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The Prime Minister, whose father Roy died from dementia last month, said Britain is failing to provide enough support for people diagnosed with the disease and the families caring for them.

A Harvester restaurant in Stanway, Colchester, was destroyed by fire after an investigation found the blaze was accidental. London Road remains closed.

A Harvester restaurant in Stanway, Colchester, was destroyed by fire after an investigation found the blaze was accidental. London Road remains closed.

In the biggest shakeup for timekeeping in over 50 years, a key vote has severed the connection between the Earth's rotation and modern clocks.

Earls Colne Recreation Ground is preparing for its annual fireworks night to raise money for Earls Colne Recreation Club (ECRC).

Antidepressants will carry stronger warnings about suicidal thoughts and long-lasting sexual side effects under new safety measures announced today.

Paige Thorne has proudly showed off her postpartum stomach 17 days after she gave birth to a baby boy as she shared an update to Instagram on Wednesday.

The Geordie Shore star, 36, is mum to her two daughters, Alba, four, and Pixi, one, that she shares with fiancé, Jake Ankers.

Amol Rajan has a passion… for the sound of his own voice.

Castles were more than just for defence. Dan Jones's mighty book reveals their judicial, monetary and aesthetic pasts.

The Houthis have fired several missiles at Yemen's presidential palace complex. 

by George Whittaker

The KDE Project has officially released KDE Plasma 6.8, introducing a substantial collection of desktop improvements while celebrating three decades of open-source software development. Released on October 14, 2026, exactly 30 years after Matthias Ettrich announced the original KDE project, this anniversary edition brings significant changes to display management, accessibility, graphics performance, remote desktop functionality, system monitoring, and application theming.

Perhaps the most consequential development is KDE's decision to retire native X11 desktop sessions in Plasma 6.8, completing its transition toward Wayland as the primary display architecture. The release also introduces NVIDIA triple buffering by default, improved HDR support, a more capable remote desktop server, CPU affinity controls in System Monitor, and expanded capabilities for the experimental Union theming engine. These improvements reflect KDE's effort to modernize the Linux desktop while maintaining the customization and flexibility that have defined Plasma for years.

Plasma 6.8 is therefore more than a commemorative release. It represents an important architectural transition for one of Linux's most widely used desktop environments, with changes that affect both everyday users and developers building applications for the next generation of Linux desktops.

KDE Celebrates Three Decades of Open-Source Desktop Development

KDE's history began on October 14, 1996, when Matthias Ettrich proposed creating a consistent graphical desktop environment for Unix-like operating systems. At the time, Linux was becoming increasingly capable as a free operating system, but its graphical experience remained fragmented. Users could choose from several window managers and applications, yet there was no universally integrated desktop environment comparable to the commercial graphical systems available elsewhere.

The original KDE initiative sought to address that limitation by building a cohesive desktop around the Qt application framework. Over the following decades, the project evolved through several major generations, introducing increasingly sophisticated desktop technologies while expanding into applications, development frameworks, mobile interfaces, and other open-source projects.

Plasma 6.8 arrives as KDE marks its 30th anniversary, but its development priorities are focused primarily on the future. Rather than introducing a purely cosmetic anniversary edition, KDE has concentrated on modernizing underlying desktop infrastructure while improving accessibility, usability, and performance. The result is a release that combines immediately visible enhancements with architectural changes intended to support future development.

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The cost of filling up the car can vary between petrol stations

A fire at The Harvester, a popular restaurant in Stanway, Colchester, has shocked councillors, regular diners and shoppers nearby.

Plans for 80 homes in Earls Colne face objections over traffic, pedestrian safety, drainage and the village’s rural character.

Nigel Farage praises Operation Vanguard in Essex, saying the security patrol scheme has expanded beyond Wethersfield amid funding and policing criticism.

A131 near Braintree, Essex, to close overnight from October 17 to 19 for resurfacing, with a 41-mile diversion adding an hour via Chelmsford and A12.

A fire at The Harvester, a popular restaurant in Stanway, Colchester, has shocked councillors, regular diners and shoppers nearby.

Nigel Farage praises Operation Vanguard in Essex, saying the security patrol scheme has expanded beyond Wethersfield amid funding and policing criticism.

A131 near Braintree, Essex, to close overnight from October 17 to 19 for resurfacing, with a 41-mile diversion adding an hour via Chelmsford and A12.