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Barnsley man jailed for raping and drugging 12-year-old
A man from Barnsley has been jailed for nine years after being convicted of drugging and raping a 12-year-old girl he encountered while she was missing from home. Adam Batley, 30, plied the child with alcohol and drugs before the assault; she later disclosed what had happened to her social workers, prompting his arrest. He…
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Down Announce New Album Volume V, Unleash “Blood Oath”: Stream
New Orleans doom/sludge metal supergroup Down have announced their fourth full-length album, Volume V, due for release on 20th November via Nuclear Blast Records. The band shared the lead single “Blood Oath” alongside the announcement, marking their first major new music since returning guitarist Kirk Weinstein rejoined the line-up. The release matters as a notable…
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Mark Webber & Jennifer DeLia Launch Production Company Beyond Culture, Unveil Initial Slate
Actors and filmmakers Mark Webber and Jennifer DeLia have launched a new production company, Beyond Culture, describing it as an artist-led banner spanning film, art, music, technology and experience. The venture is designed to give creators greater ownership and financial control over their work, explicitly modelling itself on the original United Artists, the studio founded…
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Europe’s Citric-Acid China Test
The Week of August 9, 2026: The EU’s China trap, defense, tax, inflation and much more.
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David Robert Mitchell and J.J. Abrams Break Down ‘The End of Oak Street’s Most Shocking Twist
Filmmaker David Robert Mitchell and producer J.J. Abrams have discussed the biggest twist in their new sci-fi thriller *The End of Oak Street*, in which a suburban American family wakes to find dinosaurs overrunning their 1980s neighbourhood. Speaking to Collider, the pair explained the film’s origins, its journey from a near-R rating, and the death…
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Time’s running out! Save $300 on your TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass until August 21
TechCrunch has issued a reminder that the discounted early pricing window for its TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference closes on Friday, 21 August at 11:59 p.m. PT. After that deadline, attendees will no longer be able to save up to $300 on individual passes or access larger group-rate discounts, meaning the promotion is primarily a call…
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ANNABEL FENWICK ELLIOTT: I adopted Bear, my German shepherd ‘lockdown dog’, from a shifty man wearing a tracksuit. I was desperate to give him a better life. Then I had a baby – and knew he had to go
In this personal column, journalist Annabel Fenwick Elliott recounts adopting Bear, a German shepherd, during the Covid-19 lockdown, buying him from a man she describes as looking “shifty” and wearing a tracksuit, driven by a desire to rescue him and give him a better life. She explains that the dynamic changed dramatically once she had…
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81,000 warning letters sent to crypto holders in HMRC tax crackdown
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) sent more than 81,000 warning letters, emails and texts to cryptocurrency holders in the past year, urging them to check whether they owe capital gains tax. This marks a near-tripling of such warnings since 2024, reflecting HMRC’s growing focus on crypto investors, many of whom are young and may wrongly…
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Axelrod criticizes Ossoff’s remark about Natalie Harp: ‘Distracted and detracted’
Democratic strategist David Axelrod on Wednesday criticized recent comments from Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) about President Trump and his longtime aide Natalie Harp. “No one has been more consistently eloquent or incisive in exposing @realDonaldTrump than @Ossoff. The paragraph from his weekend speech that has gotten so much attention was a brutal takedown. But two…
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Flock surveillance backlash mounts as fiendish Halloween plans circulate
Surveillance company Flock is facing growing backlash, with social media users organising a “De-Flock America” campaign urging people to vandalise the firm’s automated license plate readers (ALPRs) on Halloween 2026. The campaign follows mounting criticism of Flock’s technology, including reports of ICE agents accessing local police forces’ systems and officers using it to stalk former…