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Nickname: @FazzNoth Video author: SMii7Y Name of the game: Goat Simulator 3 Link video: Rate this video 1-10:-

Solved! T/C

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* Good behavior and the same thing that glow said, very talkative with everyone, I hope you are in the team and try to have more daily activity, Please do not comment on our votes. * Pro.

Yea @-AndreeA maybe?

Happy birthday🤗

Rejected! You must Respect the model.

welcome buddy 🤗

v3 The effects the resize, i just love it 🤗❤️

An upcoming update to Microsoft Teams is looking to help the hard of hearing stay better engaged in online meetings. Similar to a recent Zoom update, the new Sign Language View feature allows Microsoft Teams users to choose up to two other video feeds to be centered in the app, making sign language interpreters much more visible throughout the whole meeting. Microsoft says(opens in new tab) that the feed becomes larger than the others and stays at a high resolution for the clearest view possible, and is client-side only, so users will be the only one who can see the view, as other participants will each have their own. If a someone shares content during the meeting, the signer’s video will be moved to the side along with everyone else, but will maintain a bigger aspect ratio. Other participants can still be spotlighted and it won’t take space away from the interpreter, either. Users can join the Teams' Public Preview program(opens in new tab) to try out the feature; however, be aware the preview is being done on a per-user basis, and if you are one of the lucky few, Microsoft has a set of instructions(opens in new tab) on how to turn on the view. Sign Language View can be enabled for all meetings or on a case-by-case. Interpreters who work in the same company as you can be pre-assigned before a meeting, something you can do via the Settings menu. This way, when you enter a meeting with an interpreter, the view will already be activated. Signers can be added mid-meeting with the “Manage signers” button found on the new Accessibility pane. Clicking the button allows you to designate a participant as an interpreter just by typing in their name. And through the pane, you can toggle both the Sign Language View and Live Captions mid-meeting, as well. Growing Teams Microsoft has been churning out tons of new features for Teams in recent months and it’s a little tricky to keep track of it all. For example, the company recently implemented games into the platform as a way to build camaraderie between team members. You have your basic titles like Solitaire and Minesweeper, but also more interactive games like Kahoot. As for what's coming next, we recommend looking through TechRadar’s coverage of future additions coming to Teams. There’s quite a lot. First, the platform is slated to get a performance boost, although it's unknown when exactly. And a Premium version of Teams will be entering its first preview in December 2022, adding AI to help transcribe meetings in 40 different languages and “advanced security features,” among other things. These are the best video conferencing services aroundCesar Cadenas has been writing about the tech industry for several years now specializing in consumer electronics, entertainment devices, Windows, and the gaming industry. But he’s also passionate about smartphones, GPUs, and cybersecurity. https://www.techradar.com/news/microsoft-teams-is-putting-sign-language-front-and-center

Nope :'3 just kidding .. @TAR3k

A review posted at EXPreview gives us our first look at Chinese GPU maker Moore Thread's new mid-range gaming competitor, the MTT S80 graphics card. This GPU is one of Moore Thread's most powerful graphics cards to date, packing a triple fan cooler setup and theoretically competing with Nvidia's RTX 3060 and RTX 3060 Ti, some of the best graphics cards available, even close to two years after they first launched. For the uninitiated, Moore Thread is a Chinese GPU manufacturer that was established just two years ago, in 2020. The company has reportedly tapped some of the most experienced minds in the GPU industry, hiring experts and engineers from Nvidia, Microsoft, Intel, Arm and others. Moore Thread's aim is to produce domestic (for China) GPU solutions completely independent from Western nations. These are supposed to be capable of 3D graphics, AI training, inference computing, and high-performance parallel computing capabilities, and will be used in China's consumer and government sectors. The MTT S80 graphics card was developed with Moore Thread's 'Chunxaio' GPU architecture, which supports FP32, FP16, and INT8 (integer) precision compute, and is compatible with the company's MUSA computing platform. The architecture also employs a full video engine with H.264, H.265 (HEVC), and AV1 codec support, capable of handling video encoding and decoding at up to 8K.The MTT S80 comes with a fully unlocked Chunxaio GPU core, featuring 4096 MUSA cores, and 128 tensor cores, and clocked at 1800 MHz. The memory subsystem uses 14 Gbps GDDR6 modules operating on a 256-bit wide bus, with a 16GB capacity. As far as specs go, it at least looks decent on paper. The GPU operates with a target board power rating of 255W, powered by both a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, and a single 8-pin EPS12V power connector — yes, it's using a CPU EPS12V rather than an 8-pin PEG (PCI Express Graphics) connector. That's because the EPS12V can deliver up to 300W, and for users that lack an extra EPS12V connector the card includes a dual 8-pin PEG to single 8-pin EPS12V adapter. And for the record, that's more power than even the RTX 3070 requires. Display outputs consist of three DisplayPort 1.4a connectors and a single HDMI 2.1 port, the same as what you'll find on most Nvidia GeForce GPUs from the RTX 40- and 30-series families. The graphics card has a silver colored shroud, accented by matte black designs surrounding the right and left fans. The cooler features a triple-fan cooler design, with two larger outer fans and a smaller central fan in the middle. The card dimensions are 286mm long and two slots wide. Earlier reports on the Chunxaio GPU suggest it can achieve FP32 performance similar to that of an RTX 3060 Ti. The 3060 Ti has theoretical throughput of 16.2 teraflops, while the Chunxaio has a theoretical 14.7 TFLOPS. That's a bit lower than Nvidia, but it does have twice the VRAM capacity, so the hardware at least appears capable of competing with Nvidia's RTX 3060 Ti. Unfortunately, according to EXPreview, the MTT S80 suffers from very poor driver optimizations. While the MTT S80 is aimed at the RTX 3060 Ti in terms of raw compute performance, in gaming benchmarks Nvidia's RTX 3060 reportedly outpaces the MTT S80 by a significant margin. The problem with the testing is that no comparative charts are provided for the games with RTX 3060 or other GPUs; only text descriptions of the actual gaming performance are provided, while the charts are for an odd mix of titles. EXPreview ran its benchmarks on an Intel test rig with a Core i7-12700K, Asus TUF B660M motherboard, RTX 3060 12GB Strix, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and an 850W PSU running Windows 10 21H2. The best potential example of actual gaming performance was Unigine Valley, where the RTX 3060 12GB was anywhere between 2x and a whopping 7.6x faster than the MTT S80 in the DX9 and DX11 tests at 1080p and 4K resolutions. The MTT S60 averaged 26.1 FPS in the 4K DX9 test, while the RTX 3060 spat out a whopping 197.9 FPS. Note also that Unigine Valley was developed and first released in 2009. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/moore-thread-mtt-s80-cant-match-rtx-3060-driver-issues

The crypto exchange FTX collapsed into bankruptcy last week(opens in new tab), after a liquidity crisis exposed a financial black hole that no-one yet knows the full extent of. As the recriminations begin in the crypto world, the man who's been charged with overseeing FTX's bankruptcy, and working out just what this company has been up to, reckons this is even worse than Enron. And he should know. John Ray III has over 40 years' experience of legal restructuring, including being CEO of Enron during its liquidation, and working on huge corporate bankruptcies like Nortel, Residential Capital, and Overseas Shipholding. He's now filed a declaration to Delaware bankruptcy court(opens in new tab) about his initial findings with FTX, which begins with the assertion that "Never in my career have I seen such a complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information as occurred here." The filing goes on to outline FTX's "compromised systems integrity and faulty regulatory oversight abroad", and the concentration of power in the hands of "a very small group of inexperienced, unsophisticated and potentially compromised individuals", before adding "this situation is unprecedented".Let's just pause to fully put that in context. The Enron scandal was, in 2001, the largest bankruptcy in US history. It remains to this day the emblematic corporate scandal, the ultimate example of what can happen when regulators are asleep at the wheel. So when the guy who took charge of restructuring Enron is blanching at the state of FTX, you know this is incredible. There is a chart at the end of this filing that lists more than 100 companies associated with FTX spread across 27 countries(opens in new tab). This is how the firm's leaders were allegedly funneling money around and using customer cash to make financial bets, without it seeming to affect the balance sheet of FTX. Going hand-in-hand with this, Ray notes "the absence of lasting records of decision-making", and that former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried "often communicated by using applications that were set to auto-delete after a short period of time, and encouraged employees to do the same." Tell me you're up to no good without telling me you're up to no good. Other eyebrow raising moments include that company money was used "to purchase homes and other personal items for employees and advisors" in the Bahamas. There is no documentation suggesting that these were loans, and "certain real estate was recorded in the personal name of these employees and advisors" in Bahamian records. If only all jobs came with a free holiday home in the Bahamas, eh. Ray said a "substantial portion" of FTX's supposed assets are either "missing or stolen". The bankruptcy process has so far secured around $740 million of cryptocurrency, though the filing notes that "at least $372 million of unauthorized transfers" took place on the same day FTX filed for bankruptcy. These transfers are being investigated. Ray notes several times that he does not trust this company's accounts, now or historically, and warns creditors not to take FTX's information as accurate. The filing ends on a withering note as regards FTX's former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the man more responsible than any other for this company, who's been giving interviews and saying he regrets filing for bankruptcy(opens in new tab). Ray emphasises that Bankman-Fried is no longer in control and doesn't speak for FTX. He says that Bankman-Fried is currently in the Bahamas (naturally), and "continues to make erratic and misleading public statements." Ray says Bankman-Fried's "connections and financial holdings in the Bahamas remain unclear to me", and that the former CEO "recently stated to a reporter on Twitter: 'F*** regulators they make everything worse' and suggested the next step for him was to 'win a jurisdictional battle vs. Delaware'." Which of course is exactly the kind of thing a Delaware court wants to hear. The collapse of FTX is another low point in what has been a terrible year for crypto, and cynics may well be wondering what's next. One of the things about these assets is how interconnected they all are, and the domino effect of FTX is still playing out. FTX is expected to have more than a million creditors (good luck to them) and, as well as the bankruptcy process, regulators globally are looking closely at the smoking ruins of what was until recently one of the biggest crypto exchanges on the planet. In case you're wondering, yes: the Bahamas does have an extradition treaty with the United States. https://www.pcgamer.com/never-in-my-career-have-i-seen-such-a-complete-failureman-in-charge-of-ftxs-bankruptcy-bewildered-by-unprecedented-mismanagement/

A panda given to Taiwan by China 14 years ago as a symbol of what were then warmer ties died on Saturday, after suffering seizures, Taipei zoo said. Tuan Tuan and his breeding mate Yuan Yuan were given to Taiwan by Beijing in late 2008, at a time when relations between the two were more cordial. China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day bring the self-ruled democratic island into its fold, by force if necessary. “Our medical team has confirmed that Tuan Tuan’s heart stopped beating at 13.48 (0548 GMT),” the zoo said in a short statement. The panda was put under deep anaesthesia for CT scans earlier on Saturday, and the team decided to “let Tuan Tuan continue to sleep” after the results indicated his condition was “irreversible” and that he could no longer “live a quality life”, zoo officials said.“It would have been extremely painful and risky for Tuan Tuan to resuscitate him from the anaesthesia,” said spokesperson Eric Tsao. Vets first noticed Tuan Tuan, 18, was ill in August, when he began suffering seizures and appeared increasingly unsteady and lethargic. Scans showed he had a brain lesion and he was placed on anti-seizure medication. The zoo suspected Tuan Tuan had a tumour and he was moved into palliative care last month. The seizures returned in the past few days, more frequent than before, and medicine could not ease the symptoms. Fans mourned Tuan Tuan’s death on social media, while the Taipei mayor, Ko Wen-je, thanked the panda in an Instagram post for “bringing happiness to Taiwanese people and making Taipei zoo more wonderful”. Taiwan’s top China policymaking body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), hailed the panda’s role in improving ties with Beijing. Tuan Tuan “let everyone know more about giant pandas and help promote exchanges between the two sides … MAC is saddened that he has passed away”, it said. The panda couple – whose names combined mean “reunion” or “unity” – had become huge stars in Taiwan. Yuan Yuan has given birth to two female cubs. Advertisement China has long deployed “panda diplomacy” and the donation of Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan was seen as endorsing the presidency of then Beijing-friendly leader Ma Ying-jeou. Beijing usually only loans pandas to foreign zoos, which must usually return any offspring within a few years of their birth to join the country’s breeding programme. But Taiwan was granted an exception as part of a brief charm offensive China launched in the late 2000s, with Beijing fully gifting both Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan and any offspring. Relations between China and Taiwan have been on ice since 2016 with Beijing severing official communications and government visits between the two sides scrapped.The world’s oldest male giant panda in captivity has died in a Hong Kong zoo on Thursday. The panda, named An An, was euthanised at the age of 35, the equivalent of 105 years for humans. He was born in the wild in the south-western Chinese province of Sichuan in 1986. Ocean Park Hong Kong, where An An had lived since 1999, said on Thursday that his health had showed steady signs of deterioration over the past few weeks, with his food intake declining, until he finally stopped eating. “Ocean Park is deeply saddened to announce the loss of An An,” Ocean Park said in a statement. “An An is an indispensable member of our family and has grown together with the park. He has also built a strong bond of friendship with locals and tourists alike,” it added. Advertisement Ocean Park shared the news of An An’s death on Facebook and called on the public to send their condolences. Thousands have commented and posted photos. An An and Jia Jia, the world’s oldest female giant panda, who died in 2016 aged 38 years, were gifts from the Chinese mainland. Two more pandas – Ying Ying and Le Le – remain at the same Hong Kong zoo. In China, pandas are a symbol of harmony, friendship and peace. Outside China, they have been used as a part of Beijing’s international diplomacy since the 1950s. For many years, experts had worried that the animal was on the verge of extinction. Last year, Chinese officials said giant pandas were no longer endangered in the wild, but they were still vulnerable with a po[CENSORED]tion outside captivity of 1,800. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/19/beloved-giant-panda-given-to-taiwan-by-china-dies-aged-18-after-seizures-tuan-tuan

Porsche is cashing in on its illustrious rally history with the new 2023 911 Dakar. The latest 911 variant, rolled out this week, honors the German automaker's 1984 Paris–Dakar rally victory with a modified 911 called the 953. That car later morphed into the iconic 959, which triumphed at the 1986 running. While the 2023 911 Dakar won't go into competition like its ancestors, it features a host of meaningful upgrades designed to help it conquer gnarly landscapes, with a 2.0-inch suspension lift, chunky Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus tires, and stainless steel skid plates. Porsche is only building 2500 examples, and with a starting price of $223,450, the go-anywhere 911 will likely be quickly snapped up by collectors, if it isn't already sold out. Still, Porsche added it to its configurator, allowing us to enter the world of make-believe and design our dream rally 911. Here's what our editors came up with:The first time I saw a safari 911, I was 15 and walking through the pit lane at Road America. I couldn't quite wrap my head around what I was seeing. Is that Porsche lifted? Does it have extra headlights and a roof rack? I knew it was beautiful, and hoped that whoever owned it actually made use of their modifications. I kept that car in mind as I waded through Porsche's intricate configurator for the 911 Dakar. For my paint option, I went for the $12,830 Paint to Sample British Racing Green, complete with color-matched wheels. I spent $660 to get the base of my exterior mirrors paint matched, and a further $370 for the Dakar puddle lamps, as well as $2700 to PPF the entire front end. Since I wasn't digging the Christmas vibe the red brake calipers were giving against the green body, I paid $900 to have them painted black. I added the Surround View cameras, which should be equal parts helpful in tight parking lots as well as navigating off-road. The only options I chose for the interior were the $3980 Burmester sound system so I can blast the Proclaimers in high def, as well as a $180 fire extinguisher for safety. My additional equipment tallied up to $23,050 at the end. Considering the number and price of options available, I'm happy with that. It's just a shame that Porsche doesn't offer a factory-installed roof rack and rally headlamps. If only I had picked better Powerball numbers. . . —Jack FitzgeraldGiven the 911 Dakar's lofty starting price, I knew I had to splurge on Porsche's Paint to Sample program, because what's another $12,830 when you're already spending more than 200 grand? I chose Viola Purple Metallic, along with color-matched wheels and side-view mirrors ($660). The standard red brake calipers clashed with the paint job, so I spent $900 to paint them black and an additional $430 on silver tailpipes. I wrapped the entire front end in protection film ($2700) to avoid paint chips from semi-trucks kicking up pebbles, and the $1430 Surround View camera system was a must for protecting my Dakar from unwanted scrapes. I also dropped $370 on the puddle lights and $1350 on bespoke illuminated aluminum doorsills—I made the driver's-side sill display a 911 silhouette while the passenger's sill says"Porsche," with white backing light—because I love those sorts of silly gizmos. Inside, I swapped out the bucket seats for the 18-way adjustable memory sports seats, because I value comfort and, let's be honest, most of the car's life will be spend tootling around the suburbs running errands. I threw in heated seats and a heated steering wheel, no-cost options, to help me survive the frigid Michigan winters. I also spent $1120 on the Porsche Design Subsecond clock, an analog piece mounted in the dashboard, since, well, it looks super cool. Then, to add some flavor to the interior I specced the tachometer in white ($420) and got the center console lid embossed with the Porsche crest ($340). I also had the air vents outfitted in silver-painted leather ($1800) along with the door panels ($1910) and the sun visors (somehow a no-cost option) so that everything I touch feels soft and supple. Since I hadn't gone for any carbon-fiber accents on the outside, I had the interior dashboard trim replaced with matte carbon fiber ($390) and added the $3980 Burmester surround sound system. All told, $30,630 worth of options took my 911 Dakar to a grand total of $254,080—not as egregiously expensive as I expected but still is an appropriately absurd amount of money for this special 911. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42007958/2023-porsche-911-dakar-build-spec-price/

Born in Surrey in 1987, actor Tom Felton is best known for his role as peroxide-blond baddie Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films. Before scoring his major role in the fantasy franchise at the age of 12, he appeared in The Borrowers and Anna and the King. He went on to star in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, has released five EPs and most recently appeared on stage in 2:22: A Ghost Story. His memoir, Beyond the Wand, is out now. This is me, eight years old and in Malaysia shooting my second film, Anna and the King. As the only English-speaking kid on set, I would have been bored, which is why my mum, who was my chaperone, bought me the book The Art of Getting Even. I have three older brothers, so this was research for when I got back home. Not that I would have put any of it into practice, but you can see from the smirk on my face I enjoyed thinking about it. Jodie Foster was playing my mum. Instead of being familiar with her oeuvre – I’d watched Terminator 2 by the time I was five, but Mum drew the line at The Silence of the Lambs – I was just a fan of Jodie as a person. Not only for her acting, but her patience while working with so many animals and children. Growing up, I was the runt of the pack – or “maggot”, as my brothers affectionately called me. Mixing with older people made me confident, but I was still pretty naive and extremely cheeky, which is quite cute for a while but can turn into arrogance as you get older. Nevertheless, it came in handy when I went to my first audition for Potter. In the queue, I was bored. It was very different from the auditions I’d done before – which had been: get in and get out. This was an entire nation of kids who were major fans of the book wanting to have a go. Hundreds of us were lined up and asked about the part of the book we were most excited about seeing in the film. Every one of them had an excited answer, such as “Quidditch!”, while I didn’t have a clue what they were talking about, as I hadn’t read the book. What was Hogwarts? I decided to steal the line from the kid next to me – quite poorly, apparently, because the director looked at me like: “Uh-huh, you wanna see Gringotts the most? A bank?” Still, that cockiness might have helped me get the part of Draco.While I initially auditioned for the role of Potter, Draco is the best role I could have got, because he’s a slimy git and so vastly different from who I am. He’s an only child with a huge sense of entitlement and crap parents. While we never went without, we certainly weren’t rich. My mum was very supportive of whatever my latest fad was: if I wanted to be a football player for United, then she’d get me the kit, then she’d get me a new kit when I changed to Chelsea the year after. I wanted to be a yo-yo master and a violinist and an ice-hockey player; my mum worked a third job so I could do all of that. When I moved on to the next thing – which was acting – she wouldn’t berate me, she’d just ask what I needed. I never felt as if I had any underlying talent, but within a few weeks of getting an agent my life had changed for ever. I did an advert and The Borrowers film came a few weeks after that and then Potter. My school experience was pretty poor as a result. I was used to having a whole class to disrupt, and I hated that I couldn’t be the class clown as it was just me and one tutor doing school work in my breaks on set. When I did go back to normal school, I’d get teased for my bleach-blond hair, but I also got to see my best friends. I got straight Cs in my GCSEs, which I attributed to working too hard on the films. When I found out Daniel [Radcliffe] and Emma [Watson] got nine A*s I thought, you bastards! https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/nov/19/tom-felton-harry-potter-draco-malfoy-looks-back

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to Ukraine and warned about the potential for nuclear proliferation. “Russia’s invasion offers a preview of a possible world of tyranny and turmoil that none of us want to live in, and it’s an invitation to an increasingly insecure haunted by the shadow of nuclear proliferation. Because Putin’s fellow autocrats are watching. And they could well conclude that getting nuclear weapons would give them a hunting license of their own. And that could drive a dangerous spiral of nuclear proliferation,” he said during remarks in Halifax, Canada. When speaking about Russia’s “deliberate cruelty” in attacking civilian infrastructure, Austin said, “There are still rules in war. And if a big power can flaunt those rules, it encourages others to defy international law and international norms.” “Russia isn’t just waging a war of aggression. It’s also deliberately attacking civilian targets and civilian infrastructure with no military purpose whatsoever. Now, these aren’t just lapses. These aren’t exceptions to the rules. These are atrocities,” he said. “The tragic and troubling explosion in Poland this week reminded the whole world of the recklessness of Putin’s war of choice," he added, referring to a missile that fell in Poland near the Ukraine border, killing two people. Some background: While NATO, the US and Poland said the missile was most likely fired by Ukrainian forces defending their country against a barrage of Russian strikes, officials have said Russia bears ultimate responsibility due to Moscow's continued attacks on Ukraine.UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a $60 million air defense package for Ukraine during his first visit to Kyiv on Saturday, according to Downing Street. During his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sunak "confirmed that the UK will provide a major new package of air defense to help protect Ukrainian civilians and critical national infrastructure from an intense barrage of Russian strikes," according to a Downing Street press release. "The £50 million package of defense aid comprises 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter deadly Iranian-supplied drones, including dozens of radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability," the statement continued. During his surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, Sunak laid flowers at a memorial for Ukraine's war dead and lit a candle at a memorial for victims of the 1930s Holodomor famine, according to the statement. The prime minister also met with Ukrainian first responders who recounted their "harrowing work" rescuing survivors from the rubble and fighting fires caused by Russian airstrikes and mortar attacks. "It is deeply humbling to be in Kyiv today and to have the opportunity to meet those who are doing so much, and paying so high a price, to defend the principles of sovereignty and democracy,” Sunak said, according to the statement. He expressed his pride that the UK has "stood with Ukraine from the very beginning," saying his visit signified the UK's commitment to "continue to stand with Ukraine, as it fights to end this barbarous war and deliver a just peace." In addition to the air defense package, Sunak also committed $14 million (12 million pounds) in funding for the World Food Programme's Ukraine response as well as $5 million (4 million pounds) for the International Organization for Migration's Ukraine response. Correction: This post has been updated to correct the amount of the air defense package. It is worth $60 million. https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/russia-ukraine-war-news-11-19-22/index.html

It's a longstanding mystery: how Mars lost the water that flowed across its surface billions of years ago. Scientists now think they have an answer: much of it became trapped in the planet's outer layer - its crust. The ancient water exists in the form of minerals contained within Martian rocks. The findings have been discussed at the 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference and are published in Science journal. The study used measurements gathered from Mars-orbiting spacecraft, rovers and meteorites. Researchers then developed a computer simulation of how water was lost from the planet over time. More than four billion years ago, Mars was warmer and wetter - possibly with a thicker atmosphere. Water coursed through rivers, cutting channels in the rock, and pooled in impact craters. Nasa shows dramatic video of Mars rover's landing Key questions about Perseverance Mars rover Buried lakes of water discovered on Mars The Red Planet could have held enough water to cover its entire surface in a layer measuring between 100m and one kilometre deep. Around a billion years later, Mars had made the transition to the colder, desolate planet we recognise today. "We have known for a long time that Mars was much wetter in its early history. But, the exact fate of that water has been an ongoing problem," said planetary scientist Dr Peter Grindrod, who was not involved with the latest study. Dr Grindrod, from London's Natural History Museum, told BBC News: "We already know from studies of the atmosphere of Mars that some of that water was lost to space, and ice deposits on and just below the surface tell us that some water became frozen." Escape to space Earth has a magnetic shield, or magnetosphere, that helps prevent the atmosphere from escaping. But Mars' magnetic shield is weak and could have allowed elemental components of water to escape from the planet. But the rate at which hydrogen - one chemical constituent of water - escapes from that atmosphere today suggests this can't be the whole story. If it's assumed that the current loss rate for hydrogen was the same in the past, "it's a pretty small amount of water that you would have lost through this escape process", said co-author Eva Linghan Scheller, from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena. In other words, most of the water must have gone elsewhere.The results of the team's computer modelling work show that between 30% and 99% of Mars' initial water was incorporated into minerals and buried in the planet's crust. Co-author Prof Bethany Ehlmann, also from from Caltech, explained that, "by studying data from Mars missions, It became clear that it was common - and not rare - to find evidence of water alteration". She continued: "When the crust becomes altered, it takes water - like liquid water - and sequesters it in a hydrated mineral that has water in its structure so that it is effectively trapped." The authors suggest that most of the water was lost between about 4.1 and 3.7 billion years ago - during a stretch of Martian history known as the Noachian Period. Martian climate change Dr Michael Meyer, lead scientist for Nasa's Mars exploration program, said: "The original overarching role of Mars exploration has been to follow the water, since it plays such a central role in the geology, climate and life of the planet. "This is a very important paper to understand how much water was on Mars, how it might have been lost and where it might be today." Dr Grindrod added: "What this new study tells us is that a lot of that water, possibly the majority, could have actually been locked into the rocks on Mars. This process of hydration is capable of storing large volumes of water, up to an amount equivalent to a global layer a kilometre deep." "Although most of the liquid water had probably disappeared after about one and a half billion years after Mars formed, we see evidence of hydrated minerals at the surface today, in areas like Jezero Crater, which is currently being explored by the Perseverance rover. "The early climate of Mars remains one of the most important topics in planetary science, and this study will help our understanding of the processes responsible for water loss." https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56400227

A former evangelical activist claimed in a letter to the Chief Justice of the United States that he knew about the outcome of a 2014 Supreme Court decision involving contraception and the Affordable Care Act by the court prior to the formal announcement, according to The New York Times. Rev. Rob Schenck wrote in the letter this summer to Chief Justice John Roberts, which was originally obtained by the Times, that he was informed by a wealthy political donor, Gayle Wright, about the verdict of the ruling prior to it coming out. According to the letter dated in June of this year but not sent until the following month, Wright had dinner with Justice Samuel Alito and his wife and spoke of the upcoming ruling at the time. “She suggested that in their table conversation, she might be able to learn the status of the case, something she knew I had an interest in knowing. I received a follow-up message from her notifying me she has indeed obtained the information during that visit. We spoke on the phone, and she detailed the revelation,” Schenck wrote, according to the Times. A source close to Schenk confirmed the letter to CNN. “Mr. Schenck confirms the extensive details and facts he provided regarding these events.” the source told CNN.The 2014 ruling involved the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. A 5-4 court held that closely held family-owned corporations like Hobby Lobby could not be required to pay insurance coverage for certain types of contraception under the Affordable Care Act without violating a federal law aimed at protecting religious freedom. Alito authored the opinion. Alito, in a statement provided to CNN by the Supreme Court on Saturday, called the allegations concerning the dinner conversation “completely false.” “My wife and I became acquainted with the Wrights some years ago because of their strong support for the Supreme Court Historical Society, and since then, we have had a casual and purely social relationship. I never detected any effort on the part of the Wrights to obtain confidential information or to influence anything that I did in either an official or private capacity, and I would have strongly objected if they had done so,” Alito said. Wright vehemently denied Schenck’s claims in an interview with CNN on Saturday.“This whole thing is unbelievably misconstrued,” she said, adding that Alito would never have discussed a specific case and she would never have asked about one. “Cases are never discussed, everybody knows that,” she said. Wright confirmed to CNN the she and her husband had dined with the Alitos at their home and she remembered falling ill during the dinner and Alito offering to drive her home. It was the only time she had dined at the justice’s home, but she said she has seen him occasionally over the years. She called any allegation that they had discussed the outcome of a case “patently not true.” A source told CNN on Saturday that Schenk never heard back from the court about his letter.Schenck said in the letter that he was sharing the information now to assist in the ongoing investigation into the leaked draft of the opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade. The Times report said that “Mr. Schenck’s account of the breach has gaps” but that a series of emails and conversations imply he knew the outcome of the case ahead of the public ruling. “Considering there may be a severe penalty to be paid by whoever is responsible for the initial leak or the recent draft opinion, I thought this previous incident might bear some consideration,” he wrote. The draft opinion in this year’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case was written by Alito and appeared to have a five-justice majority to reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Politico obtained and reported on the draft opinion in early May, and the leak that rocked the court was the cause for protests around the nation. The official Dobbs ruling overturning Roe came out in late June. The unprecedented investigation into the breach of confidentiality at the nation’s highest court prompted sudden requests for private cell data from law clerks but there has been a lack of transparency about where things currently stand, and the possibility of a previous leak could be damaging to the court for which public trust is already at a record low. Brian Fallon, the executive director of the liberal group Demand Justice, called Saturday for the Senate Judiciary Committee “to investigate the apparent leak.” “The whistleblower in this report, Rev. Rob Schenck, should be called to testify about both the leak and the yearslong lobbying effort he once led to cultivate Alito and other Republican justices,” Fallon said in a statement. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/19/politics/2014-supreme-court-decision-leak-hobby-lobby-samuel-alito/index.html

* I will give you a pro because the activity is playing and not afk, read the rules well. * Pro

* I will give a pro as administrator, but not only this afk I think we have accepted some admin who are only afk, we need active administrators helping the server. * pro

No. @tsemaa ?

Welcome, but i know you before. your age is not 18 it's 11 or 13. It's kinda bad to lie about your age bro

* you've improved, but try to read the rules well so you don't have problems in the future, I'll give you a chance. * pro

I dont think so, thats accepted on CSBD.. Anyway it's back to the leaders since i dont have a big problem being a team with you :v

I saw in other communities as a gfx designer.. and that's going kinda bad, since you work for several communities.. and it can cause some fights there.. For me its contra.. Till you get removed from your rank in the other community 😉

Of course v1 🙂 ( brush, effect, colors )

Will recieve my work at night 😄

Accepted 😄

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/from-the-archive/archive-day-1965-0 The first ever Japanese car may have burst into life in 1907, but it took a further 58 years for one to grace British showrooms. This first example was the Daihatsu Compagno Berlina, a saloon we found to be “well made” but “technically inadvanced”. Our 1965 road test was quick to point out the technological deficit. Its engine, brakes, four-speed gearbox and separate chassis followed “very closely much that was po[CENSORED]r and conventional among British cars some 10 years ago” while the 797cc four-pot engine made just 55bhp. Straight-line tests revealed that 60mph was impossible, although frequent shifting of gears would be rewarded with “quite good progress among town traffic”. The ride was by no means its greatest asset, choppy and uneven to such an extent that we wondered if “the hard-used demonstrator we borrowed needed a suspension check-up and new dampers”. It oversteered in sharp turns and the steering, although spongy, permitted a fair bit of free play. We concluded that, despite its dynamic lapses, it “does impress for quality of workmanship”. It may have cost £280 more than the Austin Mini and racked up just six sales in the UK, but it proved a harbinger of the Japanese quality that would provide a wake-up call for Britain’s native car makers. A Brazilian reader wrote in to quell the myth that “Brazil only makes Volkswagens”, describing a brave endurance run by a Brazilian-built Simca. The Rallye Special V8 did 120,000km from Belo Horizonte to Brasília in 42 days, despite a burst tyre and a scary barrel roll. Simca do Brasil lasted only from 1958 to 1969, though, whereas Volkswagen is still a major player in the country today. Often it’s painful to see the cars that you could have bought once upon a time, had you the benefit of a crystal ball. Among the classifieds this week in 1965 was an Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ, never rallied or raced, with just 1500 miles and in mint condition, going for £3275. That’s only about £45,000 in our money, yet you need at least £1m for this Zagato beauty today!

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62571995 China's premier has called on the country's richest provinces to offer economic support to boost pro-growth measures. The country saw consumption and output unexpectedly slow down in July. "A sense of urgency must be strengthened to consolidate the foundation for economic recovery," Premier Li Keqiang said. An uncompromising zero-Covid approach sharply slowed China's economic growth in the second quarter of this year. In a rare move, China's central bank cut lending rates on Monday to revive demand. China's economy continued to recover in July, but there were "small fluctuations", Mr Li said in a video meeting with senior officials from six major provinces - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan and Sichuan - which account for roughly 40 percent of economic output. The government will take more steps to boost consumption and expand effective investment, Mr Li added. China, the world's second largest economy, has been badly hit by widespread coronavirus lockdowns that have affected both businesses and consumers. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 2.6% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter. Major cities across China, including the major financial and manufacturing hub Shanghai, were put into full or partial lockdowns during this period. But Beijing has so far shown no signs of relaxing its zero-Covid policy. Key economic indicators show China is having a hard time shaking off the impact the lockdowns are having on its manufacturing and retail business. In July, retail sales rose 2.7% compared to a year ago. However, the number missed forecasts for 5% growth and fell short of June's figure - 3.1%. The latest figures also showed youth unemployment is at a record high. The property sector is taking a major hit amid a mortgage boycott with homebuyers losing faith that projects will be completed. Property investment dropped 12.3% last month, the fastest rate this year, while the drop in new sales deepened to 28.9%.

https://www.bbc.com/news The American space agency Nasa is rolling out its giant new Moon rocket to prepare it for a maiden flight. Known as the Space Launch System (SLS), the vehicle is being taken to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a lift-off scheduled for 29 August. The debut outing is a test with no crew aboard, but future missions will send astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. The near 100m-tall (328ft) SLS is riding an immense tractor to the pad. It started moving from its assembly building at Kennedy late on Tuesday evening, local time, but with a cruising speed of just over 1km/h (under 1mph), it could take 8-10 hours to complete the 6.7km (4.2 miles) journey. This is a key moment for Nasa, which will celebrate in December the half-century anniversary of Apollo 17, the very last human landing on the Moon. The agency has vowed to return with its new Artemis programme, using technology that befits the modern era (Artemis was Greek god Apollo's twin sister and goddess of the Moon). Nasa sees a return to the Moon as a way to prepare to go to Mars with astronauts sometime in the 2030s or soon after. The SLS will have 15% more thrust off the pad than Apollo's Saturn V rockets. This extra power will allow the vehicle to not only send astronauts far beyond Earth but, additionally, so much equipment and cargo that those crews could stay away for extended periods. The crew capsule, also, is a step up in capability. Called Orion, it is much more spacious, being a metre wider, at 5m (16.5ft), than the historic command modules of the 1960s and 70s. "To all of us that gaze up at the Moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface - folks, we're here! We are going back. And that journey, our journey, begins with Artemis 1," said Nasa Administrator Bill Nelson. "The first crewed launch, Artemis 2, is two years from now in 2024. We're hoping that the first landing, Artemis 3, will be in 2025," he told BBC News. Nasa has promised that this third mission will witness the first woman to put her boots down on the Moon's sur Once the SLS arrives at its launch pad, engineers will have just over a week and a half to get the vehicle ready for flight. Three possible launch opportunities exist at the end of the month, starting with Monday 29 August. If technical issues or inclement weather prevent the rocket from getting off Earth on this date, a further attempt can be made on Friday 2 September, and, failing that, on Monday 6 September. The scope of the mission is to send Orion looping around the back of the Moon before bringing it home for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off California. A major objective of the test fight is to check the heatshield on the capsule can survive the heat of re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. A key partner on the upcoming mission is Europe. It is providing the propulsion module that sits on the back of Orion, pushing it through space. "More than 10 countries in Europe have been working on this European Space Agency contribution. It's a hugely important moment for us," explained Siân Cleaver from aerospace manufacturer Airbus. "The European Service Module is not just a payload, it's not just a piece of equipment - it's a really critical element because Orion can't get to the Moon without us." While Nasa is developing the SLS, the American rocket entrepreneur Elon Musk is preparing an even larger vehicle at his R&D facility in Texas. He calls his giant rocket the Starship, and it will play a role in future Artemis missions by linking up with Orion to get astronauts down to the surface of the Moon. Like SLS, Starship has yet to have a maiden flight. Unlike SLS, Starship has been designed to be totally reusable and ought therefore to be considerably cheaper to operate. A recent assessment from the Office of Inspector General, which audits Nasa programmes, found that the first four SLS missions would each cost more than $4bn to execute - a sum of money that was described as "unsustainable". The agency said changes made to the way it contracts industry would bring down future production costs significantly.

HB

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62440019 The Tories can "kiss goodbye" to winning the next election if inflation is not brought under control quickly, Rishi Sunak has said. Speaking at a leadership hustings in Eastbourne, the ex-chancellor, who wants to prioritise tackling rising prices before cutting taxes, seized on a warning by the Bank of England. Rival Liz Truss said keeping taxes low was the best way to avoid a downturn. She said the UK should not be "talking itself into a recession". The Bank of England has warned inflation - currently 9.4% - could peak at more than 13% and stay at "very elevated levels" throughout much of next year, before eventually returning to its 2% target in 2024. Ms Truss, who has promised to reverse some of Mr Sunak's tax rises, challenged the Bank's gloomy economic prognosis, at the hustings. But Mr Sunak highlighted its warning that inflation could become embedded, saying there would be "no hope that we're going to win that next election" amid continuing rising prices. Mr Sunak and Ms Truss are vying for support from Conservative party members to be elected the next party leader, and prime minister. Voting has started and the result is due to be announced on 5 September. ]There was a brief disturbance at the hustings when Ms Truss's opening remarks were interrupted by a small group of climate activists, who were believed to be from the Green New Deal Rising group. After the group was ejected from the event, Ms Truss took aim at what she called "unfair protests" that disrupted people's lives. She pledged to clamp down on "militant people who try and disrupt our country" - mentioning both trade unions and environmental groups such as Extinction Rebellion. Another protester was later removed from the event after interrupting Ms Truss. Ms Truss, who will be attending the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Saturday, is also due to set out her proposals for boosting economic growth and levelling up the UK. Her plans include reviewing the Treasury formula which determines which regional projects receive funding and creating "low-tax and low-regulation zones" across the country to create hubs for enterprise. Meanwhile, in an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Truss said people should be helped with the cost-of-living crisis by lower taxes, not giving "handouts". She told the paper she would "look at what more can be done" but in a "Conservative way". Elsewhere, Mr Sunak is vowing not to let "political correctness" stop him tackling "horrific" child grooming gangs, if he becomes leader. In an interview due to be screened on GB News on Saturday, Mr Sunak said grooming gang members should face life sentences and that the police should record the ethnicity of those involved. Mr Sunak said that as the father of two young daughters he believed there needs to be greater focus on tackling the crime. A report published by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse earlier this year recommended collecting ethnicity data of the victims and perpetrators of child sexual exploitation. It said: "Many of the high-profile child sexual exploitation prosecutions have involved groups of men from minority ethnic communities. "This has led to polarised debate about whether there is any link between e thnicity and child sexual exploitation networks. "Poor or non-existent data collection makes it impossible to know whether any particular ethnic group is over-represented as perpetrators of child sexual exploitation by networks." Mr Sunak told GB News "a particular group of people" were "perpetuating" child grooming and it was "far more pervasive across the country than actually we all realise". He added: "And we all know the reason that people don't focus on it. It's because of political correctness and they're scared of calling out the fact." Separately, Mr Sunak is focusing on his opposition to another referendum on Scottish independence, warning in a statement issued by his leadership campaign that ignoring the SNP would be "dangerously complacent". He said: "We can't just bury our heads in the sand and pretend they aren't there - we need to stop them in their tracks." His comment will be seen as a criticism of Ms Truss who earlier this week, said: "I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. "She's an attention seeker, that's what she is."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62442201 For years, bombastic radio host Alex Jones has peddled a stream of conspiracy theories in his distinctive loud, gravelly voice to an audience of millions. Among the most incendiary falsehoods he ever circulated was that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, which left 20 children and six adults dead, was completely fabricated by the US government in a plot to strip American citizens of their guns. After a two-week defamation trial full of twists and turns, a jury in Austin, Texas, has ordered Jones to pay nearly $50m (£41m) in compensatory and punitive damages to the parents of a boy killed in that attack. Here are five key moments from the case. Jones' text messages mistakenly sent to the opposite side Among the viral moments that emerged from the proceedings was one that left Jones visibly dumbfounded, when it was revealed that his lawyer had accidentally sent two years of potentially damaging text messages from Jones' phone to Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing the parents. According to Mr Bankston, Jones had sent texts about Sandy Hook, contradicting trial testimony that he hadn't mentioned the shooting in any private communications. Jones said that was the reason he hadn't provided his phone records to the court. Jones' claims prompted Mr Bankston to ask him: "Do you know what perjury is?" The 6 January congressional committee, which is investigating the Capitol riot, has now requested access to Jones' text messages, which Mr Bankston said he intended to provide to the committee unless the judge intervenes. The committee had previously requested records and a deposition from Jones about his role in the riot, which saw supporters of former President Donald Trump storm the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. Jones' bankruptcy claims challenged Earlier this year, companies owned by Jones, including his right-wing conspiracy website Infowars, filed for bankruptcy. In the US, declaring bankruptcy provides a route for companies to remain in operation and negotiate their debts, with settlements overseen by the court. It puts a hold on other litigation. Challenging his bankruptcy claims, Mr Bankston said Jones' texts revealed that in 2018 his companies were still netting approximately $800,000 each day. That information came via an email from an Infowars employee to Jones, who had earlier testified that he did not use emails at all. Infowars store Jones was questioned about the Infowars online store and the authenticity of the products his business sells to customers, which include diet supplements, health and wellness products, gun paraphernalia and survivalist equipment. In court, Jones admitted that vitamin supplements listed on the Infowars store had not been certified for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When asked why his supplements did not have FDA approval, he claimed the products underwent rigorous checks and were "the best out there". During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jones falsely claimed on his show that some of his products, including a "supersilver whitening toothpaste" and a "superblue silver immune gargle", could stop or treat Covid, resulting in an FDA warning letter sent to him and Infowars for selling "unapproved and misbranded" products related to the pandemic. Forensic economist Bernard Pettingill testified on Friday that Jones' businesses were worth somewhere between $135m and $270m , a claim Jones and his defence team deny. Victim's mother rebukes Jones One of the most tense moments came when a plaintiff - the mother of a six-year-old boy killed at Sandy Hook - addressed Jones from the witness stand. Scarlett Lewis told the radio host that she was not an actress or part of the "deep state". She said her son, Jesse Lewis, and the other children who died at the primary school were real. She added that Jones' claims had led to 10 years of "hell". Jones acknowledged during the trial that the Sandy Hook attack was "100% real" and apologised for having "hurt these people's feelings". "I know you believe me, yet you're going to leave this courthouse and you're gonna say it again on your show," Mrs Lewis said, looking directly at Jones, as he shook his head. Ms Lewis and Jesse's father, Neil Heslin, filed the lawsuit seeking at least $150m in damages against Jones. Jones clashes with judge Judge Maya Guerra Gamble had several tense exchanges with Jones during the trial, reminding him at one point that he had to tell the truth under oath. "It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify... This is not your show," Ms Gamble said. On another occasion, she told Jones to spit out a piece of gum. Jones denied he was chewing any gum, saying that he was sticking his tongue into a gap where he had had a tooth removed. "Would you like me to show you?" Jones asked the judge, prompting her to respond: "I don't want to see the inside of your mouth." During the proceedings, Mr Bankston asked Jones if he had shown pictures of the judge "on fire" on his show, which Jones denied, resulting in the lawyer putting up a picture broadcast on Jones' show which depicted Ms Gamble in flames alongside Lady Liberty. Jones' claims about the jury were also brought up by the parents' defence team. Footage was played of Jones saying on his show that the jury was made up of "extremely blue collar folks", adding that "half that jury panel does not know who I am".

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62381778 Oligarchs using UK property to launder illegal wealth are being targeted by a new register which has come into force. Any anonymous foreign company seeking to buy UK land or property will need to reveal the true owners. Foreign companies that refuse to disclose their true owner could face fines of up to £2,500 per day or up to five years in prison. The register comes amid economic sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Foreign organisations who already own land in the UK will have a six month period to register their beneficial owners or managing officers. Business Minister Lord Callanan said: "We have been clear that the UK is a place for legitimate business only, and to ensure we are free of corrupt elites with suspicious wealth, we need to know who owns what. "By getting this first of its kind register up and running at breakneck speed, we are lifting the curtain and cracking down on those criminals attempting to hide their illicitly obtained wealth." The register was part of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in February 2022, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The bill proposes that anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK to verify their identity with Companies House, a government agency, as well as giving Companies House the power to challenge suspicious information. The register applies to property bought since January 1999 in England and Wales, and since December 2014 in Scotland. Labour MP Margaret Hodge said the government needed to go further to tackle money laundering. "To truly stop the flows of corrupt wealth into our housing market, the government must urgently put in place an open register of the true owners of UK land and property, not just of those owned by companies," she said. "Anything less would demonstrate once and for all that this government is truly soft on dirty money." Any overseas body that has disposed of property since 28 February 2022 - when the legislation for the register was first announced - will be required to provide a statement to Companies House. Multi-million pound country manors in the south of England and luxury flats in London's most expensive areas are among the homes which have been linked to Vladimir Putin's regime and associates.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-62381425 The world is one misstep from devastating nuclear war and in peril not seen since the Cold War, the UN Secretary General has warned. "We have been extraordinarily lucky so far," Antonio Guterres said. Amid rising global tensions, "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation", he added. His remarks came at the opening of a conference for countries signed up to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The 1968 deal was introduced after the Cuban missile crisis, an event often portrayed as the closest the world ever came to nuclear war. The treaty was designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons to more countries, and to pursue the ultimate goal of complete nuclear disarmament. Almost every nation on Earth is signed up to the NPT, including the five biggest nuclear powers. But among the handful of states never to sign are four known or suspected to have nuclear weapons: India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan. Secretary General Guterres said the "luck" the world had enjoyed so far in avoiding a nuclear catastrophe may not last - and urged the world to renew a push towards eliminating all such weapons. "Luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict," he said. And he warned that those international tensions were "recaching new highs" - pointing specifically to the invasion of Ukraine, tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East as examples. Russia was widely accused of escalating tensions when days after his invasion of Ukraine in February, President Vladimir Putin put Russia's substantial nuclear forces on high alert. He also threatened anyone standing in Russia's way with consequences "you have never seen in your history". Russia's nuclear strategy includes the use of nuclear weapons if the state's existence is under threat. On Monday, Mr Putin wrote to the same non-proliferation conference Mr Guterres opened, declaring that "there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed". But Russia still found itself criticised at the NPT conference. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned what he called Russia's sabre-rattling - and pointed out that Ukraine had handed over its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, after receiving assurances of its future security from Russia and others. "What message does this send to any country around the world that may think that it needs to have nuclear weapons - to protect, to defend, to deter aggression against its sovereignty and independence?" he asked. "The worst possible message". Today, some 13,000 nuclear weapons are thought to remain in service in the arsenals of the nine nuclear-armed states - far lower than the estimated 60,000 stockpiled during the peak of the mid-1980s.