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Parents, labourers and even Modi voters: Support for India’s ‘cockroach’ protest keeps growing

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Parents, labourers and even Modi voters: Support for India’s ‘cockroach’ protest keeps growing

It is well past midnight at Jantar Mantar, and the crowd shows no sign of thinning. Music drifts across the humid air, tabla beats mixing with snatches of Bollywood songs, as new arrivals keep streaming in on foot — students, labourers, parents — even at this hour.

Somewhere near the stage, a spokesperson is trying, and failing, to keep the swelling numbers from tipping into a stampede. On walls near the protest site, fresh graffiti is still wet. “Modiji, return us our bad days,” one pleads, a jab at the prime minister’s campaign slogan “Achhe Din, the promised good days that many say never came.

In the crowd is Mohan Yadav, 43, a man who doesn’t fit the profile that the government’s supporters imagine when they picture these protests. He is not, he insists, an opposition plant, or a professional agitator. He voted for Narendra Modi’s BJP party. He voted for its ally Nitish Kumar in Bihar state. Yet, he’s standing at Jantar Mantar, trying to explain why the government he once trusted has, in his eyes, turned on people like him.

“I have a son and a daughter,” he says. “And I can understand that pain of a parent. Because I know how much sacrifice it takes to raise a child and then to lose them like this.”

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He is far from alone.

Protesters gather at Delhi's Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan
Protesters gather at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan (Namita Singh/ The Independent)

What started out as a joke by a group of students is now one of the most sustained waves of public dissent against Modi’s government.

On Saturday, India’s education ⁠minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, handing a major victory to the youth protesters.

With millions of followers online and clear displays of support on the ground, the Cockroach Janta Party had said it would not stop protesting until Modi’s education minister – the powerful veteran politician Dharmendra Pradhan – resigned

The protesters said Pradhan must take responsibility for the shambolic handling of a key university entrance exam for would-be medical students, the cancellation of which affected 2.3 million young people. Activists said at least 21 students died by suicide during the debacle.

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Nitesh Aryan, 26, from the northern city of Lucknow, has been at the protest site daily since 19 July. He says he is driven by the fact “that exam papers are repeatedly leaked. And when we demand our rights, the government responds by baton-charging the students, cracking our skulls, breaking legs and back.”

A poster at Jantar Mantar
A poster at Jantar Mantar (Namita Singh/ The Independent)

Akanksha, 31, who has lived in Delhi her whole life, frames her motivation as a slow, cumulative betrayal rather than a single scandal. “I’m a victim of the education system,” she says. “I know how rigged the system is, how messed up our schools are. Teachers are demotivated. Nobody is studying in a government institution.”

For Muskaan, 40, leaving the protest site with her two children close to midnight, the stakes are more immediate. She’s a labourer and her husband drives an autorickshaw. “There are poor people who with great difficulty manage to educate their children,” she says. “My children will also study with as much hard work. Right now they are young. My son is in 8th standard and daughter is in 11th standard. It is about their future as well.”

When papers leak, she argues, “the future of my children is being ruined. I’m here to protect their future and prevent it from being ruined.”

What turned a grievance into a full-blown anti-government movement was the events of 20 July, the day police moved against the protesters at Jantar Mantar as they prepared to march towards parliament, using batons and teargas against them and leaving scores injured.

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People gather in solidarity with Cockroach Janta Party protesters at Jantar Mantar in Delhi
People gather in solidarity with Cockroach Janta Party protesters at Jantar Mantar in Delhi (Reuters)

Birku Yadav, 26, who joined the movement after learning about it on 18 July, describes what happened to her two days later. “I was charged with baton by a male police officer who did not even have his name tag on,” she says. “I feel like they were not wearing name tags because they were not police officers but supporters of the ruling regime.”

Ashutosh Ranka, 30, a spokesperson for the Cockroach Janta Party, says the scale of the crackdown caught even the organisers off guard. “The kind of brutality meted out against the students, young protesters and our own volunteers who were helping them manage the crowd crossed all levels of brutality,” he said. “Crossed all levels of shamelessness.”

It’s this moment – the baton-charge against unarmed students demanding accountability – that Mohan Yadav can’t reconcile with the government he voted for. “I still don’t know why we were assaulted by the police,” he says. “It was only about the resignation of one person. The government should have just conceded to the demands of the public, ‘my constituents and voters are asking for this, we should give them.’ We would have been so much happier.”

Supporters of India's Cockroach Janta Party hold placards and chant slogans during a protest in Delhi
Supporters of India’s Cockroach Janta Party hold placards and chant slogans during a protest in Delhi (Reuters)

There is a striking gap between the government’s public posture and what protesters describe living through. Modi has floated a proposal for fast-track courts to try paper-leak cases, a move Saurav Das, another Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson, dismisses as cosmetic.

“It’s an eyewash,” he says, noting that a 2024 law against organised exam-paper mafias is already meant to solve this, with little visible effect. “That law wasn’t implemented properly, that’s why you have these kinds of instances again.”

That disconnect between official reassurance and street anger runs through nearly every conversation.

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Where the government speaks of isolated lapses and administrative fixes, the protesters describe something closer to institutional collapse, and a chain of accountability that never seems to reach anyone at the top. “Post-2014, the government takes great arrogance in not sacking its minister,” Das says. “It was automatic before 2014.”

For Mohan Yadav, the gap is personal, not political. He frames his disillusionment as stemming not from ideology but a broken bargain.

“If we brought Modiji to power and he is the head of the country, then he should have taken care of our well-being and happiness,” he says. “But instead he went against 65 per cent of the youth of the country. In front of my eyes, so many women and children were beaten up. I felt really sad.”

India's Cockroach Janta Party spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka address the media in Delhi
India’s Cockroach Janta Party spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka address the media in Delhi (AFP/Getty)

Nitesh Aryan’s demand is starker still: “My demand is that those responsible for it are duly punished. And all the people who were at their posts at the time this happened, resign.”

Ranka insists the movement will not fold under pressure even as he acknowledges the personal risk protesters are taking on. “We expect police action but we don’t fear it,” he says. “This is a fight much bigger than one person and we are ready to pay the price.” Asked how far organisers are prepared to go if the government refuses to budge, he allowed himself a rare smile. “The government has to concede. They don’t have a choice this time.”

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Mohan Yadav says he still does not fully understand how he ended up here, holding a grievance against a government he helped elect. He’s careful to say he isn’t asking for anything extraordinary. “I’m not asking for a plot of land in Delhi,” he says. “I am not asking Modi to transfer 1.5 million rupees to my account. I am asking for accountability.”

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Lando Norris claims first win of season at Hungarian Grand Prix

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Lando Norris claims first win of season at Hungarian Grand Prix

“Max is really slow,” bemoaned Hamilton, unable to find a way past Verstappen. Hamilton attempted the undercut by stopping one lap before Verstappen, and it worked. However, Verstappen caught Hamilton off-guard to snatch the place back at the first corner – a turn renamed after Verstappen’s father-in-law, Nelson Piquet. A major blow for Hamilton having initially made the strategy work.

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Michael Carrick is still waiting to see if Manchester United’s new transfer strategy works

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Manchester Evening News

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick is aiming to redefine a key area of the pitch this season

As introductions to a new club go, Andrey Santos’ arrival at Manchester United could not have gone much better. The Brazilian midfielder arrived from Chelsea with opinions firmly split. Many questioned spending an initial £48m on a 22-year-old who was third choice at Stamford Bridge last season.

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But two games in, Santos has shown he can add something different to United’s midfield. “I’ve watched him from afar, since he’s obviously broken into the first team at Chelsea,” Mason Mount said on Friday about his new teammate, following the 5-0 win over Rosenborg. “I think he’s a really good player. As you said, he reads the game very well.

“I know he’s young, but he’s very experienced in going out on loan and playing in the Premier League as well. He reads the game very well. He’s a little bit more defensive, so it allows me to push on a little bit more forward in these last two games and work off him.

“I think defensively as well, we’re both players that want to get around it, want to put tackles in and win the ball back and be aggressive.”

Despite adding bite to the midfield, Santos is not your quintessential defensive midfielder who can protect the back four. For that matter, neither is Youri Tielemans. United fans have not seen Belgium’s captain in action yet, but they are already familiar with what he will offer them next season. At the World Cup, Tielemans was a box-to-box midfielder and we know he will offer the Reds strength both in and out of possession.

United still want to add a third midfielder this summer but they are more relaxed about that prospect than they were in June. Santos and Tielemans’ arrivals have relieved some of the pressure.

What’s more, there is not a great rush to sign a like-for-like replacement for Casemiro either. Carrick is looking to change United’s midfield this summer. The goal is to cram the midfield with players with high-level technical ability. He wants his side to control the game and set the tempo. Playing proactively, rather than reactively.

This will be music to the ears of United fans. The glory years were defined by a team who asserted their style on matches. But going for this approach is undeniably risky.

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Against Rosenborg, the new system worked perfectly. United grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck. Against those lesser opponents, this new strategy can flourish. But this season, Carrick’s side are not always going to be the aggressor.

When up against better quality opposition, United will be forced backwards at times and they will need to dig in. That’s where a Casemiro-esque midfielder is needed. It will be those matches against Premier League title challengers and European football’s elite, when United could need to alter their plan.

With just over a month to go before the transfer window closes, United could still add that more traditional defensive midfielder. A lot could depend on Real Madrid who are sniffing around Rodri. Were the Manchester City man to move to the Bernabeu, that could open the door to Aurelien Tchouameni for United. He is considered the Reds’ dream signing and would fit that defensive midfield role more traditionally.

But as things stand, Carrick is setting out a bold vision for United and it will only be during those major games this season that we shall see if this new strategy works.

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People Are Sharing The Weird Things They Said During Sex

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People Are Sharing The Weird Things They Said During Sex

If you’ve ever blurted out something during sex and immediately wished you could take it back, you’re not alone.

Whether it’s calling someone the wrong name, making a wildly untimely observation or asking a question that absolutely could have waited until later, people have said some pretty embarrassing things during sex more often than they’d like to admit.

According to Todd Baratz (@yourdiagnonsense), a sex therapist at LUBELIFE, these slip-ups are completely normal. “Sex isn’t like a scene out of a movie; it’s not a choreographed dance,” Baratz told HuffPost. “The reality is that sex is not only about the physical aspect of embodiment, but it is also about emotions, relational dynamics and a whole lot of psychology.

“When you combine all those elements, some awkward moments are inevitable.”

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eclipse_images via Getty Images

Awkward moments are almost inevitable in close, intimate relationships. But you’re certainly not alone when you have them.

Here are a few of the funniest, most absurd and most mortifying things people accidentally said during intimate moments.

*To allow the embarrassed to be a little more candid and protect their privacy, individuals are identified by only their first names.

‘How’s the air up there?’

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Erica still has no idea why one particular name got stuck in her head while she was having sex.

“I was sleeping with a guy, and for some reason I couldn’t get the name Frank out of my head, even though the guy I was having sex with wasn’t named Frank and I didn’t know anyone named Frank,” she said.

The more she tried not to think about it, the worse it became.

“All I could hear in my head was, ‘Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank, Frank,’” she said. Terrified she’d accidentally moan the wrong name, she desperately searched for literally anything else to say.

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The solution she said: “So instead I blurted out, ‘How’s the air up there?’ while he was hovering over me.”

The comment earned her a confused look, but she still considered it a better outcome than accidentally calling him Frank.

Later, however, curiosity got the better of her, so she asked whether he happened to know anyone named Frank.

“He told me that was the name of a family member who had just passed away,” she recalled. “So that was really weird.”

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‘God, you’re so smart.’

Stu recounted having sex with a woman in college while the two were locked in an affectionate gaze.

“She had her glasses on,” he said. “I don’t know what my brain was thinking because I just lovingly told her, ‘God, you are so smart!’”

He immediately saw the confusion on her face, and just carried on in bed. “It’s amazing the connections your brain makes,” he said.

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Some awkward moments can be really weird and off-putting — but some can also be secretly adorable.

PictureNet Corporation via Getty Images

Some awkward moments can be really weird and off-putting — but some can also be secretly adorable.

‘You might want to get that mole looked at.’

Stu has another story that’s just as unforgettable.

“We were having sex doggy style, and I noticed a mole,” he said. “I pointed out that she might want to get it looked at.”

Looking back, he admits it wasn’t exactly the right time.

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“Maybe not the best place to say it. It just struck me as important at the time. Totally unfiltered moment,” he said. Thankfully, she laughed – and got her mole looked at.

Accidentally calling your partner by the wrong name.

For Samer, the nightmare scenario that most people dread actually happened. After dating his boyfriend for about three months, the couple finally decided they were ready to have sex.

“In the heat of the moment, I called him John,” Samer said. The problem? “His name is Manny.”

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Even worse, Samer has no idea who John is. “Don’t ask me who John is because I have no idea. The name just blurted out of my mouth,” Samer said.

Fortunately, Manny didn’t hear it. The next day, though, Samer confessed what had happened.

“He laughed and said he never heard me,” Samer recalled, “but in my own head I was yelling at myself, ‘How could you, you idiot?’”

Reddit users also had their fair share of awkward confessions.

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If the stories above sound painfully relatable, they’re hardly unique. In a Reddit discussion from last year about the most embarrassing things people have said during sex, hundreds of users shared the awkward comments that still make them cringe years later.

One user said that when their partner asked them to “talk dirty,” their brain completely froze and jumped to the literal: “She said talk dirty… I started telling her about my rock collection.”

Another recalled trying to respond after their partner complimented their size. “She said, ‘Oh my God, you’re so big,’ and I panicked and said, ‘No you are.’”

Some brains simply gave up on making sense altogether. “I meant to say ‘seriously’ since I was about to cum. It somehow came out ‘Stop celery.’” Their partner immediately stopped and asked, “Did you call me celery?” The two laughed for 15 minutes before continuing.

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Sometimes these OMG-worthy moments can even launch a hilarious inside joke that eventually becomes part of your relationship lore.

Koldunov via Getty Images

Sometimes these OMG-worthy moments can even launch a hilarious inside joke that eventually becomes part of your relationship lore.

One couple accidentally turned foreplay into meal planning. “I asked her to say something sexy and she said, ‘What would you like for dinner tomorrow?’” According to the Reddit user, the phrase has since become the couple’s code for an early night together.

For another couple, a compliment unexpectedly turned into a karaoke moment. “I told my wife, ‘I like the way you work it.’ Without missing a beat she replied, ‘No diggity.’” They laughed so hard they had to stop having sex.

Perhaps the most shocking confession came from one user who suddenly had an unsettling realisation mid-sex. “While I was having intercourse I stopped moving, stared at my (much older) boyfriend and with a very a-ha! tone simply said, ‘I just realised you could actually be my dad.’” Needless to say, he didn’t take it well.

Why saying something weird during sex feels especially embarrassing.

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The embarrassment usually has less to do with what was actually said than the meaning we attach to it, according to Baratz.

“A feeling of embarrassment usually comes less from what actually happened and more from the meaning we assign to it,” he explained. “We worry our partner will think we’re unattractive, inexperienced or bad at sex, and if something happens, it can feel like confirmation of those fears.”

Many people also approach sex as though they’re being evaluated rather than participating in a shared experience, he said.

In healthy sexual relationships, awkwardness is something you navigate together, not something you get judged for.

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– Todd Baratz, certified sex therapist

“In healthy sexual relationships, awkwardness is something you navigate together, not something you get judged for,” he said. If an awkward moment happens, Baratz recommends acknowledging it, laughing if it feels natural and moving on.

“The best response is often the simplest one,” he said. “You’re probably much more focused on the awkward moment than your partner is.”

In fact, those imperfect moments can become part of what makes intimacy meaningful.

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“When two people acknowledge something embarrassing, laugh together and continue to be present with each other, it’s a demonstration of trust and emotional safety,” Baratz said.

“The goal isn’t to eliminate awkwardness completely, but to become comfortable enough with yourself and your partner that it doesn’t ruin the experience.”

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Trump posts AI image of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as Dylan Mulvaney following WHCD trans joke

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Trump posts AI image of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins as Dylan Mulvaney following WHCD trans joke

President Donald Trump shared an AI-generated image of CNN’s Kaitlan Collins seemingly morphed with transgender actress and influencer Dylan Mulvaney — days after comparing the two with a bizarre joke during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The 80-year-old president went after Collins, a frequent target of his wrath, during his speech at the Correspondents’ Dinner, which was rescheduled for Friday after a shooting disrupted the original April event.

Trump congratulated Collins for winning the 2026 WHCA award for broadcast for her coverage of Trump’s contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025, saying that she “shouldn’t get the award. It was a fake, but I didn’t mind.”

He then compared Collins with Mulvaney, who drew national headlines after her 2023 campaign with Bud Light prompted a conservative boycott of the beer brand.

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“She never smiles,” Trump said of Collins during his speech Friday. “I said, ‘Kaitlin, do you ever smile?’ Smile. You have a nice position. You’re at CNN fake news. You should be a happy person. So smile, Kaitlan. Just smile.”

President Donald Trump shared the bizarre, seemingly AI-edited image of Collins’ face plastered on top of Mulvaney’s body, on Truth Social Sunday
President Donald Trump shared the bizarre, seemingly AI-edited image of Collins’ face plastered on top of Mulvaney’s body, on Truth Social Sunday (@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)

Trump continued, saying that he thought Collins had “made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed her that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney.”

The president appeared to compare Collins with Mulvaney again on Sunday, sharing a seemingly AI-generated image featuring Collins’ face on Mulvaney’s body. The original image was of Mulvaney during her partnership with Bud Light in 2023, and was widely circulated online at the time during the backlash.

This is a breaking news story, check back for updates…

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The Hundred Manchester Super Giants vs Birmingham Phoenix: Jos Buttler’s 90 – best shots

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Jos Buttler playing a shot

Jos Buttler scores 90 off 50 balls, in an innings that included five sixes, as he helps his Manchester Super Giants side reach 187-5 against Birmingham Phoenix in the men’s Hundred.

FOLLOW LIVE: The Hundred – Phoenix chasing 188 against Super Giants after Buttler’s 90

Available to UK users only.

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Horrific moment man in his 30s is stabbed in front of crowd during afternoon in busy Soho street

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A video from the Soho street showed an altercation taking place behind a car

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A man was allegedly stabbed in a Soho street after a row broke out in the queue for a pop-up event by American singer Latto.

The victim, a man in his 30s, was treated for stab wounds to the leg after the incident in Greek Street, Soho, at around 4.30pm on Thursday.

Angela Dean, a witness in her 50s, said ‘chaos erupted’ as she queued with her 14-year-old son.

She said people attempted to jump the queue and she captured footage of the incident.

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A video appeared to show two men involved in a confrontation, with one holding what looks like a knife.

Angela, a full-time carer from Essex, said: ‘Everyone was running and pushing – there was no crowd control.

‘I had to run out of the queue to alert the bouncer at the club to what was happening.

‘My child has been left deeply traumatised by what he witnessed.’

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A video from the Soho street showed an altercation taking place behind a car

One man appeared to make aggressive movements after approaching another man behind the car

One man appeared to make aggressive movements after approaching another man behind the car

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: ‘Police are investigating the stabbing of a man in the centre of Soho.

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‘At 4.28pm on Thursday, 23 July, Met officers were called by the London Ambulance Service to Greek Street, Soho, following reports of a stabbing.

‘At the scene, a man in his 30s was treated by paramedics and taken to hospital with a stab wound to the leg.

‘His condition has since been confirmed as non-life-threatening and non-life-changing.

‘There were no other reported injuries.

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‘At this early stage of the investigation, no arrests have been made.

‘Urgent enquiries are ongoing.’

Latto is a Grammy-nominated rapper from Atlanta known for her hit Big Energy.

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“Most important country on the planet” Americans stunned over 16 revolutionary inventions from Scotland

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Daily Record

‘Scotland may be the most important country on the planet. Who knew the Scots were this impressive?’

Two American podcasters have been left stunned after discovering how many things the Scots have invented, declaring that Scotland “may be the most important country on the planet”.

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It’s well known that Scotland boasts it’s fair share of notable inventors, with Alexander Graham Bell inventing the first working telephone and Alexander Fleming changing modern day medicine after discovering penicillin.

However, the Scots invented a whole series of other groundbreaking inventions too, much to the Americans’ surprise as they questioned: “Who knew the Scots were this impressive?”

Podcast hosts Brian Conz and Zach Misischia run their show ‘The Makeshift Project’ which is popular in the US. The pair recently posted a video on Tiktok of their conversation about Scottish inventions which has now gone viral online.

Captioning the video ‘Scotland: Why This Small Country Matters To The World’, Conz begins by listing 16 groundbreaking inventions we couldn’t live without today which all originated from Scotland.

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In a bid to convince co-host Misischia, he says: “Scotland may be the most important country on the planet. I’m going to list 16 things that that country invented and you’re going to tell me, are they the most important country or not?”

He begins: “They invented penicillin. That’s the most important medicine ever created. They invented the telephone”, as his friend butts in and asks: “I thought Alexander Graham Bell did that.” Conz replies: “He’s from Scotland!”

He continues: “They invented the television. This is insane, did you know this about Scotland? They invented the lightbulb.”

Misischia contests this by asking: “I thought it was Edison?” However, it was actually Scottish inventor James Bowman Lindsay who built an early constant electric incandescent light prototype in 1835 decades before Thomas Edison created the modern day lightbulb.

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Conz returns to his list: “They also invented the raincoat and it’s a good invention. This one way is way more important, they invented the MRI scanner. They also invented the refrigerator.

“They invented the colour photograph. They invented contact lenses and they’ve invented the flushing toilet.”

In amazement, he adds: “They invented the steam engine. They invented the fingerprint classification. They did all this. Who knew that Scots were this impressive?

“They invented the ATM. Thank god for that or we would be in trouble in the casino. They invented the encyclopedia and this one might be the most important, they invented the kaleidoscope.”

He finishes off by listing one of Scotland’s most proud inventions: “And this one I think is gonna sell you, they invented the game of golf.”

The podcasters were left visibly stunned by how many great things have come from Scotland as they included a lengthy caption explaining Scottish history, inventions, culture, science and modern global roles.

Proud Scots rushed to the comments and in true Scottish fashion, pointed out all the great inventions they’d missed including venoms and square sausages.

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One replied: “Thank you Scotland. You deserve to be an independent country.” Another joked: “And just imagine what we could have done if we’d been sober!”

A third offered another Scottish invention: “Football was also invented in Scotland. A Scottish man introduced football to Argentina and Brazil.”

The listed Scottish inventions and their inventors

  • Discovery of penicillin – Alexander Fleming
  • The telephone – Alexander Graham Bell
  • The television – John Logie Baird
  • The lightbulb – James Bowman Lindsay
  • The raincoat – Charles Macintosh
  • The refrigerator – William Cullen
  • Colour photographs – James Clerk Maxwell and photographer Thomas Sutton
  • First disposable contact lenses – Ron Hamilton
  • Flushing toilet – Alexander Cumming
  • Steam engine – James Watt
  • Fingerprint classification – Henry Faulds
  • ATM – James Goodfellow and John Shepherd-Barron
  • Encyclopædia Britannica – Colin Macfarquhar, Andrew Bell, and William Smellie
  • Kaleidoscope – Sir David Brewster
  • Golf – evolved in Scotland during the Middle Ages

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A fatal attack on Berlin’s Pride festival leaves locals wondering how their city will recover

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A fatal attack on Berlin's Pride festival leaves locals wondering how their city will recover

For Ali Darwich, the deadly attack on the Berlin Pride Festival was an attack on the city of Berlin and everything it stands for: its diversity, its tolerance and its belief in freedom.

On a personal level, it also was an attack on everything the Berliner embodies.

“Born a Muslim, living as a gay man, working as a police officer,” Darwich said, as he tried holding back the tears, “this terror attack touches so many aspects of who I am.”

Saturday night’s van ramming and stabbing near Berlin’s Pride festival that left one person dead and many others wounded is believed to have been an Islamic extremist terror attack, authorities say.

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The suspect in the attack remains at large. Authorities issued a wanted notice and warned people against approaching Abdul Ballout, a 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese roots, saying that he may be armed and dangerous.

On Sunday, Darwich, 34, watched sadly as more and more members of the LGBTQ+ community came to Tiergarten park, where the attack took place. They put down flowers, hugged each other and looked in disbelief at the crashed van, which still stood cordoned off behind dozens of police officers.

Like Darwich, many of them had been celebrating life and love just hours earlier, protesting for equality and warning of an increase of hate crimes against their community.

“I was wearing my rainbow-colored shirt, carried a banner at the parade saying ‘why are some people afraid of love but not of hate?,’ and was about to go to an afterparty last night, when friends started calling me to check if I was OK,” he said.

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When he understood that there had been an attack, he canceled the party and went home filled with sorrow. But it was only after he woke up on Sunday morning that he truly grasped the significance of the attack.

“I asked myself, why as a police officer I did not run to the scene of the crash to help my colleagues. I asked myself as a gay if we will have to live with more fear now even though we are already experiencing bullying and hatred. I asked myself as a Muslim if our community will be exposed to even more racism now.”

Darwich, who was born in Berlin and has Lebanese and Palestinian roots, expressed worry that the attack would polarize German society even more.

“I’m actually feeling desperate this morning,” said Darwich, who also works as a gay Muslim influencer and posts many videos on social media that usually try to strike a positive note. “We can’t get rid of the hatred some people feel, and it’s just getting worse and worse.”

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But at the same time, he said he did not want to let hate win and that deep inside he still hoped that “the people of Berlin will make the best of it, that they will work together, and that, hopefully, all of this will lead to an even better Berlin.”

Others, who had come to the impromptu vigil at Tiergarten, also expressed anger and shock, but also resilience.

“We are simply stunned by what happened yesterday,” said Andre Lehmann, a top official with the main national LGBTQ+ association, LSVD+. “This suspected attack hits the heart of the queer community.”

The attack “affects people who took to the street in Berlin this weekend to fight for their rights, their diversity and their rights, and of course with that it is a political act and does not just affect people celebrating,” he said.

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Lehmann said that there has been “a tenfold increase of anti-queer hate crime in Germany within a few years.” He added that “for years, to be honest, nothing has happened and also, to be honest, for years there has been no outcry from society.”

Ashley Jump, a 26-year-old U.K. resident, had traveled to Berlin for Saturday’s Pride parade but had left the celebrations before the attack. Jump, still in shock, returned Sunday to leave flowers at a memorial near the crime scene.

“They’ll never erase us, we’ll never be gone,” they said, their voice shivering from pain. “As long as humanity has existed, we’ve existed. And as long as humanity exists, we will exist. We will not be removed.”

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Lando Norris cruises to Hungarian Grand Prix victory after Piastri forced to retire

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Lando Norris cruises to Hungarian Grand Prix victory after Piastri forced to retire

Welcome to our live coverage for the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix from the Hungaroring. This is the 40th anniversary of the race at this track and the 41st edition. I think over the years this track has had a bit of an unfair reputation but we have certainly had some interesting and exciting races over the years. Even over the last few years. 

The nature of the track means it is a bit of an outlier. And that means you often get results that go away from the norm of the season. Mercedes took a couple of poles here in the ground-effect era whilst Charles Leclerc did so last year. We have had a handful of first-time winners at this track, too: Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon, Jenson Button and… errr Heikki Kovalainen. 

So far that has been true this weekend. Although McLaren and Ferrari have been closing in on Mercedes, the SIlver Arrows have usually had the edge or found it when it comes to qualifying. That was not the case yesterday: Lando Norris took the first non-Mercedes grand prix pole of the season, pipping the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton by just 0.012sec. 

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Hamilton, though, takes a three-place grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri in Q3. Kimi Antonelli, who had qualified fourth, takes the same penalty for not slowing sufficiently under yellow flags. It was Ferrari who had been expected to be the team to beat but they were the team that dropped the ball. In fairness Norris, in the upgraded McLaren had looked competitive throughout qualifying and was simply able to deliver when Ferrari could not. 

The grid is slightly mixed up because of the penalties. George Russell’s season did not get any easier after qualifying seventh but he at least moves up because of those grid drops. The Mercedes’ race pace is expected to be strong but will it be enough to put them into contention with the McLarens and the Ferraris? And let’s not forget Max Verstappen in fourth, either…

We find out at 2pm BST, when the race gets under way. 

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Boston Spa – top food haunts of West Yorkshire village

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Boston Spa - top food haunts of West Yorkshire village

There’s fine bars and restaurants too, making this pleasant and prosperous village just off the A1 Motorway near Wetherby, well worth the visit.

I grew up in Wetherby in the 1980s and 1990s and as a kid, I recall Boston Spa as a pleasant place, if nothing too special.

But helped by its proximity to Leeds, Boston Spa has prospered and is chic, fashionable and trendy even, with a good range of independent shops.


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Enjoying a fine evening outside the Boston Tap in Boston Spa. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Well located in the heart of Yorkshire’s ‘Golden Triangle’ surrounded by beautiful countryside, pretty villages with characterful pubs, Boston Spa is upmarket and thriving, perhaps even more so than nearby Wetherby.

Boston Spa’s High Street (Image: Darren)

So park up in the High Street car park, where you don’t have to pay. The free parking also includes the High Street as well.

There, you will see Tom Foolery and the Boston Tap.

Tom Foolery at 179 High Street has been a popular watering hole for ten years.

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Tom Foolery has been a popular venue for ten years. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

The independent bar offers brunch, burgers, pizzas, sandwiches, as well as a range of small plates.

I don’t recall eating there but I have enjoyed its craft ales many times. There’s a pleasant vibe to Tom Foolery and its modern interior features some interesting displays. The TV ‘Log fire’ being one of them and the pictures of humanoid pets wearing clothes being another.

But closer to the car park is the Boston Tap. Previously, known as  Salt Bar, it serves an extensive range of Ossett ales.

Chok Dee offer top class, authentic, tasty Thai cooking. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

The food offering is limited, restricted to pies, pastries, sandwiches, sharing boards and salad bowls. As it’s Ossett, famed for its White Rat ale, the beer is always good.

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The steak pie and mash is also enjoyable and delicious, served with a delicious jus, and was excellent value.

This large Costcutter was once the Royal Hotel. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

But it will come in a cardboard box with wooden cutlery, so don’t expect plates and metal cutlery here!

Either way, The Boston Tap has a fine, contemporary interior, and extensive seating outside, ideal for the warmer summer days and nights.

Further down the road, past the former Royal Hotel, which is now a large Costcutter grocery store, you will see Boston Hall, a Grade II-listed mansion built in 1807, where cricketer Geoffrey Boycott used to live. A blue plaque highlights this amid its other history.

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Nearby is Thai Chok Dee, a highly rated restaurant, which has great reviews online.

I have been many times and can vouch for its excellent Tom Kha Gai, the curries and the Weeping Tiger. My vegetarian friends are also happy with the extensive vegetarian offering.

Top class dining from a top chef at Amor (Image: Darren Greenwood)

It’s a popular place, often busy, so it pays to book and you will be rewarded with excellent service, superb and authentic food and great value.

Further away from the village centre, heading towards Tadcaster, are two Sam Smith’s Brewery-owned pubs. The Fox and Hounds is a well-regarded traditional drinkers pub I have yet to try, whilst the Admiral Hawke is sadly closed.

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So let’s get back to the other side of Boston Spa.

At 174 High Street is the fine dining Inlamentation which has just been added to the Michelin Guide. It has 16 seats and chef Michael O’Hare is noted for his ever-evolving tasting menus. Another I have yet to try.

Aquila is a well-regarded Italian restaurant. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Restaurant Amor a few doors away is another fine dining establishment. Owned and run by Michelin-started chef Nikki Pybus, it gains good reviews, and is another I have yet to try.

But I have tried Aquila at 152 High Street, which is the first of two top Italian restaurants in Boston Spa. I recall delicious garlic mushrooms, followed by a tasty chicken dish.

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Da Carlo is the best Italian in town, but you might be lucky to get a table. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

But the best Italian has to be Da Carlo’s Trattoria at 134 High Street, which has a traditional, characterful interior and very pleasant outdoor area.

De Carlo’s is an exceptionally popular southern Italian restaurant and it can be hard to get a table unless you book a week or so in advance. I recall often ringing many times the same day or the night before to no avail. Then, one evening me and my vegetarian friends were just walking past, I went inside to see if they had a vacancy and they had outside.

The Crown Inn could have become a Co-op. Thankfully, it didn’t. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

I recall a most excellent Strancetti Di Manzo starter, which consisted of pieces of tender beef fillet sauteed in garlic, chilli, parsley and rosemary, topped with rocket and parmesan. It was tender, full of flavour and absolutely gorgeous!

My lasagne Napoletana was excellent too and my vegetarian friends were more than happy with their choices. We vow to return, if we can get in.

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From inside the restaurant of The Crown Inn (Image: Darren Greenwood)

You then pass a popular patisserie called the Pudding Lab, which I have yet to try, before you eventually arrive at The Crown Inn.

This large pub had been closed for years, with plans to turn it into a Co-op. Fortunately, plans were refused and investors transformed it with a £1.2million revamp, with the venue re-opening around five years ago.

Inside, you are greeted with an extensive bar area, a restaurant area and a large beer garden, ideal for the summer we are having.

There’s always great choice of drinks, be it beers, wines, cocktails, you name it.

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The food menus are extensive too, with specials adding to the variety.

Pizza and and chargrilled pork chop at The Crown Inn, where the food never disappoints. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Its standard gastropub fayre, but it never lets you down. It is always reliable and consistently good. The service is also fine and value also good, another to return to.

So that is essentially Boston Spa on a plate, a prosperous, pleasant village not too far from York with plenty of treats on the menu. Go hungry if you can, but you might want to book ahead.

Have you been to Boston Spa? What did you do there? What did you think of the place? And did you eat or dine there? where did you go? Please share with us your experiences of Boston Spa in the comments below.

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