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Burnham hails importance of local businesses as he issues update on support plans
Andy Burnham said the Government will consult small businesses on longer-term support, as he continued a summer tour in Devon. The initiative is intended to strengthen relations with local firms and support jobs and growth, particularly in hospitality and high-street businesses. The Government has announced 20% business-rates relief for pubs, clubs and live-music venues, alongside…
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Dell XPS 13 Review: Move Over, Neo
Dell’s new XPS 13 is presented as an unusually premium Windows laptop for its £700-equivalent starting price, borrowing the MacBook Neo’s approach of prioritising build quality, display and everyday usability over top-tier specifications. WIRED rates it 8/10, praising its aluminium construction, sharp 120-Hz touchscreen, excellent touchpad and keyboard, while noting that the base model’s limited…
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This Art Project Slows Down Citi Bikes to Make NYC’s Rent Crisis Feel Real
Brooklyn artist Justin Blinder has created Ground Truth, an art project that makes a modified Citi Bike harder to pedal in New York areas with higher levels of rent insecurity. The work aims to turn housing-affordability data into a physical experience, highlighting how sharply economic conditions can differ between nearby blocks. The device uses GPS…
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BOFH: How our Covid ransomware protocol’s Y2K blockchain lowered uptime
A satirical BOFH column depicts an IT team routinely inventing management statistics because nobody checks them, using polished charts to make the figures look credible. It matters chiefly as a comic critique of corporate reporting culture, where presentation and plausible excuses can outweigh accurate operational information. The narrator and PFY claim they have used successive…
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Total War: Warhammer 3 is getting a big free vampiric update in September, alongside the epithet-stuffed Lords of the End Times DLC
Creative Assembly will release Lords of the End Times, described as Total War: Warhammer 3’s largest DLC to date, on 24 September. It will arrive alongside a substantial free update, expanding the strategy game’s roster and revising several existing factions and systems. The DLC adds four Legendary Lords: Nagash, Thanquol, Boris Todbringer and the Glottkin,…
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Apple trained its own AI model for China with help from Alibaba
Apple has reportedly developed a bespoke AI model for China with Alibaba’s support, marking an unusual partnership between US and Chinese technology companies amid wider political tensions. The move could help Apple launch Apple Intelligence in China while retaining greater control over its AI features in a crucial and highly competitive smartphone market. Reuters, citing…
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‘Black Mirror’ Director Ally Pankiw Roasts ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series, Claiming She Turned Down Gig: “Say No To Funding Transphobia”
Black Mirror director Ally Pankiw said she rejected an opportunity to direct HBO’s forthcoming Harry Potter television series, describing the decision as a refusal to fund transphobia. Her Instagram post has renewed attention on the controversy surrounding author J.K. Rowling’s views on trans people and the reputational pressure facing those involved in the adaptation. Pankiw…
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How Britons kept their lawns green during the 1976 heatwave: From covering plants in old clothes to using bathwater and sand… so how many are you still doing today?
The article revisits gardening advice broadcast during the 1976 heatwave, when water restrictions and prolonged hot weather left lawns, parks and gardens badly scorched. It matters because similar dry conditions and hosepipe bans are again prompting householders to look for ways to protect plants while conserving water. BBC gardener Don Hoyle advised prioritising water for…
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‘Best in the world’ – David Storch shares Sheffield Wednesday dream and makes promotion admission – thestar.co.uk
The supplied text does not contain the news article itself; it consists entirely of Google’s cookie and sign-in notice. As a result, it is not possible to verify or neutrally summarise David Storch’s comments, Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion prospects, or the significance of the story. The headline indicates that Storch discussed a dream involving Sheffield Wednesday…
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Help build a monument to that ‘sad little bitch’ Elon Musk
Cards Against Humanity is crowdfunding a deliberately provocative monument near Starbase, Texas, intended to criticise Elon Musk. The campaign continues the card-game company’s history of using the land for political and satirical stunts, and follows its previous dispute with SpaceX over the site. The company bought the parcel in 2017 to oppose plans for a…