Help is at hand for office workers who are feeling lonely as they work from home during the coronavirus pandemic: websites and apps offering the recorded sounds of busy offices. So if you are missing the sound of keyboards, photocopiers and background chat, then head to soundofcolleagues.com or YouTube.
Israeli jeweller produces $1.5m face mask
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New Zealand wizard to retire at 87
A New Zealand man is hanging up his pointed had after decades as his city’s official wizard. Since 1998, Ian Brackenbury has been paid $10,400 a year for “wizardry” in Christchurch. His successor is expected to be a 39-year-old man called Ari Freeman, who teaches guitar and fronts a psychedelic funk band.
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Magazine solutions - December 12, 2025Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - December 12, 2025
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ECHR: is Europe about to break with convention?Today's Big Question Keir Starmer calls for European leaders to ‘push for modernisation of interpretation’ of 75-year-old asylum laws in bid to counter populist right
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Normalising relations with the Taliban in AfghanistanThe Explainer The regime is coming in from the diplomatic cold, as countries lose hope of armed opposition and seek cooperation on counterterrorism, counter-narcotics and deportation of immigrants
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Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
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Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
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Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
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Israel jolted by ‘shocking’ settler violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT A wave of brazen attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank has prompted a rare public outcry from Israeli officials
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Why these Iraqi elections are so importantThe Explainer The US and Israel are increasingly pressuring Baghdad to tackle Iran-backed militants, while weakened Iran sees Iraq as a vital remaining ally
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Israel arrests ex-IDF legal chief over abuse video leakSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi had resigned from her post last week
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Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
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Gaza’s reconstruction: the steps to rebuildingIn The Spotlight Even the initial rubble clearing in Gaza is likely to be fraught with difficulty and very slow
