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Rough start. #grickledoodle #lordoftherings #tolkien #horror #rough #focus…

Rough start. #grickledoodle #lordoftherings #tolkien #horror #rough #focus #eyeofsauron #cartoon #art #drawing #funny #humor

A cartoon illustration of the Eye of Sauron sitting on a couch with a cup of coffee scrolling his phone in a messy apartment. Caption reads "The Eye of Sauron just couldn't get focused that day."
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World Cup 2026: Fans in Houston deterred by soaring ticket prices

The fan zones are open, the stadiums are ready and the biggest World Cup in history is officially underway in the US, Mexico and Canada. Seven matchs are planned in Houston, Texas. The host city expects to attract around half a million visitors and an economic windfall of $1.5 billion. Yet some hotels remain half empty and many fans complain that soaring ticket prices have made the tournament unaffordable. FRANCE 24's Pierrick Leurent and Wassim Cornet report. 

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As British town councils face budget cuts, local residents lend a helping hand

Peeling paint, rundown roundabouts and shuttered post offices: in recent years, local public services across the United Kingdom have been in steady decline. But in some communities, volunteers have decided to step in – filling the gaps where the state has fallen short. Our France 2 colleagues report from Yorkshire, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.

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Pakistan: Male contraception still taboo despite looming demographic crisis

One of Pakistan’s greatest challenges is controlling its rapidly growing population. With more than 258 million inhabitants, the country is already the fifth most populous in the world. By 2030, its population could surpass 300 million, pushing Pakistan into fourth place globally, ahead of Indonesia. This rapid demographic growth is far outpacing the country’s capacity for socio-economic development and infrastructure expansion. In several key social sectors, Pakistan continues to lag behind neighbouring India and Bangladesh. Yet contraception remains largely taboo in a society shaped by strong traditional values, where it is sometimes viewed as religiously forbidden. A report by Shahzaib Wahlah and Ondine de Gaulle, in collaboration with Hameer M.

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7R509597

schildzilla posted a photo:

7R509597

🌹 Some shots with my TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 Bubble Bokeh mounted on my Techart LM-EA9 Autofocus adapter. Not the best lighting conditions for bubbles, but still ok.
👗 You can find more photos of this beautiful woman within her album here and on her Instagram account
www.instagram.com/oui_mariii/
👠 More photos of her coming soon.
🌹 Follow me to don't miss any new photos of her and other beautiful models!

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Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 Review: Autofocus Zoom for a Bargain

A close-up of a camera lens with visible reflections, lying on a dark marbled surface. The image includes a "PetaPixel Reviews" banner in the lower left corner.

Even now in 2026, autofocusing lens design out of the Chinese manufacturers is still in its relative infancy. We have seen some excellent autofocus-equipped prime lenses from companies like Sirui and Viltrox, but who knew that a manufacturer known for making boutique manual-focusing M-mount lenses would be the first to market with a zoom?

[Read More]

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7R509604

schildzilla posted a photo:

7R509604

🌹 Some shots with my TTArtisan 100mm F2.8 Bubble Bokeh mounted on my Techart LM-EA9 Autofocus adapter. Not the best lighting conditions for bubbles, but still ok.
👗 You can find more photos of this beautiful woman within her album here and on her Instagram account
www.instagram.com/oui_mariii/
👠 More photos of her coming soon.
🌹 Follow me to don't miss any new photos of her and other beautiful models!

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Chile's Trump-inspired border controls complicate life for migrants

Just after taking office, Chile's new far-right President José Antonio Kast pledged to expel more than 300,000 undocumented migrants. Two months into his presidency, the mass departures that many predicted have not happened. The construction of a border wall with Peru, modelled on US President Donald Trump's wall, does not seem to be stopping migrants from attempting to cross into Chile. But in Tacna, the last Peruvian city before the Chilean border, life is becoming increasingly difficult for migrants. FRANCE 24's Martin Chabal and Agathe Fourcade report, with Wassim Cornet.

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Exiled for an anti-war drawing: A Russian family punished for dissent

It is the moving story of a Russian father and daughter who opposed Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. It all began in March 2022, when 12-year-old Maria drew an anti-war picture at school in response to the invasion launched a month earlier. She was immediately reported by those around her, and the FSB soon visited both her school and her home. Her father was eventually arrested for supporting his daughter and speaking out against the war. He was convicted of discrediting the Russian army. Following his release from a penal colony, he and Maria left Russia and are now refugees in Strasbourg. A report by Elena Volochine, English adaptation by Lauren Bain.

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