The complainant stated that the four men suddenly attacked both officers, physically assaulting them, dragging them, and tearing their uniforms.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A woman dark web hacker who made around £42,000 (Rs 44.75 lakh) selling unreleased music from bands and musicians such as Coldplay, Bebe Rexha, Melanie Martinez, Taylor Upsahl and Shawn Mendes has avoided jail, according to a report in The Independent. The woman, identified as 22-year-old Skylar Dalziel of Luton has instead been handed 21 months in prison suspended for two years by the Luton Crown Court. Additionally, she will have to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitative activity days.

Ms Dalziel was facing 14 counts relating to the trading of copyrighted music without the consent of the recording artists or labels. She pleaded guilty to nine copyright offences and four computer misuse offences.

“Dalziel had complete disregard for the musician’s creativity and hard work producing original songs and the subsequent potential loss of earnings,” said Richard Partridge, specialist prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service.

“This type of activity doesn’t just impact on the artists themselves but also on employees of the record companies involved. She selfishly used their music to make money for herself by selling it on the dark web.”

Cloud access

She reportedly stole the tracks by illegally accessing several cloud storage accounts linked to the popular artists. A raid at her home in Winchester Gardens last January led to the recovery of a hard drive containing up to 291,941 songs.

The police told the court that a review of Ms Dalziel’s PayPal and bank account showed she received payments worth a total of £42,049 between April 2021 and January 2023.

“Stealing copyrighted material for your own financial gain is illegal. It jeopardises the work of artists and the livelihoods of the people who work with them to create and release their music,” said Daryl Fryatt, a detective constable at the intellectual property crime unit.

“It’s estimated that this type of criminal activity contributes to over 80,000 job losses each year.”

Also Read | Coldplay Concert In Ahmedabad: Hotel Inflates Price After Booking, Social Media Users Fume

The lid on Ms Dalziel’s operation was blown after Sony Music Entertainment filed a complaint in 2021, informing the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) that a cloud account linked to US artist Upsahl had been compromised and 40 unreleased tracks extracted were being sold online.

The IFPI and the Recording Industry Association of America managed to uncover that an account on an online forum was selling songs not only related to Sony’s label but also to the likes of Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.

A man in the UK has gained overnight popularity on social media after a video showed him leaving a haircut midway and running across the street to help a police officer who was being attacked by a thug. The man, identified as Kyle Whiting, 32, was getting a trim at Haron Barbers in Warrington, Cheshire when he saw the brawl unfold on the street. Before the situation could turn pear-shaped Mr Whiting leapt out of the chair with the barber’s cape still draped out to bail the cop out of trouble.

With the cape swirling in the air, Mr Whiting grabbed the perp from behind and pulled him off the officer. He kept hold of him as other bystanders gathered around to help. Another officer from a marked police car parked around the corner then ran over, before a second squad vehicle pulled up and the man was detained.

“Before you know it, my barber had taken his phone out and had gone up to the window and started recording. I then saw the guy outside swing for the police officer and throw him down onto the ground,” Mr Whiting was quoted as saying by BBC.

Mr Whiting, whose sister is a police officer, said he was at the place by coincidence as he was taking his girlfriend to the A&E unit at nearby Warrington Hospital.

“I thought, ‘I’m not sitting back and watching this’. If that was my sister, I would hope somebody wouldn’t hesitate to help her if she was on her own,” he said.

Internet reacts

The video clip of the incident has gone viral with social media users applauding Mr Whiting for his selflessness and quick decision-making. Some are calling him the “caped crusader” while others dubbed him the “haircut hero”.

“Not all heroes wear capes… but this one does! Can we take a moment to applaud this fella, mid-haircut – but dashing out to aid a copper with a violent criminal? Not enough people like you around!” said one user, while another added: “Cape and all, what a legend.”

A third commented: “Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s haircut man!”

Not all heroes wear capes… but this one does!

Can we take a moment to applaud this fella, mid-haircut – but dashing out to aid a copper with a violent criminal?

Not enough people like you around! pic.twitter.com/6WlN5CraqW

— UK Cop Humour (@UKCopHumour) December 18, 2024

Cape and all, what a legend

— Ciprian Alin Rotaru (@RotaruCA) December 18, 2024

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s haircut man!

— Echo Charlie 2.0 (@The_Clive_Smart) December 19, 2024

Cheshire Constabulary later issued a statement thanking Mr Whiting for his support during the incident. The department added that owing to Mr Whiting’s effort, a 50-year-old man was arrested in connection to the case and has since been passed to the care of health professionals.

A 32-year-old man in Surat, Gujarat severed four fingers on his left hand due to work-related stress, according to the city police, as cited by news agency PTI. The man, identified as Mayur Tarapara, was working as a computer operator at his relative’s diamond firm but could not cope with the work pressure and wanted a way out. The accused landed on the plan of chopping his fingers as it would have made him unfit for the job which primarily required using a computer.

As per the police, Tarapara told officials that he found his fingers missing after falling unconscious on the side of a road when he was on his way to a friend’s house. During the preliminary stages, it was insinuated that the fingers may have been cut and taken away for black magic purposes.

Inconsistencies emerge

However, when the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) launched its probe, several inconsistencies emerged in Tarapara’s story. His personal belongings including the motorcycle, phone and cash were untouched with police unable to find any evidence of an attack as well. After being confronted with the evidence, Tarapara gave in quickly and revealed the truth.

“Tarapara confessed that he bought a sharp knife from a shop near Char Rasta in Singanpore. Four days later, on Sunday night, he went to Amroli Ring Road and parked his motorcycle there. At around 10 pm, he cut off four fingers with a knife and tied a rope near the elbow to prevent blood flow. He then put the knife and fingers in a bag and threw it away,” the official said.

Also Read | Man Dies By Suicide, Cites Extortion By Wife, Tags Musk, Trump In Last Post

Explaining his plight to the police, Tarapara said he felt ‘trapped’ in his job due to family obligations as his employer was a relative of his father. He said he did not have the courage to tell anyone that he no longer wanted to work in the accounts department of his firm, Anabh Gems, located in Varachha Mini Bazaar.

Tarapara is reportedly married and has a two-year-old daughter. He earned Rs 50,000 per month while his father lived in their native village of Wadhvan in Surendranagar district.

Amroli police is carrying out further probe, the officials informed.

A mother of three in the US state of Atlanta has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing two of her sons by “placing them in an oven and turning it on”, according to a report in Law & Crime. Lamora Williams, 24, was convicted of the death of Ja’Karter Penn, 1, and Ke’Yaunte Penn, 2, who were killed roughly an hour apart. Ms Willimas has been convicted of 14 counts against her and will serve an additional 35 years in prison on top of the life sentence.

The incident transpired in 2017 when Ms Willimas called emergency services to report she had found her sons dead in the home after leaving them with a caregiver. “When I came in, the stove was laying on my son, on my youngest son’s head, and my other son was laid out on the floor with his brains laid out on the floor,” she told the 911 dispatchers.

“Can you please help me? Like, can you please tell me, like, I don’t want to get locked up because this is not my fault. I had just came home from work,” she added.

Around the same time, the children’s father, Jameel Penn also called 911 and reported the incident stating he had received a video call from his wife.

“I just received a call from my child’s mother that…my…two dead babies, my sons are dead in an apartment. She video-called me and I seen it. I really think they are dead.”

After police officers arrived on the scene, they discovered the toddler and the baby, reporting they both had burn marks. However, a medical examiner disagreed with the preliminary findings, stating that their heads were likely placed inside a tipped-over oven. The autopsy report added that the two boys suffered “thermal changes” due to “dry heat and changes from prolonged exposure to heat”.

“It would require an extensive amount of time to get to this degree,” it added.

Also read | Teacher, Wife And 2 Children Shot Dead At Their Home In UP

Williams indicted

According to the arrest warrant issued by the Atlanta Police Department, sometime between midnight on October 12, 2017, and 11 pm the next day, Ms Williams “knowingly and intentionally” placed her two little children in the oven and turned it on.

Meanwhile, Ms Williams maintained her innocence by pleading not guilty. According to Ms Williams’ mother, Brenda, her daughter struggled with mental health issues and she needed to be placed on suicide watch while in jail.

A Lamborghini owner recently shared a delightful moment with a traffic police officer. Entrepreneur Nishant Saboo was stopped by the officer for a routine inspection. However, instead of the expected tension, Mr Saboo found a fellow car enthusiast in the policeman. Mr Saboo wrote, “Police stopped my Lamborghini, but after confirming everything was clear, no challan, they asked permission to take photos with the Lambo.” 

“It’s great to see that even those in uniform have a passion for supercars,” he added. The man then invited him in to take a closer look. The police officer sheepishly got inside and was seen smiling as he admired the sleek design of the luxury car. 

Take a look here:

“We need such happy police,” a user commented under the post.

Another said, “You are the first person in a supercar to spread happiness.”

“You have proved that happiness increases by sharing it,” a comment read. 

Nishant Saboo is the founder and director of Ceramic Pro, a company specialising in advanced ceramic nanotechnology protective coating systems for automobiles. He is also the creator of SuperCarscommunity_India, a popular Instagram-based platform that showcases luxury cars across India. 

This is not Mr Saboo’s first encounter that has warmed hearts online. Earlier, he shared a video featuring a differently-abled man admiring the lavish collection of cars outside his showroom. Although the man didn’t enter, he expressed his admiration for the vehicles from a distance.

Mr Saboo wrote in the comments, “I got his contact number. Once I’m back in Hyderabad, I will surely call him to the showroom and take him for a quick spin in my Lambo.”