FazzNoth

In Sonic Frontiers, Sega finds the intersection of the series’ linear past and its “open-zone” future, paying capable service to both eras of the franchise. The open Starfall Islands offer engaging exploration, while linear Cyber Space stages deliver the familiar speed-based Sonic experience. Though each side of the coin has faults, Frontiers is an overall positive experience that serves as a boost in the right direction for the franchise. Running through the open zones is often a joyful experience. Sonic controls remarkably well as he runs through the lush fields, sandy straights, and other biomes I encountered during my 30-hour playthrough. The islands deliver terrific playgrounds through which Sonic grinds, boosts, and bounces; hitting a dash panel that sends you up a rail, off a spring, and into a line of rings never ceases to satisfy. That satisfaction is accentuated by how good it feels to chain these segments together, thanks to the tight 3D gameplay. The most notable new ability in Sonic’s arsenal is Cyloop, a blue trail you activate with a push of a button. Cyloop has utility in combat – drawing a circle around enemies deals damage, stuns them, or breaks off armor – but its primary use is in exploration; if ever I didn’t know what to do, the answer was typically to draw a Cyloop around the object in question. You can even run in circles to spawn infinite rings, a method I often used in boss battles. I like this mechanic overall, but reasons to use it in the world sometimes felt shoehorned. On top of that, several areas of the open zones aren’t optimized for exploration. The in-world obstacle courses are among the worst offenders. I lost track of the number of times I tried to go in one direction, only to hit a dash panel that sent me flying hundreds of feet in the opposite direction before I knew what had happened. This dilemma is further brought into focus by atrocious pop-in, which primarily affects the rails and platforming elements in the open areas, making it difficult to understand the best way to navigate. Other segments force you into a 2D perspective and lock you into a set path until you either complete the sequence or backtrack out of that area. When combined with various dead-ends and areas that feel overtly tucked away, the world design of Sonic Frontiers doesn’t reach the standard of modern open-world games. Though the open-zone design sometimes lacks cohesiveness, the islands do a terrific job of doling out the core gameplay loop. Exploration rewards you with memory tokens to progress the side-character stories, but outside of lore drops and revealing the map, scouring every corner of an island is rarely as fruitful as I would have liked. When you’re not sprinting between destinations, Sonic Frontiers gives players the most comprehensive combat mechanics in the series’ history. What starts as button mashing for melee combos evolves as you face new enemies who can counter and block your attacks. As you level the skill tree, you unlock more fast-paced combos to unleash devastating damage on your foes. While the combat is far from the highlight, I enjoyed engaging with enemies when they popped up, and the collectibles and skill points made the encounters worthwhile. Perhaps the biggest reward, however, comes from defeating enemies and mini-boss Guardians in the open area. These Guardians offer novel battles against a wide range of monsters, offering unique encounters that require you to use different tactics to win. Ranging from creatures that lead you on a chase through the world to a tank that forms a closed arena and shifts the encounter to a bullet-hell experience, I was always excited to see what bosses the next island housed. Defeating Guardians grants Cyber Space Gears, which let you access the linear, more traditional 3D Sonic levels. These stages concentrate the action into bite-sized chunks, often lasting fewer than a couple of minutes. Each stage features four objectives that grant a Chaos Emerald Vault Key, the main collectible for progressing the main story. I loved playing the levels over and over to accomplish all these goals; efficiently speedrunning these branching stages is satisfying beyond belief. However, the S-Rank times are poorly balanced, meaning sometimes I would achieve the time on my first attempt, while others are unrealistic unless you nail a perfect run. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.gameinformer.com/review/sonic-frontiers/into-the-wild-blue-yonder%3famp

Momentum appears to be with Republicans capitalising on economic frustration as experts say party peaking at right time Joe Biden is fighting a rearguard action to stave off defeat in Tuesday’s midterm elections as Republicans look poised to make sweeping gains in the US Congress, setting up two years of political trench warfare. The president, along with former president Barack Obama, has been crisscrossing America in a last-ditch bid to persuade voters that a Democratic victory is critical not only to Biden’s legislative agenda but the preservation of American democracy. But momentum appears to be with Republicans capitalising on frustration over inflation and fears of crime and illegal immigration. Election forecasters and polls say it is highly likely that the party of ex-president Donald Trump will win a majority in the House of Representatives and also have a shot of taking control of the Senate. “Republicans are peaking at the right time,” said Brendan Buck, a former aide to Republican House speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner. “Democrats did a good job defying political gravity for a long time but it’s finally catching up to them. It feels like a healthy Republican majority in the House and, if I were a betting man, I would guess that Republicans pick up the one Senate seat that they need.” Midterms are held every four years but in 2022 they are far from routine and have seen a huge increase in early voting turnout. Tuesday’s election represents the first nationwide test of democracy since Trump’s followers staged a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 last year. At stake are all 435 seats in the House, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate, 36 state governorships, three US territory governorships and numerous city mayorships and local offices. Some 129 ballot measures in 36 states include laws on abortion in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana and Vermont. A surprise Democratic victory in the House and Senate would give Biden a mandate to pursue a sweeping legislative agenda on issues such as abortion rights, police reform and voting rights during his two remaining years in the Oval Office. But Republican control of either chamber would be enough to derail such ambitions and raise questions over the US’s open-ended support for Ukraine’s war against Russia. Biden might face congressional investigations into everything from the withdrawal from Afghanistan to his son Hunter’s foreign business dealings. Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: “At the end of the day it doesn’t matter: one chamber, two chambers, if Republicans have control, the next 18 to 24 months in this country are going to be a new political hellscape unlike anything we’ve seen ever.” As a long campaign enters the home straight, both major parties are pouring millions of dollars into TV adverts, blitzing social media, knocking on thousands of doors and staging rallies with their biggest stars. Biden’s final swing implies a defensive posture in states that Democrats already hold – California, Illinois and New Mexico – along with battleground Pennsylvania. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/07/midterms-2022-biden-democrats-republicans-trump

An animal sanctuary is ‘just about keeping our heads above water’ after seeing its electricity costs double. Exotic Pet Refuge - which is home to around 300 unwanted, abandoned or neglected creatures - is facing bills of £4,000 per month this winter. And with animal owners also feeling the pinch, the Deeping St James’ centre is seeing a rise in people asking them to take in their animals - to the point they even discovered a snake curled around their gate after it had been dumped. “It’s going up from £2,000 to £4,000 per month - that’s a hell of a lot of money,” said owner Pam Mansfield, discussing an energy bill that could now stand at £48,000 a year. “We’re feeling the pinch quite a lot. We haven’t got any more open days, we’re allowed six a year. “At the moment we’re just keeping our heads above water “We’ve got enough to last a normal winter, but if electricity goes up and up then I don’t know what we can do.” The reptile house - which is home to alligators, 20 snakes, lizards, turtles and a pygmy hedgehog among other beasts - needs to be permanently heated. Animals used to warmer climates, such as the 25 monkeys and kinkajous - a tropical rainforest mammal - are also dependent on warmth, especially is the cold winter months. “We can’t just turn the electricity off to save money, some animals need heat all year round,” added Pam. “It’s mostly the cost of electricity, but our feed has also gone up.” Owners struggling to look after their pets in the cost of living crisis are also turning to the refuge for help, which is putting an additional strain on resources. “Somebody rang us asking if we could take eight boa constrictors, we’re also getting calls about corn snakes and lizards,” added Pam. “We’ve just taken in two baby skunks. “They’re coming in all the time, people just can’t afford to keep animals at the moment. “We can’t keep taking them in as we won’t have enough to look after what we already have here. It’s an awful situation but we have to say no.” Others unwilling to take no for an answer have their own methods of passing on their pets. Pam said: “We found a corn snake that had wrapped itself around the gate. It was loose, somebody had just left it. “It was freezing. We got it into the reptile house and it slowly warmed itself up.” The refuge - which is also home to animals including lynxes, raccoons, fruit bats and wolf dogs - has one employee and an army of volunteers who help with the day-to-day running. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/news/amp/bills-double-for-animal-refuge-as-owners-fear-for-future-9282929/

From today (6 November) the 1.25% point cut to National Insurance rates for employees and employers takes effect across the UK. The reversal of April’s rise in National Insurance takes effect across the UK from today Added to July’s increase in National Insurance thresholds, almost 30 million people will be £500 better off on average next year Most employees will start to receive this tax cut directly through payroll between November and February The tax cut was announced by the government on 22 September, as part of the reversal of the Health and Social Care Levy. Working people across the UK will begin receiving the tax cut in their payslips this month, with all expected to have started receiving it by February. The move to reverse April National Insurance increase follows the rise in National Insurance thresholds in July. As a result of both measures, working people will be £500 better off, on average, next year. Funding for health and social care services will be maintained at the same level as if the levy were in place. It takes effect in all parts of the UK and means working people will keep more of the money they earn.

@-Sn!PeR- has been removed from our team. Reason: Retirement.

V2 - Text & Effect

One person had to turn their TV volume up to account for the PS4 sounding like a jet plane about to take off. God of War Ragnarok is releasing very soon, and fans picking up the game on PlayStation 4 might be wondering how the game performs on that older console compared to PlayStation 5. Kotaku tested the game on a launch model PS4 and found that it runs generally well at 1080p/30fps. A comparison video from IGN shows what the game looks like in action on PS4 and PS5, and it sure looks like the game holds up well on the original PlayStation 4 as compared to PlayStation 5. Another difference is that loading times are longer on PS4. But perhaps most notable is that the PS4 has to work really hard to run Ragnarok, it seems, and this effort makes the PS4 itself run very loud. "I've never heard my PS4 get this loud before. It's almost scary. I had to turn up the TV a lot just to cover up all the noise it was making," Kotaku reported. This also means the PS4 might generate some heat. It's generally always a good idea to keep your consoles free of dust and other materials, and to place them in a well-ventilated location, to help avoid overheating. Ragnarok launches November 9 for PS4 and PS5. Reviews for the game began to appear online this week, with GameSpot's God of War Ragnarok review scoring the game a 9/10. For more, check out what other critics think of God of War Ragnarok. Sony's next big PlayStation exclusive, God of War Ragnarok, launches on November 9 for PS4 and PS5. You might be wondering how the game compares for the two consoles. We've already heard the PS4 version makes the console sound like a jet engine, but what about the graphics? GameSpot has a new video that compares the graphical differences on a PS4 in 1080p with the 4K version with fidelity mode on for PS5. The video also shows side-by-side combat and raw gameplay, as well as a split comparison view that displays how the game compares in a single scene. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/god-of-war-ragnarok-runs-well-on-ps4-but-makes-the-console-very-loud/1100-6508878/

PUBG Mobile has announced the 2.3 update is coming later this month. The next update will bring a new Royale Pass, as well as new football gameplay in the game. Considering Battlegrounds Mobile India, po[CENSORED]rly known as BGMI, is a clone of the app meant for the Indian market, the update should ideally come to that version. But BGMI is currently under a ban in India, so will the PUBG Mobile make way for an unban? Also Read - BGMI unban hinted by Krafton? Here is what happened As things stand, Krafton, which owns the PUBG IP and is also the publisher of BGMI, is discussing options with the Indian government to make BGMI accessible in India through legal means. After it was banned in India, BGMI was delisted from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The server access to the game was not blocked, letting users play it. But since the app stores have removed the game, there have been no updates to the game since then. Also Read - Taliban announces ban on PUBG Mobile for 'promoting violence' in Afghanistan That means, all the updates that PUBG Mobile received after July have not reached the Indian version. Since Krafton has not shared any follow-through on its discussions with the government to unban BGMI, the arrival of the 2.3 update should ideally not happen unless the company has made a breakthrough with the government. Multiple reports have suggested BGMI may return by the end of this year, albeit in a new avatar. Also Read - BGMI ban to lift soon? Krafton says will cooperate with Indian government The PUBG Mobile 2.3 update is a significant one, so it would make sense if Krafton wants to bring back BGMI with the update. The part about the new avatar of the game, however, is unclear. Maybe the company would launch the game with a new name something one of the prominent YouTubers also said recently. It is also possible that BGMI has a new publisher to avoid any further issues. Details are blurry at the moment, but India is an important market for Krafton, so it is safe to assume it is making some moves to get the ban lifted. In fact, it recently posted some tutorial videos on its website, as well as on a new YouTube channel for BGMI. But whether BGMI will return by the yearend or not is something only time will tell. https://www.bgr.in/gaming/pubg-mobile-2-3-update-is-coming-will-it-resurrect-bgmi-1338070/

3D puzzle platformer fans can delight in the new PC release for Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Sumo Digital and Xdev Software GmbH have officially stolen everyone’s hearts yet again by bringing this sweet little game to PC. At first glance, gamers might just think that Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a spin-off of LittleBigPlanet, and while it technically is, it’s very different from the original games that inspired it. For starters, it drops the level-editor and community-sharing aspects that were a part of LittleBigPlanet. Play along as the “Iconic PlayStation hero Sackboy bursts back into breathtaking action with a huge, fun and frantic 3D multiplayer platforming adventure – and a whole new edgy sackitude!” Story I don’t think anything quite describes the story quite as well as what PlayStation.com says about the adorable game: “The dastardly Vex (a near-mythical being born of chaos and fear, no less) kidnaps Sackboy’s friends and forces them to build his Topsy Turver. This most deadly diabolical device will transform Craftworld from a fantastical land of pure imagination and innocent dreams…into a torrid, barren eyesore of nightmares. Ooh the fiend! But legend tells of a prophecy from deep within the ancient order of the Knitted Knights, Craftworld’s legendary protectors. For only the brave, fearless, chivalrous and, yes, gallant can save the day in an almost too dramatic for-words race against time stuffed with danger and peril. So much peril. Set off alone or with your bravest friends on a whirlwind of capers across the snowiest mountains, the leafiest jungles, the wettest underwater realms and the, uh, spaciest of space colonies. Take down Vex. Save the sack folk. Save the day. It’s time to fulfil your destiny, Sackboy. From woolly wonderkid and hessian hero… rise our Knitted Knight.” As described above, Sackboy: A Big Adventure follows a relatively simple but gripping story about Sackboy needing to save all of Craftworld and the Imagispheres from the evil Vex. While a little generic (they go on an adventure to save the world trope), the story is gripping and ADORABLE and makes the child-like wonder and story oh-so-endearing. The whole game is just non-stop fun platforming goodness with a cute story thrown in to boot, making your way through the adorable feel-good stages made from cardboard cut-outs, household objects and other crafting things like leather, felt and drawing pins. This 3D platformer has some of the cutest and most creative level designs, that have a focus on co-op play, with three friends able to join you in your gallant journey, but doesn’t punish you for not playing with friends. My only gripe with Sackboy: A Big Adventure is that the controls can be a little imprecise on PC. It’s clearly a game that plays a lot better on a controller, with its interact, and combat buttons being scattered around the keyboard, seemingly at random, but that is a problem that is very easily fixed with some customizing of key bindings. Some players might mistake the sweet simplicity of the game as a lack of depth, but the gameplay is so smooth that it’s a pleasure to run through the levels grabbing point bubbles, beating up baddies, and breaking everything to find collectables, x2 point boosters and unlocking secrets to find all the Dreamer Orbs. Unlike other platformers, Sackboy: A Big Adventure is only occasionally frustrating, having to deal with some unreliable camera angles that can cause you to lose a life every now and again, and a little bit of an imprecise jumping mechanic that can make it a bit unpredictable where you are going to land. These are really small issues though, and the cuteness of the game, the smoothness of the gameplay, and the overall fun of it just makes it impossible not to enjoy. The game does scale up in its difficulty a little bit, but is really generous with giving back lost lives and has a frequent and cute checkpoint system that makes dying less of a problem unless you are trying to 100% each level. In order to fully complete each level, you will have to find all the cosmetic items offered in each level, complete the whole level without dying, and find enough points for a gold medal (usually within the 3000 to 5000 range depending on the length of the level itself) and collect all of the Dreamer Orbs hidden in the level. The Dreamer Orbs are also a really nice mechanic that gates off more difficult levels, but you don’t need many to progress, so can easily continue without feeling the need to totally 100% every single one (unless you are me and keep trying each level until you get it…oops). There are also fun minigames in Sackboy: A Big Adventure that unlock Dreamer Orbs, from a whack-a-mole-type mini-game to feeding a monster until he spits out the orb. https://www.fortressofsolitude.co.za/sackboy-a-big-adventure-pc-review-the-most-adorable-platformer/

With Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland set to deliver her fall economic statement later today, climate and energy analysts are watching closely to see whether she sweetens the already lavish subsidies the Trudeau government extended to carbon capture and storage (CCS) in its 2022 budget. The conversation and the concern have been picking up momentum in recent weeks, with the fossil lobby maintaining that a new infusion of taxpayers’ dollars is needed to match support for CCS in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). But those demands land after Freeland already earmarked C$7.1 billion through 2030 to support CCS development. The industry is enjoying breakaway profits, and has never been keen to invest its own money in the carbon capture technology that it says will justify expanded oil and gas extraction in an era of climate disruption and emission reductions even though the production emissions they aim to reduce account for only about 20% of the carbon in a barrel of oil. The push and the pressure began building up in the second half of October, with CBC reporting that Ottawa was looking into how to keep Canadian CCS competitive with the U.S. and Reuters detailing a spat between the federal and Alberta governments over who should cover the cost. “We want to make sure that Canadian companies remain competitive and that international investors that come to our jurisdiction are able to take full advantage of the tax credits,” Associate Finance Minister Randy Boissonnault told CBC. “Our government is very seized with this issue of the Inflation Reduction Act and how to make sure we don’t have a big gap between our two countries,” he added. “We definitely want a solution that is done with industry, that makes sense to industry, because the good paying jobs in the future can be had here in Canada and we want them to be here in Canada. So we’re going to continue to work on it.” That message appeared to reflect what Ottawa has been hearing from the Pathways Alliance, a group that represents 95% of the country’s oilsands industry. The alliance’s VP of external relations, Mark Cameron, said the federal subsidies so far amount to about half of what’s now on offer in the U.S. “If the government was to make changes to the investment tax credit or to supplement it with some additional measures, that would put us a lot closer to making final investment decisions on these projects,” Cameron told CBC. “If we don’t get that kind of certainty by the middle of next year, then those timelines for 2030 are going to slip.” But parliamentarians are receiving a different message from a group that was literally born on the worker cafeterias of the Alberta oilsands industry and speaks for many of the people who still work there. CCS netted nearly four times as much funding as clean electricity initiatives in the 2022 federal budget, Iron & Earth Executive Director Luisa Da Silva told the House Environment and Sustainable Development Committee last month. The Biden administration only set aside 2.3% of the US$158-billion in clean energy initiatives in the IRA for CCS, compared to 48% for home energy efficiency and community resilience. In Canada, by contrast, “despite federal and provincial governments providing an estimated C$5.8 billion for CCS projects since 2000, CCS only captures 0.05% of Canada’s greenhouse gases,” Da Silva told MPs. Rather than doubling down on an “old energy system” that is “too centralized and not community-focused,” she said Canada should “simultaneously improve worker well-being and community resiliency towards climate change through green housing initiatives, retrofits, community distributed energy projects, and zero-emission mobility,” beginning with training programs for a work force that already wants to make the switch to clean energy. A day later, in a live interview with Bloomberg News climate specialist Akshat Rathi, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada can offer inducements that are more valuable than matching the CCS subsidies in the IRA, including a highly educated work force, the quality of life many families enjoy in Canadian cities, and the “resilience, stability, and predictability” of a long-term climate plan and carbon price. But that mix of facts and arguments has done little to allay concerns that Ottawa will once again bow to the fossil industry’s subsidy demands, even after Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault vowed it wouldn’t happen. Environmental Defence was out on Instagram Monday with a Hallowe’en video that warned of the “true danger that lurks” during “spooky season”, in the form of false solutions to the climate crisis. The Re-Energizing Canada program at the International Institute for Sustainable Development published an article that pointed to “prolonged extraction and increased production” of oil and gas as the factor driving climate change, noting that “the industry has failed to take the necessary steps to reduce its emissions this decade” despite its promises to take action. “The industry already receives significant government financial support, and the federal government has committed to ending this support by phasing out inefficient subsidies and public finance for the sector in the near term,” IISD wrote. “Further support to the sector comes with significant opportunity costs, will slow the energy transition, and entails economic risk, including public liabilities. Public dollars are more effectively spent supporting readily available and proven low-carbon technologies.” “Under no circumstance should the government consider an even more generous carbon capture subsidy,” agreed Julia Levin, national climate program manager at Environmental Defence, in an email. “Carbon capture is not a climate solution it’s a greenwashing strategy used to justify more fossil fuel production and get more taxpayer money into the pockets of executives and shareholders. By relying on future unproven techno-fixes to cut emissions, the government is gambling with our lives. Instead, the government should use the fall economic update to announce new spending on proven climate solutions, including a generous tax credit for renewable energy and battery storage.” https://www.theenergymix.com/2022/11/02/fall-economic-statement-today-raises-spectre-of-new-ccs-subsidy/

The Los Angeles City Council approved a series of items today seeking adjustments to the Los Angeles Animal Services department, which has been criticized for alleged animal neglect and insufficient staffing at city shelters. Following a Los Angeles Times article in July that widely exposed the problems, Councilman Paul Koretz, chair of the Personnel, Audits, and Animal Welfare Committee, introduced several motions and held special committee meetings. The items included reactivating the Animal Cruelty Task Force, creating a plan to ensure all dogs are regularly exercised in shelters and a review of the training and qualifications for staff to serve as Animal Care Technicians. A motion to request transferring $3 million in emergency funding to Animal Services for the current fiscal year and seek a report back on how much it would cost to run the department and its seven city-owned shelters was referred to the council's Budget and Finance Committee. Koretz, too, faces criticism that he took too long to address underfunding and staffing shortages that have affected animal shelters in Los Angeles. During an Oct. 24 committee meeting, several callers claimed that Koretz was only taking action now because he is running for city controller against Kenneth Mejia, who has been critical of Koretz's handling of the situation. "After 10+ years of failing to address the animal shelter crisis, Koretz is using his last few weeks as committee chair to ham-handedly try to alleviate the crisis," Mejia said on Twitter. Koretz cut off at least four public speakers who criticized him during an the committee meeting, claiming they were off-topic. Koretz defended his role during a news briefing at City Hall earlier this month, calling it a "false narrative" that he could "make all the decisions to fix every perceived problem." He claimed that he has limited oversight over the department. "I kept hearing and reading that I'm responsible for every complaint anybody has with Animal Services," Koretz said. "Some of those allegations are motivated by genuine concern about genuine problems. Others, I suspect, are politically motivated." Koretz, who is termed out on the council this year, released a 46-page report last month on the department. In it, he wrote that the department has been the victim of a "chronic budget issue" and is in need of "much more personnel and a drastic increase of its funding." "Not surprisingly, some people have been critical because they feel I'm not proposing big enough changes, or moving as fast as they'd like," Koretz said at Friday's meeting. "And that's their right, but it's our obligation to be realistic and work within the constraints we face every day." According to the report, the department has $27 million in funding for the current fiscal year, with 300 out of 343 budgeted positions filled. A "desirable" amount of funding would be nearly double that amount, but the report claims Animal Services is not a "sexy" department to fund and notes that a ballot measure may be needed to achieve adequate resources. Koretz said the city has only enough General Fund money to operate four shelters, instead of the six it currently runs, along with a seventh operated under contract with a nonprofit group. Koretz admitted that, prior to a month ago, he hadn't made a visit to a city shelter since before the pandemic began. He claimed he didn't need to physically visit the shelters to address the problems in them because not too many of them have changed. The report mostly blamed staffing shortages for failures to walk dogs on a regular basis and clean kennels more frequently. Staffing issues have also contributed to approximately 300 unprocessed volunteer applications, according to the report. It called for the city council to relax a mandated 10-day quarantine for animal shelter staff exposed to COVID-19, recommending the period be cut to five days and a negative test. Several callers bemoaned what they described as a lengthy process of applying to be a volunteer, and strict requirements that they believed were unnecessary. "This has been somewhat disastrous," Koretz said during the committee meeting. "There are a lot of unhappy volunteers out there." The report generally concurred with the department's "no kill" policy of achieving a 90% live-release rate, though it notes that shelters should not cut corners and be transparent in statistics. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/la-council-approves-potential-changes-to-animal-services-amid-criticism/ar-AA13KUy6

A social worker has won a £5,000 payout after receiving a "disappointing" response from a female boss when she announced she was pregnant. Poppy Hedges-Staines informed her company that she was eight weeks pregnant, even before telling her family, because she was concerned about visiting a person who had suspected scabies, a contagious disease. An employment tribunal heard that the 30-year-old was told by her line manager to speak to Cheryl Finlayson, director of Ipswich-based CF Social Work, who said: "Poppy, we've only just put you on a contract and now you're telling me you are pregnant." Two months later, Miss Hedges-Staines sued for discrimination after she was let go by the company - and represented herself at the hearing as she could not afford to pay for a lawyer. Ms Finlayson claimed she had not made the comment, but the tribunal concluded she had complained about the contract. The social worker, whose son Knox is now 17 months old, was awarded £5,134 - £4,500 plus interest for injury to feelings. She said: "It was really disappointing. I couldn't believe that she said it - both as a woman and having children. She put a real dampener on my fantastic news. "It was also shocking to be treated that way because of the line of work that we do, helping families out and children." Miss Hedges-Staines began working for CF Social Work Ltd in November 2019 as a self-employed social work assistant and in July 2020 received a six-month fixed term contract. In November, she called her manager as she was worried about a home visit and said she was pregnant. The following month, her workload was reduced as she was not able to work 48-hour shifts and do "sleep-ins" as required by the company because she was pregnant. The company then concluded there was no work available for Miss Hedges-Staines and did not renew her contract, giving her four weeks' notice with pay. The new mum claimed she was fired because she was pregnant, but the tribunal noted that two other social work assistants who had six-month contracts also lost their jobs. The tribunal dismissed the pregnancy discrimination claim but upheld a separate claim for unfair treatment, reports the Daily Mail. In relation to the comments made by the company's boss, employment Judge Michael Ord said: "We are satisfied that the remark amounted to unfavourable treatment, based on her pregnancy." https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-wins-5k-payout-after-28414154

Nickname: @FazzNoth Video author: theRadBrad Name of the game: Gotham Knights Link video: Rate this video 1-10: -

For years now, I’ve been telling anyone that would listen just how much I’d love for the Dragon Ball games on console to do something different other than release another fighter. Obviously fighting is a natural component to showcase the best bits, but the franchise needs a freshen up. I never expected Bandai Namco and Dimps to devise an asymmetrical multiplayer survival concept however, which is what Dragon Ball: The Breakers brings to the table. Will this Dead by Daylight kind of setup work for Dragon Ball: The Breakers though? The short answer is no. The longer answer is no, because the implementation of the core idea for Dragon Ball: The Breakers is sub-par. Now please end my pain and suffering. An extraordinary occurrence in the space-time continuum has seen ordinary folk dragged from their daily lives and into a Temporal Seam. Here, they’re set to be imprisoned and tormented by menacing foes from another timeline. Fortunately, Time Patrol’s Trunks has come up with a plan for the people to make their escape; they just need to survive long enough to execute it. Welcome to Dragon Ball: The Breakers. That’s the premise as told through the prologue/tutorial, with the scene set for the asymmetric multiplayer action which sees seven Survivors pitted against a fearsome Raider. It’s a set-up that should be covered by the basics, but The Breakers only delivers the bare minimum of what you need to know from the perspective of a citizen. There’s so much left unexplained, leaving you at a disadvantage almost immediately. As far as the Raider is concerned, a few sections of the in-game manual is all there is; it’s another case of learning on the job and that makes for quite a bewildering experience. Before analysing the 1v7 antics, the matchmaking must take centre stage. You can set preferences for whether you wish to play as a Survivor or a Raider, before launching matchmaking. While searching for a match, it allows you to wander around a small base of operations and you’ll become very familiar with this place as much time is spent waiting there. During the evenings and weekends, the average wait is anywhere from five to fifteen minutes, while other times it’s far longer. Is there a shortage of players willing to fork out for Dragon Ball: The Breakers? Possibly, but whatever the reason for the matchmaking struggles, the boredom kicks in pretty quickly – there’s only so much fun to have in the base, jumping about and running around in circles. Once you actually get a game, I can’t guarantee much improvement to your enjoyment, especially if you’re a Survivor. While in the role of the Survivor, you’re going to be extremely vulnerable as it doesn’t take much damage from a Raider to put you down. Hence, sneakiness is crucial during the search for Power Keys, the use of which leads to the eventual appearance of the Super Time Machine. When you factor in the heartbeat sound effect too, kicking in when the villain edges closer, there’s a decent amount of tension created. So it’s a shame that most of the other aspects are pretty bad. Controlling the character and attempting to traverse the vast environments is an absolute chore. The camera is loose, making it a challenge as you’re constantly trying to keep it in line with your movements. Due to the verticality of some areas, climbing is often necessary, which doesn’t always work as intended in terms of transition into the action. Unfortunately it gets worse if you intend, or need to, launch an attack because the combat mechanics are poor. Yes, despite being a puny human, you can throw a few punches or fire off a shot to antagonise the Raider who could be defeated with enough damage dealt. To really stick the boot in however, you must garner power through various means in order to temporarily acquire the powers and moves of a Super Warrior. Expect to be able to pull off the Kamehameha like Goku, perform Krillin’s Destructo Disc, or even channel your inner Namekian with Piccolo’s Special Beam Cannon. It’s a great idea on paper and does look very cool, so what’s bad about it? Well, the locking on system is awful and it’ll be a miracle as to whether any of the attacks even connect. Given how the Dragon Change ability doesn’t last long, the confrontation is over in the blink of an eye and it’s usually a fruitless effort. This means your best bet is to spam the skills to either stun the big bad or cause a commotion with smoke, before fleeing the scene as soon as possible. https://www.thexboxhub.com/dragon-ball-the-breakers-review/

Arecently released mod for Marvel's Spider-Man allows players to step into the shoes of another iconic comic book superhero, adding The Flash to the game. Since the release of the game's remastered version on PC earlier this year, the web-slinging superhero adventure has been a po[CENSORED]r choice for modders. New suits modded into the game have done everything from adding new characters and powers to swapping Peter Parker's model with the IGN review score for Gotham Knights. Now, another classic superhero has joined the po[CENSORED]r action-adventure. Superheroes have been a po[CENSORED]r subject of mods for the PC port of Spider-Man ,with a variety of heroes from both Marvel and DC properties added. Past mods have swapped out some of the game's default suits with well-known heroes like X-Men's Wolverine and Black Panther's titular hero. The game has also seen plenty of altered suits lending themselves to the more comedic side with characters like Kermit the Frog and even the gravestone of Peter Parker's Uncle Ben. The newest mod for Marvel's Spider-Man brings a DC staple in The Flash to the game, complete with new powers.The Spider-Man mod released late last week puts players into the shoes of The Flash with the hero's iconic superspeed at their command. A short video of the mod showcases the Flash model in Spider-Man's version of New York City moving at incredible speeds throughout the streets of the city. The in-game Flash even features static electricity flowing from his boots and gloves as he runs, giving players more of an authentic Flash feel. The mod includes two different Flash costumes for players to use, based on both the hero's classic look and the version from the CW's The Flash series. The addition of The Flash to Marvel's Spider-Man comes as the speedy DC superhero has plenty on the horizon. The CW's adaptation of The Flash was recently renewed for its final season on the TV network, set to conclude a nine-year run since its 2014 debut. A Flash movie for DC's extended universe is also slated to premiere in theaters next June, with a sequel to the upcoming Flash movie reportedly already written. The newest version of Marvel's Spider-Man on PC has seen significant success following its August launch. Fans and critics have praised the PC version of Spider-Man Remastered for several graphical upgrades to the 2018 adventure game, with the PC version featuring 60 fps and ray tracing. Sales have been strong for the port as well, with Spider-Man Remastered sitting as Sony's second-biggest Steam launch after the God of War port. The Flash becomes the newest member of a litany of superheroes to be re-created within Marvel's Spider-Man. https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/marvels-spider-man-players-add-working-mod-of-the-flash-to-the-game/ar-AA13yn4O

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on Sunday said linking Republican rhetoric to political violence is unfair amid questions over the motive behind Friday’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) husband. After Paul Pelosi was attacked at home Friday by an intruder looking for the Speaker, some Democrats tied the incident — and the rise of political violence nationwide — to extreme GOP rhetoric. “Well, I think that’s unfair. I think this is a deranged individual. You can’t say people saying, ‘let’s fire Pelosi’ or ‘let’s take back the House’ is saying ‘go do violence.’ It’s just unfair,” McDaniel said on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. “And I think we all need to recognize violence is up across the board,” the RNC Chairwoman added, noting an attack earlier this year at a campaign event for New York’s GOP gubernatorial nominee and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R), as well as a threat against conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh after the court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer. McDaniel instead suggested Democratic policies were to blame for the uptick in political violence. “But, of course, we wish Paul Pelosi a recovery. We don’t like this at all across the board. We don’t want to see attacks on any politician from any political background,” McDaniel said. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) responded to Paul Pelosi’s attack with similar sentiments, expressing sympathies for the family but writing on Twitter that “violence and crime are rampant in Joe Biden’s America.” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) hit back, writing “YOU called for Nancy Pelosi to be executed, @RepMTG. YOU said she should be hung for treason. And now that someone listened, you’re making Paul Pelosi’s attack about YOU. This is what Republicans stand for, America. It’s sick.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/rnc-chair-says-linking-gop-rhetoric-to-political-violence-is-e2-80-98just-unfair-e2-80-99/ar-AA13y2Ov

The world around us is vibrating with sounds we cannot hear. Bats chitter and babble in ultrasound; elephants rumble infrasonic secrets to each other; coral reefs are aquatic clubs, hopping with the cracks and hisses and clicks of marine life. For centuries, we didn’t even know those sounds existed. But as technology has advanced, so has our capacity to listen. Today, tools like drones, digital recorders, and artificial intelligence are helping us listen to the sounds of nature in unprecedented ways, transforming the world of scientific research and raising a tantalizing prospect: Someday soon, computers might allow us to talk to animals. In some ways, that has already begun. “Digital technologies, so often associated with our alienation from nature, are offering us an opportunity to listen to nonhumans in powerful ways, reviving our connection to the natural world,” writes Karen Bakker in her new book, The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology Is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants. Automated listening posts have been set up in ecosystems around the planet, from rainforests to the depths of the ocean, and miniaturization has allowed scientists to stick microphones onto animals as small as honeybees. “Combined, these digital devices function like a planetary-scale hearing aid: enabling humans to observe and study nature’s sounds beyond the limits of our sensory capabilities,” Bakker writes. All those devices create a ton of data, which would be impossible to go through manually. So researchers in the fields of bioacoustics (which studies sounds made by living organisms) and ecoacoustics (which studies the sounds made by entire ecosystems) are turning to artificial intelligence to sift through the piles of recordings, finding patterns that might help us understand what animals are saying to each other. There are now databases of whale songs and honeybee dances, among others, that Bakker writes could one day turn into “a zoological version of Google Translate.” But it’s important to remember that we aren’t necessarily discovering these sounds for the first time. As Bakker points out in her book, Indigenous communities around the world have long been aware that animals have their own forms of communication, while the Western scientific establishment has historically dismissed the idea of animal communication outright. Many of the researchers Bakker highlights in her book faced intense pushback from the scientific community when they suggested whales, elephants, turtles, bats, and even plants made sounds and even might have languages of their own. They spent nearly as much time pushing back against the pushback as they did conducting research. While that seems to be changing with our increased understanding of animals, Bakker cautions that the ability to communicate with animals stands to be either a blessing or a curse, and we must think carefully about how we will use our technological advancements to interact with the natural world. We can use our understanding of our world’s sonic richness to gain a sense of kinship with nature and even potentially heal some of the damage we have wrought, but we also run the risk of using our newfound powers to assert our domination over animals and plants. We are on the edge of a revolution in how we interact with the world around us, Bakker told Recode. Now, we must decide which path we will follow in the years ahead. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Let’s start with the big idea that you lay out in your introduction: We’re using technologies like AI to talk to animals. What does that look like? We can use artificial intelligence-enabled robots to speak animal languages and essentially breach the barrier of interspecies communication. Researchers are doing this in a very rudimentary way with honeybees and dolphins and to some extent with elephants. Now, this raises a very serious ethical question, because the ability to speak to other species sounds intriguing and fascinating, but it could be used either to create a deeper sense of kinship, or a sense of dominion and mani[CENSORED]tive ability to domesticate wild species that we’ve never as humans been able to previously control. We can use artificial intelligence-enabled robots to speak animal languages How would that work? I’ll give you one example. A research team in Germany encoded honeybee signals into a robot that they sent into a hive. That robot is able to use the honeybees’ waggle dance communication to tell the honeybees to stop moving, and it’s able to tell those honeybees where to fly to for a specific nectar source. The next stage in this research is to implant these robots into honeybee hives so the hives accept these robots as members of their community from birth. And then we would have an unprecedented degree of control over the hive; we’ll have essentially domesticated that hive in a way we’ve never done so before. This creates the possibility of exploitive use of animals. And there’s a long history of the military use of animals, so that’s one path that I think raises a lot of alarm bells. So these are the sorts of ethical questions that researchers are now starting to engage in. But the hope is that with these ethics in place, in the future, we — you and I, ordinary people — will have a lot more ability to tune into the sounds of nature, and to understand what we’re hearing. And I think what that does is create a real sense of awe and wonder and also a feeling of profound kinship. That’s where I hoped we would take these technologies. How did we first realize that animals and even the Earth were making all of these sounds outside of our hearing range? It’s funny, humans as a species tend to believe that what we cannot observe does not exist. So a lot of these sounds were literally right in front of our ears. But because of a tendency, especially in Western science, to privilege sight over sound, we simply hadn’t listened for them. The game changer, and the reason I wrote this book, is that digital technology now enables us to listen very easily and very cheaply to species all over the planet. And what we’re discovering is that a huge range of species that we never even suspected could make sound or respond to sound are indeed sort of participating in nature’s symphony. And that’s a discovery that is as significant as the microscope was a few hundred years ago: It opens up an entirely new sonic world, and is now ushering in many discoveries about complex communication in animals, language, and behavior that are really overturning many of our assumptions about animals and even plants. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-tech-is-helping-us-talk-to-animals/ar-AA13x2IQ

Four-day work week back on Victorian poll agenda A four-day working week has been pushed back onto the Victorian election agenda despite both major parties rejecting the idea. Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam today pitched a $60m fund to help a transition to a four-day working week model. Under the two-year trial, Victorian-owned entities and departments with less than $50m in annual turnover would be eligible to apply for the funding. Female-dominated workplaces would be prioritised and the cash used to increase staff numbers in frontline workplaces, or support systems and technology within workplaces to adapt to a new schedule. Workplaces would transition full-time staff to four days with no loss of pay or entitlements, while part-time workers would get a proportional reduction in working hours or an equivalent pay rise. Similar pilot programs have been launched in Canada, the United States and Ireland, with outstanding results, Ratnam said. She said: Workers often achieve the same or greater output, and with a much more reasonable work-life balance. The Community and Public Sector Union has written to parties to ask for their position on a four-day week for its staff and the wider sector. Premier Daniel Andrews and opposition leader Matthew Guy last week publicly declared they did not support the proposal. Two weeks out from early voting centres opening, new polling indicates millions of Victorians are yet to make up their minds. A Resolve Strategic survey of 800 voters, taken from October 20 to 24 and published in the Age today, found 27% of respondents were uncommitted. The cohort equates to a quarter of Victoria’s four million-plus enrolled voters who could be swayed in the lead-up to the November 26 poll. Senator Jacqui Lambie has also been toughening her rhetoric on the IR bill. On Thursday, Lambie said it would “be hard to do our due diligence” to pass the bill this year. On Monday Lambie warned on Sky News that many elements of the bill seemed designed to help union recruitment. Lambie said: Unions won’t be getting it all their goddamn way, I’ve had enough of them ... Getting this through before Christmas, I doubt very, very much. Right now, it seems to be seeing all the union side of it and not about small business and big business. I’m really concerned about our small business and coming out of Covid ... they’re just starting to get back on their feet. If we don’t get this right, we’re going lose small businesses. Lambie also expressed concern that the bill might increase strike action - although the Australian Council of Trade Unions notes that in some respects it actually makes strike action harder, such as the new requirement for conciliation and the possibility FWC will arbitrate an “intractable” dispute. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/australia-news-live-eric-abetz-says-republic-consultation-plan-is-a-con-wild-weather-leaves-14000-victorians-without-power/ar-AA13yhvl

DH1 - This song gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

Nickname: @FazzNoth Video author: GameClips Name of the game: Resident Evil Village Link video: Rate this video 1-10: -

If you’re itching to play the latest Call of Duty game that releases today but you’re in the sad state of not owning a game console to play it on, we have a deal for you. At Target, you can pick up the $299.99 Xbox Series S online or in-store, and you’ll receive a free digital copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (no, not the 2009 classic; Activision is just reusing old names now). Buying that game by itself normally costs $70, so this could be a great promo for you to take advantage of before it expires Saturday, October 29th, at 11:59PM PT. The Series S is a great console with or without this deal. It’s small, so it won’t hog a bunch of space in your entertainment center. And despite being significantly less powerful than the Series X (in addition to having no disc drive and half the usable storage for downloads), the Series S could be worthwhile if you mostly play digital games, including those on Xbox Game Pass. Here’s our review. There are a couple of Sonos home theater bundles that are discounted, and I want to tell you about them. While the discounts aren’t blowing our minds over here, it could be the price cut you’ve been waiting for before buying a set for yourself. First up is the Surround Set with Beam, which has the first-gen Beam soundbar (normally $399) and two One SL speakers ($199 a pop). It’s priced at $678 through Sonos, Adorama, and B&H Photo, which is just a little over $120 off the cost of buying each speaker separately. The Premium Immersive Set with Beam that includes the second-gen Beam, two One SL speakers, and a third-gen Sonos Sub costs $1,277, down from $1,596. That’s obviously a much higher-costing setup, but the price drops are noteworthy for some of these products. It’s like getting $90 off the second-gen Beam, $150 off the Sub, and $40 off each One SL speaker. HBO Max’s excellent discount on prepaid yearly subscriptions is about to end on October 30th. Paying yearly instead of monthly usually saves you some money, but this promo will save you as much as $75. Here’s the deal: getting one year of HBO Max with ads costs $69.99 (usually $120) or $104.99 (usually $180) for the ad-free plan that lets you download content and stream select content in 4K. Most people should find plenty of entertainment (at least a year’s worth, to take full advantage of this deal) with HBO Max. You can watch The Sopranos there as well as a host of movies and exclusive TV shows for a range of tastes. It has The Rehearsal, the excellent Harley Quinn animated series, Succession, House of the Dragon, Euphoria, Barry, Los Espookys, Our Flag Means Death, and a lot more. Some more deals for your Friday Tile is offering a pretty fantastic discount on a four-pack of its Pro Bluetooth trackers. Normally it costs $99.99 for the bundle, but you can get it for $49.99. These offer water resistance and the longest range of all its trackers (up to 400 feet). It touts year-long battery life with replaceable coin batteries. Read more about them here. For all of Friday, October 28th, you can get Samsung’s bean-shaped Galaxy Buds Live wireless earbuds in the royal blue color scheme for $79.99 at Best Buy. Other colors cost $20 more. These aren’t Samsung’s latest earbuds, but they offer surprisingly good sound quality in a low-profile design. Read our review. Dell is selling a 24.5-inch 1080p IPS gaming monitor with a fast 240Hz refresh rate for just $149.99. It’s not a bad price at all if you value speed over superb picture quality. It includes a height-adjustable stand, and it has two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort version 1.2, and a handful of USB-A ports. https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/gaming/the-xbox-series-s-comes-with-the-latest-call-of-duty-for-free-at-target/ar-AA13tIDN

The Last Oricru certainly falls firmly into the Soulslike category of gaming. Developed by Goldknights and published by Prime Matter, The Last Oricru is a story-driven action RPG that starts off abysmally and then meanders somewhere in between decent and mediocre for the rest of the game. In The Last Oricru players will take on the role of an adventurer named “Silver” by the “Keepers” of an unknown monastery. You and three others are the survivors of a spaceship crash and are seemingly immortal thanks to the belts you wear. The Last Oricru prides itself upon its branching pathways in its gameplay and “impactful decisions”. We’ll get to this shortly but first, let’s talk a bit about its gameplay. Soulslike Gameplay in The Last Oricru is incredibly similar to most Soulslike games out there. You’ll need to hit, dodge, run and rinse and repeat if you plan to survive. This is fairly standard fare as there’s a light attack, a heavy attack, block and dodge actions to use. You’ll need to string together combos against enemies while avoiding their attacks as much as possible. The Last Oricru also incorporates ranged magic attacks into the mix but this doesn’t feel as good in action as simply melee attacking your foes and rolling away when they are about to retaliate. The Last Oricru has a gear system too and players will be able to absorb “Essence” from enemies in order to increase their attributes back at “Beacons”. This is fairly straightforward and a staple of Soulslike titles. So too is the replenishment of healing vials and the respawning of enemies in the environment. The Last Oricru, being a Soulslike at its core does however do something rather useful for gamers who lack patience or who get frustrated at the thought of being decimated by enemies over and over. Players can simply swap over to “Story” difficulty and fight foes if they are having a bad time. “Story” difficulty slows down enemy animations by a lot and this honestly makes them a lot easier to deal with. There are some moments in the game where you will be faced with large groups of enemies and swapping over to “Story” difficulty can help alleviate a lot of frustration caused by dying repeatedly. Just don’t get hit because the damage output remains the same. Wardenia The story of The Last Oricru ventures into the somewhat political with various factions in the world of Wardenia fighting with each other. Even your own surviving crewmates seem to have their own objectives and cannot be trusted. This brings a lot of doubt into your decision-making in the game and there are no clear-cut answers or predictable outcomes. The story of The Last Oricru also features a lot of extremely inconsistent writing. A lot of the interactions with your own character “Silver” comes across as unnecessarily snarky and the topics of conversation in the game aren’t handled with care at all. There’s a distinct layer of jank here and it shows through right from the get-go. So much so that you’ll end up losing any interest in the characters of Wardenia and their petty squabbles despite the serious nature of what’s at stake for them in the story. Graphically, The Last Oricru is a mixed bag. Certain areas of the game look good while other aspects of it look as if they were lifted from a previous generation of video gaming. There’s also the very little direction in the game and you can often get lost or not know where you’re supposed to be headed. The character models and animations also seem to not match up properly and once you notice it, it’s hard to not see how janky it is. The camera control and positioning are also quite problematic in certain areas of the game since it obscures your vision and you can easily end up dying to enemies because of this. The Last Oricru on PC also runs rather poorly with frame rate issues, stuttering and numerous bugs including crashing on PC. It’s almost as if the game needed a couple more months’ worth of development work just to iron out all the kinks because it not only looks rather dated but plays and feels dated too. This is disappointing given the game’s premise of branching story pathways and Soulslike gameplay in combination with each other. It’s functional but it could have been so much more. The soundtrack of The Last Oricru features orchestral tracks which are enjoyable and the attack sound effects are fine. Where the game drops the ball entirely with regards to sound lies is the abysmal inconsistent writing and the voice acting that accompanies it. It sounds so out of place in the medieval sci-fi setting here. The Last Oricru also features online co-op and playing the game with someone else would probably be a lot more fun than slogging through the 15-hour campaign alone. You’ll then also get to laugh at the dialogue together which would be a plus. Final Verdict Overall The Last Oricru is an indie title that reeks of strange decision-making. The voice acting, inconsistent writing, visuals that look extremely dated and the sheer lack of polish all around firmly put this into the “Buy on Sale” category. Given the game’s rather high price on Steam too and the fact that there are far more rewarding Soulslike games out there such as Elex 2 or The Surge 2, it’s quite hard to recommend The Last Oricru unless it gets given some significant patches to fix its numerous problems. There was so much potential here and it seems like it was squandered. https://invisioncommunity.co.uk/the-last-oricru-pc-review/

"The effects of climate change on extreme heat have amplified underlying inequality, disproportionately harming low-income, low-emitting regions." A study published Friday revealed that heatwaves fueled by human-caused climate change have cost the global economy trillions of dollars over the past 30 years, with the world's poorest countries and those least responsible for the climate emergency bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. "The regions with the lowest incomes globally are the ones that suffer most from these extreme heat events." The study, published in Science Advances, reached three key conclusions. First, "increased extreme heat intensity significantly decreases economic growth in relatively warm tropical regions and weakly affects it in relatively cool midlatitude regions." Second, "anthropogenic climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of these economically consequential heat extremes." Therefore and thirdly "the effects of climate change on extreme heat have amplified underlying inequality, disproportionately harming low-income, low-emitting regions, with major emitters shouldering primary responsibility for billions of dollars of losses in the tropics." According to the publication: Human-caused increases in heat waves have depressed economic output most in the poor tropical regions least culpable for warming. Cumulative 1992–2013 losses from anthropogenic extreme heat likely fall between $5 trillion and $29.3 trillion globally. Losses amount to 6.7% of Gross Domestic Product per capita per year for regions in the bottom income decile, but only 1.5% for regions in the top income decile. Our results have the potential to inform adaptation investments and demonstrate how global inequality is both a cause and consequence of the unequal burden of climate change. "Accelerating adaptation measures within the hottest period of each year would deliver economic benefits now," study first author Christopher Callahan, a doctoral candidate in geography at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, said in a statement. "The amount of money spent on adaptation measures should not be assessed just on the price tag of those measures, but relative to the cost of doing nothing. Our research identifies a substantial price tag to not doing anything." Senior study author and Dartmouth assistant geography professor Justin Mankin asserted: "No one has shown an independent fingerprint for extreme heat and the intensity of that heat's impact on economic growth. The true costs of climate change are far higher than we've calculated so far. Our work shows that no place is well adapted to our current climate." "The regions with the lowest incomes globally are the ones that suffer most from these extreme heat events," Mankin added. "As climate change increases the magnitude of extreme heat, it's a fair expectation that those costs will continue to accumulate." https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/28/climate-fueled-heatwaves-cost-global-economy-trillions-poor-countries-hit-hardest