered its ruling on 24 September 2025, according to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe.

Court records show that on 16 September, at around 5:30 pm, Carrington Mutasa entered the homestead of a villager in Piki Village under Chief Zimunya in Mutare. With no one at home, he went into the fowl run, grabbed a hen, and engaged in s3xual activity with it.

The act did not go entirely unnoticed. The victim’s granddaughter saw Mutasa leaving the fowl run and immediately informed her grandmother. On inspection, the grandmother found that one of her hens had suffered injuries, described in the report as a “large hole on its cloaca area,” a discovery that left the family and the wider community horrified.

She quickly called neighbours to witness the condition of the bird. When confronted, Mutasa confessed to having s3x with the hen. His admission stunned the gathered villagers, who promptly reported the matter to Zimunya Police Post. He was arrested the same day.

Neighbours corroborated the account, providing statements that supported the granddaughter’s testimony and confirmed the state of the injured chicken.

The case moved quickly through the justice system. On 24 September, Mutasa appeared before the Mutare Magistrates’ Court, where he was convicted of bestiality.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in jail over a "criminal conspiracy" plot involving some $50million in laundered cash from Colonel Gaddafi. 

Judges sitting at the Paris Correctional Court ruled that the cash from the late Libyan dictator helped Sarkozy, now 70, with his electioneering. 

It followed a three-month trial that ended in April, and which also involved 11 other defendants, including three of Sarkozy’s former ministers. 

Sarkozy was acquitted of "receiving stolen public funds" and "passive corruption". 

But he has been handed the maximum sentence possible for conspiring with former ministers including ex-chief of staff, Claude Guéant, now 80, who was found guilty of "passive bribery, forgery, and influence peddling."
Any appeal by Sarkozy will not alter his forthcoming prison sentence, the Judge said. 

He will instead be given up to a month to prepare for life in a cell, so was free to go home today, September 25. 

He will also have to pay a fine of €100,000 (£87,000), while the date for the start of his jail term is being set. 

Guéant was sentenced to six years in prison, but the court took into account the 80-year-old’s ill health, which was "incompatible with incarceration". 

Guéant was also fined Euro 250,000, while Brice Hortefeux, another former Sarkozy minister, was sentenced to two years wearing an electronic bracelet. 

The historic judgment against a former President of France follows Judge Nathalie Gavarino saying Sarkozy’s crimes were "exceptionally serious". 

She ruled that Sarkozy was guilty of having "allowed his close associates to act with a view to obtaining financial support from the Libyan regime". 

It is the first time that a former French head of state has been found guilty of trying to use foreign money in such a manner. 

Brice Hortefeux, 67 and another senior Sarkozy minister, were also found guilty of "criminal conspiracy". 

Prosecutors proved that Sarkozy’s "closest aides" used the money from Muammar Gaddafi to fund his election campaign in 2007. 

Throughtout the trial, Sarkozy had blamed "liars and crooks" for the accusations, while denying that the cash was used to fund his election to head of state in 2007. 

"You will never find a single cent from Libya in the campaign," Sarkozy insisted. 

But prosecutors proved he had a "corruption pact" with Gaddafi, who led Libya up until his assassination in 2011.

Evidence included a note from the late Lebanese arms dealer Zaid Takieddine – who is a relative of George Clooney’s wife, Amy Clooney – saying he regularly delivered cash to Sarkozy aides in suitcases.

Takieddine was found de@d in Beirut two days ago, at the age of 75, and was allegedly the principal middleman in the transfer of laundered cash. 

Takieddine was a defendant in the trial, but was on the run in Lebanon, which does not extradite its own citizens. 

It was alleged that Sarkozy accepted around $50million from oil-rich Libya in all.
In turn, the North African country wanted to get rid of its pariah status after being held responsible for atrocities such as the Lockerbie Bombing, which saw 270 k!lled when PanAm Flight 103 was brought down over Scotland in 1988. 

Sarkozy has already been definitively convicted of bribing a judge in a separate case, and of illegal campaign funding in another one.

Japanese authorities have arrested a 75-year-old woman after she allegedly admitted to storing the body of her daughter in a freezer for two decades. The shocking discovery was made on Tuesday, September 23, in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, according to a police spokesman who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Investigators found the remains of an adult woman inside a deep freezer at the home of the suspect, identified as Keiko Mori. Police said Mori confessed that the body belonged to her daughter, Makiko, who was born in 1975 and would now be around 49 or 50 years old if alive.

“Decay was advancing,” the police spokesman noted, adding that an autopsy would be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

The case unfolded after Mori went to police on Tuesday, September 23, accompanied by a relative, to report that she had been keeping her daughter’s body inside the freezer. When investigators accompanied her to the residence, they discovered the body kneeling face-down in the freezer, dressed only in a T-shirt and underwear.

Mori was subsequently arrested on suspicion of abandoning a body. During questioning, she reportedly told investigators that a foul odour had begun to spread throughout the house, prompting her to purchase the freezer and place the body inside to contain the smell.

Authorities confirmed that Mori had several children but declined to provide details about them or disclose what they may have told investigators regarding Makiko.

The elderly woman had been living alone since the death of her husband earlier this month, police said.

The disturbing case has raised many unanswered questions about how and why the body was kept hidden for so long, with investigators now working to piece together the circumstances surrounding Makiko’s death and the decades-long concealment.