Proposals include wider pavements and better cycle parking

New plans to transform a popular Cambridge area have been revealed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP). Riverside is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and cyclists, according to the GCP.

It forms part of the Bottisham Greenway. A GCP spokesperson said: “The GCP wants to enhance Riverside to create a safer, more accessible and more enjoyable route into the city and surrounding areas.”

Riverside stretches from the Elizabeth Way bridge to Stourbridge Common. The GCP’s proposals include:

• Wider, more consistent footways;
• New resting spots with planting and accessible seating;
• Clearer signage and improved pedestrian crossings;
• Safe, secure cycle parking.

Jonathan Camp, GCP Project Manager, said: “Riverside is already enjoyed by many people. These proposals aim to make it safer, greener and more inviting — a place where you can move easily, meet friends or simply enjoy being by the river.

“We’re asking everyone who uses Riverside to tell us what they think so we can create something that reflects what the community needs.”

A consultation on the proposals is running until Monday, July 13, at 11.59pm. It can be accessed at this link.

In-between all the big name reveals from Sony, Microsoft, and the rest there are plenty of upcoming indie games worth keeping an eye on.

Although we’ve still got a new Nintendo Direct to get through, the big Summer Game Fest week of gaming showcases has wrapped up and there has been an overwhelming amount of new game announcements.

We’ve already covered the biggest ones from Sony’s State of Play, the Xbox showcase, and Summer Game Fest itself, but with the likes of God Of War Laufey and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation hogging the headlines, it’s easy for smaller indie games to fall through the cracks.

2 Fights In 2 Tight Spaces

The original Fights In Tight Spaces was a novel blend of turn-based tactics and deckbuilding, designed to emulate tightly choreographed action movie fight scenes.

Almost five years later and developer Ground Shatter is back with a sequel that promises more of the same, but it has a new system for transforming cards into more powerful versions and, intriguingly, online co-op.

2 Fights In 2 Tight Spaces is technically available right now in early access on Steam and is aiming to properly launch in 2027.

Among Us Story: On Guard

The explosive success of Among Us completely nixed any plans for a sequel, but developer Innersloth did announce a brand new Among Us game during Summer Game Fest and, surprisingly, it’s purely single-player.

You’re still trying to uncover an imposter hidden among the crew of a spaceship but, as the title suggests, this is a more traditional, story driven mystery game, making it a neat companion piece to the original Among Us. There’s no release date, but this is bound to come to every platform under the sun.

Bad Magpie

We’re not sure what developer Milktooth’s problem with magpies is, but Bad Magpie was certainly one of the more interesting announcements to come from the Xbox showcase.

You control a one-winged magpie who can only hop around a non-linear open world, pinching anything shiny it can get its beak on, to appease a mysterious talking star.

It looks like it could provide the same kind of slapstick comedy as Untitled Goose Game (we even mistook it for the same developer) although it promises to have more of a plot when it launches next year for PC and Xbox.

Carcass Clad

After releasing 2024’s indie hit Mouthwashing, developer Wrong Organ is already back with another disturbing horror game with PlayStation 1-esque graphics. Unlike Mouthwashing, though, this is a co-op experience.

Three players must work together to operate a tank as they explore a war torn city. The trailer doesn’t make it clear exactly what you’ll need to defend yourself from, but there sure are a lot of gruesome animal corpses littered all over. It’s only confirmed for PC and currently lacks a release date.

Cassette Beasts 2002

Cassette Beasts is easily the best of the Pokémon clones out there at the moment and we always hoped it’d get a sequel that would refine its rougher edges. So, we’re very pleased to see Cassette Beasts 2002 be announced.

Developer Bytten Studio hasn’t detailed any new mechanics or improvements yet, but there are far more monsters to acquire this time (more than 250), which means even more unique fusions, and you can import your character from the previous game.

It’s also set in London, which means it will deliver on the cheesy British voice-acting that Pokémon Sword & Shield crucially lacked. There’s no release date but it’ll launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

El Paso, Elsewhere 2

El Paso, Elsewhere was enough of a hit in 2023 to land itself a still-in-production movie adaptation, but fans are probably more excited for the actual sequel that’s been announced.

It’s still a Max Payne-esque supernatural shooter (complete with slow-mo dodges) although protagonist James Savage now boasts new vampire powers, such as diving off thin air and feeding on enemies’ blood.

There’s no release date and it’s currently only scheduled for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Hack ‘95

Billed as a ‘card-based computer hacking voyage,’ Hack ‘95 looks endearlingly nostalgic, harkening back to a time when the internet was new, social media hadn’t yet poisoned our brains, and RAM didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

This looks to be the debut title of the London based Village Studio and sees you play as a hacker in the 90s who finds themselves uncovering a governmental conspiracy with the assistance of a virtual pug. It’s only scheduled for PC and there’s a free Steam demo available.

Into The Wind

The first game to be released by Swedish studio Bloom & Gloom Games, Into The Wind is a charming looking adventure game about you taking over a delivery business from your missing uncle.

Your primary mode of transportation is a sentient motorcycle capable of flight and it looks like there’s a lot of emphasis on physics as you need to take into account the weight of your cargo, the terrain, and the weather while making deliveries. Not to mention sky pirates who you’ll encounter in airborne gunfights.

The plan is to launch the game via early access on PC, although no date has been set yet.

Ithaca

French studio The Pixel Hunt has consistently released very story heavy games and Ithaca is no exception, as you control an environmental rights lawyer named Penelope who embarks on a road trip with a hostage tied up in her boot.

Unlike the studio’s previous work, though, Ithaca has some role-playing game elements where you can upgrade Penelope’s stats to pass interaction skill checks when conversing with other characters.

The Pixel Hunt is looking to raise funds through Kickstarter and while there’s no public demo, you can register for a playtest via Steam.

P.O.N.

Co-op horror games like Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. are nothing new, but P.O.N. does offer a novel hook in that the ‘monster’ you’re trying to avoid is a superhero while you play as an average criminal.

Many have already described it as the closest thing to a Batman horror game from the perspective of the common thugs he regularly beats up, although the darkly lit trailer suggests P.O.N.’s superhero antagonist is far less merciful and, unlike Batman, might actually have powers.

The game’s currently only slated for PC and it’s listed as ‘coming soon,’ so it’ll hopefully be out before the end of the year.

Prove You’re Human

We came to 1000xResist later than others but it wound up being one of our favourite games of 2024, so we’re quite excited to see what developer Sunset Visitor delivers next.

There’s no release date or confirmed platforms beyond PC, but Prove You’re Human looks like a very different flavour of sci-fi than 1000xResist, opting for more of a horror vibe as you confront an uncanny looking AI and try to convince it that it’s not a real person.

Red Kiss

One of two vampire themed role-playing games that caught our eye, Red Kiss is only the second release from Wisp Fire, a small team of three developers based in the Netherlands.

Set in Berlin during the Cold War, this is more akin to Citizen Sleeper than Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 as you play as a newly turned vampire and manage your organisation by using telepathic powers to dispatch vampiric agents throughout the city. It’s slated for PC but has no release date.

Signet City

After two Citizen Sleeper games, solo developer Gareth Damian Martin is mixing things up with his next release, Signet City, which he describes as a fungalpunk role-playing game.

That’s because you play as a fungal parasite as it takes control of multiple hosts living in the titular Signet City, which is inspired by northern English industrial cities of the 1980s.

It’s also played in first person though Citizen Sleeper fans can rest assured there’s still copious amounts of dice rolling involved. It’s only scheduled for PC and is said to be ‘coming soon.’

Slap Out Of It!

After only making VR games, developer Turbo Button is breaking away to create something more traditional, although in-keeping with the visual style and puzzle solving gameplay of its previous work.

Described as a comedy sandbox, Slap Out Of It! revolves around you slapping anything and everything to solve puzzles, which sounds perfect for those who enjoy hitting and/or breaking things in games just to see if they can.

The game launches in 2027 for PC, as well as consoles, although Turbo Button hasn’t specified which ones yet.

Tenebris Somnia

Anyone looking for a new horror game to play for Halloween season will want to keep an eye on Tenebris Somnia, which launches on October 16 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 1 and 2, and PC.

While it’s directly compared to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tenebris Somnia goes for a retro pixel art aesthetic, but also throws in live action cut scenes that bring to mind classic FMV games… although developers Andrés Borghi and Saibot Studios claim that these were made by an award-winning Argentinian film crew.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Eternal Whispers

After the more action-focused Bloodlines 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Eternal Whispers promises to feel much closer to the original World Of Darkness tabletop games.

It’s also borrowing a lot from Disco Elysium in terms of both presentation and gameplay, complete with dice rolls that determine whether you succeed at certain actions. Although developer Flyos (which typically makes board games) says that failure does not block progression and only influences the flow of the story.

Vampire fans will need to be patient as it has no release date and is currently only scheduled for PC.

Virtue And A Sledgehammer

Virtue And A Sledgehammer’s trailer is deliberately abstruse, but what’s abundantly clear is that you’ll get to utterly demolish a town full of robots with nothing but a sledgehammer.

There’s obviously a far deeper narrative behind this premise, though, as said robots are described as ‘android ghosts of your digitised neighbours’ and their destruction will unearth traumatic memories for the protagonist.

It’s only coming to PC, but it will be out before the end of the year and there’s a free Steam demo that covers the first 30 minutes of gameplay.

Vivarium

Another interesting indie from the Xbox showcase, Vivarium boasts a delightful 80s anime inspired art style and cosy summer vibes as you live out a life inside an actual vivarium.

Whether or not you’ll be able to interact with anyone outside of the vivarium is a question the trailer doesn’t answer, but your days will be spent tending a garden, cooking new recipes, and hanging out with your fellow inhabitants.

Vivarium is scheduled to launch next year as an Xbox console exclusive.

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Egglestone Abbey is free to enter, managed by English Heritage, open every day until 6pm, and dog friendly.

It is also, for reasons that are difficult to explain, one of the most peaceful and overlooked heritage sites in the whole of the North East.

What you will find there

The ruins that survive today are substantial enough to give a real sense of what the abbey once was. Much of the 13th-century church remains standing, including a large lancet window that frames a view of the Tees valley beyond.

The east range of the living quarters is also partially intact, and English Heritage notes that traces of the monks’ ingenious toilet drainage system are still visible if you know where to look.

The site is an official Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building. Inside the ruins, the tomb of Sir Ralph Bowes of Streatlam, who died in 1482, was removed from the abbey during the 19th century and later returned — it now stands in the church crossing where it originally belonged.

The abbey was never especially powerful or wealthy.

Founded around 1195 by the de Multon family for a community of Premonstratensian canons — the White Canons, named for their distinctive white habits — Egglestone was always a modest house, frequently in financial difficulty, shaped by prayer and the rhythms of Teesdale farming rather than political influence.

What visitors say

Egglestone Abbey has a 4.3 rating on TripAdvisor from more than 310 reviews.

One visitor from Surbiton wrote: “We did not know this was here and discovered it through the English Heritage app. It is a magnificent ruin with loads of access allowing you to explore. It stands on a good plot in a good position. Our experience was made the better by a rainbow that created a form of hallow across it.”

A visitor from Yorkshire described it as “a wealth of history and free to visit”, adding: “Set next to a river where we took a picnic, sitting on the pebble beach it is in beautiful countryside. Well worth a visit.”

A couple visiting in February 2025 called it “a hidden gem”, writing: “The architecture is amazing and you can imagine the scale of the Abbey and its history if it was complete. It’s well worth a visit.”

The walk from Barnard Castle

Egglestone Abbey is connected to Barnard Castle by a riverside walk that takes around 40 minutes and partly follows the Tees.

The full circular route from Barnard Castle to Abbey Bridge and back covers approximately 3.75 miles and passes through woodland and riverside meadows as well as the abbey itself. It is suitable for families and dogs, though the terrain around the ruins includes uneven paths and historic stone surfaces.

For those arriving by car, there is a small car park directly beside the abbey on Abbey Lane, DL12 9TN.

Parking costs £2 for non-members, payable by text, and is free for English Heritage members.

There are no facilities at the site, but Barnard Castle town centre is a short drive away.

Practical information

Egglestone Abbey is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Entry is free.

Dogs are welcome on leads.

Have you visited Egglestone Abbey? Let us know in the comments

HAVANA (AP) — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near western Cuba on Monday, shaking buildings in Havana and beyond.

No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The quake struck at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers) in waters just west of the capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Flavia Pupo, a manager at the Pinar del Rio hotel in western Cuba described how the building shook and caused some fear.

“Everyone here is OK,” she said by telephone. “The people on the street are a little bit scared.”

The latest earthquake was felt as far away as Florida. The National Weather Service in Miami said in a tweet that it received several reports of shaking in the southwestern part of the state. A flood of social media posts Monday afternoon indicated that people felt shaking even north of Orlando.

Maria Moncayo, who works at a law office in downtown Fort Lauderdale, said she had been quietly working at her desk when she started to feel a vibrating sensation. She compared it to someone doing construction in another part of the building, and it lasted about a minute or so.

“I have a little pendant dangling in my desk, and it was moving,” Moncayo said. “That’s why I realized that it’s actually not me or my chair or anything.”

Moncayo said she had experienced several earthquakes while living in Ecuador, including a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left hundreds dead in 2016. But she hadn’t experienced one since moving to Florida seven years ago.

“Since I moved here, it kind of left my mind, but when I felt my desk moving, I thought it was going to be like Ecuador,” Moncayo said. “It kind of gave me flashbacks, but then I realized that it’s not bad, it’s just a little one.”

Miami-Dade County officials announced that they were evacuating several buildings out of an abundance of caution, including the county’s main government office building, a 28-story high rise in downtown Miami.

Officials also temporarily suspended service for two elevated commuter train services that run through downtown. No injuries or major property damage have been reported.

The Oriente fault zone is located just off Cuba’s southeast coast and has unleashed damaging earthquakes in recent centuries, including a 7.7 magnitude quake in January 2020 in open waters that caused damage in Cuba and the Cayman Islands.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

She outlined existing provision for new parents, including the Healthy Babies programme which “supports new parents and families by offering integrated preventative and universal support, including perinatal mental health, parent-infant relationships and infant feeding in the 1,001 days from pregnancy to age two.”

She was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition on Friday (June 5)

A woman who suffered a suspected medical episode at the wheel before a crash in Wythenshawe has sadly died. Police were called to reports of the collision on Southmoor Road at around 9:55am on Friday (June 5).

According to reports, a white Ford Ka, was seen driving along the road when the driver suffered a suspected medical episode and collided with a vehicle in the opposite lane.

An air ambulance was seen landing near the scene. The driver of the Ford, was a woman in her 50s who was taken to hospital.

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Unfortunately, she has since died.

Officers from the SCIU continue their investigation and are asking for anyone with information to please come forward.

This includes anyone who saw the vehicle driving before the collision, witnessed the incident itself, or has dashcam footage of the incident.

You can contact the SCIU directly on 0161 856 4741, contact the police on their Live Chat service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 925 of 05/06/2026

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

​​Scarborough Harbour, Whitby Harbour, and Filey Coble Landing are the focus of North Yorkshire Council’s harbours strategy that aims to set out how they will develop from now until 2036.

​Council bosses are set to approve a plan that will promote safe, sustainable and economically viable harbours at a meeting next week.

​Challenges faced by the harbours include ageing infrastructure, a decline of the fishing industry, climate change, and funding gaps, while opportunities include the offshore wind supply chain, tourism, maritime training, and improved harbour facilities.

​The council’s executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, said: “The proposed strategy would secure the future of our harbours through investment, innovation, and collaboration.

​“While celebrating their rich maritime heritage, we will ensure that our harbours remain cherished and dynamic destinations for generations to come.

“We have listened to responses to the public consultation and taken the draft plans to committees, sharing with ward members, town councils, and harbour user groups to gather a breadth of expertise.”

​Whitby’s £11 million Maritime Hub is nearing completion and the council recently set out its updated proposals for the controversial £15m redevelopment of Scarborough’s West Pier.

​​The purpose of the strategy is to provide a “working framework to ensure harbour users, local communities and key stakeholders know what they can expect regarding development of the harbours over the next 10 years, and to generate a partnership approach to the development of the harbour”.

​Among the opportunities that the harbours strategy is looking to build on is the offshore wind industry.

​The strategy recognises that whilst there are a number of ambitious redevelopment proposals, these will be subject to securing external grant aid or additional council funding and will be subject to the usual financial governance process at the appropriate time,” it states.

Whitby Maritime Hub. NYC

​The Government has said that the UK is the second largest offshore wind market in the world. Major wind farms are located off the Yorkshire coast, including at Dogger Bank, and the county’s coastal towns have the potential to help support the industry.

​​The harbours in Scarborough, Whitby, and Filey have faced a period of decline due to structural issues, a lack of investment and strategy, environmental challenges, and the decline of the fishing industry, the council said.

​The aim of the strategy is for harbours to be resilient to future challenges, open and welcoming by offering accessible and engaging spaces for users, residents, visitors and businesses.

Sophie Brimble, 20, died when her boyfriend Jay Bayliss, now 32, crashed while driving at almost three times the speed limit

The family of a young woman killed by a speeding driver are furious he has escaped any form of punishment due to an obscure 200-year-old law. Sophie Brimble, 20, died when her boyfriend Jay Bayliss, now 32, crashed into a lamppost while driving at almost three times the speed limit.

The crash followed a high-speed race between Bayliss and his friend Neil Brooks, 49, after Brooks overtook Bayliss in July 2017. Sophie’s family has now spoken out to call for a law change after he was given an absolute discharge under a piece of legislation from 1836 around his fitness to stand trial.

Brooks was jailed for eight years and given a lengthy driving ban but Bayliss was initially deemed too badly injured to stand trial. However an investigation was opened in 2024 after police found he regained access to his driving licence. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.

Bayliss was charged with causing death by dangerous driving but a judge again ruled him unfit to stand trial in March this year. Instead a trial of facts was held at Newport Crown Court where a jury found him jointly responsible for Sophie’s death.

The court said their options were limited under the legislation dating back to 1836 and issued an absolute discharge, which meant Bayliss could keep his licence.

An absolute discharge means the court has decided not to impose a punishment because the experience of going to court has been punishment enough.

Her family said the outcome was “heartbreaking” and have since launched a petition calling for legal reform. Ruth Jenkins, 56, Sophie’s mum, said the family was left to “pick up the pieces” and “deal with the heartache”.

She continued: “He is living the life of Riley. He still gets to celebrate birthdays and Christmas and Sophie is gone.

“This law is nearly 200 years old. A lot has happened in all those years that have gone by. We want to change the law so people can’t get away with it.

“The judge couldn’t give him a driving ban because he couldn’t be punished due to this law. It’s quite shocking that it hasn’t been updated ever since.”

The personal assistant added: “He choose to race that car. The driver of the other car that was involved went to prison and he’s lost his licence and he wasn’t even driving the car she was in.

“When we found out he was driving again and the court started again in 2024 we thought we could get something for her but as it went on and on there just seemed to be no hope.

“Every time we left the court it was a let-down. It doesn’t matter what the outcome was – we will never get her back. We just feel like her life didn’t matter in the eyes of the law and Jay.”

Sister Chloe Brimble, 26, said: “If he wasn’t able to stand a trial due to brain injury he shouldn’t be capable to drive a car because that should be classed as a risk for others. I don’t know how he can walk with his head held high knowing he has killed someone – it’s disgusting.”

Sister Aimee Coombes, 32, a hairdresser, added: “We haven’t spoken out for nine years, we stayed quiet, but we feel as a family that we need to speak out and people need to know about this.”

Sophie from Crickhowell, Powys, died when the Volkswagen Polo she was a passenger in crashed into a lamppost at speeds of up to 80mph on King Street, Brynmawr, in the early hours of July 26, 2017.

Prosecutors described how both drivers drove “aggressively” through residential streets, reaching speeds of more than 80mph in a 30mph zone.

Bayliss lost control causing the car to rotate and crash into a lamppost. He sustained serious physical and psychological injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation.

Brooks was sentenced to eight years in prison Cardiff Crown Court in November 2019 for causing death by dangerous driving and was disqualified from driving for five years.

Reliving the moment they got a phone call from the police nine years ago mum Ruth said: “We had a phone call saying that Sophie had been in an accident and we were to be prepared to face the worst.

“I virtually knew then that obviously the worst had happened – she had gone. We just couldn’t believe it and you don’t expect that your daughter has died – you expect that she is still going to be around. You don’t think that this has happened.

“It was nine years ago now and you still doubt it in your head even though we had a funeral. It never goes away. Every day we think about her – it might be a song on the radio than reminds you of her. You learn to live with it. Nobody can ever understand what we have been through unless they have been through it themselves.”

The Jenkins family described the outcome as devastating and have since launched a petition calling for legal reform.

The law relating to unfitness to plead addresses what should happen when a defendant who faces prosecution is unable to engage with the process because of their mental or physical condition.

The law aims to balance the rights of the vulnerable defendant with the interests of those affected by an alleged offence and the need to protect the public.

The petition calls for changes to the law on unfitness to plead and for mandatory public safety measures, such as driving bans, for individuals found responsible at a trial of facts. It has so far reached nearly 1,500 signatures. If it reaches 10,000 signatures the UK Government will be required to issue a formal response.

Ruth said: “We never knew this law existed until we had to face it ourselves and we just feel like nobody should have to go through this and I do believe there are other families out there that have been through this.”

Aimee added: “It is knowing that someone else isn’t going to go through what we have been through and that some sort of justice would be made for somebody else.”

Chloe said: “It’s not going to bring us justice for Sophie because we’ve been dealt with but if it could be changed for another family so they don’t have to go through the heartache and the pain of it because we wouldn’t wish it to anyone.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This was a tragic death and our thoughts remain with the family of Sophie Brimble.

“While the circumstances here are rare we understand the distress a case like this can cause and are already working to reform the law around unfitness to plead.

“The Law Commission is carrying out further reviews into related areas of law and we will use those findings to make changes so the policy is fit for purpose.”

The DVLA said it could not comment on individual cases.

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(Left to right) German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and President of France Emmanuel Macron, pose for a photo at the door of number 10 Downing Street, Westminster, after talks about ongoing support and solidarity for Ukraine (Lucy North/PA)

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