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Luton’s factory closure reveals appeal of populist politics
The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty visits Luton to speak with former Vauxhall Motors workers made redundant after their plant closed in March last year, arguing that the collapse of trusted institutions – not stupidity or bigotry – is pushing former Labour voters towards Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. He contends that the decline of industrial towns…
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UK mortgage rates climb following sharp rise in swap rates
The recent turbulence in the UK bond market is stoking concerns about higher borrowing costs for households, with fixed-rate mortgages the most immediately exposed. Because such mortgages are priced off wholesale “swap rates” rather than the Bank of England’s base rate, the sharp rise in government borrowing costs has already prompted Coventry Building Society to…
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Google engineer unplugged every fiber they could see and – surprise! – took down a chunk of the G-Cloud
Google Cloud has disclosed that a partial outage in its us-central1-b region this week was caused by an engineer accidentally unplugging network fibre-optic cables during routine hardware maintenance. The incident, which ran from 07:41 to 11:52 PT on 1 September, matters because it exposed a gap in Google’s much-vaunted network redundancy: the system is designed…
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US military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at southern border in August
The US military has disclosed for the first time how frequently it uses counter-drone technology at the southern border, revealing it downed roughly 100 suspected cartel drones in August alone. A senior War Department official told Fox News that Task Force–Southern Border carried out the operations using specialised equipment, including laser systems, integrated by other…
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50 Years Ago, David Bowie Released a Song Written for Elvis Presley, He Turned It Down and Bowie Made It a Hit
David Bowie’s single “Golden Years” was released on 21 November 1975, ahead of the album Station to Station, at a moment when it was unclear whether Bowie himself would even perform it. Elvis Presley had been considered as a potential vocalist, since both artists were signed to RCA Records and Presley had heard Bowie’s demos,…
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‘Black Widow’, 39, poisoned much older man after meeting him on dating app, sheriff claims
A Florida woman has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly poisoning a 69-year-old man she met through a dating app, with the local sheriff describing her as a “black widow” motivated by money. Samantha Adams, 39, is accused of drugging the man’s drink on at least three occasions during a paid romantic relationship, with…
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Bondi Icebergs caught in Aboriginal land claim as calls grow for new law to protect iconic Sydney sites
Sydney’s iconic Bondi Icebergs pool and licensed club has become the subject of an Aboriginal land claim, lodged by the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council back in 2009 but still unresolved 17 years later. The world-famous venue, located at the southern end of Bondi Beach and known as the most photographed swimming pool globally,…
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Moment kidnap victim leaps from first-floor window, onto tree before fleeing on foot and chancing upon police: Gang is jailed
A man who was kidnapped and abused by a gang in Lincolnshire managed to escape by leaping from a first-floor window into a tree before fleeing on foot and flagging down a passing police car. The victim had been lured to an address in Market Rasen following the breakdown of a past relationship, where he…
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Inside the sad downfall of Country Road: Store closures, falling sales and ‘astronomical’ prices – so can the Aussie fashion icon survive?
Country Road, once one of Australia’s most iconic fashion brands, has posted its third consecutive annual loss, deepening concerns about its long-term survival amid store closures and weakening sales. A fashion expert has attributed the decline to the retailer being squeezed out of the middle market, as budget-conscious shoppers increasingly choose either ultra-cheap fast-fashion chains…
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10 Books That Are Page-Turners From Start to Finish
This is a light-hearted book recommendation piece rather than a ranked “best of” list, compiling ten novels the author considers genuine page-turners that reward readers even if they don’t usually enjoy reading. The selections span multiple genres, from dystopian science fiction to true-crime-inspired thrillers and pulpy horror-war mash-ups, united by fast pacing and compelling storytelling.…