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‘Enough is enough’: Women protest after string of murders near Johannesburg
Runners in South Africa gathered to honour Elizabeth Moselakgomo after her body was found east of Johannesburg. Her death is among nine cases involving women whose bodies have been discovered in the Kempton Park area since July, fuelling fear and protests over women’s safety and freedom to travel or exercise alone. Moselakgomo, known as “Tsontso”,…
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John Wick as a DVD store operator, a roguelike take on Armored Core and other new indie games worth checking out
This roundup covers several noteworthy indie games newly available or coming soon to players seeking fresh gaming experiences. – **Emberville**: A top-down action RPG by Cygnus Cross that merges Diablo-style dungeon crawling with Stardew Valley life-simulation elements. Features beautiful pixel art, a prestigious voice cast including Baldur’s Gate 3 narrator Amelia Tyler, and engaging combat…
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New sighting of missing Lillia, 13, as concern grows and mother says: ‘My heart is breaking without you here’
Lillia, a 13-year-old girl from Bolton, has been missing for over a week after leaving her family home on 11 September. Greater Manchester Police have launched an urgent appeal to the public, with her mother Jessica making a tearful statement begging for her safe return. The case has generated significant concern, with a large advertising…
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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…