Upon release, it received positive reviews from video game critics, with praise particularly focused on the interpretation of The Simpsons television series as a video game, its parodical take on Grand Theft Auto III, and graphics, while criticism mostly surrounded some aspects of gameplay, such as bugs and glitches. It is often considered to be the best Simpsons tie-in game and has gained a cult following. The game was also a commercial success, with recorded sales of over 3 million worldwide by July 2007. It received the award for Fave Video Game at the 2004 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards. On the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox, it earned Greatest Hits, Player's Choice, and Platinum Hits respectively.

Much of the UK has been experiencing another day of high temperatures - but the spell of extreme hot weather is due to come to an end with thunderstorms.

Rain and lower temperatures are forecast for Sunday in Scotland and Northern Ireland, spreading into parts of England and Wales on Monday.

A Met Office amber warning for extreme heat remains in place until midnight.

Experts have warned a lengthy period of rain would be needed to end the drought declared in parts of England on Friday.

A lot of land has been left parched and hard by the heat so rain is likely to hit the ground and run off - as it would on concrete - which could lead to flash flooding.

The extreme heat warning has been in place for a large part of England and Wales for four days - making it the lengthiest alert since the system was introduced last year.

Having fun in the sun in Edinburgh here

Moan Utd

Lee Johnson was appointed manager of Scottish Premiership club Hibernian on 19 May 2022.

Moan Utd

Lower Hutt

comment by BraveheartTyke (U6173)
posted 1 day, 17 hours ago
Andrew Wilson
@Wilsbowski
·
8 Aug
Pretty mental that after 2 games in both the Championship and League 1, only #Rovers and #pufc are the only teams with 6 points
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Lol, I remember wils. Hope he's doing well.

A walrus that had become a popular attraction in the Oslo Fjord has been put down out of concern for the safety of the public, Norwegian officials say.

The walrus, nicknamed Freya, rose to fame after clambering on to boats to sunbathe - sometimes sinking them.

People refused warnings not to get too close to the 1,300lb (600kg) animal, putting her and themselves at risk.

On one occasion, police blocked off a bathing area after the walrus chased a woman into the water, local media say.

Last week, Norway's fisheries ministry issued a photograph of a large group of people, including children, standing within touching distance of the animal.

On Sunday, the director general of fisheries, Frank Bakke-Jensen, said the decision to put the animal down had been based "on an overall assessment of the continued threat to human safety".

"Through on-site observations the past week it was made clear that the public has disregarded the current recommendation to keep a clear distance to the walrus. Therefore, the Directorate has concluded, the possibility for potential harm to people was high and animal welfare was not being maintained," Mr Bakke-Jensen said in a statement.

He added that other options had been considered, including moving Freya out of the fjord, but they had been discarded out of concern for the welfare of the walrus.

The operation to euthanise her had been carried out "in a humane fashion", with the body taken for further examination by vets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPkLruKv8fs

Ben Brereton Diaz scored one and made another as Blackburn Rovers went top of the Championship with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Having not had a shot for much of the first half, star Rovers forward Brereton Diaz gave his side the lead with a curling left-footed effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Shortly after the interval the Chile international turned provider with some excellent work down the left wing to feed Sam Gallagher, who side-footed home from 18 yards.

Grady Diangana pulled one back soon after his strike took a deflection which wrong-footed Thomas Kaminski in the Rovers goal.

But the hosts held on to go two points clear at the top of the Championship - the only side with three wins from their first three games - while winless West Brom drop to 20th place with two points from three matches, after their first defeat.

Blackburn have won their first three games of a season for the first time since 1988, when Rovers went on to finish fifth in the old Second Division, before losing to Crystal Palace in the play-off final.

Regulated train fares in England will rise below the rate of inflation next year to help people with the cost of living crisis, the government has said.

Before the Covid pandemic, fares were raised in January each year, based on the retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation from the previous July.

The normal formula is RPI plus 1%. RPI in June was 11.8% - but it is not known what next year's increase will be.

As well as being lower than RPI, the increase will be delayed until March.

The pledge was first reported by the Sunday Times.

Regulated fares cover about 45% of fares, including season tickets on most commuter journeys, some off-peak return tickets on long distances journeys and anytime tickets around major cities.

The June rate of RPI figure was the highest rate in more than 40 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vOcbSBFZjo

Mystery still surrounds the shocking disappearance of Olivia Newton-John's former partner, Patrick McDermott,

The cameraman, who dated the late singer for nine years, was last seen alive in June 2005 when he went on an overnight fishing trip with 22 other people.

He disappeared while on board, and his absence wasn't noticed until the boat returned to dry land. He was 48.

1912

Bad fit? Toxic boss? Better job offer? Regardless of why you’re thinking of quitting your job, you need to make a clean exit.

On 7 October 2012, Benedict XVI named Hildegard of Bingen and John of Ávila Doctors of the Church, the 34th and 35th individuals so recognized in the history of Christianity.

The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the 19th century in Korea. Between 8,000 - 10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period. 103 Catholics were canonized en masse in May 1984, including the first Korean Catholic priest, Andrew Kim Taegon.

In addition, Paul Yun Ji-Chung and 123 companions were declared "Venerable" on 7 February 2014, and on 16 August 2014, they were beatified by Pope Francis during the Asian Youth Day in Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul. There are further moves to beatify Catholics who were killed by North Korean communists for their faith during the Korean War.

Spider-Man actor Tom Holland has said he is stepping back from social media, as he finds it can be "detrimental" to his mental health.

Holland, 26, is the latest young star, following the likes of Selena Gomez, to discuss how sites like Twitter and Instagram can have harmful effects.

Many fans applauded him for it online, with one calling it "a smart move".

In a video posted online, Holland said: "I find Instagram and Twitter to be overstimulating, to be overwhelming.

"I get caught up and I spiral when I read things about me online and ultimately it's very detrimental to my mental state.

"So I decided to take a step back and delete the app."

Rob Whippy has done that since Feb 2022

Deputy President William Ruto has won Kenya's presidential election, the electoral commission chairman has said, amid dramatic scenes.

He narrowly beat his rival, Raila Odinga, taking 50.4% of the vote.

The announcement was delayed amid scuffles and allegations of vote-rigging by Mr Odinga's campaign.

Four of the seven members of the electoral commission refused to endorse the announcement, saying the results were "opaque".

"We cannot take ownership of the result that is going to be announced because of the opaque nature of this last phase of the general election," said Juliana Cherera, the vice-chairperson of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

"We are going to give a comprehensive statement... and again we urge Kenyans to keep calm. There is an open door that people can go to court and the rule of law will prevail," she said.

Mr Odinga's party agent earlier alleged that there were "irregularities" and "mismanagement" in the election.

This was the first time Mr Ruto, 55, had run for president. He has served as deputy president for 10 years, but fell out with President Uhuru Kenyatta, who backed Mr Odinga to succeed him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1urq4Vb0XM

Everton have turned down a £40m offer from Chelsea for England Under-21 forward Anthony Gordon.

It is understood Chelsea are likely to come back with a higher offer in a bid to tempt Everton to sell the homegrown 21-year-old.

There is the potential for a cash-plus-player loan as Everton have previously been linked with two Chelsea players, Armando Broja and Conor Gallagher.

Both made late appearances in Chelsea's draw with Tottenham on Sunday.