Egyptian inflation accelerated to another record high, with a new surge in food costs heaping more pressures on

The tragedy of the ill-fated Titan sub has sparked a flood of interest in ocean adventures and misadventures but there’s a particular group of people who steer well-clear of such subjects. These are sufferers of the rare phobia submechanophpbia, which is the fear of man-made objects submerged partially or fully underwater. For those with the condition, snorkelling expeditions and trips to the local pool can be fraught with dread as the prospect of glimpsing so much as a ball beneath the surface can be enough to trigger waves of panic. Anyone unfamiliar with the phobia but who recognises such feelings of terror might want to check whether they’re submechanophobics themselves. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Handily, the TikTok account 'br1ghtfacts' has created a test to do just that, featuring images that might seem innocuous to many, but strike horror in the hearts of that unique group. It begins with a picture of a flooded mine shaft before moving on to an eye-popping underwater statue. From there, we’re greeted by a photo of a diver hovering by the propellor of an abandoned ship, then by a pretty convincing statue of a crocodile peeking through the surface. Finally, we’re confronted by what the video’s voiceover describes as “the stairway to hell”, showing a metal staircase leading into a body of frozen water. The slideshow has racked up more than 2.6 million views and 193,000 likes as commentators shared their alarm at the catalogue. Interestingly, the most fright-inducing was the second image: the googly-faced statue. “Number two was a JUMP SCARE,” one TikToker wrote. “I have submechanophobia but number 2 got me terrified,” admitted another. “The second one… my soul left my body for a second,” said a third. While a fourth said they “almost fainted at the statue”. @br1ghtfacts Phobia test - submechanophobia ? Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys and miscellaneous debris. #abcxyz #fypシ #creepy #phobia #fy For readers who manage to survive the challenge with your sanity in tact, br1ghtfacts offer other phobia tests that you might want to try out. There’s one for nyctophophia – an extreme fear of the dark; thalassophobia– the fear of deep water; and even fykiaphobia –the fear of seaweed. All we can say is, we’re glad to have our feet planted firmly on solid ground right now. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Tomas Soucek struck late on yet again as West Ham secured their passage into the knock-out stages of the Europa League despite a Serbian snooze-fest against Backa Topola. The Czech midfielder has now scored in his last five matches for club and country after an 89th-minute volley earned a scratchy 1-0 win. Now they need to finish the job against Freiburg at the London Stadium in a fortnight to ensure they top the group and avoid a two-legged play-off in February. Around 320 hardy West Ham fans made the 2,000-mile journey out to the Balkans, including a 100-mile trek up the motorway from Belgrade to the TSC Arena. Many of them had got their wish, in the absence of injured forwards Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, of a first start of the season for 19-year-old FA Youth Cup-winning striker Divin Mubama. But the youngster barely got a sniff of the ball as West Ham struggled to rouse themselves in the sleepy Serbian town. The hosts came into the encounter on the back of a 4-0 win over Super League leaders Partizan at the weekend, and they made a confident start with Uros Milovanovic forcing an early save from Lukasz Fabianski. Then an error from Aaron Cresswell, handed a rare start in one of seven changes from the side which snatched a late win at Burnley thanks to Soucek’s goal, gifted Aleksandar Cirkovic a shooting opportunity with Fabianski saving again. West Ham registered their first shot on target after half an hour, a tame effort from Said Benrahma on his 150th West Ham appearance which was easily dealt with by Veljko Ilic. But it was a mind-numbing first half neatly summed up by former player Joe Cole, on TNT Sports, as “dross” and “appalling”. Boss David Moyes turned to Danny Ings and the lesser-spotted Maxwel Cornet just after the hour, replacing Benrahma and Mubama, in a bid to inject some life into his unconvincing side. And as the game ticked into stoppage tie Cornet crossed from the left and Soucek hammered in a volley to win it. West Ham have enjoyed a thrilling run in Europe over the past three seasons, including their historic Europa Conference League final triumph in Prague. Although this was not one which will live long in the memory it was an 18th win in 20 matches in Europe, job done for Moyes and his side. Read More Joao Pedro penalty sends Brighton through to Europa League knockout stages Five bad weeks do not define a team – England’s Ben Duckett Daniel Levy ‘proud’ as report reveals Tottenham’s investment in local community Wales call on Chris Coleman in bid to boost Women’s Nations League hopes The key talking points ahead of England’s Women’s Nations League double-header Kevin Sinfield vows to keep raising funds to combat MND ahead of new challenge

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