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City isolation and not size may drive violence in Africa

There is an assumption that larger cities are inherently more violent than smaller ones, but this is not always the case. A new study of African cities has found the level of isolation could play a more crucial role in determining violence. The research is led by Complexity Science Hub (CSH) in Vienna with support from the University of Exeter and published in Nature Communications. The study found the 10 per cent of biggest cities in Africa (216…

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Pedestrian, 75, dies after Sidmouth crash

Pedestrian, 75, dies after Sidmouth crash

A pedestrian has died following a crash, police have said.Officers were called to Under Lane, Harcombe, near Sidmouth, at about 15:10 GMT on Monday following an incident which involved a black Range Rover, said Devon and Cornwall Police.A 75-year-old local man was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital with life-threatening injuries where he later died, police said. His next of kin have been informed.Police have asked for witnesses to get in contact. Source link

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Exeter scholars secure significant research funding to investigate the early history of Smallpox and Measles

The early histories of smallpox and measles – and the insight they might offer to contemporary health and medicine – will be under the microscope of a new research project. Pustules, Palaeogenetics and Pandemics from Galen to Rhazes: How to do the Early History of Smallpox and Measles is being led by scholars at the University of Exeter, and will seek to understand both historical developments of diseases and how changing disease patterns in the past might impact…

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Two people seriously injured in A390 crash in Cornwall

Two people seriously injured in A390 crash in Cornwall

Two people have been taken to hospital with "significant injuries" following a crash on a main road, police have said.Officers were called to the crash which involved two vehicles on the A390 near Chiverton Cross, towards Truro, at about 13:35 GMT on Tuesday.The force said a yellow Fiat Panda and a black Nissan Qashqai were involved and the drivers of both vehicles, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 70s, were injured and remained in…

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China to suspend imports of Japanese seafood amid diplomatic row: Reports | Trade War News

Diplomatic dispute deepens between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.China will again ban all imports of Japanese seafood as a diplomatic dispute between the two countries escalates, Japanese media report.Japanese public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo News agency said on Wednesday that the seafood ban follows after China earlier this month lifted import restrictions on Japanese marine products, which were imposed by Beijing in 2023 after the release of treated radioactive water from…

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‘I’ve got young kids – I need to beat this’

‘I’ve got young kids – I need to beat this’

Jen SmithSouth West health correspondentBBCZack Van Aarde from Bantham has been diagnosed with oesophageal cancerA man with stage four oesophageal cancer has been speaking about the shock of his diagnosis, and the importance of remaining positive.Zack Van Aarde, 42, from Bantham in Devon doesn't fit the mould of people usually diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, which is commonly associated with smoking and obesity according to the NHS."It's a bit mind-boggling" he said, "because I've got stage four cancer, but…

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Second platform at Newquay station reopens after nearly 40 years

Second platform at Newquay station reopens after nearly 40 years

A second platform has opened at a Cornish railway station for the first time in nearly 40 years as part of a £50m infrastructure project.Newquay station has only had one platform in use since October 1987, when a signal box closed.However, Network Rail said digital signalling - which replaced the previous "token system" - had allowed trains to return to the second line.Bogdan Lupu, Network Rail's industry programme director, said the completion of the work "paves the way…

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Isles of Scilly reclaims rare 16th Century navigational tool

Isles of Scilly reclaims rare 16th Century navigational tool

A rare navigational tool is back on the Isles of Scilly more than 400 years after it was lost at sea.The Pednathise Head astrolabe, dated to 1568, was used by early explorers to measure the altitude of the sun or stars to determine latitude, with only 120 of the devices known to have survived from that era.The item was discovered in a Spanish shipwreck in the late 1980s, at Pednathise Head, before it was taken across three continents…

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Weather Watcher’s photos developed into artworks

Weather Watcher’s photos developed into artworks

David BraineSenior broadcast meteorologist, Bedruthan StepsBBCJulie Taylor loves sharing her pictures of the Cornish weather A keen photographer who helped with the pilot and start of BBC Weather Watchers 10 years ago has "never lost the excitement and pride that I had on that first day".Julie Taylor recalled snapping "a beautiful pink dawn" down the road near her home in Cornwall when she headed out to take as many pictures as possible on the first day of Weather…

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Family in Exeter ordered to take down summerhouse

Family in Exeter ordered to take down summerhouse

A family has been ordered to remove a summerhouse from their garden by council planning officials.Andrew Causley said he was "baffled" by the enforcement notice issued by Exeter City Council.The summerhouse was installed to replace a children's playhouse that was about the same size and was in the same position in the garden in Alphington, on the edge of Exeter, for about 25 years.The city council said it was unable to comment as the case was live.The council…

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‘Moment of joy’ for girl with rare blood cancer

‘Moment of joy’ for girl with rare blood cancer

Marcus WhiteSouth of EnglandCancer Support UKMelody's teddy bear gift brought joy to the family, Cancer Support UK saidA girl who has spent months battling a rare blood cancer is helping to spearhead a charity Christmas campaign.Melody, who turns one year old on Thursday, was diagnosed in April with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).Her father Kevin, from Poole, Dorset, said a bone marrow transplant had not worked sufficiently well and doctors were "literally searching the whole world" for a cure…

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Frome battery site refusal overturned by government

Frome battery site refusal overturned by government

Daniel MumbyLocal Demoracy Reporting ServiceDaniel MumbyThe new battery site will be built near a housing estateA battery energy storage site is to be built in a town despite being initially rejected by local councillors.Somerset Council had refused permission for Trina Solar UK to build the facility on land north of Styles Close, in Frome, Somerset, in February.Residents campaigning against the proposals, which includes storage for about 30 megawatts, had claimed the site posed a "fire risk and put…

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