A court in Nigeria has sentenced a medical director to life in prison for raping his wife’s teenage niece.

Dr Olufemi Olaleye sexually assaulted the girl for more than a year until his wife found out and informed the police, the prosecutor said.

The doctor had pleaded not guilty during the trial.

But a judge in a Lagos court said he found the evidence against the doctor compelling and rejected his plea for leniency.

Olaleye was arraigned in November last year on two counts of rape between December 2019 and July 2022, when the girl went to live with their family.

During the trial, the doctor’s wife, Aderemi Olaleye, said she discovered the abuse after the girl told her aunt and the family’s driver. The girl, now aged 18, said the doctor had been sleeping with her and had threatened to kill her if she told anyone, the doctor’s wife said.

He was also accused of forcing her to watch pornography.

Six witnesses – the girl, the defendant’s wife, a medical doctor, a child-care expert and two police officers involved in the investigations – testified in the trial.

The doctor also testified in his own defence alongside his forensic physician who faulted the medical evidence presented by the prosecution.

But while delivering the judgement on Tuesday, Justice Rahman Oshodi said the evidence presented before the court “greatly implicates” the defendant.

Justice Oshodi described the medical director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation as a “dangerous” offender who did not show any sign of remorse.

According to the judge, Olaleye’s earlier confession to the police proved that he committed the offences.

The judge rejected the arguments by the doctor’s legal team that the girl was tutored by the defendant’s wife to lie against him as part of a scheme to take over his property.

“I, therefore, find the defendant guilty as charged,” the judge ruled.”This charge has a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment,” he said.

In his plea for leniency, the doctor’s lawyer, Adebisi Oridate, asked the state to recognise Olaleye’s services as a cancer doctor and that he was a first-time offender.

But the judge dismissed the plea and said that Olaleye must be confined to the prison for a long period of time as proof that Nigeria’s justice system frowned at sexual violence.

He also ordered the name of the doctor to be added to the Lagos State sex offenders register.

It is not clear if the doctor will appeal against the sentencing.

At least three Palestinians were killed and more than 20 others injured when an Israeli reconnaissance plane bombed the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

Palestinian security and medical sources disclosed this on Wednesday.

“The bodies of three young men, together with 20 injuries, some in critical conditions, were transferred to the Jenin hospital as a result of an attack by an Israeli reconnaissance plane,’’ Wissam Bakr, the director of Jenin Governmental Hospital, said.

Palestinian witnesses said a large number of Israeli forces stormed the city of Jenin, the surroundings of the camp, and the town of Burqin amid armed clashes with Palestinian militants.

According to locals, a huge explosion was heard from a missile launch from an Israeli reconnaissance plane near the camp cemetery.

This led to a number of young men being killed or wounded.

Armed Palestinian factions said that their members clashed with Israeli forces and targeted them with gunfire and homemade explosive devices.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the drone strike was carried out after armed terrorists fired and threw explosives at Israeli forces operating in the Jenin refugee camp.

No Israeli personnel were injured in the clashes.

Scientists from the University of New South Wales and the University of Technology Sydney have revealed how cancer cells circumvent a common cancer therapy.

The study, recently published in the Current Biology journal, showed that cancer cells can activate a force-generating rescue mechanism to stabilise an essential cell structure.

An essential cell structure responsible for cell division and resisting the effects of chemotherapy.

Cancer cells use the mechanical force supplied by the cell cortex to overcome the impact of commonly used chemotherapy.

Peter Gunning, senior author of the study and professor at the University of New South Wales, disclosed this.

“Now that we understand this exact pathway cancer cells use to avoid the toxic effects of chemotherapy, it opens the door to improving cancer treatments,” said Mr Gunning.

During cell division or mitosis, microtubules inside cells help separate genetic material.

Cancer cells divide more rapidly than normal ones, making them targets for chemotherapy drugs, which disrupt these microtubules.

Mr Gunning said that high doses of this chemotherapy effectively induce cell death by causing chaos in chromosome separation, but at lower doses, cancer cells can start a rescue mechanism.

This mechanism involves the cancer cells recognising disrupted microtubules and activating a process to reconnect these fragments, ensuring cancer cell multiplication.

For their next step, researchers will focus on developing drugs that work in combination with current chemotherapy to overcome the cancer cell resistance mechanism.

Before testing on patients, these drugs would undergo refinement in animal models and preclinical studies.

“By attacking the force-generating machinery built by the cancer cells, we expect that we will be able to allow the cancer therapy to do its job much more effectively,” Mr Gunning said.

Terhember Wuam, a professor of economic history at the Kaduna State University, has advised the Nigerian government to learn from China’s experience in the quest for national development.

On Wednesday, Mr Wuam made the call in a keynote address at an International Conference with the theme, ‘Understanding China’s Transformation: Reform, Opening Up and Capitalism in China 1978 – Lessons for Nigeria’ in Abuja.

The conference was organised by the Association for United Asian Scholars, Nigeria (AUASN), in partnership with the Department of History and International Relations, Veritas University Abuja.

Mr Wuam, the president of AUASN, said the vital lesson for Nigeria to learn from China’s experience was the leaders and people to dedicate themselves to seeking modernisation.

He explained that China had a tumultuous 20th century, followed by a challenging 19th century when the industrialised West and Japan left it behind as dynastic China held onto tradition and its feudal era.

He added that by the close of the 19th century, agents of change in China were already pushing for reforms and seeking new ideas that would modernise the kingdom.

He recommended the study of China’s history and its quest to industrialise and become a modern, prosperous nation.

“For China, the economic awakening of the past five decades beginning from 1978 has been astonishing, and Deng Xiaoping, who became the paramount leader of China in 1976, was the man behind it.

He was highly effective in guiding China’s economic rise and equally reformed the political system enough to allow for the changes he envisaged to become a reality within his lifetime and beyond,” said the professor.

He added that “Xiaoping promoted a vision of an economically prosperous China with statements like “To get rich is 26 glorious,” and that “For China to get rich, a few people will have to become rich first.”

Mr Wuam said, “He did this alongside working for harmony and security in the country and avoiding the turbulence that was characteristic of the Mao Tsetung era, noting that “Prosperity is only possible with stability.

“He was a firm believer in promoting talented people and believed that a system of capitalism with Chinese characteristics would enable talented people to come to the fore and for the nation to fully utilise their talents.”

At least seven people have died after a dense “super fog” caused a huge, 158-car pile-up near New Orleans.

Thick fog and smoke from multiple marsh fires mingled to reduce visibility for drivers commuting on Monday.

Twenty-five people were injured in the crash on Interstate 55 in St John the Baptist Parish, said police, who warned the death toll could rise.

Some vehicles caught fire and were abandoned, leaving a trail of burnt-out wreckage and mangled metal.

The blaze broke out as one of the vehicles involved in the crash was a tanker truck carrying what police called a “hazardous liquid”.

One car was driven off the road and into the water, but the driver was safely rescued, police told WWL-TV.

Officers said the motorway will remain closed until at least midday on Tuesday.

“A portion of the crash scene caught on fire shortly after the initial incident. One tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid is being off-loaded due to a compromised tank/trailer,” Lt Melissa Matey said in a statement.

Mike Tregre, sheriff of St John the Baptist, said an estimated 100 people were stranded and school buses were being used to transport them to their destinations.

Clarencia Patterson Reed, 46, who was driving to Hammond, told local media she was able to avoid hitting the car in front of her, but the vehicles behind her began slamming into her car.”It was ‘Boom. Boom.’ All you kept hearing was crashing for at least 30 minutes,” she said.

She was able to get out of her car, but her wife was trapped inside and was injured.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in New Orleans described the weather phenomenon as a “super fog”, cautioning that similarly dangerous weather conditions could appear later this week.

On its website, it states super fog can form when a mixture of smoke and moisture from damp, smouldering vegetation mixes with cooler air. The smoky conditions reduced visibility to less that 10ft (3m).

The NWS said on Tuesday morning that heavy overnight winds had helped to disperse fog in some areas, but warned that dangerous driving conditions persisted in many areas.

Governor John Bel Edwards offered his thoughts and prayers for those killed in the crash, and urged residents to donate blood at a local medical centre to “help replenish supplies that are being drained today to care for the wounded”.

Louisiana has battled blazing wildfires, heatwaves and relentless droughts over the course of the summer. Exceptional drought – the highest category tracked by the US Drought Monitor – is currently in place across 62% of the southern state.

One of K-Pop’s biggest stars, Blackpink singer Jisoo, and Korean actor Ahn Bo-hyun have ended their relationship.

Jisoo’s representatives told South Korean media she and Ahn had separated, only two months after they said they were dating.

K-pop stars rarely reveal much about their private lives, and their announcement shocked fans.

The pair broke up due to their busy schedules, broadcaster JBTC reported.In August, Ahn, a Korean model and actor who has appeared in popular drama series Itaewon Class, and Jisoo acknowledged the relationship.

Jisoo, 28, is one of four in Blackpink – one of the world’s most popular acts.

The group have enjoyed international success, becoming the first K-Pop girl group to win an MTV Video Music Award, and the first Asian band to headline California music festival Coachella.

Archaeologists have unearthed a Roman grave and a 2,000-year-old coin on the route of a planned water pipeline.

The discoveries were made at the proposed Southern Water site in Hampshire.

Members of Wessex Archaeology have been carrying out the excavations before pipelines are installed between Andover, Otterbourne and Portsmouth.

The scheme is linked to plans for a new reservoir at Havant Thicket, the first to be built in England for 25 years.

Dr Nicola Meakins of Southern Water said: “Roman graves are not uncommon – when the Romans built roads, legionnaires who died were simply buried by the side of the road.

“Wessex Archology learns something new every time one is found, however.”In this case the discovery of a 2,000-year-old coin helps us to understand what was happening in the area back then.

“Southern Water declined to give the exact location of the discoveries but said they were made as ecologists and surveyors carried out assessments ahead of the pipeline work.

Dr Meakins added: “Whether it’s the discovery of rare hazel dormouse habitat, badger setts or, as in this case, archaeological remains, a plan must be put in place to prevent or mitigate damage.”

A French museum is working urgently to fix a waxwork of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson after he complained about it.

The Grevin Museum in Paris proudly revealed the life-sized figure of the wrestler-turned-actor earlier this month and got a wave of criticism back.

One of the biggest was over the model’s skin tone, with fans accusing the creator of “whitewashing” the star, who has dual heritage.

After The Rock joined the pile-on, museum bosses vowed to “rework” it.

He called on them to “update my wax figure with some important details, starting with my skin colour”.

Museum director Yves Delhommeau told the AFP news agency his staff planned to work “all night” to bring the waxwork in line with “fans’ expectations”.

He also blamed the model’s skin tone on a “lighting issue” and said it would be addressed.

Mr Delhommeau said The Rock would visit the museum “later on to see if there are other modifications that need to be made”.

The museum unveiled the wax figure in Paris on 16 October and said artist Stéphane Barret had to rely on photos and videos to create the sculpture.

In a press release, it said the “painstaking” work included redoing the model’s eyes three times.

The Rock was born in California to a black Nova Scotian father and Samoan mother.

His dad, Wayde Douglas Bowles, was also a wrestler – known as Rocky Johnson – and was part of the first black tag team to win a WWE championship.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted the Grevin Museum for further comment but not heard back.

The Rock’s representatives have also been contacted for comment.

The UN says the annual observance marking the official creation of the organisation is overshadowed by the rising toll of suffering and sacrifice in Gaza, where 35 staff members with the Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) have now lost their lives.

UN Day on October 24 marks the anniversary of the entry into force in 1945 of the UN Charter – the day the organisation officially came into being.

The dead in Gaza include many teachers, the agency noted in a tweet on Monday.

“We grieve and we remember. These are not just numbers,” the UN. “These are our friends and colleagues…UNRWA mourns this huge loss.”

The 13,000-strong agency, which operates across the Palestine Occupied Territory, has been working tirelessly with other UN humanitarians inside Gaza and across the region to aid stricken civilians, often at great personal risk.

Through the UN Charter, countries are united in their resolve to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres recalled that the charter “is rooted in a determination” to build peace.

“On this United Nations Day, let us commit with hope and determination to build the better world of our aspirations,” he said.

The UN chief called on all nations to commit to a future that lives up to the name of the indispensable organisation.

“We are a divided world. We can and must be united nations,” Mr Guterres stated.

Human rights activists, on the platform of the Centre for Human and Socio-Economic Rights, have urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and security agents to end the reign of land grabbers across Lagos.

The CHSR and Lawyers for Reform Group, at a news conference on Monday in Lagos, called on Mr Sanwo-Olu, the acting inspector general of police, Kayode Egbetokun, and concerned Nigerians to save innocent people from the terror of land-grabbers.

In the news conference text jointly read by the CHSR president, Alex Omotehinse and Oladotun Hassan, the executive project director of Lawyers for Reform Group, the activists highlighted an alleged conspiracy to forcefully dispossess a resident, Olufemi Fasehun, of his property.

The official emphasised that the solution to Nigeria’s product refining lies in the willingness of the private sector to make a difference, to collaborate, learn, and inspire one another.

They said the property was located at 10 Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja.

The land-grabbers, allegedly supported by some state actors and security agents investigating the property, must be stopped to prevent breach of peace and threat to life, said the activists.

“We urgently demand the intervention of Governor Sanwo-Olu alongside Mr Kayode Egbetokun, the acting inspector general of police in carrying out accelerated due diligence, investigation and prosecution of anyone found culpable, no matter how highly placed at a court of competent jurisdiction accordingly.

“We shall appreciate all Nigerians concerted support and efforts to stop land grabbing menace in Lagos state under any guise of demolition of innocent Nigerian citizens’ properties. We call on the governor and the IGP to swiftly come to the aid of the victim, who is the rightful owner of the aforementioned property with valid land title documents,” stated the activists.

They added, “There is the need to achieve respite for the victim and peaceful habitation of his property respectfully. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

The activists alleged that some officers in the General Investigation Department, Police FCID, Alagbon, connived with the land-grabbers to demolish and dispossess the victim of his property.

“The vampire marauding land-grabbers are now all out to wreak monumental havoc capable of breaching the peace and the fundamental rights of the affected victim,” the activists added.

The duo said the land-grabbers attacked and damaged the victim’s property several times. They said the victim wrote a petition dated May 2 to the assistant inspector general of police, FCID, Alagbon, Lagos, against the land-grabbers attacking his premises to invade and seize the landed property forcibly.

According to them, Mr Sanwo-Olu and security apparatuses must prioritise the welfare and security of ordinary citizens robbed of their properties under various guises in Lagos.

They called for the government’s intervention in stopping incessant harassment, criminal trespass, wilful and malicious destruction and violent conduct of land-grabbers in various parts of Lagos.

The European Commission will present new measures on Tuesday to boost the European wind power industry and reach the European Union’s targets for renewable energy generation by 2030.

Long approval procedures, rising raw material costs, cheaper turbines from abroad, and high inflation hamper the expansion of wind power capacity in the EU.

While wind energy generation grew by 10 per cent globally in the first six months of the year compared to last year, the increase in the EU was only five per cent, a report by think tank Ember found.

With the new, non-binding measures to be presented on Tuesday, the commission aimed to reverse this trend and reach its climate goal of generating 42.5 per cent.

The climate goal of the EU’s total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030 is expected to be a certain percentage.

To speed up the approval process, the commission plans an online tool, including answers to frequently asked questions, to support member states in authorising new wind farms.

The criteria for bidding procedures are to be updated to consider additional factors other than costs, like sustainability and cybersecurity.

The International Organisation for Migration has successfully brought back 108 stranded Nigerians from Niger Republic. 

This was disclosed in a post on the official X handle of the National Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday, October 24.

According to NEMA, the returnees consisted of 29 adult females, 32 adult males, 44 children, and three infants.

They were transported on a chartered flight with registration number TZ-SMA, provided by Sky Mali, and arrived at the Cargo Wing of Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.

Agencies present to receive the returnees at the airport include the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters, the Refugee Commission, the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, NEMA, and the Police.

A Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw, was on Tuesday at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court to witness the judgment of the medical director of Optimal Cancer Care Foundation, Doctor Olufemi Olaleye, accused of defiling his wife’s niece.

Olaleye was arraigned on two counts bordering on defilement and sexual assault by penetration of his wife’s niece, preferred against him by the Lagos State Government.

The defendant was arraigned on November 30, 2022, and he pleaded not guilty to the offences.

The offence took place at No 17, Layi Ogunbambi Close, Maryland, Lagos State.Doctor Olaleye was accused of unlawfully having sexual intercourse with his wife’s 15-year-old niece.

He was also accused of sexually assaulting the teenager by penetrating her mouth with his manhood.

According to the prosecution, the offences committed contravened Sections 137 and 261, of the criminal law of Lagos State 2015.

Following his plea of not guilty, Justice Oshodi granted him bail in the sum of N50m with two sureties in like sum who must have landed property in Lagos State.

The judge ordered that both sureties must also provide evidence of tax payments to the Lagos State Government in the last three years.

Justice Oshodi further ordered that Olaleye must deposit his international passport, including his British passport and original documents of landed property to the registrar of the court.

After the conclusion of the trial, the court fixed October 24, 2023, (Today) for judgment.

Acourt in the United Kingdom has ruled in favour of Nigeria and overturned an $11 billion damages bill involving the controversial Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) deal.

Reuters reports that the court agreed with Nigeria’s argument that the deal was for a collapsed gas processing contract, which was said to have been fraudulently procured through bribery.

In 2010, the P&ID was awarded a 20-year contract to construct and operate a gas processing plant in Southern Nigeria to exploit the country’s abundant gas reserves.

When the deal failed, the British Virgin Islands-based company dragged Nigeria to court in London in 2017 and was awarded $6.6 billion for profits losses.

Due to interest, the damages bill has increased to over $11 billion, which, according to the news outlet, represented around a third of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.

Counsel for Nigeria, however, insisted the country was a victim of “a campaign of bribery and deception” by P&ID, adding that the company paid bribes to Nigerian officials to win the contract and corrupted the country’s lawyers to obtain confidential documents during the arbitration.

The company denied the allegation of bribery and corruption against them and blamed the failure of the gas deal and the country’s arbitration defeat on institutional incompetence.

“I have not accepted all of Nigeria’s allegations,” Judge Robin Knowles said in the ruling on Monday, adding that the arbitration awards “were obtained by fraud and the awards were, and the way in which they were procured was, contrary to public policy.”

Manchester United are expected to pay further tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League match at Old Trafford.

The United Trinity statue outside the ground was awash with tributes to Charlton on Sunday as supporters laid flowers and scarves, with many leaving deeply personal thoughts for one of the club’s most famous sons following his death at 86.

A book of condolence was opened at the international suite inside the stadium. Current boss Erik Ten Hag and members of the United squad added their messages at Carrington.

United confirmed discussions were continuing with Charlton’s family and UEFA for further commemorative plans ahead of Tuesday night’s Champions League Group A match against Copenhagen.

Players are expected to wear black armbands, with wreaths to be laid on the Old Trafford pitch and a minute’s silence observed before kick-off.

A key member of England’s victorious 1966 World Cup team, Charlton, also enjoyed great success at club level with United, who became the first English club to win the European Cup in 1968.

Charlton debuted for United in 1956 and went on to play 758 matches, scoring 249 goals.

Having won three league titles and one FA Cup at Old Trafford, Charlton left United in 1973 and went on to manage Preston before returning to the Red Devils 11 years later as a club director.

David Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in the summer of 2013, but the former Everton boss left the club after just 10 months, with the team seventh on the Premier League table.

Now in charge at West Ham, Moyes reflected on the support shown by Charlton during what was one of the most testing spells of his managerial career.

“I’m deeply saddened, and I send my condolences to all his family. The biggest thing everyone remembers, more than anything, is how great a man he was. He was such a good man,” Moyes said, as quoted on West Ham’s club website.

Born in Ashington on October 11, 1937, Charlton played in the World Cup final alongside his brother Jack, who died aged 85 in 2020 and won 106 caps for England, scoring 49 goals.

Spanish police said Monday they have seized centuries-old gold artefacts worth over 60 million euros ($64 million) that were stolen and taken out of Ukraine illegally.

The 11 pieces, including necklaces, bracelets and earrings, were displayed at a Kyiv museum between 2009 and 2013, and were smuggled out of Ukraine before 2016, police said in a statement.

“The seized pieces – gold jewellery of great historic and economic value – had been stolen and exported illegally from Ukraine and were going to be sold in Madrid,” the statement added, noting items dated from between the 8th and 4th centuries BC.

Three Spanish and two Ukrainian nationals – one of them an Orthodox Church priest – were arrested as part of the operation, which was carried out with the help of the authorities in Ukraine as well as Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus and North Macedonia.

Police said the artefacts had forged documents in English, Ukrainian and Spanish to make it look as if they belonged to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

“These are pieces that cannot be sold through the usual legal channels, such as auction houses,” said police spokeswoman Ana Ramon.

Police began their investigation in 2021 after one of the pieces — a gold belt with rams’ heads – was sold to a businessman in a private sale in Madrid.

This led investigators to the other 10 artefacts that police seized last month from the suspects.

The pieces are being studied by Spain’s National Archaeological Museum and the country’s Cultural Heritage Institute.

Google Doodle celebrates the late Nigerian footballer, Rashidi Yekini, who was remembered for being the top goal scorer of the nation.

Yekini, born on 23 October 1963 led Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.

Google said, “Not only did he score the first goal of the game, but also the first World Cup goal for Nigeria.

Overcome with excitement and pride, he ran into the net and clutched it with both arms while cheering and crying tears of joy.

Many consider it one of the most iconic goal celebrations in football history and it served as inspiration for today’s Doodle artwork.”

The doodle’s colour resembles the Nigerian flag. In the doodle, a goalpost can be seen and Rashidi Yekini in action. The late striker was named the 1993 African Player of the Year and was the top scorer with eight goals.

He made Nigeria qualify for the World Cup for the first time in 1994, when he scored Nigeria’s first-ever goal in a World Cup, in a 3–0 win against Bulgaria in the United States.

The legendary Yekini died on May 4, 2012, at the age of 48 and remains Nigeria’s all-time record goal poacher, scoring 37 goals in 58 international appearances for Nigeria between 1994 and 1998.

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kwara Command, on Monday, said 3,000 international passports were awaiting collection by applicants in its office.

Alhaji Baba Aliyu, the outgoing Comptroller of Passports in the command, disclosed this in Ilorin on the sidelines of a retirement party in his honour.

Aliyu urged the federal government to initiate sanctions on such individuals, adding that a number of the applicants could not be contacted on phone numbers provided on their applications.

“We usually send SMS through the contact address and phone numbers provided by the applicants but some messages didn’t go through due to the fact that the numbers are fake.

“Some applicants may have died, while others may refuse to collect it because they could not meet up with what they wanted to use it for.

“Whatever the reasons may be, passports should not be abandoned, as they serve a lot of functions besides being travelling documents,” he said.

The Comptroller of Passports, however, said that the abandoned passports were not only for people of Kwara but for applicants from different parts of Nigeria.

Aliyu, therefore, urged applicants to visit the immigration office to collect their passports.

He also urged Nigerians seeking to acquire an international passport to visit the website of the service at immigration.gov.ng to apply.

According to him, it takes just two weeks to acquire a passport as well as renew an expired one.

A 39 year-old Irish woman has been killed in a shooting at a house in New York.Denise Morgan, who was originally from Tullyallen in County Louth, was found dead in the early hours of Saturday.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said a man and a woman were found with gunshot wounds to their heads in the borough of Queens in the city.

A spokesperson said officers were called at 02:44 local time (07:44 BST) on Saturday.The man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene.

The NYPD said “a firearm was recovered in the vicinity of the deceased male”.Ms Morgan’s family posted tributes to her online, saying they were “heartbroken”.

Prayers were also said for her during mass in the Church of the Assumption in Tullyallen.

Parish priest Fr Seán Dooley offered prayers of comfort for Ms Morgan’s family and friends “as they go through the most horrible time in their lives”.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs has said it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.

Chinese authorities are investigating after a viral video appeared to show a worker from Tsingtao urinating into a tank, believed to contain ingredients for its popular beer.

The clip has received tens of millions of views on social media.

The company said it alerted police immediately after the video came to its attention, adding that the batch of ingredients had been sealed.

Tsingtao is one of China’s top beer producers and its biggest exporter.

In the clip which appeared online on Thursday, a worker, dressed in uniform with a helmet on, can be seen climbing over a high wall and into the container before urinating inside it.

The location tag of the clip reads “Tsingtao beer No.3 factory”, local news outlet The Paper reported on Friday.

Business outlet “National Business Daily” later cited an internal source as saying both the person who took the video and the person appearing in it were not direct employees of the company.

In a statement published on Friday, the bureau of market supervision and administration of Pingdu City, where the factory is located, said they immediately set up a team and conducted an on-site investigation after spotting the video, and sealed the whole batch of ingredients that appeared in the clip.

It also added that the bureau would deal with the matter seriously once details are confirmed.

Tsingtao said on Friday that it “attached great importance” to the online video, and the police had started an investigation.

The BBC has reached out to the company for comments.

Chinese social media has been shocked by the clip, as the brand is hugely well-known both at home and abroad.

“A piss that will ruin a lot of money, this worker has done some real damage here,” a top-liked comment on X-like platform Weibo reads.

“Good thing I don’t drink beer – but it’s unimaginable if this brand is finished because of this,” one user said.

“Is this the first time though?” another comment reads.Shares in Tsingtao Brewery fell sharply when the Shanghai Stock Exchange opened on Monday morning but were trading broadly flat by the afternoon.

The Hong Kong market, where Tsingtao shares are also listed, was closed on Monday for the Chung Yeung Festival holiday.