The gang were seen working in two groups to rob the premises in the early hours of Monday, August 31.

A robbery gang targeted a car garage in West Lothian in a ‘stolen to order’ operation.

The masked and gloved thieves were captured on CCTV stealing alloys and driving equipment worth thousands from Hardie Recovery Services in Polbeth in the early hours of Monday, August 31.

Footage showed the gang working in two groups with youngsters in tracksuits arriving around midnight to scout the premises.

A second group of masked men – wearing head torches and gloves – arrived two hours later and made off with unique gold alloys, BMW goods and tools worth more than £7,000.

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Garage boss William Hardie believes the organised crime gang were operating with a list of items stolen to order.

The 34-year-old said: “I’ve been told a crew from Liverpool are coming up and targeting garages for theft-to-order jobs.

“I’m on holiday for a family wedding in Cyprus. I think they knew and waited to target my garage while I was away.

“The first mob that turned up around midnight were all wearing Montirex tracksuits.

“The second group that arrived at 2am appear to be the professionals, wearing head torches and gloves.

“They were there for 40 minutes and came back close to 4am and filled up their car.

“They were obviously here for alloys and knew exactly what they were looking for.

“All in they left with three sets of alloys and ten mid-range Churchill tyres.

“I’m a professional drift car driver and one set of stolen alloys is a unique set that nobody else has. I imagine they will just be turned into scrap because they will be too hot to handle.”

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The CCTV shows a black Ford Focus arriving at the premises with the full beam on.

It parks up at the rear of the yard, before hooded figures emerge wearing tracksuits and Nike trainers.

One man immediately walks up to a vehicle and crouches down to inspect the alloy wheels.

He is joined by another man who scouts out the car.

Later on, a second gang of men appear. CCTV shows one man breaking into the garage premises with a set of bolt cutters. They are seen piling up stolen goods near an awaiting Ford Focus.

William added: “They’ve stolen £7,000 worth of equipment from my garage. I’m a hard working guy.

“To have gangs sniffing around your business and robbing you in the middle of the night is disgusting.”

Police Scotland have been contacted for comment.

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Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under a Beijing-imposed law that has effectively stifled the city’s once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

It was the second time Wong, a former student leader in the pro-democracy movement, has been prosecuted under the national security law introduced in Hong Kong in 2020, following massive anti-government protests that rocked the city the year before. Wong faces up to life in prison and is expected to be sentenced later.

Wong was already serving a prison term of four years and eight months after entering a guilty plea in a separate national security case linked to an unofficial primary. Pleading guilty could typically result in a reduced sentence.

Before the arrest for the collusion-related offence in June 2025, Wong, one of the most recognizable faces of the pro-democracy movement, had been expected to be freed in January next year.

Critics say Wong’s case showed the authorities’ determination to silence prominent dissidents, causing a chilling effect on civic activism. But to Beijing, Wong is an anti-China figure who supports Hong Kong independence, a red line for authorities.

Wong, 29, was accused of conspiring with fellow activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, or institutions, organisations, or individuals outside China to impose sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile actions against Hong Kong or China between 1 July and 23 Nov 2020.

The offence is punishable by a prison term of three to 10 years, or up to life imprisonment if the offense is deemed to be “of a grave nature.”

In 2012, Wong rose to prominence in Hong Kong as a high school student leading protests against the introduction of national education in schools. Later, his fame spread internationally as a student leader of the 2014 Occupy Movement.

Wong co-founded a political party, “Demosisto”, in 2016 with fellow young activists, including Law, who became the city’s youngest lawmaker that same year.

During the 2019 leaderless protests, Wong helped seek overseas support for the democracy movement, including from the U.S. But Beijing criticised his actions, saying he “begged for interference” by foreign countries.

Demosisto disbanded when Beijing imposed the security law in 2020, which authorities said was necessary for the city’s stability.

Many other leading activists were also jailed under the same law, including former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Some activists fled to other democratic countries, including the U.S. and the U.K.

Hong Kong authorities separately offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,600) for information leading to the arrests of Law, who moved to Britain, and other overseas-based activists.

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — It’s no secret how the breaking news on Raygun unfolded at the Paris Olympics: the memes and the mockery came thick and fast.

The Australian breaker at the center of it all, Rachael Gunn, has told how she had an inkling of how it might go when she saw a therapist ahead of the 2024 Games.

The trailer for “Untold Raygun: Breaking Badly,” a Netflix documentary launched this month, begins with Gunn recounting how she went to the therapist in a panic right before the Olympics and was asked what’s the worst that could happen?

“The whole world could laugh at me,” she recalled answering, before adding that the therapist responded: “Do you think that’s reasonable?”

Cue clips and sounds of hysterical laughing in the wake of her now infamous and much-trolled performance when breaking made its Olympic debut in France.

In the documentary, the Sydney-based Gunn recalled her feelings in the aftermath of her competition.

“I was cringe. I brought shame and embarrassment on the country. That was rough,” she said. “I felt like my life was just crumbling before me in a way that I could never have anticipated, and I was just trying to get through the day. I felt like I was falling into a dark pit.”

He dance moves, including the kangaroo and the sprinkler, didn’t get a single vote from the Olympic judges but still went viral.

Gunn said at first some of the memes were humorous but “then the tone started to change. And it just kept getting more crazy.”

There was even a planned musical named after her in December 2024, until legal intervention meant the production went ahead under a different title.

At the time, Gunn said the fallout from her Olympic gig left her “devastated” and forced her to retire from competition. Still, she said she appreciated the attention from famous comedians like late-night host Jimmy Fallon.

In the streaming documentary, Gunn addressed rumors about how she qualified for the Olympics as well as how the fallout left her feeling. She’s no longer a university lecturer and, among other things, Gunn’s website describes her as a “speaker, educator, and performer who brings energy, insight, and positivity to every stage.”

As she said in the documentary: “I can’t just be a meme.”

___

See AP’s full sports coverage here

​The former prime minister has said he will quit as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras and could be appointed to a role in Scarborough.

​Members of Parliament who wish to resign from the House of Commons are appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead in Scarborough, or of the Chiltern Hundreds.

​​The appointment, made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is a procedural device that allows members of parliament to resign from the House of Commons.

​​The “legal fiction” is used to circumvent a rule forbidding MPs from resigning.

​A Treasury spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that an announcement on which role Sir Keir is appointed to is likely to be made on the evening of Tuesday, September 1.

​In July, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was made the Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, Scarborough, following his decision to resign as an MP and fight to reclaim his seat.

​​​“The Steward and Bailiffs of the Chiltern Hundreds and of the Manor of Northstead were positions traditionally paid for by the Crown.

​​“In modern times, they are unpaid, formal titles that are applied for when an MP needs to disqualify themselves from the Commons,” the UK Parliament website states.

Keir Starmer MP. House Of Commons

​Announcing his resignation in an interview with the Camden New Journal, Sir Keir, who has been an MP since 2015, said: “I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world. I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls.”

​He added: “I think once you’ve been prime minister, it’s important to answer the question: what are you going to do next? Having decided I’m going to concentrate on international affairs, I think it’s right to step down.”

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — When a wall of water, rocks and mud tore through her remote village in Nepal last week, Pema Tamang and her neighbors fled uphill to a Buddhist shrine that had been rebuilt the previous year after a 2015 earthquake.

The steep mountain folds of the Himalayas, already prone to earthquakes, have seen more frequent flash floods as high mountain glaciers melt, redrawing rivers at sometimes terrifying speed. Residents have had little time to rebuild from one disaster to the next, raising concerns over whether their communities can endure as climate change accelerates.

“We were able to rebuild the stupa only last year after it was destroyed during the earthquake,” Tamang told The Associated Press, referring to the shrine. “Sheltering in it was how we saved our lives from the floods,” she said in a makeshift shelter at a monastery in Kathmandu.

The Aug. 26 floods in Nepal and neighboring China have killed more than 1,000 people and left thousands missing, including hundreds feared trapped in tunnels at hydropower projects. The floods were triggered after a collapse of bedrock and glacier ice sent debris and water surging through multiple Himalayan rivers.

Scientists say it is too early to directly link Wednesday’s catastrophe to global warming. But as Earth’s temperature rises at a faster rate because of the burning of oil, gas and coal, the chances of such disasters increase, especially in the Himalayan mountains, which are warming considerably faster than many other parts of the world.

“Climate change has been playing a large role in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, causing these kinds of complex disasters which have really impacted downstream communities and investments,” said Saswata Sanyal, a disaster risk resilience expert at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development based in Kathmandu.

Global warming’s effects are heightened in the Himalayas

Sanyal said the region is increasingly confronting hazards that trigger one another.

Warmer temperatures cause high mountain ice to melt, leading to more frequent rockslides, avalanches and floods. An avalanche can dam a river before unleashing a flash flood. Heavy rain after an initial disaster can compound the destruction.

Flash floods last year in the same region in Nepal claimed nine lives and caused millions of dollars in damage. Across the wider Himalayan region, the 2013 Kedarnath floods, the 2021 Chamoli disaster, the 2023 South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood, and other recent landslides and floods, have killed thousands of people and caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.

People in Nepal were still recovering from last year’s floods, Sanyal said, “and before they could fully adapt, the next one came.”

The Hindu Kush Himalaya stretches across parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China, and contains the largest concentration of ice outside the polar regions. River systems originating in the mountains support nearly 2 billion people.

Glacier ice loss has accelerated sharply since 2000, according to Sanyal’s intergovernmental climate research group. Another risk is thawing permafrost — ground that has remained frozen for long periods — that can weaken mountain slopes.

Satellite imagery of the glacial collapse last week indicates that a huge mass of bedrock and glacial ice plunged into a valley below, sending a wall of water and mud several stories high through communities many kilometers (miles) downstream.

Adaptation has limits in the mountains

Climate experts say that in some places the danger may become so great that rebuilding is no longer viable, forcing residents to move. Climate change could also have implications for efforts to develop the region through the construction of roads, bridges and hydropower plants.

“The adaptation threshold has been crossed in some areas,” said Manjeet Dhakal, a Nepali climate policy expert and United Nations climate negotiator.

When an earthquake destroys a house, belongings can sometimes be recovered, he said. A catastrophic flood can wipe out not only the house, but the land beneath it, along with roads, water systems, schools and electricity. He said future resettlement would have to incorporate climate risk from the beginning.

The consequences can be mitigated by stricter land-use rules, better assessments before infrastructure is approved, stronger cross-border monitoring and early warning systems.

Still, Sanyal said that of the 670,000 people who received text alerts about the Aug. 26 floods, some were visitors or migrant workers who could not understand Nepali while others downplayed the risk. Other systems designed to measure rivers were overwhelmed or washed away.

Chanda Lal Chitrakar, a 62-year-old resident of Nuwakot in Nepal, told the AP that he paid little attention to warning messages. As the waters rose, he ran uphill to save himself.

Nepal suffers from the much larger emissions of wealthier countries

Sanyal said such warnings need to provide more information on what actions to take. He also suggested prioritizing development in less-dangerous areas, assessing infrastructure for multiple hazards and incorporating the knowledge of Indigenous communities into disaster planning.

Dhakal, the climate negotiator, noted that Nepal has emitted less than 0.1% of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, even as it grapples with some of its most severe effects.

“We should blame those who are responsible for increasing the global temperature, those who have benefited from the fossil fuel economy for such a long time,” he said. “We can at least use this devastating example as an inspiration to urgently reduce carbon emissions.”

___

Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Blake Lively was spotted out in New York City on Tuesday, just hours after Candace Owens took a cheeky jab at her by posting a selfie with Justin Baldoni. 

The Gossip Girl star, 39, cut a chic figure while delivering a cup of coffee to her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, who waited inside his car. 

The actress looked ready for fall, wearing a cozy grey knit cardigan and a matching skirt as she stepped out days after the details of her surprisingly low payout from Baldoni were revealed. 

She completed the ensemble with trendy $950 mesh Marcy ballet flats by Khaite, and a burgundy suede Chanel bucket bag from the Fall/Winter 2026 pre-collection, which retails for $6,700. 

Lively wore her blonde hair straight with a side part, and shielded her eyes with a pair of Chanel sunglasses. 

She added a touch of sparkle to the look with a heart-shaped necklace and a sapphire ring. 

Meanwhile, Reynolds was later seen attending the premiere of his new comedy movie Mayday at AMC Lincoln Square without his wife. 

He cut a dashing figure in a grey suit paired with white sneakers. The actor way joined by Maria Bakalova and Sir Kenneth Branagh. 

Lively’s outing comes a day after Owens shared about her random run-in with Baldoni, 42, last week, and took a jab at Lively.

‘There was an approximate 1 in 100 million chance that I ran into Justin Baldoni at an airport in Iceland on a Friday afternoon,’ the political commentator, 37, captioned a selfie that showed her cuddling up to the actor. ‘Just incredible.’

She added the hashtag #Cousins in a nod to her support of Baldoni amid his public feud with his It Ends with Us co-star Lively.

‘NOBODY messes with my cousin,’ Owens added.

In another subtle jab at Lively, Owens posted the photo to her Instagram Stories, accompanying the image with the Taylor Swift track My Tears Ricochet.

The song was used in It Ends With Us and Lively and Swift were previously close friends before their high-profile falling out.

One user was tickled by Owens’ trolling, writing: ‘Now Candace that’s just messy … got Taylor playing in the background.’ 

It comes just days after the Daily Mail revealed the star was to be awarded only a small fraction of legal fees she tried to claim from Baldoni after their bitter court battle.

The Gossip Girl star looked ready for fall, wearing a cozy grey knit cardigan and a matching skirt along with a $6,700 Chanel bucket bag and $950 mesh ballet flats by Khaite

Meanwhile, her husband Ryan Reynolds, 49, was later seen attending the premiere of his new comedy movie Mayday at AMC Lincoln Square without her

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He cut a dashing figure in a grey suit paired with white sneakers

The actor way joined by Maria Bakalova and Sir Kenneth Branagh 

Lively’s outing comes a day after Owens shared about her random run-in with Baldoni last week, and accompanied her post with Taylor Swift’s track My Tears Ricochet

The song was used in It Ends With Us and Lively and Swift were previously close friends before their high-profile falling out; The two pictured in 2024  

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On Wednesday, a judge ruled that Lively will be awarded just five percent of the amount she sought to recoup for defending herself against Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit

On Wednesday, a judge in New York ruled she will be awarded just five percent ($400,000) of the amount she sought to recoup ($8 million) for defending herself against Baldoni’s $400 million defamation lawsuit.

The judge said hours Lively had billed for her lawyers were ‘unreasonable’ and criticized the ‘discrepancies’ in the expenses she was trying to claim.

The court ruling came months after the same judge threw out most of the claims in Lively’s sexual harassment case against her It Ends With Us co-star and they agreed to settle the case with no money changing hands.

Judge Lewis Liman had previously dismissed Baldoni’s defamation countersuit against Lively, but he did allow her to seek legal fees solely related to defending that action.

In an order obtained by the Daily Mail, Judge Liman ruled: ‘The clerk of court is respectfully directed to enter judgment for Lively in the amount of $363,245.40 in attorneys’ fees and $44,206.35 in costs’.

Lively sued Baldoni and his Wayfarer Studios production company in December 2024 for alleged sexual harassment on the set of the movie, and defamation.

Baldoni responded the following month with the $400 million lawsuit against Lively, Reynolds, and the New York Times, which was first to publish her claims.

In October last year, a judge dismissed Baldoni’s case and in May this year, after a judge dismissed most of Lively’s claims, she agreed to settle her claim. But the legal battle didn’t end there.

Weeks later, Lively filed court documents seeking to recoup her legal expenses from the drawn-out lawsuit.

Last month, Lively revealed in court filings just how much she was demanding: $4,544,094 from Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher and $2,951,432 from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, two high-profile law firms.

Lively and Baldoni finally agreed to a settlement in the two-year legal battle in May – just two weeks before the case was set to go to trial. Above, on the set of It Ends With Us in 2024

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It Ends with Us earned $148 million in domestic box office and $350 million globally, but whatever goodwill the film garnered was overshadowed by the allegations made by its stars 

However, the final bill will be $300,000 higher because of costs related to a recent hearing on June 1, bringing it to $8.3 million.

The news she’d receive a measly $400,000 after demanding an eye-watering $8 million following their bombshell settlement, coincided with her birthday, when her husband shared a gushing post calling her a ‘courageous and deeply kind genius.’

Lively and Reynolds first met in 2010 on the set of Green Lantern. They started dating the following year, in October 2011.

They tied the knot on September 9, 2012 in South Carolina and share daughters James, 11, Inez, nine, Betty, six, and son Olin, three.

The Wednesday letters page is appalled by Sony’s attempts to justify not owning digital games, as one reader voices doubts about DLSS 5.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Ace attorneys
I still can’t quite believe what was said by Sony in that story about their legal defence of digital games. I had to read it twice to understand what they were even trying to say and then I realised they were trying to bamboozle the judge with made-up nonsense – the sort of thing you could’ve told your gran 30 years ago, before computers were really a known thing at home.

There’s only one copy so how could any one person own it? Sony, what are you talking about? Rather than mock them though I think it’s depressing just how far they are willing to go, to not do the right thing.

Even though their argument is just a word salad I’m sure they’ll win anyway. I don’t know why we bother having trials. Just see who has the most expensive lawyers and skip to the end where they win.

Anyway, to skip to the end myself I’ll just say this, I’m not buying a PlayStation 6 and I don’t care what it does. Sony is losing the trust and respect of gamers all over the world and I am definitely one of them. I don’t want to buy a gaming PC but that’s what I’m being pushed towards because of their arrogant attitude.
Carter

Group purchase
Hi to all at GC and the readers who make this community fantastic. I am in a pickle of a jam at the moment of only being realistically able to afford one new game in the next few months. Out of the games I would buy – Star Wars Zero Company, Onimusha: Way Of The Sword, and Star Wars: Galactic Racer – I have plumped for Galactic Racer, as it has been on my radar for longer than the others.

As both of these games are semi-niche, I was wondering if someone who is on the fence about getting one, would take a punt on them as they have both reviewed well and I would like to see these sorts of games supported over GTA 6 or EA Sports FC 27 by the masses. I know it’s a long shot but someone taking a chance would be great (physical too).

Many thanks and keep up the good work!!
Will

Definitely probably
With regards to Rob Lilley’s letter about which format to choose when buying Grand Theft Auto 6. I’ll be genuinely interested to see how the game runs on the Xbox Series S. When it was first announced that the game was coming out for the machine, I seriously thought about buying Microsoft’s cheaper console, because at home I’ve got way too much physical media piled up as it is.

Briefly scanning the internet, I get the impression that Xbox Series S owners are more than happy with their machines. Microsoft had a good idea there, releasing a more affordable console for gamers that weren’t overly bothered about ultra high definition graphics and frame rates.

Looking at the huge liquorice allsort that I have stuck under my telly, I regret not buying a sleek and unobtrusive Xbox Series S instead, when they were attractively priced. But will Microsoft’s budget console run GTA 6? That’s the question.

My guess is, probably.
Michael Veal

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Beast of a game
I am really enjoying my time with Beast Of Reincarnation. Nice vertical and horizontal exploration of sorts, to find hidden items and fun battles to boot.

Thank goodness for those updates along the way. That writing was way too small even on my 65″ TV! Plus, other handy updates. But was it me or didn’t they have the English voice overs when first released? Could swear they didn’t.
ShaunOMacY2J (gamertag)

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Unlimited power
Love XCOM. I love legacy Star Wars (and Andor), so Zero Company looked brilliant on paper. But in reality, it is even better!

If you are looking for deep strategy, good storytelling, and solid turn-based gameplay I can 200% recommend Zero Company and would highly recommend it to anyone on the fence.

However, my issue is that it’s left me wanting more!

More characters. More missions. More enemies. More gear. More of everything!

I am going to cash in c. 30 years of Metro/ Digi readership points (going all the way back to Digi characters and ‘reveal’ quizzes!) to implore EA to give Bit Reactor the wonga to make more content and greenlight a sequel ASAP!

Would love to know how others have been getting on with this game too.
Tom

GC: We would love a DLC pack of aliens, at the very least, but the future of Bit Reactor seems very much up in the air at the moment.

A change is as good as a rest
Also loving Star Wars Zero Company – felt I needed to support it but not regretting it at all. I would say that, to me, it does feel like an iteration of XCOM but between the change in theme and the small amendments to the way it plays, it’s just about different enough. That said, it’s not a problem. XCOM is great.

Thinking about it, the theme change may actually be a huge positive for some old school XCOM players (I know at least one). It’s not that its Star Wars, but crucially it’s not XCOM, meaning that hopefully those players aren’t constantly looking at what the game isn’t (the squad sizes are too small, etc.) but can enjoy it on its own terms.
Matt (he_who_runs_away – PSN ID)

Pure kino
Just caught up on the whole Grand Theft Auto on YouTube and one thing it has reaffirmed to me is that the cinematic verve in a Rockstar production is unmatched in the industry, and that the release of a new GTA is always an event. Something that feels increasingly like a rarity these days.

Other than the frankly unreal graphics (eat your heart out Epic Games), which in my eyes virtually look next gen, I was quite pleased to learn that the game is following in Red Dead Redemption 2’s footsteps with the more rigid adherence to realism and higher stakes in the story.

I’m pretty confident the gunplay, driving, and general controls will feel more fluid and responsive than anything they’ve done to date, and I was amazed by the sheer density of detail and things to see and do in the game’s world – the scuba diving and base jumping activities looked incredible.

But I also hope the game doesn’t take itself too seriously and lose sight of its more gamified, zanier side, like the UFO signs, drug-induced hallucinogenic alien fights, and Ballad Of Gay Tony-like craziness, etc. to counterbalance the magnified mundanities of a life simulator elsewhere.

I also have to once again acknowledge how impeccable Rockstar’s editing and choice of music in their promotional videos and montages are.

I’ve always felt that the GTAs are more than the sum of their parts, and whilst I still have some small reservations about the substance and evolution of the main mission design, how sharp and resonant the satire and writing will be, and the relationship mechanics, I think as a whole the experience is most likely going to be impressive.

Now for an anecdote:

I took my dear grandmother out to brunch the other day, afterwards she wanted to go into a flower shop to purchase some lilies, but I desperately had to use the loo, so momentarily left her side.

When I had returned she was nowhere to be seen, but fortunately I was quickly able to breathe a sigh of relief after I located her in the grocery store next door looking for some borlotti beans.

For a moment there, I thought some nefarious soul had committed gran theft auto.
GG

Halloween port
Nice to see the well-received The Séance Of Blake Manor has been given a console release date of October 27th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

It’ll be a very reasonable £16.75 on the eShop, the other stores don’t have prices yet.
Simundo

GC: It’s a great game; we highly recommend it.

Consistently inconsistent
RE: Nick the Greek and when did Sonic games get good again. As a long time Sonic fan I think it’s best to acknowledge that the games have always been a mixed bag. Back when the original trilogy was coming out you had the Game Gear games, which can be considered serviceable at best, but few people are talking about them today.

Then in the late 90s and 2000s, for every Sonic Adventure there’s a Secret Rings. Sonic Unleashed manages to be a great game with Sonic and a poor one with the Werehog, all in one go. Many would say Sonic was consistently good on portables, given the Advance and Rush games, but that ignores the very samey Rivals games on PSP In the 2010s.

We did end up with less games than the 2000s, but sadly that didn’t spark an increase in quality. Games like Lost World and Forces are best described as fine, they function but they’re not going to be all that much fun. Even the racing games embody this mixed bag problem; the Riders series becoming less engaging with each entry and the kart racers being great except for Team Sonic Racing, which had a great idea but poor execution, in my opinion.

And now in the 2020s we’ve got Frontiers and Shadow Generations, which are both fantastic, but then there’s Superstars, which feels like a bad attempt at developing the ideas from Sonic Mania. And of course all of this is ignoring the two underbaked disasters that were 2006 and Boom, which somehow didn’t kill the franchise.

I guess there’s just something about the blue blur that’s allowed him to endure through all the hardship for 35 years, so here’s to 35 more.
Sunny

Inbox also-rans
Why is it I don’t believe a word Nvidia is saying about DLSS 5? It’s very obvious they only started with NBA 2K27 because it’s got real people in it, that the AI can copy more easily. It’s still going to be a nightmare machine when it tries the same trick with characters there’s less reference for.
Focus

I see Double Fine are talking about making a Brütal Legend but, err… aren’t most of the people from the first game dead now? Lemmy, Ozzy Osbourne, Tim Curry… the only one still going, that I can remember, is Rob Halford. And Jack Black, obviously.
K

GC: Lita Ford is still around too.

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New Quay in Ceredigion has been dubbed Britain’s prettiest coastal town, but it has also been named the most isolated town in England and Wales, with the nearest supermarket a 20-mile journey away

A small Welsh seaside town of New Quay in Ceredigion has earned a glowing reputation as one of Britain’s prettiest.

Regularly praised for its unspoilt coastline and charming harbour, New Quay is a place full of surprises. It has dolphins, harbour porpoises, a hillside of colourful, chocolate-box style homes, and a connection to Wales’ most famous poet.

It is all of these qualities that make it a fantastic place to visit, and why Hazel Rickett, a travel expert at small-group tour operator Rabbie’s, has selected New Quay as one of seven destinations that are perfect for a late summer long weekend.

“Tucked away on the Ceredigion coast, New Quay is one of Wales’ best-kept seaside secrets. Colourful cottages, a picturesque harbour and sweeping views across Cardigan Bay make it an ideal destination for a peaceful coastal escape,” Hazel said.

“Visitors can stroll along the waterfront, enjoy fresh seafood and, if they’re lucky, spot the resident bottlenose dolphins. Its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful coastline make it the perfect destination for a laid-back short break.”

New Quay sits on Cardigan Bay, which holds one of Europe’s largest resident populations of bottlenose dolphins. They’re regularly spotted right from the harbour wall or headland in summer, no boat required. If you want a closer look, boat trip operators like SeaMor Dolphin Watching run out of the harbour.

Grey seals, harbour porpoises, seabirds, and rare chough are all found along the coast, and the free Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre on the seafront covers all of it.

The town’s most famous son is Dylan Thomas, who lived in New Quay with his wife Caitlin for about six months in 1944/45. It was one of the most productive periods of his career, and the town is widely accepted as the model for the fictional village of Llareggub in Under Milk Wood. There’s a Dylan Thomas Trail you can follow, a plaque at The Black Bull pub marking where he got the idea for an early piece that became Under Milk Wood, and the site of Majoda, the “wood and asbestos pagoda” bungalow where he wrote.

It’s easy to see why the place proved such an inspiration to Thomas, given its clear beauty. Brightly painted houses tumble down a steep hill to the working harbour and Harbour Beach, which won a Seaside Award in 2026 for cleanliness. It marks the halfway point of the Wales Coast Path, so it’s a natural stopping point for walkers.

Intriguingly, New Quay has also been named as one of the most isolated in the UK. While New Quay’s 1,045 residents are well served by tourist-facing independent shops and cafes, the town has no major supermarket. Despite a Costcutter and a Morrisons nearby, the nearest large superstore — a Tesco or Aldi in Cardigan — requires a 20-mile round trip. The nearest railway station, in Aberystwyth, is a 40-minute drive away.

New Quay was once a thriving fishing village built on the herring trade, though the industry has long since declined. Today, the handful of remaining fishermen make their living from lobster and prawn catches.

The 18th York World Naked Bike Ride will take place in York next Saturday (September 12) – starting at Millennium Bridge at 4pm and returning to the same spot.

The global protest highlights the dangers faced by cyclists on roads dominated by motor vehicles and aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel-dependent transport.

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The global protest highlights the dangers faced by cyclists on roads dominated by motor vehicles and aims to raise awareness about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel-dependent transport.

Organisers describe the ride as a celebration of cycling as a “healthy, fun and affordable alternative,” with some participants choosing to ride naked to symbolise vulnerability and promote body positivity.

World Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge , York Picture Frank Dwyer.

This year’s theme is ‘Bare as you Dare’ with organisers encouraging both clothed and unclothed cyclists to take part – encouraging them to be ‘comfortable in this space of acceptance’. 

Sadie Tann, a participant and first-time organiser, said: “We have all witnessed the devastating impacts of climate change this summer.

2015 The York Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge on Sunday Picture Frank Dwyer.

“Carbon dioxide levels are rising at an unprecedented rate with current figures at 427ppm. This is the highest it has been in human history and the primary driver is fossil fuel emissions

“One way of tackling this first-hand is to switch our cars for carbon-free bikes, and the more of us that do so, the greater the call to local councils for better infrastructure will be.”

World Naked Bike Ride sets off from Millennium Bridge , York Picture Frank Dwyer.

The 7-mile route is expected to take around two hours and will pass through the University of York, with views of the city’s historic walls and the River Ouse.