A striking photo of homes ablaze under the headline “Houses burn and train derails on hottest day” dominates the front of the Times. Perhaps unusually, it is a headline that encompasses three separate stories from Thursday – the fires that raged across the West Midlands, the rail accident near Lewes that left two people seriously injured, and the ongoing heatwave that saw the UK record its hottest day of 2026.
A new true crime documentary revisits the story of an amputee surgeon’s web of lies
Marius Gustavson was the mastermind of an extreme body modifications enterprise
A police investigation into human butchery and a monster known as the ‘Eunuch Maker’ is the centre of a new true crime documentary, and it makes for a disturbing watch.
An Amputation Obsession: The Monster and the Surgeon explores the real life story of NHS surgeon Neil Hopper who, in 2019, lost his own legs to amputation following what he said was a result of a mystery illness.
Upon returning back to work, Neil performed amputations as part of his role at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, and often took to social media and news outlets to share his own journey.
He even claimed over £466,000 in insurance payouts after he claimed his injuries were a result of sepsis, becoming somewhat of a national hero and symbol of hope. However, he hid a dark secret that nobody could have guessed.
His leg amputations were a result of self-inflicted injuries, meaning he fraudulently claimed insurance payouts. Not only that, but he was investigated for paying to access a website which sold videos of amputations.
The new documentary explores the disturbing case and Neil’s connection to the ‘Eunuch Maker’.
Who is ‘Eunuch Maker’ Marius Gustavson and where is he now?
The Metropolitan Police were looking into the ‘Eunuch Maker’ website which was run by Marius Gustavson. It offered pay to view access to chilling videos of extreme body modifications and mutilations on customers.
These extreme videos included the cutting the genitals off of men to make them ‘eunuchs’, which is a male who has been castrated. Marius was the ringleader, with the procedures often being carried out in his own home which would sometimes go wrong, meaning ambulances were called.
The programme hears from one journalist who says the nature of the evidence was “so extreme” and hard to hear, with Marius earning around £300,000 in profits from the site over a period of around four years.
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After a brave victim came forward, the website was eventually brought down and it was through this investigation that police learned about Neil Hopper’s own involvement and the dark reality about what really happened to his legs.
In May 2024, Marius appeared before the courts and issued a guilty plea to 13 offences including multiple counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years, meaning he will still be in prison now.
At the time, nine others also received sentences ranging from suspended sentences to 12 years imprisonment for their roles in the investigation.
An Amputation Obsession: The Monster and the Surgeon can be streamed on Prime Video
In 2012, on the day after Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, I sat next to Walter in a conference room. To the sports fan, Walter was virtually anonymous: a super rich guy who had made his money running investment and insurance companies.
Walter’s purchase valued the Dodgers and its related assets at a then-record $2.15 billion. That value stunned the sports world. Mark Cuban had bowed out of the bidding, believing the Dodgers were not worth even $1 billion.
I asked Walter why he believed it made business sense to pay three times as much as any major league team had sold for.
“I think you have a few moments in life where you have the opportunity to own an asset and really be a custodian of something that should be multigenerational and iconic,” he said then. “I understand it’s a lot of money. But it’s not as if you can go buy another one tomorrow. … We hope we never, ever are going to sell it.”
That was essentially the point that someone who travels within the inner circles of pro sports made to me Wednesday morning, as news broke that Walter had sold the Lakers to Bob Iger, the former Disney chief, and Joshua Kushner.
The Steinbrenner family has owned the New York Yankees for 53 years. Jerry Jones has owned the Dallas Cowboys for 37 years. The Buss family owned the Lakers for 46 years.
These trophy assets are few and far between. Walter had agreed to sell the Lakers after less than one year of ownership — and not through a comprehensive bidding process, but to an inquiring caller during the weekend?
“This has more red flags than a May Day parade,” an industry insider said, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize his professional relationships.
The deal, which valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion, was motivated by the spiraling price for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. After all, if Iger and Kushner might have to pay $10 billion for a startup team, why not call and see if Walter might accept a bit more for one of the marquee franchises in American sports?
Was this a blind call or was Walter looking to sell?
“It was suggested to us that maybe Mark Walter would be interested in selling his stake in the Lakers,” Iger told the California Post.
What did Dodgers president Stan Kasten have to say about that?
“I never knew that. He never said that to me,” Kasten said. “I think he was surprised by it. That’s what he has expressed to me. Mark had no plan to do this. This just came up, and he thought about it and said yes.”
Why might Walter have been interested in selling?
Mark Walter acknowledges a fan before a game against the Cubs in Chicago this month.
(Melissa Tamez / Associated Press)
Only he can say for sure, but his companies are under federal investigation for failing to disclose and properly account for billions of dollars of loans among related entities. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Walter’s holding company is trying to raise money that could help pay off or at least pay down those loans, and the Financial Times reported that company assets could be sold or restructured.
No charges have been filed, and investigations can conclude without charges. No allegations of wrongdoing have been made against Walter.
Is there a baseball angle to this?
Among the investment firms Walter’s holding company approached about “deals to raise cash,” according to Bloomberg: the asset management firm owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen.
Cohen’s firm passed, according to the Financial Times.
When Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, the runners-up: the bid team of Cohen and Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.
“No, that never came up. And Mark and I discussed it,” Kasten said. “So, no, we don’t have any reason to think that. I certainly have no reason to think that.”
What does Walter’s sale of the Lakers mean for the Dodgers?
“It means nothing for the Dodgers,” someone who speaks regularly with Walter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He owned them long before the Lakers and will own them long after.”
If Walter should later sell the Dodgers, what might have the greatest impact on the team?
Shohei Ohtani has an out clause in his contract if Mark Walter sells the team.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700-million contract with the Dodgers includes an unusual escape clause: If Walter is no longer the controlling owner, or if Andrew Friedman is no longer running the Dodgers’ baseball operations department, Ohtani can opt out of the contract.
Would he?
Way too soon to tell. If major league owners get their way in collective bargaining, the proposed salary cap would mean Ohtani at $70 million could eat up just about one-third of any team’s payroll. And, in his third year with the Dodgers, he has yet to complete a full season as a pitcher, and a left knee in which manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani suffers from “wear and tear” could make him less of a two-way player as the contract winds down.
On the other hand, playing salary might be less of an issue for him than for any other player in baseball. Ohtani is making more than his annual salary from sponsorships and endorsements — an estimated $125 million this year — and he famously deferred $68 million of each year’s salary so the Dodgers could spend more freely on players that could help him and the team win. After six losing years with the Angels and two World Series championships in two years with the Dodgers, a losing team might not entice Ohtani, no matter how much room it might have under a proposed cap.
Iger used to run Disney. How did Disney’s experience owning the Angels and Mighty Ducks go?
Disney chairman Michael Eisner, left, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL chairman Bruce McNall and Mighty Ducks chairman Jack Lindquist blow duck calls announcing the name of the team in 1993.
(Doug Pizac / Associated Press)
Disney dressed the Angels in uniforms derided by one player as “pinstripe pajamas,” put cheerleaders on the dugout roof and installed a loud “countdown to first pitch.” This all seemed awful at the time but, given the plagues of in-game hosts and teams sporting jerseys in colors far beyond home white and road gray, perhaps Disney was just ahead of its time. And, for the first few years of the franchise, Mighty Ducks gear was some of the hottest merchandise in American sports.
Ultimately, Disney wanted the Angels and Mighty Ducks to launch an “ESPN West” regional sports channel. When that channel collapsed, Disney no longer needed the teams and eventually sold them. The Angels were such a minimal part of Disney’s portfolio that then-chief executive Michael Eisner showed up in the clubhouse and the players had no idea who he was.
Who owned the Angels when they won their only World Series championship?
Angels players wave to fans during the World Series title parade in Anaheim in 2002.
One more try: Why did Walter really sell the Lakers?
“I think it was opportunistic and he found something that made sense to him,” Kasten said. “Mark’s a very sensible guy. But that’s really the only way I can explain it.
“You’ll have to talk to Mark about a more in-depth explanation, and good luck.”
Times staff writer Maddie Lee contributed to this report.
Aug. 13 (UPI) — A section of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. was vandalized Thursday, with red graffiti and mountains of soapy bubbles.
The bubbles were in and around the fountain at the memorial, which is on the National Mall. The graffiti spelled out “Clean hands diary $,” and red and green paint was thrown on some granite stonework.
“The vandalism that occurred is an utter disgrace and will not be tolerated,” the Department of the Interior said in a statement. “Our U.S. Park Police are on the scene and the investigation is ongoing. The public should know we will find the person responsible for this disgusting act.”
The nonprofit Friends of the National World War II Memorial, which is dedicated to preserving the memorial, said it was “deeply disturbed” by the incident.
“Whatever the intent, defacing a place dedicated to the service and sacrifice of the World War II generation is unacceptable,” the organization said in a statement. “A national memorial honoring those who served and those who never returned home should never be used as a canvas for vandalism.”
The memorial draws around 5 million visitors each year.
The site underwent a nearly $4 million renovation, which was completed in May. It was closed for several months while aging infrastructure was updated and other repairs were made. The upgrades included new lighting in the fountain and the replacement of in-ground pillar lighting.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz praised the radical religious Zionist group, the Hilltop Youth settlers, for ‘holding onto’ occupied Palestinian land. Israeli settlers have moved into Ganim, an illegal West Bank settlement dismantled by Israel in 2005.
From stints on Celebrity X Factor to the new spin-off programme, The Chase Around The World, Jenny, also known as the Vixen, has remained booked and busy.
But away from the TV sets, Jenny is loved-up with her long-term boyfriend, Thom Tuck who also happens to work in the showbiz and entertainment industry.
Over the years, Thom has appeared in the likes of a number of hit shows, including The Crown, Fresh Meat and Babylon. He’s also shown off his talents on stage, performing in theatre productions of Death of A Salesman and Three Sisters.
Thom was also nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe for Thom Tuck Goes Straight-to-DVD. The show managed to get adapted to BBC Radio too.
But that’s not all, as Thom is one-third of the acclaimed sketch troupe The Penny Dreadfuls who have made series for Radio 4 and several audio dramas.
What’s more, Jenny and Thom even worked together when they co-starred in the pantomime production of Sleeping Beauty at the Wyvern Theatre in 2025, in which Jenny played the Wicked Fairy Carabosse and Thom played King Keir.
The pair also appeared on Celebrity Escape To The Country in 2023, and shared their plans to move from the city “back home” to the countryside near her hometown of Bolton.
Looking to relocate with a budget of £850,000 Jenny and Thom were shown an array of residences, turning down the first one but falling totally in love with the second one.
After the show aired, Jenny issued an update to fans a year later on her and Thom’s living situation, revealing on Instagram that she sadly did not buy the house.
She explained that before she could even get another viewing, another person put an offer on the property. Jenny then said she was not surprised another house hunter had bought the property but quipped “the search continues”.
The Chase Around The World airs every Thursday at 9pm on ITV1
Pakistan had been part of the colony of India since the 18th century, firstly as part of the East India Company and then as part of the British Indian Empire.
In 1947, the act of independence created the ‘Dominion of Pakistan’ which covered two different geographic areas known as East and West Pakistan. In 1971 following the Bangladesh Liberation War, East Pakistan parted from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh.
The name Pakistan is a conjunction of two words ‘Pak’ meaning ‘Pure’ in Urdu and Persian, and ‘Stan’ meaning ‘Land’. The name was also promoted in a pamphlet produced by the Muslim movement in 1933 – “ Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan”. The ‘i’ was added to aid pronunciation.
Independence happened at midnight between August 14th and August 15th 1947, which is why the tradition in Pakistan has been to celebrate the August 14th whereas August 15th is Independence Day in India.
LeBron James has moved back to the Eastern Conference, but the Lakers remain a major box office draw for the NBA.
With an almost brand new rotation after a busy offseason that elevated Luka Doncic to the team’s unquestioned leader, the Lakers have the maximum amount of nationally televised games in the NBA this season with 34, according to the league schedule released Thursday. The Lakers open the season against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 on ESPN.
The slate is highlighted by a much-anticipated Christmas Day reunion with James that will be televised at 2 p.m. on ABC. The matchup at Crypto.com Arena will be James’ return to L.A. after the four-time NBA champion signed with the Philadelphia 76ers this summer following eight seasons with the Lakers. James will play on Christmas Day for the 21st time in his 24-season career, and the Lakers will play on the holiday for the 28th consecutive time.
The Lakers don’t meet James in his new home until March 4, when they finish a four-game trip in Philadelphia.
The Lakers have a frantic start to the season, playing 13 games in the first four weeks. They have three back-to-back sets during the busy stretch from the opener to the end of a three-game trip in Milwaukee on Nov. 11.
The Lakers have 14 sets of back-to-backs, the same as last season, and eight of the sets require travel between the games. Two require time changes: The Lakers play at Minnesota on Dec. 18 before gaining an hour while traveling to Denver to play Dec. 19, then lose an hour between Chicago on Jan. 2 and Toronto on Jan. 3.
The traditional Grammys trip begins in Indiana on Jan. 28 followed by a back-to-back set in New York (Jan. 30) and Charlotte (Jan. 31). The Lakers then continue the seven-game trip by circling back north from Charlotte to Boston (Feb. 2) and Brooklyn (Jan. 4), then heading West with stops in San Antonio (Feb. 6) and Phoenix (Feb. 8).
The reigning NBA champion New York Knicks, Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs and James’ 76ers each have 34 nationally televised games. The national broadcast appearances are spread throughout the NBA’s broadcast partners: ABC/ESPN, NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime.
The final two games of the 82-game season will be determined in December as the NBA Cup midseason tournament plays out.
The Lakers were placed into Group C, which includes the Warriors, Spurs, Portland Trailblazers and Sacramento Kings. The group stage begins at Golden State on Oct. 30 followed by home games against Portland (Nov. 6) and Sacramento (Nov. 20). The final group game is Nov. 27 at San Antonio.
LAKERS’ 2026-27 SCHEDULE
October 21: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. 25: at Utah, 2 p.m. 27: vs. Portland, 8 p.m. 28: at Clippers, 7:30 p.m. 30: at Golden State, 7 p.m.
November 1: vs. Toronto, 6 p.m. 2: vs. Miami, 7 p.m. 4: at Sacramento, 7 p.m. 6: vs. Portland, 7 p.m. 8: at Detroit, 3 p.m. 9: at Atlanta, 4 p.m. 11: at Milwaukee, 5 p.m. 15: at Phoenix, 1 p.m. 17: vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. 18: vs. Utah, 7 p.m. 20: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Utah, 7 p.m. 27: at San Antonio, 6:30 p.m. 29: at Memphis, 1 p.m. 30: at Houston, 4:30 p.m.
December 2: at New Orleans, 5 p.m. 14: vs. New Orleans, 7 p.m. 16: at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m. 18: at Minnesota, 5 p.m. 19: at Denver, 6 p.m. 21: vs. Indiana, 7 p.m. 23: vs. Denver, 7 p.m. 25: vs. Philadelphia, 2 p.m. 27: vs. Memphis, 6 p.m. 29: vs. Houston, 7 p.m. 31: at New Orleans, 5 p.m.
January 2: at Chicago, 5 p.m. 3: at Toronto, 4 p.m. 5: at Washington, 4 p.m. 7: vs. Boston, 7 p.m. 8: vs. Detroit, 7 p.m. 11: at Clippers, 7 p.m. 13: at Portland, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Orlando, 7 p.m. 17: vs. Milwaukee, 6 p.m. 19: at Sacramento, 7 p.m. 21: at Golden State, 7 p.m. 22: vs. Sacramento, 7 p.m. 24: vs. Washington, 1 p.m. 26: vs Oklahoma City, 8 p.m. 28: at Indiana, 4 p.m. 30: at New York, 5:30 p.m. 31: at Charlotte, 4 p.m.
February 2: at Boston, 5 p.m. 4: at Brooklyn, 4 p.m. 6: at San Antonio, 5:30 p.m. 8: at Phoenix, 6:30 p.m. 10: vs. Clippers, 7 p.m. 12: vs. Denver, 7 p.m. 16: vs. Chicago, 7 p.m. 18: vs. Houston, 7 p.m. 26: at Denver, 7 p.m. 28: at Dallas, 12:30 p.m.
March 2: at Orlando, 4 p.m. 4: at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. 6: vs. Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. 7: vs. Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m. 11: vs. New York, 7 p.m. 12 vs. Cleveland, 7 p.m. 14: vs. Golden State, 7 p.m. 16: at Portland, 7 p.m. 17: vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m. 19: vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m. 21: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m. 23: at Miami, 5 p.m. 25: at Cleveland, 4 p.m. 28: at Houston, noon 30: at Memphis, 5 p.m.
April 1: at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. 4: vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m. 6: vs. Dallas, 7 p.m. 7: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. 9: vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. 11: vs. Phoenix, 5:30 p.m.
The north side of the White House is shown on Sept. 10, 2014 in Washington, D.C. The Trump administration on Thursday announced tariffs of up to 100% on drone imports. File Photo by Ron Sachs/Pool/UPI. | License Photo
Aug. 13 (UPI) — The Trump administration on Thursday announced tariffs on imports of drones and related components, saying that the U.S. was ‘too reliant’ on drones produced overseas.
According to a White House fact sheet, a 100% tariff will be levied on “certain capabilities that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes, docking stations of these drones, and certain critical components of these drones.”
The category includes drones that have a top takeoff weight of more than 25 kilograms and those with thermal imaging features, the proclamations says.
The U.S. “is too reliant on foreign sources of [unmanned aircraft systems] and UAS components,” a proclamation signed by U.S. President Donald Trump says.
Meanwhile, smaller drones that do not have certain features that do not affect national security will face a 25% tariff. Drones and components produced in the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan will see a 15% levy. UK-produced drones will be assessed 10%.
The percentage of the tariffs will depend if “substantially all hardware, software, and technology originates from within these countries and the United States,” the fact sheet says.
The White House said the tariffs take effect in 21 days, but tariffs on drone components “that are not particularly sensitive,” will take effect in 180 days
For products and components that the Department of Defense has approved an exemption from the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List within 20 days after being signed by Trump, the tariffs will take effect 180 days after signing.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) recently delivered and extremely capable MC-55A Peregrine airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare (AISREW) aircraft has begun its first overseas deployment. Publicly available flight tracking data shows that the aircraft has been operating out of Clark Air Base in the Philippines, from where it has ventured out into the highly strategic and tense South China Sea on several occasions.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates that MC-55 serial A51-004 flew from its home base at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia to Clark, close to the Philippine capital Manila, on July 28. Data compiled byAustralian Defense Magazine reveals seven missions flown out of Clark between July 30 and August 7.
First overseas deployment. An Australian MC-55A Peregrine ISREW aircraft has been flying missions out of Clark AB in the Philippines since end-July. Missions are 4-8 hours in duration and has on occasion gone further into the South China Sea. https://t.co/YWRWF4ucxWpic.twitter.com/x8qOs3XMCZ
With missions typically lasting between four and nine hours, the MC-55 primarily flew in or close to Philippine airspace near Mindoro and Palawan islands. However, on four occasions, according to available data, it flew further west into the South China Sea. For those parts of the mission, its transponder was switched off for periods of between three and four hours.
The Australian Defense Forces (ADF) told Australian Defense Magazine that the deployment is part of its longstanding engagements in the Indo-Pacific region but provided no further operational details.
Based on the length of time that the MC-55 ‘went dark’ on flight tracking aggregators, its areas of interest could have included various disputed reefs and other features in the South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.
A U.S. Department of Defense map showing island outposts belonging to China and other countries, as well as the boundaries of various competing territorial claims, just in the Spratly Islands chain at the southern end of the South China Sea. U.S. Department of Defense
Both China and the Philippines also lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal (known as Huangyan Island in China), which is little more than 100 miles from the Philippines and 500 miles from China.
Overall, China’s sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, including islands, other features and adjacent waters, are the most sweeping and have led to high tensions with competing claimants.
China routinely backs up its expansive claims with naval patrols, in the air and at sea.
Meanwhile, the United States says it does not take sides in these disputes but sends warships and military aircraft close to the disputed islands as part of its ‘freedom of navigation’ operations.
The same kinds of operations are also conducted by the ADF, with the RAAF responsible for missions into the South China Sea. These have previously been flown from Clark Air Base, as well as from Butterworth in Malaysia and out of Singapore. The RAAF uses the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft for these missions, and previously also the AP-3C (EW) Orion.
Looks like it was a low-key retirement on Tuesday as the final two @AusAirForce Royal Australian Air Force (#RAAF) Lockheed AP-3C #Orion (EW) aircraft A9-657 and A9-660 looked to take their final flights out of and back to RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia.
The specially equipped AP-3C (EW), the secretive electronic warfare version of the RAAF Orion, was formerly flown by No. 10 Squadron, which is now responsible for the MC-55 fleet at RAAF Edinburgh.
Since we reported on the arrival of the first MC-55 at Edinburgh in January of this year, a second and third aircraft have been delivered to Australia, arriving at the same base in March and in June. The fourth aircraft is still to be delivered.
As we have described in depth previously, the MC-55 — based on a highly modified version of the Gulfstream G550 business jet — is equipped with a variety of sensors to combine electronic warfare (EW), signals intelligence (SIGINT), and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions in a single airframe. These capabilities would be in extreme need during any kind of crisis in the Indo-Pacific region.
The first MC-55 to arrive at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, touched down there on January 22, 2026, after a multi-leg delivery flight that took it from the L3Harris facility in Greenville, Texas, to Australia via stopovers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona; Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Wake Island; and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. @airman941
The aircraft can also serve as a networking relay and data-fusion platform, linking together other aircraft as well as surface combatants and ground forces. TWZ has previously confirmed that the MC-55 incorporates technology ported directly over from the RC-135 Rivet Joint, as you can read about here. In the past, we have also speculated that the jet is likely outfitted with active electronically scanned arrays (AESA), which would be used for standoff electronic attacks, as well as intelligence-gathering.
In the context of missions in the South China Sea, the MC-55 is a highly capable passive intelligence-collection platform, bringing a major boost to the ADF as it seeks to keep tabs on the growing Chinese military threat in the Indo-Pacific region.
The aircraft’s ISR capabilities mean it will be well-suited to surveilling Chinese military expansion and monitoring Beijing’s activities, which have already seen a number of incidents involving the ADF and Chinese military assets. As well as operating from the Philippines, and potentially from Malaysia and Singapore, the RAAF plans to deploy the MC-55 to the Cocos Islands, deep in the Indian Ocean, approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka.
With the first appearance of the MC-55 at Clark Air Base, Australia appears to be moving from relying primarily on the P-8A for South China Sea maritime surveillance toward having a dedicated, highly specialised airborne SIGINT/EW capability operating alongside it. This will give the ADF and its partners a much better picture of Chinese radar, communications, air defense and naval activity.
The first overseas deployment of the MC-55 — among the most advanced surveillance and electronic attack platforms in the world — marks a significant expansion of Australia’s ability to monitor and understand Chinese military activity in the South China Sea, strengthening the ADF’s intelligence and electronic warfare reach across the Indo-Pacific.
Duvetyne, or in this case the alternative spelling Duvateen, is a twill fabric with a matt finish that makes it ideal for blocking out light.
In its black fire-retardant form, it has widespread use in the film industry to ensure the right controlling effect.
The Afghan Whigs, from left to right, Rick G. Nelson, Greg Dulli, Bryan Lee Brown, John Curley and Christopher ThornCredit: UnknownShowing his wild side, the young Dulli in 1994Credit: Getty
In the first season of the original Star Trek for instance, exterior shots of space, “the final frontier”, were created by gluing glitter to it.
As you’ll discover, it was also used by The Afghan Whigs’ frontman Greg Dulli — and now it’s the name of a pivotal song on the band’s tenth studio album, Soft Control.
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It is 40 years since he formed the Whigs in Cincinnati, Ohio, later moving to Seattle to become Sub Pop label mates with grunge pioneers Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden.
But Soft Control, their first LP in four years, has to be one of their most urgent, textured and captivating efforts yet.
When he calls from America’s West Coast, it’s the first time I’ve spoken to Dulli since 2008.
He was in London then during an extended Whigs’ hiatus, promoting The Gutter Twins’ album Saturnalia, made with the late Mark Lanegan, one of the grunge movement’s defining singers both with the Screaming Trees and as a solo artist.
Lanegan died aged 57 in 2022, a year after battling a severe case of Covid at his adopted home of Killarney, Ireland. “Mark is someone I miss . . . every day,” Dulli tells me.
He returns to the subject in hand and provides a fulsome explanation of his song Duvateen.
“There was a time in my life when I put it on all my windows,” he admits. “I kept my house in permanent night, living the vampire life.
“I had a friend in the movie business so I went with her to get some. I saw what it could do for me.”
The Afghan Whigs’ UK tour begins on September 19 in Leeds, with dates in Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, London and BrightonCredit: Orlando PerkinsDulli on stage at the Way Out West Festival in 2017Credit: Getty – Contributor
So, what DID it do for you? I venture with a degree of trepidation.
“It was decades ago and I just didn’t have any use for sunlight or for being outside,” replies Dulli, before adding with a knowing sigh, “It was clearly not a healthy time for me.”
By calling the piano-led song Duvateen, Dulli, who delivers the lyrics with white-knuckle intensity, is using it as a metaphor for the infinite void — or, if you like, mortality.
He admits: “The symbolic nature of it is not lost on me.”
With lyrics that span his childhood, “teacher gonna chase us down the hall”, to the grave, “dig somebody’s hole”, it encapsulates the circle of life and serves as the album’s heartbeat.
Its sound is in stark contrast to the more rock-heavy numbers, drawing this response from Dulli: “When I get a piano song like that, it’s an exciting moment in my life.
“It’s the sort of thing I could play to my mom.” As for the idea that Duvateen is the album’s centrepiece, he says: “You write songs and, as some emerge, they state their alpha-ness.
“Duvateen got my attention very quickly. It started out differently — a bit like Honky Tonk Women for a minute — but I completely changed it.
“It was one of those songs when you feel as if your hand is being guided from beyond.”
I suggest to Dulli that listening to Soft Control’s ten tracks “feels like an emotional rollercoaster”.
Greg and the band leaving the David Letterman studio in New York City in 2014Credit: Getty – ContributorDulli says the band ‘were outsiders’
“Well, life in general is an emotional rollercoaster for me,” he replies. “It would stand to reason that any art I put forth would be a similar thing.”
Next the single-minded singer describes his path to the album: “We did a Covid record that came out in ’22, then we toured it for a year.
“Then I took some time off and travelled. I didn’t start working on a new record until ’25.
“But once I began writing songs again, they were happening fast and furious. I did 20, 22. Cut them down to ten. And here’s the ten.”
The result is a concise, dynamic punch of an album. “I like 40 minutes or less and I like ten as a round number,” says Dulli. “I’ve been landing on it for the past four or five records.
“They’re like a little family and sometimes they waiting for a little brother or sister to show up. I wrote the final song, Loose Talk, earlier this year.”
The album comes bursting out of the blocks with taut Jungle Roux and riff-heavy House Of I.
Elsewhere, My Lover leans into the band’s R&B credentials while stately The Deepest Part Of The Darkest Shadow serves as a companion piece to Duvateen.
There’s a song called Memphis, Texas, not as strange as you think because there is such place, along with the famous Memphis in Tennessee where Elvis made his name.
The album ends with A Simulation, 70 seconds of ambient beauty segueing into one of Dulli’s most tender vocals and a gorgeous string arrangement.
He calls it one of his “most existential songs”. “I get overwhelmed by injustice, sadness, and people and animals being hurt. I know I’m not the only one wondering, ‘What the f*** are we doing here?’”
But now, before we go any further, it’s time to tell Dulli’s story beginning with his teenage dream of fronting a band, inspired by a legendary psychedelic soul band.
He recalls: “I went to see The 5th Dimension. When (singer) Billy Davis Jr. took off at the end of Let the Sunshine In, it was the most electrifying thing I’d ever seen. I knew I wanted to be a lead singer.”
Having dropped out of studying film at the University Of Cincinnati and flirted with the idea of becoming an actor, Dulli formed his first band, The Black Republicans, in the mid-Eighties.
Did they find it hard to get noticed at first? I ask. “When you’re 20 years old, nothing’s hard, man,” he answers. “You’re literally immortal.
“We all had regular jobs. I drove a taxi. I cooked in a restaurant. I painted houses, put roofs on houses. I was a roadie-type guy at the big theatre in town.”
Crucial to Dulli’s trajectory was the recruitment to The Black Republicans of bassist John Curley, the only Whigs founder member still by his side today.
He says: “We would see this bearded dude at our shows. We all thought he was about 40.
“Then one night after the show, he walked up and introduced himself to me, saying, ‘I’m better than your bass player.’ John came by our rehearsal place and played his way into the band.”
Dulli describes what happened next: “I moved to Arizona for six months and wrote a bunch of songs.
“Then I came back to Cincinnati and started the Whigs with John, Rick McCollum (guitar) and Steve Earle (drums).”
He remembers the Midwestern city on the Ohio River being a “great jumping-off point” because so many towns “weren’t that far away from us”.
Dulli rattles off the places in the manner of Johnny Cash singing I’ve Been Everywhere — “Louisville, Lexington, Kentucky, Columbus, Athens, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Pittsburgh.”
But most inspirational to Dulli was a venue in Newport, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati, The Jockey Club.
“Back in the day, the jazz dudes Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. played there,” he says.
“Then it fell into disrepair before opening again as a punk rock club. When I got to college, my roommates were deep in that scene and that’s how I got into The Jockey Club.
“I saw The Damned, Ramones, Johnny Thunders, Violent Femmes, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Killing Joke, so many great people.
“And everybody in the area cut their teeth there. If you were in a band, you played The Jockey Club and you played it multiple times a month.”
In 1989, the Whigs self-released debut album Big Top Halloween caught the attention of Seattle-based Sub Pop’s boss, Jonathan Poneman, who offered them a contract.
Suddenly, they were label mates with grunge pioneers Nirvana and Mudhoney — but they were a very different beast.
Dulli says: “We were outsiders in more ways than one. We were from Cincinnati and we weren’t from the Northwest.
“Our covers were R&B covers instead of Stooges’. I love The Stooges but we had bonded over The Temptations. At our first rehearsal, we played Psychedelic Shack.
“We formed in October, 1986, and played our first gig in January the following year — and I guarantee you we played Psychedelic Shack at that show.”
Dulli was also infatuated with a Midwestern powerhouse in the shape of genre-defying Minneapolis-based Prince.
“We weren’t trying to sound like Prince,” he says. “But you could grab elements of him and stick them in your quiver.”
So what was it like heading to Seattle and mixing with Kurt Cobain and Co?
“It was like seeing people our age doing cool things,” says Dulli. “When Nirvana knocked Michael Jackson off No.1 on Billboard, I thought, ‘Wow! One of our own is at the top’.
“It was an exciting time, certainly in Seattle, where we had a front-row seat to it all.
“We loved all those guys and we loved those bands, played with everybody, and got to know everybody.”
When it came to meeting his biggest buddy from the scene, Mark Lanegan, it was via a different route.
“I met Mark in Boston when the Screaming Trees, Primus and the Whigs were on the same bill but we didn’t start hanging out until around 2000.”
The Whigs enjoyed a stellar Nineties, navigating their way through the music industry “machine” on various labels but coming up with at least three first-rate albums, Congregation (1992), Gentlemen (1993) and 1965 (1998).
In 2001, frazzled Dulli decided to take a step back and the Whigs disbanded. Aside from a brief recording reunion in 2006, the hiatus lasted ten years.
He says: “I had absolutely no intention of being in the Whigs ever again. In my creative life, I’m so proud of the things I did during that time — The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins.
“But when the door opened to the Whigs again, I was a different person and ready to step through it.”
Dulli remembers the times he would pass through his home town of Cincinnati where bassist Curley and his wife were raising their two daughters. “We were all pretty cooked from the Whigs experience but John would come to the shows and would get up on stage and play with either one of my bands — and everybody loved it.”
In 2010, when Dulli was on a solo tour, Curley did his usual thing but was then persuaded to do the next night in Chicago, a five-hour drive away.
He says: “It was the first time in 11 years that anyone had seen John Curley and I on stage together outside of Cincinnati.
“When I introduced him, the ovation was so unexpectedly loud and long. That, effectively, was the catalyst for the Whigs reforming.”
Since getting back together, they have made four studio albums, Do To The Beast (2014), In Spades (2017), How Do You Burn? and the imminent Soft Control.
The current line-up is Dulli, Curley, multi-instrumentalist Rick G. Nelson, Christopher Thorn (guitars) and Bryan Lee Brown (drummer who recently replaced Patrick Keeler who tours with Jack White).
Forty years on since the Whigs formed, Dulli says: “I’m still smiling at my good fortune. Still putting out music, playing live, the whole works. I’m a lucky fella.”
He accepts that he used to be “an angry young man” but, at 61, he has found a degree of peace.
“I had an imaginary chip on my shoulder that I needed to get rid of,” he says.
“You can tame yourself but you can always go back to the wild side — just in case you need to explore.”
It’s fair to say that The Afghan Whigs’ latest album is one of his walks on the wild side.
THE AFGHAN WHIGS
Soft Control
★★★★☆
The Afghan Whigs’ new album Soft Control will be released on August 21, 2026
