Demon’s Souls was a great remake (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The Friday letters page has some choice words to say about Sony’s handling of the PS5 generation, as one reader thinks Mario Kart Arcade is a bad game.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Wasted generation Just seen the news that Sony is shutting down Bluepoint Games and I’m appalled. That team put out nothing but top quality games and were specialists in remakes, which we’ve had more and more of recently, so you would’ve thought they’d be extra valuable to Sony right now.
Instead, we just see continued short-sighted, bone-headed decision making from Sony, who have been awful this whole generation. The PlayStation 5 has been a disaster and I’m not confident that Sony has any kind of plan to avoid permeant decline, all the while shutting down more and more developers. I definitely would be polishing up my CV if I worked at Bungie or Bend Studio.
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The obsession with live service games, which clearly hasn’t ended at all, has been such a disaster. Not just in terms of failed games (remember, Concord cost $400 million!) but a whole wasted generation, where developers have had no time to make anything else, and are now being shut down before they have the chance anyway.
I detest Sony for how they’re handling all this, and I say that as someone that’s owned an original PlayStation console and everything else since. They shut down one of their best developers just so they could look good to their investors for five minutes and it’s obvious they’ll happily sacrifice more for the same reason. Cranston
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Pity the poor exec Thank goodness that Hermen Hulst, Head of Worldwide Studios at PlayStation from 2019-2024, is here to protect the company from ‘changing player behaviours’ and ‘rising development costs’ by shuttering one of their most renowned studios.
Absolutely nothing else he could’ve done since 2019, to give players the type of games they expect from PlayStation. Nope, we all wanted 12 live service games, from studios who specialise in single-player games, so it’s our fault for changing our minds…
PlayStation has been on the slide since they consolidated and moved their headquarters to the USA. They’ve lost almost all of the riskiness and playfulness that made them successful in the first place. Hope the Bluepoint employees bounce back quickly. Magnumstache
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Never-ending Kratos I was really hoping that Santa Monica Studio would be working on a new IP or sci-fi game but it really doesn’t sound like that’s what’s going on. I loved the last two God Of War games but the story’s over and I have very little confidence that there’s a good plan for what happens next.
Cory Barlog said he didn’t make the Norse games a trilogy because he didn’t want to work on the same story for 15 years but here we are and it’s looking very much like he’s just going straight back to God Of War.
I know the next game is meant to be a spin-off but how different is it going to be really? Unless it’s a flight sim or something it’s just going to be more of the same and that’s a shame. Coolsbane
Experimental reasoning It does make me laugh that Todd Howard has now publicly admitted that people find Starfield boring, but I’m sure he doesn’t really understand why. How someone of his supposed experience could have put out such a dull, badly made game I don’t know. He’s just lucky the Fallout TV show was a hit, as otherwise I think he would’ve fond himself out the door.
No one would love The Elder Scrolls 6 to be great more than me, but Bethesda is too high on its own supply nowadays and I really have much less confidence in them than I used to. He tries to paint Starfield as some big, risky experiment but all they do was take all the best bits out of Skyrim and replace it with nothing.
I’m not really sure what he’s on about with Fallout 76 either. It’s just a bog standard MMO cobbled together with left over bits from Fallout 4. It’s those two games that made me start to think less of Bethesda, not because they were risky ventures but because they were lazy cash grabs. Shortround
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Kart it off I always wondered why Nintendo bothered with the Mario Kart arcade games. They weren’t very good, because they let Bandai Namco make them, and it hardly seems like Mario Kart is a series they have to get people interested in or promote. It’s not exactly an unknown brand, is it?
Putting Pac-Man in was extra weird too, as even though he’s a cartoon character he still looks out of place. Anyway, I still gave it a go. But paying £1 to play one race of the worst Mario Kart ever isn’t something I’d want to do again. Biter
Bad business The gaming world can truly change on a dime. Bluepoint Games has been shut down by Sony. After giving us fans a brilliant remake of Demon’s Souls and Shadow Of The Colossus, Sony has closed down the studio. One of their most revered, to say the least. It’s out of nowhere and quite a baffling decision. From what I understand, the studio was to create a video game based on an original IP and not another remake. So why Sony have chosen to erase that prospective idea is beyond my understanding.
Then again, we hadn’t heard any news, updates or any information from them in a long time, so perhaps it was inevitable. I suppose the silence was a reckoning or rather an ill omen in the shadows. I really would have liked to see what Bluepoint were making or what was cooking behind the scenes. To see the creativity floating around, but it either happens with a new studio that is formed, or it remains a what if?
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It worked for Sandfall Games. After they broke away from Ubisoft, we were presented with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the rest is history. So maybe the developers still have a semblance of a future. What that will be is unclear at this moment, so who knows what is next?
On another note, it’s a week from tomorrow that Resident Evil Requiem releases. A funny anecdote is that I pre-ordered it for £47.99, on Amazon. I take another look and it’s suddenly £59.95. Talk about a lucky move. It looks absolutely fantastic and since Leon Kennedy is my favourite male gaming character, I hope it reviews well. Shahzaib Sadiq
Two for two I want to recommend Pure Pool Pro on PlayStation 5. It’s a really fun game with excellent physics. It looks great and has an enjoyable career mode and trophies.
It’s only the second game I’ve bought for the PlayStation 5 after Everybody’s Golf Hot Shots. Keep up the good work. EricBIG777 (PSN ID)
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GC: Thank you.
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Actually final RE: Ochreblue. I find it hard to imagine, after the Final Fantasy 7 remakes have been completed, that another remake of a fan favourite would be made anytime soon, at least on the scale of Final Fantasy 7’s budget.
I think that so much money has backed these three massive games that it would seem nonsensical to risk another big venture so soon, due to what the actual returns were from a financial point of view. I can imagine that it would have needed a lot more sales to accommodate a reason to make, let’s say the sixth or ninth Final Fantasy games in the series, even if they definitely do deserve one.
Possibly a remastered version of Chrono Trigger would be interesting, with a fresh lick of paint and a new up-to-date remake of the original soundtrack would be a great winner for me and other fans. No need to go and rebuild everything like the FFVII Remake, but way simpler using artwork that is skilfully applied to the cute looking world whilst keeping the atmosphere peak.
But we definitely have to get into our minds that the Final Fantasy 7 remakes could be the ultimate Final Fantasies, encapsulating everything from the original and introducing so much more.
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This asks the question of how powerful do the next generation of consoles really need to be and have graphical qualities reached their zenith yet? GTA 6 will probably be that zenith but it’ll be pretty obvious that GTA 6 will be earning a hefty profit when the sale figures start coming in.
But definitely it will be an exception compared to other big releases, who will be relatively successful but with way less titles being sold. Let’s see what happens over this year and the next. Alucard
Inbox also-rans Sony shut down Bluepoint Games? Make it make sense! Surely they should be remaking Bloodborne? Zombiekicker
One positive thing about all these console delays is that parents could be saved the £400 to £1,000 yearly scramble to get a new toy for their spoiled kids. Bobwallett
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GC: Who is spending £1,000 on new consoles every year?
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Shark’s flagship cordless vacuum cleaner comes loaded with features including auto detection, which automatically varies the suction power according to the levels of dirt, light, proximity to corners and edges and the floor type.
There are front and rear “headlights”, an anti-hair wrap feature and “reverse clean” floorhead tech which means the vacuum cleans as effectively pulled backwards as it does when pushed forward.
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In use, there’s more than enough power for cleaning short-pile carpet as well as hard flooring and it sailed through all of my torture tests. It collected hair efficiently, the auto detection capabilities proved effective, and, as advertised, it did seem equally effective forwards and backwards.
Handily, this vacuum folds over for stable storage in a cupboard, against a wall or in a corner and its accessory roster is decent too. Meanwhile, build quality is robust and the design intuitive. The battery’s charging time was a little slow at four hours, but I got around 30 minutes run time in the default PowerDetect mode, which is good.
The Shark feels a little heavier than others I’ve tested but the inclusion of a folding Flex wand, together with a highly manoeuvrable floor head, means it’s easy to reach under sofas and bed frames. Its 0.7 litre dust bin isn’t huge and the horizontal design makes it trickier to empty without spilling some debris, but this is a well-balanced cordless overall.
Harvey Dominy died hours after arriving at the popular Spanish resorts for his first lads’ holiday, an inquest heard.
22:48, 19 Feb 2026Updated 22:48, 19 Feb 2026
A young man died just hours after arriving at a popular Spanish resort for his first pals holiday, an inquest has heard. Harvey Dominy, from Merthyr Tydfil, Wales was found on the floor of his hotel room in Benidorm in July 2024.
An inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court heard that cocaine, MDMA and alcohol were found in his system. The inquest heard that Mr Dominy had gone to the destination with three friends for a week-long lads’ holiday.
He began struggling to breathe and collapsed on the hotel room floor in front of friends Liam Mason and Levi Davies, Wales Online reports.
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The hearing was told that Mr Mason sent a video to a Snapchat group chat showing Mr Dominy seated in a chair on the balcony, his body slumped forward. Later that evening, he sent a second video showing Mr Dominy lying on the floor looking “grey”. He also sent a message saying: “He’s gone.”
The inquest heard that Mr Dominy’s best friend, Liam Llewellyn, had left the hotel earlier as he was staying in separate accommodation. He received a call to say Mr Dominy was unwell and said his friend had been talking before he left at 8.30pm, adding he had “no concerns” at the time.
Mr Dominy was staying on the 15th floor of a hotel with a broken lift when his condition worsened, the inquest heard. Mr Davies said the friends did not know the local emergency services number, so Mr Mason left the room to alert hotel staff.
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Giving evidence, Mr Davies said: “Harvey started to feel unwell. He said he he felt sick and then he was sick.” He added that he gave Mr Dominy water before he began struggling to breathe.
“A short time after Harvey then lay on the floor and started struggling to breathe. I don’t remember him collapsing. I tried to give him more water but he would spit it back out. I had never seen Harvey in that type of state before.”
The inquest heard that the friends had bought cocaine and MDMA after arriving in Benidorm and took the drugs together on July 16, 2024.
During the inquest, Mr Dominy’s family raised concerns about the timeline of events, saying they believed there had been a delay in getting medical attention for him. They described Mr Dominy as “extremely loved” and someone with “lots of friends”.
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Spanish police reports estimated that Mr Dominy died between 9pm and 10.30pm. Emergency services arrived at 10.47pm and confirmed he had “no vital signs”.
A post-mortem examination gave the medical cause of death as cardiac respiratory arrest, with the underlying cause recorded as an acute reaction to psychoactive substances. Toxicology reports showed alcohol, cocaine and MDMA in his system.
Concluding the evidence, coroner Kerrie Burge acknowledged there were “numerous inconsistencies” in the evidence given, including who sought help from reception and whether CPR was given. But she said the inconsistencies were not surprising as drugs and alcohol would have “affected their recollection”.
She confirmed the medical cause of death as acute reaction to psychoactive substances (1B) and cardiac arrest (1A), recording Mr Dominy’s death as drug-related. She expressed her condolences to the family.
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Shortly after his brother’s death, McKenzy Lee-Dominy said he was still grieving the loss of their mother. Mr Lee-Dominy, who is a published author, said: “I have a good group of friends but I had to grow up fast when mum died and then my brother dying. Now I feel allowed to cry and we learned to do that together as a family.
“Despite facing some horrible tragedies recently, I know that I need to keep writing to keep living. It’s through my writing that I’ve discovered the beautiful aspects of grief, and I hope that by sharing my experiences through stories, I can help others understand and process their own emotions.”
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Tiger Duggan, was holidaying in Thailand when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle on a motorbike, with his mother saying the family have gone through “19 days of living a nightmare” since the horrific incident
The family of Tiger Duggan, the 23-year-old who was left fighting for his life following a motorcycle crash, have shared the nightmare news that their “beautiful boy” has died.
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The Milton Keynes man had made the move from Milton Keynes to Perth two years ago and was travelling in Thailand when the tragic incident occurred, the Daily Star reports.
The young Brit’s family shared the heartbreaking news on Thursday, February 19 as they revealed his death saved lives. Mary Duggan wrote on GoFundMe: “Our son and brother lived life to the max! Our Beautiful soft skinned, beautiful long eye lashed boy with a cheeky charming infectious smile that touched everyone’s hearts left this dimension early this morning in my arms.
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“We want to thank everyone that has supported us in Tiger’s journey from prayers, messages and donations. Without those donations Tiger would not have reached his final destination where following his passing this morning in a selfless act has given 3 maybe 4 other people a second chance at life by donating his organs.”
“Thank you all for being apart of Tiger’s journey, we are all #forevergiving we all together achieved #helpbringtigerhome. We have had 19 days of living a nightmare, please now respect our peace and privacy.
“God bless you all. Goodnight our beautiful boy Tiger Duggan.”
Tiger suffered near-fatal injuries after he was hit by an oncoming vehicle when riding a motorcycle.
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He travelled to Thailand on January 16, and was resuscitated at the scene and taken to a small hospital on the Koh Samui island.
Tiger was later moved to a hospital in Bangkok where he was on a life-support machine.
After flying to be by his bedside his family hoped that their son would be stable enough to be flown back to the UK, raising over £115,000 online to bring him back.
Tiger worked in Australia for gold mining company Westgold Resources. Milton Keynes Central Labour MP Emily Darlington previously said: “I am shocked and saddened to hear about the devastating accident involving Tiger, a young man from our community who is now fighting for his life in Thailand.”
The Indian AI Impact Summit was meant to demonstrate that the country is a serious player in AI and serve as its showcase.
However, it has been dogged by controversies of alleged mismanagement, inconvenience to delegates, exhibitors and the public due to security sweeps, and allegedly false claims by an Indian University.
The official claimed that a Chinese ‘robodog’ was developed by her Galgotias University – with the institution later apologising for the minsunderstanding.
But it has been the participation of the co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, who was to give a key address on the inauguration day, that has been the most damaging.
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Image: Galgotias University apologised for any confusion over the ‘robodog’. Pic: AP
Mr Gates was scheduled to speak today alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, Google head Sundar Pichai, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and others.
Just hours before he was due to speak, a social media post by the Gates Foundation said: “After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI summit’s key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address.
“The Gates Foundation remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals.”
There was much consternation about Mr Gates taking part in such a high-profile event when last month the US Justice Department released emails, photographs and documents of his exchange with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Gates maintains that his relationship and repeated meetings with Epstein were confined to philanthropy-related discussions and that it was a mistake for him to meet Epstein.
Until yesterday, the Gates Foundation asserted and stated, “Bill Gates is attending the AI Impact Summit. He will be delivering his keynote as scheduled.”
Hundreds of thousands of marine animals are killed every year after becoming accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Sharks, skates and rays are at particular risk, alongside turtles, seals, whales and dolphins, many of which are endangered.
Much of this problem comes down to the design of fishing nets and how they are used. Particularly damaging are tangle nets, which typically use large mesh sizes and large amounts of slack that can indiscriminately catch anything that crosses their path. They are also typically left in the water for long periods and only checked every one to ten days.
A new four-year study from Ireland’s national Marine Institute highlights the particular problem the nets are causing in Ireland. Legally protected seals, for instance, are regularly caught in this type of net, widely used by the Irish fishing industry including in the country’s only marine national park.
Tangle nets were first introduced to Ireland in the early 1970s. This was to help boost the competitiveness of the Irish crayfish fishing sector and provide an alternative method to the traditional pot-based method that was used up to that point.
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But tangle nets are known to potentially harm a variety of species. The estimated impact from the latest report (covering 2021-2024) about what the nets had caught was stark:
• 1,161 nationally protected grey seals
• 81 critically endangered angel sharks
• 1,712 critically endangered flapper skate
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• 532 critically endangered tope sharks
Other species caught included the endangered white skate and undulate ray, as well as rarer records of common and Risso dolphins. Catches varied throughout the study region, and included Ireland’s marine national park in County Kerry. It is unclear whether similar numbers are seen in other fishing areas throughout Ireland.
The report argues for the reduction of these accidental catches to “safe biological limits”, but acknowledges that there probably is no safe limit for several of the shark and skate species given their conservation status and their approach to reproduction.
The documented numbers of catches is particularly concerning for the species’ designated as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This classification stipulates an extremely high risk of extinction in the immediate future. Unlike many bony fish such as cod, tuna and salmon, sharks, skates and rays tend to mature slowly (often at more than ten years of age), have long gestation periods, and only produce a few young every year or two.
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Rays and sharks are getting entangled in fishing nets.
This makes it very difficult for them to recover if anything causes their populations to decline. The angel shark is a good example – once widespread throughout the north-east Atlantic, it has suffered drastic declines across its range, and the species is now locally extinct throughout much of Europe.
There are few remaining strongholds for the species, but County Kerry is one of the last northerly refuges for angel sharks. With so few left in the wild, numbers caught in Ireland’s tangle net fishery are a significant concern at a global level.
Fisheries at a turning point?
Irish commercial fishers are facing a challenging future, with a number of recent restrictions to activities and quotas creating severe pressure on numerous businesses and communities around Ireland , and closing the crayfish fishery would be another blow.
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But there is a suitable and straightforward low-impact alternative to the tangle net, which is to fully return to the traditional pot fishery to target crayfish.
Currently in Ireland some fishers still use these pots, and others a combination of pots and nets. Pots are typically netted, baited cages with a narrow-funneled opening designed to only catch the target species with a minimal footprint when landing on the seabed and low risk of harm to the endangered and protected species documented in the Kerry report.
The report clearly states the urgent need of phasing out tangle nets, and highlights an upcoming Marine Institute report focusing on economic considerations supporting a complete switch from nets to pots. The current report suggests this is the “optimum solution”. And it adds that trials using the pots showed equivalent catches.
Fishing is an integral part of Irish culture, and the need for a fair transition with appropriate support is repeatedly highlighted as essential for effective marine conservation.
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What happens next in Kerry is probably going to be influenced by proposed legislation relating to how Ireland’s marine landscape is managed. The potential introduction of the Marine Protected Area and Nature Restoration laws, currently being debated, are aimed at protecting and restoring marine biodiversity, and may soon change how fishing is carried out in Irish waters.
Examples from around the world show that it is possible to change the type of fishing nets used to protect marine life. Gillnets (which capture fish by entangling then around the gills) have been almost completely phased out in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef marine park due to risks to animals including dolphins and turtles. Large scale drifting gillnets were banned in the European Union more than 20 years ago due to similar concerns.
The deaths of the world’s most sensitive marine animals documented in the tangle net report highlight the urgency of how fishing needs to change globally, while also protecting the livelihoods of an industry important to coastal communities.
The latest episode of BBC series The Apprentice saw Lord Sugar fire another candidate.
Lord Sugar has dismissed another candidate following a tense boardroom scene on The Apprentice.
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Thursday’s episode (February 19) of the BBC programme saw Roxanne Hamedi become the fifth candidate to be eliminated. She departed after an underwhelming performance as sub team leader during the challenge, though she later argued she was an “easy scapegoat”, maintaining: “I don’t think I deserved it.”
The episode of the hit show challenged contestants to develop a bottled water brand, before pitching it through live social media sales and producing a TV advertisement, reports the Mirror.
Project manager Conor Galvin led the unsuccessful team, and with both the water carton branding and the TV commercial falling short of expectations, he faced Lord Sugar alongside Rajan Gill and Roxanne as the final three candidates at risk.
Conor faced criticism for delivering ambiguous direction to his team, whilst Rajan bore responsibility for several significant mistakes. Nevertheless, with pharmacist Roxanne ultimately overseeing the branding, Lord Sugar chose to fire her.
Reflecting afterwards, she confessed: “It didn’t feel good to be fired, just because I didn’t think that I deserved to be. There was a lot going on that day and I feel like other people lacked accountability. So yeah, it wasn’t a nice feeling.
“I just feel like there was definitely a lack of direction and leadership from the project manager, Conor,” she continued. “He said that he wants something bold and clean and I believe that’s what I delivered. So the instructions were very vague but I delivered what was asked for with clarity, simplicity and a creative touch.”
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Roxanne, who founded beauty brand Browtasia, believed Conor deserved to be fired, stating: “Conor should have gone because he was the PM and I feel like he did throw me under the bus because I was just an easy scapegoat.”
When questioned whether she could have approached things differently, Roxanne revealed she’d been battling a cold throughout the task, leaving her “not in the right frame of mind”. However, she conceded she “could have fought more in the boardroom”.
She reflected that the BBC programme had shown her “how to be resilient”, and that she “left with grace, dignity and my head held high, even if I didn’t get to say everything I wanted to”.
“But I do believe the universe has a bigger plan for me,” she concluded. “This isn’t the last that you’re going to see of me.”
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The Apprentice continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Thursdays at 9pm, with The Apprentice: Unfinished Business airing straight after on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
An 18-year-old was reported missing on Friday, February 13 at around 5pm before police discovered a body at Blean Woods on Thursday
Police have delivered a heartbreaking update in the hunt for a missing teenager.
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The 18 year old was reported missing on Friday, 13 February at approximately 5pm. He had last been spotted near a Canterbury nature reserve, with his vehicle subsequently discovered in a car park close to Rough Common, adjacent to Blean Woods, reports the Mirror..
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Tragically, on Thursday, 19 February, officers located a body within Blean Woods. Whilst formal identification is yet to be completed, Jason’s family have been notified.
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The death is not presently being regarded as suspicious, with a report to be compiled for the coroner, Kent Police confirmed.
The development follows the devastating news from relatives of Tiger Duggan, the 23 year old who had been fighting for his life following a collision.
The adventurous young man, who had moved from Milton Keynes to Perth, Western Australia, two years earlier, has tragically passed away, reports the Daily Star. The young Briton’s family confirmed the heartbreaking news today, sharing how his death has offered hope to others.
Mary Duggan wrote on GoFundMe: “Our son and brother lived life to the max! Our Beautiful soft skinned, beautiful long eye lashed boy with a cheeky charming infectious smile that touched everyone’s hearts left this dimension early this morning in my arms.
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“We want to thank everyone that has supported us in Tiger’s journey from prayers, messages and donations. Without those donations Tiger would not have reached his final destination where following his passing this morning in a selfless act has given 3 maybe 4 other people a second chance at life by donating his organs.
“Thank you all for being apart of Tiger’s journey, we are all #forevergiving we all together achieved #helpbringtigerhome. We have had 19 days of living a nightmare, please now respect our peace and privacy.
“God bless you all. Goodnight our beautiful boy Tiger Duggan.”
Caroline Russell, the Green party member of the London Assembly, pointed out that a proposed 14 per cent reduction in the Met’s roads and transport policing command would result, in the Met’s own words, in “reduced capacity for fast road responses, pursuit resolutions and road danger reduction”.
F1’s bosses agreed at a meeting of the F1 Commission rules-making body on Wednesday they would assess data from this final test at a further meeting to decide whether action needed to be taken in the short term.
Concern arises from the fact the new engine rules have tripled the power provided by the electrical part of the engine but left the batteries more or less the same size as last year, and removed one of the devices used to recover energy.
This had led to cars that are energy starved and forced the teams to find new ways to harvest sufficient electrical energy to produce the best performance. The rules governing energy recovery are also highly complex.
That in turn has required drivers to perform behaviours that have been described as “counter-intuitive” to optimise lap time.
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These include not going flat out put of the final corner before a qualifying lap, lifting and coasting on a qualifying lap, and even not accelerating at full power at the end of a lap because it was more advantageous to use the energy elsewhere.
However, drivers have generally been positive on the handling characteristics of the new cars, and a number of top drivers all told BBC Sport they are still driving to the limit of grip, and driver ability will still be as crucial as ever.
Domenicali said: “Don’t be worried about the energy management. We’re going to solve that. If we need to solve it, by the way.”
He has spent his time in Bahrain having a series of discussions with individual drivers about the sport, including Verstappen.
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And he added: “Max wants and does care about Formula 1 more than anyone else. He has a way of putting the point that he wants to say in a certain way.
“Max will be part of the future of Formula 1 and of course it’s very important that we listen to him and all the top drivers that are very important in this sport.”
Domenicali also said F1 was looking at introducing new sporting elements on Fridays, expanding on the approach that led to sprint-race weekends, which feature two qualifying sessions rather than one, and a shorter race on the Saturday in addition to the grand prix on Sunday.
He has already previously said F1 is considering increasing the number of sprint events beyond the current six.
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Domenicali added: “Feedback from the fans, from the people attending the track, the promoter, [is] that people want to see action, real action during the three days.
“People want to see already on Friday something that is sporting – qualifying, points, whatever it is.
“So, it is true that there is the trend to go in the direction of, even if it is not a sprint every weekend.”
Bolton College ran a five day programme during National Apprenticeship Week 2026, connecting with school pupils, employers, and the wider public.
To promote apprenticeship pathways as a route to earning and gaining qualifications without student debt.
Central to the college’s campaign was the Bolton College Big Yellow Apprenticeship Bus, an American-style school bus turned mobile information centre.
Beki Green, Bolton College’s Schools Engagement Coordinator, on the Yellow Bus (Image: BOLTON COLLEGE)
Liam Sloan, principal of Bolton College, said: “The level of engagement throughout National Apprenticeship Week has been striking.
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“Apprenticeships have long been a respected and credible route into skilled employment, but we are clearly seeing growing momentum and wider recognition of their value.
“It has been particularly encouraging to see such strong interest from young people and adults alike, alongside the continued commitment of our employer partners.
Bolton College’s Big Yellow Apprenticeship Bus (Image: BOLTON COLLEGE)
“I would like to thank the schools, employers and organisations who gave their time to support the week.
“Apprenticeships are clearly opening doors and creating real opportunities, whether someone is starting their career, progressing further or choosing a completely new direction.”
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Andrew Moore from The Manchester Metropolitan University (Image: BOLTON COLLEGE)
The bus toured secondary schools across Bolton, reaching more than 500 pupils through sessions explaining apprenticeship entry requirements and progression to higher qualifications.
It also visited the college’s Deane Road Campus during its Open Event and was stationed in Victoria Square to engage adults interested in upskilling or changing careers.
Bolton College delivers hundreds of apprenticeships each year, working with employers across Greater Manchester and the North West to support both school leavers and adults seeking to retrain.
The college hosted a construction networking event on campus, where learners met employers such as Onward Homes, Caddick Developments, and Taylor Wimpey plc.
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Their Careers Team also ran its annual Apprenticeship Café, offering advice on live vacancies and applications.
Higher education providers and training organisations attended to discuss progression to higher and degree apprenticeships.
A highlight of the week was the Bolton Council Apprentices Celebration Lunch, hosted in the college’s Immersive Suite.
Construction Networking Event (Image: BOLTON COLLEGE)
The event brought together council apprentices, managers, and team leaders to celebrate achievements and the partnership between Bolton College and Bolton Council.
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Apprenticeships offer paid employment alongside structured training, allowing individuals to earn nationally recognised qualifications while gaining valuable workplace experience.
They also provide opportunities for upskilling and career progression at any stage of working life.