Romeo Is A Deadman is very Suda51 (Grasshopper Manufacture)
The creator of No More Heroes is about to release new game Romeo Is A Deadman and we’ve talked to him about modern development and setting his next game in the UK.
The games industry has a number of great characters and Goichi Suda – known to all as Suda51 – is emphatically one of them. The CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture is more than a mere games developer; he’s an auteur, no less, whose extensive and utterly distinctive games catalogue (whose highlights include killer7 and No More Heroes) has earned him comparisons with the likes of Quentin Tarantino.
I caught up with him on a rare visit to London, as part of a tour to drum up interest in his latest game, Romeo Is A Dead Man, due to be released on February 11 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. There’s no mistaking Romeo Is A Dead Man for anything other than a Suda51 game and it’s surely already a shoo-in for 2026’s most bonkers game.
It follows the bizarre exploits of Romeo Stargazer, a small-town American cop who is killed but resurrected, thanks to his boffin granddad, as a lightsaber and gun-wielding operative in the FBI’s Space-Time Department, zipping back and forth in space and time to take down a bunch of time criminals (including his ex-girlfriend in many different guises) who are creating world-destroying anomalies.
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The most immediately striking aspect of Romeo Is A Dead Man is that, in its first hour, it zaps through a welter of different art styles, from a diorama style intro, via comic book style cut scenes, and more conventional third person 3D to a spaceship hub that’s rendered in top-down retro 8-bit graphics (in which homages to both Pong and Pac-Man can be found). Miraculously, what should be a mish-mash of conflicting style coalesces into a highly distinctive whole, with a weird logic of its own.
‘Whenever you’re developing a game, things are going to change at some point,’ explains Suda. ‘There’s always something that gets taken out, put in or tweaked a little bit. And at first, we were going to do the whole game in full polygon, 3D graphics style. We got to some point in the development and realised: ‘OK: this is not only going to take a lot longer than we thought, but it is going to cost a lot more money too.’ Some people think that it must have been really expensive putting all these different visual styles in the game, but actually, it’s the opposite.
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‘One of the things we came up with was the realisation that we have a bunch of people at the studio who are really good at a specific art style, or at a specific aspect of the development. It could be someone who is really good at realistic illustration, somebody who is really good at comic book style stuff, somebody who is really good at video production, somebody who is really good at environments and backgrounds, stuff like that.
‘So what I wanted to do is have the light shone on each of these people who are really specialised in these certain styles. And it took a while to figure out how to get everything to fit together, to make a coherent game out of it. But I feel the end product came out pretty well for the jumble of stuff that it is, you know?’
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Suda51 alludes to a situation which arose at Grasshopper Manufacture, which has been operational since 1998 but in 2021 was bought by Chinese publisher NetEase, when it was on a massive acquisition spree. In early 2025, NetEase announced its desire to sell most of the international game developers it had acquired.
Although it still owns Grasshopper, Suda51 says: ‘When we started out, I was kind of hoping that this would be the sort of game that we would be able to take our time on and relax while we put it together. But it ended up being the opposite. It ended up pretty much from the earlier stages of development, both as a studio and also for me personally being: ‘OK, we’ve got to do something about this, or this has to be worked out somehow’.
‘Every time I make a game, I figure: ‘Oh wow, that was rougher than I thought it would be.’ But it was the first time in a long time that I’ve thought: ‘OK, making games is not as simple as a lot of people who don’t make them think it is’.’
Suda51 loves big guns (Grasshopper Manufacture)
Luckily, improvisation is Suda51’s superpower. He has always been regarded as a maverick in the world of games development, so I ask him whether he thinks that is fair enough, and whether he embraces the term: ‘I feel like maybe one of the reasons I get called something like that is obviously because of the games I make and the way I make games. But, specifically, I have learned how to improvise, and figure out how to make things work that normally wouldn’t work in a certain way.
‘When I started out at a company called Human, in my first job in the games industry, I began writing for games, then ended up as director, and I’ve been doing both of those things ever since. Especially back in the day, when game specs were a lot lower than they are now, and you couldn’t do nearly as much stuff in a video game as you can now; if there was something that you wanted to express visually or story-wise, you had to figure out: ‘Yeah, OK, this is what I want to show, but we simply don’t have the technology to actually show it, so how can I express this either a different way visually or in literary terms, or thematically?’
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‘I feel like one of the strengths that I’ve gained over the years is being able to figure out ways of creative problem-solving. Nowadays, when things are a lot more advanced than they were before, you’ve got a lot more technical freedom of expression, and there’s more stuff that you actually can show, and things that you actually can do with a game than you could 20, 30 years ago.
‘So there aren’t as many limitations as there were before, but conversely, since there is so much more stuff that you can do, I keep trying to find new ways to use these new means of expression, and new ways to come up with on-the-spot ideas.
‘A lot of the development we do, I kind of view as ad-lib development, as tossing ideas back and forth – it’s kind of like jazz-jamming: ‘This guy’s doing this, and if I do this, it’s going to match in some cool way.’ While the other guy is like: ‘Actually, no, I think I’m going to add this in.’ And when you get a really good bunch of improvisers together, then you have a really good jazz jam band, you know?
‘I feel like that’s probably a reason that I get thought of as something like a maverick – not necessarily because I’m trying to break rules on purpose. To answer your question of how I feel about being called a maverick, honestly I’m happy, because it feels kind of cool, like a pro wrestler nickname or something like that, so I dig it.’
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Romeo Is A Dead Man will be the 28th game that Suda51 has helmed at Grasshopper. During that non-stop burst of creativity, he has collaborated with some other legends of the games industry, but one creative partner stands out for him: Shinji Mikami, originator of Resident Evil and co-founder of Clover Studio, PlatinumGames, and Tango Gameworks.
Suda51 says: ‘We worked together both on killer7 and Shadows Of The Damned, as a kind of producer-director tag team. I’ve learned so much from him over the years, especially back in the day, when we started working together. When it comes to action games, he’s done so much and he’s taught me so much – I truly consider him to be a mentor of sorts. And he’s even given me permission to call him that.
‘He’s had the biggest impact, not only on myself, but on Grasshopper Manufacture as a studio, as far as the way we make games is concerned, and specifically regarding how to make action games work. It’s not necessarily that he sat there and gave me these lessons and told me verbally: ‘This is how you make an action game.’ It’s hard to explain, but it’s almost as though I learned it through feeling and sensing and working with him.’
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Suda51 has been around for a long while (Daniel C. Griliopoulos – Hot Grill)
With his career spanning over 30 years, Suda51 is ideally placed to pinpoint how the art of games development has altered, as the technology underpinning it has exploded in complexity: ‘It’s hard to say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing – it’s both good and bad at the same time, for different reasons. But as the general scale of games got bigger and bigger, over the past 30 years, the amount of work that goes into a game, the amount of people that you need working on a game, and the number of types of specialists and professionals you need working on a game has also expanded.
‘For example, back in the day, there weren’t level designers. One of the planning guys would draw the map on a piece of paper, and the graphics guys would turn that into a level, and there you go. But now you have to have somebody planning this stuff out, and somebody actually designing the level itself, then people adding graphics to that, plus backgrounds and so on.
‘So while it’s a good thing in that it provides more work for more people, it also means that things take more time and cost more money. Also, there are less and less people these days who are able to do multiple types of development, multiple jobs. Again, it’s a good thing, because you get people who are really specialised, who get really good at doing a specific part of game development.
‘Personally, I was always worried about not being able to maintain my career and my lifestyle if I was only able to do one thing, so I started out in game design as a scenario writer and tried to work out how to do things like backgrounds, direction, and game design. Ever since I started working in the industry, I’ve been trying to spread out as much as possible, to at least be somewhat proficient, or have usable skills, in multiple areas of game development, just because, again, I never thought that one person would be able to make a career in game development only focusing on one thing.’
This is a game of many art styles (Grasshopper Manufacture)
So now that Romeo Is A Dead Man is ready for release, what’s next for Suda51? You might expect that after that game’s fraught development, he would be looking forward to holing out on a southern hemisphere beach. But that isn’t Suda51’s style: ‘No: I’m going right back into work, work, work mode, basically. I’m actually at the point where I’m planning on taking some time to sit down and put some thought into what kind of projects I should come up with next.’
Jokingly, he dangles what would be a delicious prospect indeed: ‘While we’re on this promotional tour, I’m just constantly trying to work out what the next thing is going to be. Maybe the setting is going to be in the UK. You feel like there should be lots of games set in London, but when you think about it, there aren’t that many. Recently I was watching that show MobLand, and it made me think, oh man, the UK would be a really cool place to set a game.’
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Suda51 was laughing while he said that, but his brand of hard bitten, off-the-wall, literary-infused action would work gloriously well in a British setting. Who knows what he may come up with next?
Come with him if you want to not die (Grasshopper Manufacture)
PARIS (AP) — We’ve long had your back, now it’s our turn. That is how the famously transactional U.S. President Donald Trump is framing his demands that allies help him with the Iran war. He wants to call in IOUs for decades of U.S. security guarantees.
The string of refusals indicates his stock of European goodwill is low. He has put allies through the wringer since returning to the White House, bullying them over tariffs, Greenland and other issues, and disparaging the sacrifices their soldiers made alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Now he’s demanding — not just requesting — that they send warships to help the U.S. unblock the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes — essentially mop up behind the conflagration that he and Israel ignited in the Middle East.
The reply has been a “global raspberry.”
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That’s how a veteran French defense analyst, François Heisbourg, described allied responses.
No close ally has come forward with immediate help. Britain is flat-out refusing to be drawn into the war. France says the fighting would have to die down first. Others are non-committal. China, which is not an ally but was also asked to help, is ignoring Trump’s call.
“This is not Europe’s war. We didn’t start the war. We were not consulted,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.
Trump’s frustration with the ‘Rolls-Royce of allies’
The U.K. “was sort of considered the Rolls-Royce of allies,” Trump said Monday, adding that he’d asked for British minesweeping ships.
“I was not happy with the U.K,” Trump said. “They should be involved enthusiastically. We’ve been protecting these countries for years.”
Starmer said Britain “will not be drawn into the wider war” and that British troops require the backing of international law and “a proper thought-through plan” — suggesting those were not in place.
He initially refused to let U.S. bombers attack Iran from British bases before accepting their use for strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile program.
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Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, said allies are “looking at the United States in a way that they never have before. And this is bad for the United States.”
Having previously appeased Trump, some European leaders are “starting to realize that there’s no benefit or value in using flattery,” he said.
“My attitude is: We don’t need anybody. We’re the strongest nation in the world,” he said Monday.
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But failing to get an international mandate, as the U.S. did before intervening in the 1990 Gulf War, is boomeranging.
“It is not our war; we did not start it,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said. “We want diplomatic solutions and a swift end to the conflict. Sending more warships to the region will certainly not contribute to that.”
French President Emmanuel Macron envisions possible naval escorts in the Strait of Hormuz — but only once fighting has died down.
“France didn’t choose this war. We’re not taking part,” he said.
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After bruising tariff battles with Trump last year, the first months of 2026 have further strained alliances. Trump’s renewed pressure for U.S. control of Greenland, including a tariff threat against eight European nations, and his false assertion that allied troops avoided front-line fighting in the Afghanistan War, upset partners in the NATO military alliance.
“Allies, or at least the Europeans, aren’t willing to be at the beck and call of a demand from Donald Trump,” said Sylvie Bermann, a French former ambassador to China, the U.K. and Russia.
“And even in asking for a helping hand, he is doing so in a brutal manner, saying: ‘You’re useless, we’re the strongest, we don’t need you, but come,’” she said.
A dangerous mission
Retired naval officers say that unblocking the Strait of Hormuz with military escorts while the war rages and without Iran’s consent would be dangerous.
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France, which has rushed its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, is working with other countries to prepare such a mission once the air war has subsided. French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said any escorting would be conditional on talks with Iran, and Macron has publicized two calls in eight days with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
That has won points with Trump.
“On a scale of zero to 10, I’d say he’s been an eight,” Trump said Monday. “Not perfect, but it’s France. We don’t expect perfect.”
But he’s fuming at other allies.
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“We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said Tuesday.
Trump has leverage, including in Ukraine
Allies in Europe and Asia need oil, gas and other products from the Middle East to flow again. That gives Trump some leverage.
Allies also know from experience that resisting Trump carries risks of retaliation.
“It really could be anything. Are the Europeans prepared for that?” asked Ed Arnold, a former British army officer and now a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, a London think tank.
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European allies need Trump’s continued blessing for U.S. weaponry, intelligence, and other support for Ukraine, as well as financial pressure on Russia. The U.S. has started to chip away at some sanctions on Moscow by temporarily allowing shipments of Russian oil to ease shortages stemming from the Iran war. Allies also want him to reengage in talks to end the war.
“That was what kept European leaders quiet for a lot of last year in the face of the rhetoric and actions,” said Amanda Sloat, a former U.S. national security adviser who now teaches at Spain’s IE University.
“It is also the thing that is making them a little bit nervous now.”
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Burrows reported from London. Associated Press journalists Jill Lawless in London, Lorne Cook in Brussels, Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Geir Moulson and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.
During an interview with Scott Mills on the Radio 2 breakfast show, the always-unfiltered singer was asked if there was a 1D song he least enjoyed performing live, and he didn’t exactly have to think long for an answer.
“What Makes You Beautiful,” he responded. “Always, always, always, always.”
He insisted: “I’m not undermining the journey, because obviously it worked out great. But also, performing that, always felt so eggy. Like, at the time, I was 18 – it wasn’t the coolest thing to be in a boyband, and then we got really big, so, like, it was cool, you know what I mean?
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“But in the first couple of years, it wasn’t really like that. And so singing, ‘baby you light up my world like nobody else’, honestly, it wouldn’t be out of place in a Disney film. So it felt a little corny, you know? But it was a great song and I probably have my whole career to thank for it.”
As for his favourite One Direction single, Louis named Story Of My Life, which he co-wrote with his former bandmates.
“That was a real moment,” he recalled. “That’s not the kind of record you expect from a band like One Direction, and I think that was kind of a turning point for us.
“So I remember feeling really proud that wasn’t the kind of song that you could ever dance to. There was definitely a kind of mould of boybands before then, and I think that was a song that really helped us kind of break out of that.”
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Louis with his bandmates Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Niall Horan in 2013
What Makes You Beautiful served as One Direction’s debut single, topping the UK singles chart and reaching number four across the pond.
Notably, Louis has not included it in the setlist of any of his solo live shows since the group disbanded, though he has performed One Direction hits Night Changes and Drag Me Down on tour.
Management at the Thomas Egerton, in the village of Egerton, north of Bolton, have submitted a retrospective planning application for the structure, in the rear beer garden.
It seeks to retain timber wall cladding installed last year under an existing canopy at the Blackburn Road pub restaurant.
The cladding, enclosed the walls of an outdoor area which the management said ‘has long formed part of the pub’s established beer garden’.
A planning statement in support of retaining the structure has been published on Bolton council’s planning portal by 8planning.
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It said the cladding works were carried out without prior planning approval, ‘as the landlord was unaware permission was required’.
The statement added: “An enforcement notice is currently in effect on the site, prompting this retrospective application to regularise the development and seek permission to retain the cladding.
“This statement sets out the justification for granting retrospective consent, demonstrating that the proposal causes no harm to amenity or heritage and aligns with local and national planning policies.”
The statement said the timber cladding was added by the landlord to enclose and warm an outdoor seating area.
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Previously, a portion of the beer garden was covered by a permanent roofed canopy which was open-sided.
Last year timber cladding was installed on the interior walls under the canopy, enclosing the space to create a weather-protected alcove.
The statement added: “The covered area provides a comfortable, dog-friendly environment for patrons to eat and drink outdoors as dogs are not allowed inside the main pub, thereby helping the pub retain and attract customers.
“In doing so, the proposal supports the ongoing viability of the pub as a valuable community asset, as public houses perform a vital function in local communities .
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“The Thomas Egerton is a popular social hub for the area. “No change of use has occurred – the space remains in use as a seating and drinking are as it always has, but is now simply made more usable year-round.”
Planners in Bolton will consider the application in the coming weeks.
Ross Martin, a former helm of the Atlantic lifeboat and current launch authority at RNLI Porthcawl lifeboat station, will visit towns and villages across the North East from March 19 to 21 as part of research into the tragedy.
The SS Samtampa, an American liberty ship travelling from Middlesbrough to Newport, ran aground at Sker Point, Wales, during hurricane-force gales on April 23, 1947.
Ross Martin, former RNLI lifeboat helm and Launch Authority at Porthcawl, will visit the North East in mid-March. (Image: RNLI/Stephen Jones)
All 39 crew members, many from the North East, perished along with eight crew from the RNLI Mumbles lifeboat who attempted a rescue.
Mr Martin said: “I’ve been interested in the history of the Porthcawl RNLI lifeboat station and shipwrecks in my local area for over thirty years.
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“This is bolstered by a family connection to the Samtampa disaster.
“My great uncle Stan Rowe was with the Coastguard when the incident occurred in 1947.
“He tried to fire a line out to the Samtampa while she was in distress, but the awful conditions were against all efforts.
“It was a terrible blow to the local community.
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“We couldn’t quite comprehend the sheer loss of life after the second World War had not long ended.”
Relatives of those lost in the Samtampa shipping disaster can speak with Ross Martin at Whitby and other lifeboat stations in North Yorkshire. (Image: RNLI/Nicholas Leach)
Mr Martin also serves as coordinator for the Remember 47 group, which aims to honour those lost in the disaster.
He is now appealing to relatives of the Samtampa crew, particularly those from areas such as Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Thornaby, Redcar, Staithes, Skelton-in-Cleveland, and Whitby, to come forward and share their memories.
Twelve crew members from the North East were buried in a Porthcawl cemetery following the tragedy.
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Mr Martin said: “On behalf of the Remember 47 group, I’ll be visiting several venues throughout the North East.
“Next year witnesses the 80thanniversary of the Samtampa disaster and this could be the last chance in living memory for everyone to gather and remember those lost at sea during this horrendous incident.
“I am incredibly keen to connect with relatives of the Samtampa crew lost at sea in 1947.
“I encourage anyone who can recall any of these men to meet me at one of the venues I’ll be visiting.
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“I would love to hear your story, look at photographs and hear how we can remember your loved one.”
The SS Samtampa broke into three sections after running aground, and the RNLI lifeboat was found capsized on rocks 450 yards from the wreck.
The Remember 47 group strive to preserve the memory of those lost in the Samtampa incident.
Mr Martin’s visit is part of ongoing efforts to gather first-hand accounts and preserve family stories ahead of the 80th anniversary in 2027.
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Family members and anyone with information or memories of the Samtampa crew are encouraged to reach out and take part in the commemoration.
A group of Independent and Green Party councillors have issued an official ‘call-in’ of NYC’s in-principal approval of the purchase of Resolution House in Scarborough from Anglo American at a meeting on Tuesday, March 17.
The call-in means that the decision will be scrutinised by the authority’s oversight and scrutiny committee which independently monitors decisions made by the executive.
The decision will see staff moved from Scarborough Town Hall and Malton’s Ryedale House to the building at the A64, which was marketed with a guide price of £4.5 million.
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Council officers said the price agreed with Anglo American was “substantially lower” than the guide price, which has not been made public, but which the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands is less than £2m.
The call-in, signed by 10 councillors, states: “Given that the acquisition would commit the council to a significant capital decision and appears to rely on assumptions about wider estate changes that are not yet fully worked through, it is appropriate that the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee review whether sufficient information was available to support the Executive’s decision at this stage.”
Speaking at a full meeting of North Yorkshire Council on Wednesday, February 18, Cllr Rich Maw said: “There are serious concerns about the move of council activity out of the town centre to the A64 at a time when footfall is declining.
“Removing staff and democratic activity risks further weakening the economy and local democratic accountability.
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“Moving out of town could well make it harder for residents to participate in and observe democratic processes.
“Why were Scarborough councillors and the town council kept in the dark, and will NYC commit to consulting with them before a deal is finalised?”
The leader of the council, Cllr Carl Les, said: “I agree that the town hall is the civic centre of the town and there is no intention to change that. The Area Committee decides where to meet, and I decide where the executive meets.
“As I’ve said before, there is no intention to relocate the customer services from the centre, and there was no intention to keep people in the dark, but property deals are often fast-moving. We’ve had good discussions with the town council, and it and other bodies will be involved in the future of the town hall.
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“What’s clear to me is that we must provide better conditions than the shameful working conditions that staff are currently in.”
Similar concerns were raised at the meeting by Cllr Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, who said the announcement of the plan to buy Resolution House was not the first time elected members found out about the council’s decisions on social media.
Speaking at the full meeting, she said: “Is it acceptable for elected members to find out about important decisions, including about the use of second homes tax money in their ward or about the Resolution House plans, on social media?
“The lack of information has prevented councillors from carrying out proper scrutiny and has prevented us from doing the job the public expects us to do.”
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Cllr Carl Les said that “in principle, I completely agree on the second homes funding announcement, we got it wrong, I’m sorry, and the officers are sorry”, and added that he stood by the policy.
The Corporate and Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee is set to discuss the call-in at a meeting on Thursday, March 26.
The call-in was backed by councillors Rich Maw, Janet Jefferson, Michelle Donohue-Moncrieff, Sam Cross, Kevin Foster, Arnold Warneken, Andy Brown, Mike Schofield, and Paul Haslam.
The shop owner said receiving the letter made his morning
A Welsh shop owner was left stunned after receiving cash and an apology for a theft that happened outside his shop years ago. Exotica Foods in Swansea received a letter from an anonymous sender who confessed to stealing a sign from the shop on a night out 15 years ago.
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In the letter, they confessed that they and another student took a temporary PVC banner hanging outside the shop on St Helen’s Road after a night of drinking. The former student had a guilty conscious over the theft which happened over a decade earlier and sent the apology as well as five £20 notes.
The note reads: “Some 15 years ago as a student, following a night of drinking, I and another came across a temporary PVC banner hanging from your shop. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here
“For some reason we thought it would be funny to bring this home with us.“As an older man, I now see that what seemed funny to us at the time likely caused your shop some inconvenience.“I would like to offer my apology and hope you will accept this compensation.”The envelope also contained five £20 notes, totalling £100. The apology was signed simply: “A former foolish student.”The well-known international food store shared the note on social media after it was delivered to the shop.
Shop owner Imran Ashraf joked about the long-delayed confession. “This has made my morning – thank you to whoever you are,” he wrote.His message attracted dozens of comments from locals praising the gesture.Many said it showed that “it’s never too late to do the right thing.”One commenter wrote: “Better late than never – well done!”Another added: “We’ve all done stupid things when we were younger. Fair play to him for making it right.”And one joked: “That must have been one hell of a guilt trip.”
And while that doesn’t technically preclude people from cutting all hedges, Bonnett says it’s best to be on the safer side.
“When birds are nesting, they usually pick dense hedges or trees to stay safe, so try not to cut hedges between March and September, as you could disturb them,” the expert said.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) described this period as their “main nesting season” and added that robins, wrens, and other small garden birds often nest just metres off the ground in dense hedgerows.
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And it’s not just the nests; thick foliage provides a place for vulnerable chicks and eggs to hide from predators and shelter from the elements.
Like Bonnett, they recommended only cutting hedges between 1 September and 28 February.
What if I want to cut them sooner?
You legally can, but only if you’re 100% certain that no nests lie in your hedges.
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Watching the area for a few days to ensure there are no chicks, nesting birds, or nests,
Thoroughly checking the hedge for nests before cutting it, and
Only cutting hedges with handheld devices, as electronic ones are harder to stop if they come into contact with wildlife.
Any other tips?
Yes. Bonnett said we shouldn’t leave harmful nesting materials, like human hair, out for birds, because that can entangle them.
“Instead, opt for safe alternatives including dried grass, soft twigs, natural fibres and moss.”
“Stick to things like mixed bird seeds, unsalted peanuts, suet and mealworms,” said Bonnett. Apples and berries can work for some species, like robins and blackbirds.
The man also assaulted his ex-partner on other occassions
A man who attacked his partner, including barging her off a bike, has been jailed. Robert Payne, 39, was walking with his ex-partner near St Barnabas Church in Mill Road, Cambridge on August 21 last year when he slapped her after an argument.
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The next day, the pair were cycling along Trumpington Road when Payne deliberately knocked the woman off her bike, causing her to fly over the handlebars and left her with facial injuries.
Their relationship ended on August 27 after another argument. However, Payne turned up at her home in Trumpington that evening and tried to get in by smashing her bedroom window.
Cambridgeshire Police arrested Payne that night. During his arrest, he also kicked an officer in the torso.
Payne, of Alice Bell Close, Cambridge appeared at Peterborough Magistrates Court, acting as a crown court, on Monday (March 16). He was jailed for six months after pleading guilty to two counts of common assault by beating and assault of a constable in the execution of their duty.
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Payne also pleaded guilty to criminal damage, which was ordered to lie on a file. DC Jack Sillince, who investigated, said: “Payne’s attacks on his former partner would have been absolutely terrifying for her. Hopefully, some time in jail will allow him to reflect on his actions and ensure there’s no repeat in future.”
Police are seeking unredacted files on Andrew and Mandelson from the US
A top police chief has told how the UK is looking into an alleged “wide spectrum of sexual allegations” linked to Jeffrey Epstein after he went to the US and is seeking unredacted files involving Andrew and Mandelson.
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Officers are reviewing “a whole range of suggested sexual allegations” to determine whether any “merit a criminal investigation”, Sir Mark Rowley has said.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner confirmed he is requesting unredacted files from the US’ Department of Justice, which he warns could prove crucial if a case is to go against the ex-cabinet minister and the disgraced former Duke of York, reports The Mirror.
The news comes just weeks after Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Peter Mandelson’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and as an image resurfaced showing the pair relaxing with the late convicted paedophile. Both men have denied wrongdoing.
Now, UK detectives believe key evidence remains locked inside millions of files held by US agencies investigating Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Speaking on US TV, Rowley said: “Of course, there’s a big body of that evidence … in the United States in all those files and at some stage we’re going to need the unredacted evidence. We need the original copy, and where it came from, and that’s going to be necessary if we get to the stage of court cases.”
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The Met is in contact with the Department of Justice, despite repeated claims from US officials that there is nothing further to investigate stateside. But British detectives are taking a very different view.
Emails released earlier this year appear to show both Mountbatten Windsor and Mandelson shared sensitive information with Epstein during their time in high office. Investigators are now combing through the material to determine whether those exchanges crossed the line into criminality.
One message cited by Rowley suggests Mandelson discussed the timing of a financial bailout with Epstein during the European sovereign debt crisis – a revelation now under intense scrutiny. “It looks like it was shared with Epstein, so we’re looking at that as to whether that’s a criminal offence, and then colleagues in Thames Valley are looking at other documents that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor potentially shared,” he said.
Mandelson was arrested after investigators examined communications linked to his time as business secretary and trade envoy, with officers probing whether confidential government information was improperly disclosed. Mountbatten Windsor’s arrest followed a similar line of inquiry focusing on documents and contacts linked to Epstein.
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Detectives are also assessing what Sir Mark described as “a whole range of suggested sexual allegations” to decide whether any merit a fresh criminal probe.
Before her death last year, Epstein’s ‘teen sex slave’ Virginia Giuffre alleged she was trafficked by the American paedophile to sleep with the former Duke of York when she was 17. The royal has repeatedly denied her claims.
Sir Mark told ABC News that previous interviews with Giuffre did not provide evidence that could be pursued in the UK. “With Virginia Guiffre, we did four of those interviews with her … and those interviews didn’t give us any evidence or any allegations of sexual offending or trafficking that we could investigate in the UK,” he said. “That’s why that investigation didn’t go forward.”
However, the decision to revisit aspects of the case marks a significant shift. He added: “Those investigations all go wherever the evidence takes them, quite comfortable with investigating sort of famous or powerful people. I think it’s really important for policing to do that, that sense of operating without fear or favour. The law applies equally to everyone, and those cases will go, say, wherever the evidence leads us to.”
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The Met’s renewed push comes amid a concentrated drive on sexual and domestic abuse, with officers adopting more aggressive tactics to target dangerous offenders. “We’ve developed tactics to be much more proactive and target the most dangerous men who pose a threat to women and children, just like we do terrorists and organised crime. So, a combination of factors has seen the rates steadily coming down,” Sir Mark said.
“We’re making big progress and most of all, at the centre of all this that matters to me and matters to policing, is trust in the police’s building in London.”
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was later convicted of sex trafficking offences and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
How’s your faith in football holding up, then? Perhaps you like celebrating goals. Well, in the era of VAR, it can feel like the authorities are actively seeking to take that away. You might assume that rules should apply equally. Not if you’re Cristiano Ronaldo, the biggest star at the upcoming World Cup, who has seen a two-game ban overturned without precedent that will allow him to start Portugal’s opening games. One of the hosts of that World Cup has been bombing one of the participating teams. And the president of that host country does not think they should play their games there “for their own life and safety”. So, fair enough, the country being bombed does not want to play its games in the country bombing them. But ask Fifa what they think and a spokesperson will point you to the sanctity of its match schedule; nothing to see here. And then there’s just what happened in the Premier League with Chelsea.
There is a brilliant drama/horror currently being shown on the BBC calledThe Capture, which essentially deals in how footage of live events can be easily manipulated by powerful figures to create an alternate reality. Perhaps you remember the Sunday evening of 18 January, where the Africa Cup of Nations final descended into pure chaos when Senegal stormed off the pitch in protest of hosts Morocco being awarded a controversial late penalty and returned to the changing room for 17 minutes. Maybe you saw Brahim Diaz fluff the resulting penalty by attempting a Panenka, then Pape Sarr score a sensational goal to win the match for Senegal in extra-time, followed by the post-match scenes of yet more chaos. You remember Sadio Mane, having urged his team-mates to return in an admirable display of leadership, lifting a second Afcon trophy and Morocco’s deep, haunting anguish at what they had lost, right?
Senegal’s Sadio Mane lifts the Africa Cup of Nations – a trophy that will now be awarded to Morocco (AP)
Well, the records now show that Morocco won 3-0, actually. The Confederation of African Football (Caf) Appeal Board ruled on Tuesday night, two months after the event, that Senegal had forfeited the final when they walked off in protest. And, hey, rules are rules, and according to Article 82 and 84 of Caf’s regulations, it should have been declared immediately that Senegal eliminated themselves from the tournament when they left the field of play, with Morocco announced as the champions. But that also ignores the environment and atmosphere the Afcon final was played under, with questionable refereeing decisions in some of Morocco’s matches an established theme before kick-off. Senegal were already incensed by being denied a late winner at the other end.
Were Senegal’s actions after Morocco were given a penalty right? No, and it is correct to say they could have made a dangerous precedent by abandoning the pitch in protest. “We witnessed unacceptable scenes on the field and in the stands – we strongly condemn the behaviour of some ‘supporters’ as well as some Senegalese players and technical staff members,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said afterwards. “It is unacceptable to leave the field of play in this manner, and equally, violence cannot be tolerated in our sport, it is simply not right.” If Caf, who initially vowed that “appropriate action” would be taken, had a decision to make, Fifa had let them know which one they would be pushing for.
But Senegal did return to the pitch, they won – that happened. When Caf’s decision was announced, some of Senegal’s players took to social media to post pictures of their trophy celebrations from January, holding their gold medals that will soon have to be returned up to the camera as if proof of its existence. “This is not AI, this is real,” said the centre-back Moussa Niakhate, alongside a picture of him celebrating with the Afcon trophy. Senegal will be appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in Switzerland and Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, the Secretary General of Senegalese Football Federation, said the “truth and law” is on Senegal’s side. “This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation,” Sow claimed. “From what we saw this morning when the hearing began, we already had serious doubts clearly, the judge did not come to rule on the case, he came to carry out orders.”
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And this will rumble on – perhaps to paraphrase the iconic Mitchell and Webb football sketch: “It will never be finally decided who has won the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations”. But by overturning the result of an entire tournament two months later, that is what the Caf Appeal Board has opened up, a chasm for doubt and post-truth. We have enough of that in the real world. In football, this is another farcical moment, in an increasingly fragile time.
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