A student who stabbed his housemate more than 30 times in a masked ambush has changed his murder plea to guilty. Zack Coughlan, 23, attacked Jamie Collins, 21, in an alleyway near the garden of their home on 8 April and then left his body outside for eight hours before calling police. A murder trial had been under way at Bristol Crown Court because Coughlan initially denied the charge, although he did admit killing Collins. He told jurors he stabbed Collins because he feared his housemate would kill him . However, Coughlan, of Cleve Road, Filton, has now changed his plea to guilty and will be sentenced for murder on Wednesday.

Paddy Power-owner Flutter has announced plans to cut up to 1,400 jobs as its boss claimed the company cannot fully absorb tax rises imposed on the gambling industry. Staff based in the UK and Ireland, as well as British and Irish workers at Flutter's sites in Portugal and Romania will be affected, but what roles are at risk has not been disclosed. The government announced increased taxes on online casino and sports betting, with an exemption for horse racing, in the Budget last November. Flutter boss Kevin Harrington said the tax hikes had fundamentally changed the economic model of the UK betting and gaming industry, arguing it had helped fuel the unlicensed, unregulated market. We continue to expect these tax increases to have a very significant impact on the overall market, Flutter said on Tuesday.

Forced to call him'Dad': The trial over sexual abuse in a disabled care home that has shocked South Korea I was hurting inside, so I came to tell my story. These were Seo Mi-hyeon's first words to the police. Seo, who has an intellectual disability, struggles to form long sentences and can only communicate through brief words and gestures. But her memories of the abuse inflicted upon her were clear. She was one of three residents at a state-run care home in South Korea who were sexually assaulted by the home's director, in a case that has shocked the country and raised serious questions about state care for the disabled.

'She had big googly eyes and was wearing a red hat knitted by one of the careworkers' Emma the Social Robot by Paula Hornickel. 'She had big googly eyes and was wearing a red hat knitted by one of the careworkers' Emma the Social Robot by Paula Hornickel. 'The first resident that Emma - a social robot - was introduced to was called Peter. After that, Emma assumed they were all called Peter, which everyone found hilarious. O ne morning in July 2025, I arrived in the small, quiet town of Albershausen in south-west Germany.

These robots can clean, exercise - and care for your elderly parents. Would you trust them to? Hidden away in a lab in north-west London three black metal robotic hands move eerily on an engineering work bench. We're not trying to build Terminator, jokes Rich Walker, director of Shadow Robot, the firm that made them. Bespectacled, with long hair and a beard and moustache, he seems more like a latter-day hippy than a tech whizz, and he is clearly proud as he shows me around his firm.

It looks faintly like one half of a small pair of very fluffy slippers. It squeaks and wriggles and nestles in the palm of my hand, black eyes hidden beneath a mop of silvery-white fur. It weighs about the same as a tin of soup. It doesn't need to be fed or walked and it doesn't use a litter tray; it's guaranteed not to leave "gifts" on my doorstep. Which is just as well, because Moflin is about to become my pet.

Doctors believe artificial intelligence is now saving lives after a major advancement in breast cancer screenings. AI is detecting early signs of the disease, in some cases years before doctors would find the cancer on a traditional scan. People suffering from dementia could live more independently thanks to a pair of AI-powered socks that can track everything from a patient's heart rate to movement. Called "SmartSocks," the AI-powered apparel was created in partnership between the University of Exeter and researchers at the start-up company Milbotix, according to SWNS. The socks can monitor a patient's heart rate, sweat levels and motion to prevent falls while also promoting independence for those with dementia. "I came up with the idea for SmartSocks while volunteering in a dementia care home," SmartSocks creator Zeke Steer, CEO of Milbotix, told SWNS.

Today, we have a mixture of young and older individuals, people with special needs, and people who can care for themselves. Over 1 billion people are estimated to be disabled; this figure corresponds to about 15% of the world's population, with 3.8% (approximately 190 million people) accounting for people aged 15 and up (Organization, 2011). The number of people with disabilities is upward due to the increase in chronic health conditions and many other things. These and other factors have made the need for proper care facilities urgent in today's society. Several care facilities are built to help people with disabilities live their everyday lives and not be left out of the community.

Often robots are seen as a means to an end to fulfill a logical objective task. Android robots, on the other hand, provide new possibilities to fulfill emotional tasks and could therefore be integrated into assistive scenarios. We explored this possibility by letting older adults and stakeholders have a conversation with an android robot capable of expressing emotion through facial expressions. The study was carried out with a wizard-of-oz approach and data collected with a mixed methods approach. We found that the participants were encouraged to speak more with the robot due to its smile. Simultaneously, many ethical questions were raised about transparency and manipulation. Our research can give valuable insight into the reaction of older adults to android robots that show emotions.

This Digital Health News industry roundup includes an Innovate UK Smart Award for a smart inhaler tracker, details on the digital transformation programme for Research Data Scotland and Cera's commitment to reduce hospitalisations with its digital healthcare approach. Customer analysis of a care home admin platform has revealed that it can save a significant number of hours in admin time for care homes. The CoolCare software focuses on making admin more efficient and more profitable. Its most recent analysis found that many of its customers were seeing results above pre-pandemic levels, including above-national increases in weekly fees, occupancy and private payer ratios. With increased occupancy, comes more admin.