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‘Just cut the wires’: why UK conspiracy theorists are destroying traffic scanners
A group known as the “Blade Runners” is vandalising traffic sensors fitted above lights, believing they are surveillance devices or “electronic assault weapons” capable of causing serious illness. Attacks have led to arrests and police investigations across England, highlighting how conspiracy theories about technology and state control can translate into public danger and criminal damage.…
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Labour considers lowering mansion tax threshold to £1.5m in Budget raid on nearly 300,000 households – including many middle-class families in London and south east
The Labour government is considering lowering the mansion tax threshold from £2 million to £1.5 million ahead of the October 28 Budget, according to government sources. This would substantially expand the tax’s reach from 134,000 properties to over 270,000 homes, particularly affecting middle-class households in London and the South East. The move is notable as…
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China bogeyman looms large over American firms’ AI doomsday scenario
Silicon Valley figures, including Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei, argue that the United States must maintain its lead in artificial intelligence because China could otherwise gain decisive economic, political and military power. Their warnings are shaping opposition to broad AI restrictions, with the debate increasingly framed as a race between democratic and authoritarian systems, even…
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This scalpel shark has no known medical training but carries out cut-price eyelid lifts from a Manchester back street. Now, victims of her ‘revolving door of butchery’ ask: why won’t the law stop cowboy cosmetic surgeons like her?
An unregulated cosmetic surgeon called Luyen Vu has been performing eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) from residential properties across Manchester, charging £850 per procedure despite having no medical training. She advertises as offering professional surgery in sterile clinical settings whilst operating from domestic homes, taking only cash payments and reportedly leaving many patients severely disfigured. This case…
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Russian voters are handed ballot papers with an X already marked in favour of Putin’s party as elections are hit by mass fraud claims
Russia held its first wartime parliamentary election over three days beginning 18 September, amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud. The election is significant as it features virtually no opposition and is widely expected to secure Kremlin dominance, with critics describing it as a “sham” election that prevents genuine democratic choice. Multiple irregularities were reported across…
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Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky review – the bell tolls for Patrick Hamilton’s lost Londoners
Simon Reade’s stage adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s *Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky* brings together the intertwined stories of lonely Londoners Bob, Ella and Jenny. Set around the Midnight Bell pub, the production explores class, shame, control and unequal relationships, though the review finds it less menacing and psychologically deep than Hamilton’s novels. Matthew Iliffe’s…
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John Wilson on his unlikely concrete movie: ‘There might be a kind of sickness in shooting things this way’
John Wilson, creator of the cult-acclaimed HBO series How To with John Wilson, has made his debut feature film titled The History of Concrete, a 100-minute documentary examining the mundane urban material that dominates New York City’s landscape. The film reflects Wilson’s signature style of finding profound meaning in overlooked everyday objects, and demonstrates the…
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Jonathan Franzen: ‘It’s still mysterious to me that I was angry for so long’
Jonathan Franzen’s acclaimed novel The Corrections is being adapted into an eight-part Netflix series starring Meryl Streep, marking a significant development after the author’s fraught history with television adaptations. Franzen’s perspective on TV has shifted dramatically—he now views the medium as a creative ally rather than an enemy of serious literature, a change catalysed by…
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Tristan & Yseult review – Kneehigh’s lovers still soar with giddy glory
Emma Rice’s revival of Kneehigh’s Tristan & Yseult retains the exuberant theatricality that made the production a cult success. Its combination of circus, cabaret, comedy, live music and medieval tragedy remains highly entertaining, although the revival feels less daring than it did originally. The production features audience participation, aerial set pieces and music ranging from…
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Andoni Iraola makes Bournemouth return still learning on the job at Liverpool
Andoni Iraola’s start as Liverpool manager has been unconventional, with his team unbeaten after four games but having drawn three of them—a record that has frustrated supporters expecting silverware from a squad containing three £100m-plus forwards. Iraola now faces his former club Bournemouth on Sunday, where he spent three years building a competitive team but…