The would-be thief became distracted after picking up a book about Greek mythology on a bedside table.
![Italian burglar caught after sitting down with book](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/4b1ffe1b-da47-4eeb-933c-02b2b53e7e11.webp?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
A would-be burglar in Rome was caught after stopping to read a book on Greek mythology in the middle of a robbery, Italian media report.
The 38-year-old reportedly gained access to a flat in the Italian capital's Prati district via the balcony but became distracted after picking up a book about Homer's Iliad on a bedside table.
The 71-year-old homeowner is said to have awoken and confronted the alleged thief, who was engrossed in the book.
News of the failed robbery attracted the attention of the book's author, who told local media he wanted to send the man a copy so he could "finish" his read.
Truly life being stranger than fiction, in that he was recently in the news after being acquitted in the US.
He had this to say on the American legal system at the time: "the reason I'm sitting here, let's be honest, is not only because I was innocent... but because I had enough money not to be swept away by a process that's set up to sweep you away".
A total 22 people were on board the yacht when it went down off the coast of Sicily.
![UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch among missing after luxury yacht sinks](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/d863e80b-173d-4496-9a12-f386d71f1cc5.webp?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
British tech tycoon Mike Lynch is among the six people missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning.
The 56m (183ft) vessel was carrying 22 people - 10 crew and 12 passengers - including British, American and Canadian nationals. Emergency services rescued 15 people, including a one-year-old British girl. Local media reported the yacht, sailing under the name Bayesian, sank after encountering a heavy storm overnight that caused waterspouts, or rotating columns of air, to appear over the sea.
Mr Lynch, known by some as "the British Bill Gates", co-founded software company Autonomy, which was later bought by tech giant Hewlett-Packard for $11bn (£8.6bn).
A great action game with fantastic combat, exciting bosses, tantalizing secrets, and a few too many bugs.
![Black Myth: Wukong Review - IGN](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/e0796acc-46b2-4df5-9717-d431f0084d0d.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Verdict
As GameScience’s debut action game, Black Myth: Wukong is mostly a great success, despite some major technical black marks and localization issues that are likely to cause some frustrations at launch. Combat is fantastic thanks to a great balance of careful resource management and lightning-fast, twitch-reaction gameplay that tested my skills as much as Elden Ring ever has, despite being a more traditional action game than FromSoftware’s style. Not only that, but there are a ton of exciting boss battles, a great variety of enemies, and the world they inhabit is an absolute treat for the eyes and ears. Its story has its moments but relies a bit too much on having prior knowledge of the events of Journey to the West, and it really could have used a map to make its rewarding exploration measure up to the strength of its combat. That said, its strengths more than carry it through, making Black Myth: Wukong a great action game that could be even greater if GameScience can squash the bugs.
Strong growth in the services sector helped the UK to continue to emerge from last year's recession.
![UK economy continues recovery with 0.6% growth](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/4dcf63d6-b6d9-493e-ae78-6e5fd18c2d5a.webp?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
The UK's economy grew by 0.6% between April and June as it continued its recovery from the recession at the end of last year.
The latest figure was in line with forecasts and follows a 0.7% increase in the first three months of this year.
Growth was led by the services sector, in particular the IT industry, legal services and scientific research. Services are the biggest contributor to the UK's economy, far outstripping manufacturing and construction, both of which saw output fall between April and June.
A tea-drinking motorist is fined £100 after being caught on camera driving on the M6 in Cheshire last year.
!['Put your cup of tea down' - driver scolded by police](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/e2ed7106-b047-4a78-be3c-6b78d074b178.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
It does explain why all the niche communities I visit have gone from quiet to abandoned.
Due to being a Chinese learner, I have been playing a lot of Chinese developed games over the last few years. Gujian 3, in particular, makes me less sceptical about Black Myth than others are as Gujian 3 was so close to being a genuinely solid game. I just really hope they don't skimp on the translation.
Hundreds of teenagers gathered outside JD Sports in response to Snapchat call to take part in robbery
![Police in Oxford Street make arrests amid social media ‘robbery campaign’](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/01246c24-54e2-4433-90a4-a5b12a8b8d93.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Police have arrested nine people and issued dozens of dispersal orders after shoppers were locked inside stores on London’s Oxford Street following warnings of a robbery campaign organised on social media.
Hundreds of teenagers gathered outside JD Sports on the capital’s busiest shopping street in an apparent response to widely shared posts on Snapchat and TikTok urging users to take part in an “Oxford Circus JD robbery” at 3pm.
Just after 3pm, two young men were seized by police who were guarding the area in anticipation of trouble. Both men were detained outside a McDonald’s, three doors east of JD Sports. One of the young men, wearing a green hoodie, was detained by four officers. The other in a grey tracksuit was held by three officers.
The incident prompted twitchy security guards at a number of nearby stores, who were on alert for a possible shoplifting spree, to lock their customers inside their stores for several minutes. They included Muji, an opticians, and Boots, which lowered its storefront metal shutters.
Four police officers on horseback briefly struggled to maintain order as onlookers crowded the scene to video the incident on their phones. Traffic on Oxford Street was temporarily held up, as private security personnel urged the crowds to move on.
Minutes later police chased another group of young men suspected of shoplifting, prompting another surge in young people keen to capture the scene on their phones. One man was searched by three officers as he lay on the pavement.
Puzzled older shoppers asked police officers what was going on. They were told it was a police operation to stop shoplifters. An officer was overheard saying the young men were released without charge after being searched.
Just after 8pm, the Metropolitan police said it issued 34 dispersal orders and arrested nine people. A statement read: “Four people were arrested on suspicion of breaching the dispersal order, one person was arrested on suspicion of going equipped to steal, one person arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and one person was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.
“Earlier in the afternoon, officers arrested two people in Essex for conspiracy to commit robbery following online social media posts.”
Earlier, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, urged people not to take part. He said: “I am worried about this nonsense we have seen on TikTok encouraging people to go to Oxford Street.”
I’d encourage anybody who’s seen it not to go to Oxford Street. Do not allow yourself to be sucked into an area that could be a high-crime area.”
Police in Westminster had warned there would be heavy police presence in the area. In a Twitter post they said: “We are aware of online speculation about opportunities to commit crime around Oxford Street. There will be a significant number of our officers in the area over the next 24 hours.”
Some of those who had gathered said they were there out of curiosity. Harry, 14, from Islington, said: “I’m not here to steal anything, I’ve been raised better than that.”
Pointing to his phone he added: “I just want to record it.” He said he had heard about the event on Snapchat.
CJ, 16, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, said: “We’re not here to steal stuff – there’s loads of famous people making videos. We just saw loads of police and want to see what it’s about.”
Before 3pm some of the boys who gathered outside JD Sports were questioned by the police about why they were there. They gave vague answers.
I'm not sure why I am so invested in this story, but I'd love to see some consequences for this cultural vandalism.
Staffordshire Police say the fire at the Crooked House was suspicious.
![Crooked House: Fire at 'wonkiest' pub treated as arson - police](https://feddit.uk/pictrs/image/42265e51-7e6c-4d45-914d-6ad72d56eefe.png?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
Someone the other day referred to posting in niche communities as shouting into the void currently, which I thought was apt.
I'm seriously impressed with how functional this app is from the start. Like lots of others have said, it felt like coming home given how long I'd used Sync for. Didn't hesitate to pay for the ad free version once that option was added.
Yeah, this is my experience with Lemmy so far: it has replaced the "all" experience for me, but all my hobby / interests subs are completely dead.
Ministers will ask the regulator to restrict numbers on courses that do not have "good outcomes".
![Poor quality university courses face limits on student numbers](https://lemdro.id/pictrs/image/383b00da-3b7b-4f03-9d69-0cdc53d1c271.jpeg?format=webp&thumbnail=256)
"Under plans due to be announced later, universities in England will be forced to limit the number of students they recruit onto underperforming courses."
I hope it will be, and think it has the potential.
It has already replaced the "all" experience for me, and I automatically come here rather than Reddit. On the other hand, most of my engagement on reddit was with hobby/interest communities. Very few of the ones I visited on Reddit have made it across in an active way so far.
One unexpected thing is that I actually enjoy my specific instance and find myself browsing "Local" way more often than I expected.