Angus Mawson: Cornish Pirates sign Australian back after trial

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Cornish Pirates have signed Australian back Angus Mawson after a successful trial.The 22-year-old, who can play at fly-half or full-back, joins the club having played in Australia's Shute Shield with the Warringah Rats. Joint-head coach Gavin Cattle told the club website, external: "He's a bright young prospect. He came here off his own back in the summer and is English Qualified and we've been impressed with his skillset and attitude."Mawson could make his debut on Saturday when the Pirates host unbeaten Caldy at the Mennaye. Source link

Land carbon sinks cannot keep up, while rising temperatures spread disease and threaten incomes – report warns

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

The planet’s natural carbon sinks are reaching critical limits, absorbing fewer emissions than expected as decades of climate change has weakened their capacity, a new report warns. Nature-based carbon removal projects are also at risk; climate change is further undermining their long-term reliability and storage capacity, and though large-scale deployment of removals is necessary, it could threaten food security and biodiversity. The report warns that global climate targets may now face major setbacks. Launched today ahead of COP30 by more than 70 scientists from 21 countries, the annual 10 New Insights…

Washington’s ‘Blob’ is helping whitewash Sudan’s war crimes | Human Rights

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Ben Rhodes, a former United States deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, famously called Washington’s foreign policy establishment “the Blob” to describe its entrenched ecosystem of think tanks, former officials, journalists and funders that perpetuate a narrow vision of power, global order and legitimate actors. This apparatus not only sustains conservative inertia but also defines the limits of what is considered possible in policy. In Sudan’s two-and-a-half-year conflict, these self-imposed boundaries are proving fatal.A particularly insidious practice within the Blob is the invocation of moral and rhetorical equivalence, portraying…

Arrest after knifepoint street robbery in Plymouth

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

A man has been arrested after a knifepoint robbery in Plymouth, police have said.It happened on Kit Hill Crescent in the Barne Barton area at about 03:45 GMT on Wednesday, Devon and Cornwall Police said.The force said a man is believed to have approached another man in a car and "made threats to harm" him before stealing the vehicle's keys.A man in his 40s from Plymouth has been arrested on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery and threatening a person with an offensive weapon in a public place.Det Con Emily Tidy from…

England’s horror film settings that ‘make the flesh creep’

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

AJ Pics/AlamyThe ordinarily "clean and tidy" Cotterstock Hall was transformed to provide a spooky setting for The Woman in BlackIf you are lining up a few classic horror films this Halloween, you might recognise some familiar locations.Forget the actors, directors and the crew - Historic England has been taking a look at some of the 400,000 listed sites in the country that have made it on to the big screen. "Familiar places can be turned into something uncanny, unsettling," says listing and architectural research director Charles O'Brien.When it comes to horror…

£2m plan to convert Ilfracombe delivery office to homes

$£2m plan to convert Ilfracombe delivery office to homes$

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Alison StephensonLocal Democracy Reporting ServiceGoogle Street ViewNorth Devon Council wants to convert the former Royal Mail delivery office in Ilfracombe to homesA council has planned to invest £2m into a former Royal Mail building to provide homes, retail and exhibition space.North Devon Council said it was in the process of purchasing the property in Ilfracombe High Street using part of its allocation of nearly £3m from the Devon and Torbay devolution deal. The council applied for consent from its own planning department to convert the former delivery office which was built…

Devon couple in 18-year dispute with freeholder over damp

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

BBCThe homeowners say they have been living with damp for 18 yearsA couple have said they are "living in squalor" due to an 18-year-long dispute with their freeholder.Amanda Hoyles, 58, and her partner Chris Davis, 51, allege poor upkeep and substandard insulation at their leasehold ground floor flat had caused damp and mould and they made their first complaint in 2007 "within months" of moving in.North Devon Homes said there was "significant investment" ready for the work, but claimed the couple were refusing to discuss repairs for their Ilfracombe flat and…

More than 600 people supported by wellbeing hub in first year

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Katie Waple and Harry Kille-Smith,South of EnglandBBCThe Access Wellbeing hub in Boscombe marked its first anniversaryA wellbeing hub has celebrated helping more than 600 people during its first year of being open.Access Wellbeing, in Boscombe, Dorset, provides free mental health and wellbeing support to anyone aged 18 and over, with no appointment needed. The charity said it offers medical help, assistance with practical things like paperwork, or just a listening ear and a cup of tea.Joshua Hevicon, service development lead for Access Wellbeing East Dorset, said: "It's amazing to think how…

Blind Weston women launch naked calendar to tackle stigma

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley,West of England and Andy Howard,West of EnglandDeafblind UKThe images are for the Weston-super-Mare Blind Naked Calendar 2026A group of blind women have created a nude calendar to challenge the stigma surrounding vision loss and to show they are "normal women, with normal lives".The images for the Weston-super-Mare Blind Naked Calendar 2026 feature nude models' portraits with a filter, to help depict their own vision loss conditions and will raise money for the charity Deafblind UK.Josephine Boulter, who is Miss August and November in the calendar, said she came up…

Somerset boy, 9, launches 100-day litter-pick challenge

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

A nine-year-old boy is completing a 100-day litter-picking challenge and has already collected more than 130kg (287lb) of rubbish.Theo from Wiveliscombe in Somerset is 53 days into his challenge and said he has found everything from footballs to unopened jam jars.The young environmentalist said he is "obsessed with animals" and hopes his work will protect wildlife. During his feat, he is raising money for Surfers Against Sewage - a charity backed by his hero naturalist and explorer Steve Backshall.Theo says some of his friends have been helping him with the litter…

Dog owners urged to update microchips after 500 strays found

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

Dog owners in Cornwall have been urged to keep pets' microchip and ID tag details up to date after almost 500 dogs were reported as strays in 2024-25.Cornwall Council said its stray dog service worked to trace owners and care for dogs until they could be returned or rehomed and, while most were reunited with owners, some were taken into council care.Six dogs - three labradors and three springer spaniels - were found on Bodmin Moor in 2024 after being abandoned by owners and left unclaimed, it said.Sarah-Jane Brown, group leader…

ShelterBox team from Cornwall to help Hurricane Melissa victims

Post published:October 30, 2025
Post last modified:October 30, 2025

A Cornwall-based charity is sending emergency response teams to the Caribbean to help those affected by Hurricane Melissa. ShelterBox said having a team in Jamaica would make it easier to understand the scale of the damage and co-ordinate with its humanitarian partners.The charity said it had launched a fundraising appeal to support those affected. It said it had emergency shelters, including tents and tarpaulins, blankets, water carriers, mosquito nets and solar lights stored in Barbados and Panama which were sufficient to support up to 10,000 people.The charity said before the hurricane…