Entertainment
UK ‘grooming gang’ trial halted over concerns about jurors watching TV show
The trial of a suspected grooming gang in the United Kingdom has been abandoned after concerns emerged over a WhatsApp group created by members of the jury, The Telegraph reported.
The case — pertaining to the alleged rape and sexual abuse of two teenage girls in Greater Manchester’s town, Rochdale, between 2003 and 2006 — was being heard at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.
The proceedings against six suspected men began in October last year but were stopped around two months later when one of the 12 jurors informed court officials that several jurors had discussed a television programme about grooming gangs in their private WhatsApp group chat.
Following the development, Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones, during an investigation, reviewed all of the messages exchanged.
The court was told that in one conversation, one of the jurors cautioned others about watching the programme, but despite that, another juror replied, “I’m going to watch it anyway,” followed by a smiley emoji.
Another juror also said they would watch the broadcast, the court was told.
All jurors were later questioned, but they maintained that none of them had actually viewed the programme. Defence lawyers challenged this claim, suggesting the two jurors may not have been truthful, requesting the judge to question them further.
Judge Corbett-Jones declined to question the jurors again and instead agreed with the defence submissions.
“With considerable regret and disappointment, I have reached the conclusion that the multiplicity of problems which have now arisen and the uncertainty as regards these issues means that whatever course of action I take, unanswered questions remain,” the judge ruled.
Delivering his decision, the judge said he regretted having to halt the trial but explained that multiple issues had arisen, leaving unresolved doubts that could not be remedied. He concluded that no reasonable steps could address the situation due to the “layered nature of the problems.”
A retrial has been scheduled for August.
Restrictions preventing the reporting of the reasons behind the jury’s discharge were lifted on Friday following an application by the Manchester Evening News.
The defendants — Tahir Rashid, 54; Mohammed Saleem, 46; Iftaq Hussain, 45; and Sucklane Shah, 46 — all denied charges of rape.
Arshad Mohammed, 55, denied rape and assault by penetration, while Amjad Mahmood, 53, denied allegations including rape, indecent assault, indecency with a child, and assault by penetration. Rashid has also pleaded not guilty to an additional rape allegation dating back to the late 1980s.
Entertainment
After ads, will ChatGPT responses remain trustworthy? OpenAI says yes
As OpenAI is gearing up to rollout ads for both free and $8 ChatGPT Go, the company has assured users that ads will not affect ChatGPT’s responses and will be labelled and separated from the content.
Early signs of this rollout have been spotted on Android devices, suggesting the inclusion of ads in ChatGPT is close.
As noted on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI has designed a full-screen onboarding experience to familiarise users with ads in ChatGPT.
Although the AI giant has assured not to share personal information with advertisers, the current chat may still influence the type of sponsored ads displayed below the answers.
At the current stage, the commendable thing is that users have the option to hide ads, understand why specific ads were shown, and clear their ad data.
Ads will appear as a “Sponsored” block, and tapping the overflow menu draws the dropdown to hide the ad, report it, or even “Ask ChatGPT” about it.
OpenAI stated: “Our mission is to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity; our pursuit of advertising is always in support of that mission and making AI more accessible.”
Furthermore, the company has emphasised that conversations will remain private from advertisers and that user data will never be sold. A new “Ads controls” page has also been added to let users manage their ad history and interests without affecting their chat data.
These ads won’t be displayed to users of ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans.
Entertainment
David Beckham makes dig at Brooklyn amid family rift: ‘Watch and learn’
As the Beckham family drama deepens, David Beckham had refrained from making a direct comment about any of the tensions.
However, the doting father, who often roasts his children playfully, sent a pointed message to his estranged son, Brooklyn, as he collaborated with his close friend Gordon Ramsay.
The famous British chef, who himself is going through some drama with regards to his son-in-law Adam Peaty, shared an update.
David, who is a legendary former footballer, flaunted one of his many skills, cooking. In a video clip, Gordon and David are seen on a video call in which David makes a scallop risotto.
“Usually when David Beckham calls it’s about football but I was surprised when he was cooking up one of my homechef recipes, Gordon had written on Instagram.
Before marrying Nicola Peltz, Brooklyn had tried to launch himself as a cook as he shared videos of himself cooking simple recipes. However, most of the time he was roasted and trolled for his skills, which were often dubbed as mediocre.
While he pursued cooking for a while, he seemed to have abandoned that idea and modify it by selling his own hot sauce.
The update comes over a week after Brooklyn made a series of shocking Instagram Stories posts about his family. He had broken his silence on the ongoing rumours about a rift in the family and clearly stated that he “[does] not want to reconcile with [his] family.”
He noted, “I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life.”
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