Ga[M]er

Ukraine's fightback against Russian aggression is not just in the battlefield - but in the legal field too. Across this shattered country, testimony is being gathered and evidence collated for a goal that may only come long after the guns fall silent - international justice. The pursuit of it is being led by Ukraine's Prosecutor General, Iryna Venediktova, appointed two years ago as the first woman to hold the office. She watched the exhumation of another mass grave this week, beneath a gold-domed church in Bucha, where the darkest of sins were discovered - 10 victims this time, some completely charred. Their remains were placed into body bags and taken off for an attempt at identification. As she stood at the edge of the deep pit, she told me more than 6,000 cases of war crimes have already been opened. "A lot of people speak about the genocide of the Ukrainian people - and we actually have grounds to talk about genocide," she said. "Vladimir Putin is the president of the aggressor country killing civilians here in Ukraine. He's responsible." The challenge for prosecutors will be to draw a direct line of responsibility from the top of the Russian state to the atrocities on the ground - and show that they weren't just committed but ordered. Russia is not party to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, having withdrawn in 2016. Nor, in fact, is Ukraine, although it does accept the court's jurisdiction for crimes committed within its territory. The possibility of ever seeing President Putin himself in a tribunal is thought to be extremely slim. But Ms Venediktova insisted it was her government's ultimate aim. "It's very important, not just for Ukrainians," she said, "it's important for the whole world to stop dictators." The efforts of the Ukrainian state are being helped by a network of volunteer investigators, deploying across the country in a grassroots quest for justice. Among them is an NGO called Truth Hounds, whose staff have been trained by former prosecutors from the ICC. We followed them to the town of Borodyanka, some 50km (31 miles) north-west of Kyiv, which has been gutted by a month-long offensive and occupation. The destruction is immense. Apartment blocks have been wrenched apart or blown open. Entire streets lie in ruins. And amidst the devastation of shattered glass and mangled metal lie the remnants of cluster bombs, whose use is banned under an international convention. Roman Koval from Truth Hounds said they had gathered eyewitness accounts that the Russians gave orders to attack buildings once they were already in control here. "They knew this city was full of civilians, with no combatants left, and they tried to raze it to the ground," he said. The investigators' work, he added, went beyond documentation of attacks; it was one of establishing the truth - and of collective memory. "We're trying not to let Russia formulate their lying narratives about the war in Ukraine," he said. "We're trying to show people that the war crimes that Russian troops are committing became a pattern of their behaviour, not just in Bucha or Borodyanka, but all over the occupied territories." He picked his way through the ruins of an apartment belonging to Oksana and Nicola Laba, which was ravaged by the shock waves of an airstrike next door. Much of it has been reduced to rubble. Crouching amid the debris - fragments of broken glass covered any place to sit - he listened to their testimony and took notes. The details will be added to a central database as the war crimes case against Russia builds. Oksana told of how her mother managed to flee just before the airstrike hit. "Our home was our cosy nest, where we were planning our children's birthday," she recalled. "It's hard to describe our terror - it's more like hate." Storytelling here carries with it the hope that accountability will be pursued. "It's very important to say what happened," Oksana said, "because these are not just war crimes: Russia will not stop until it destroys our country." On the scarred street outside, diggers have started to clear up the wreckage of homes and once-happy lives. The freedom and safety that Ukrainians cherished has been destroyed. But their solace now would be to see - and believe - that there will be punishment for those who have broken this country. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61100178

iQoo is gearing up to introduce an addition to its Z6 lineup after the release of the iQoo Z6 5G in March. The new handset is said to be the iQoo Z6 Pro, which the company recently confirmed through a tweet via the official iQoo India handle. It has also been reported that the handset will be priced under Rs. 25,000. Now, a hands-on video of this upcoming smartphone has surfaced on YouTube. It suggests that the iQoo Z6 Pro will be powered by the Snapdragon 778G SoC. iQoo is yet to officially release the first look of this handset. The alleged iQoo Z6 Pro hands-on video was uploaded on YouTube by Tech Burner. It shows that the smartphone will sport a waterdrop-style notch, similar to other Z-series smartphones. iQoo has confirmed that the upcoming smartphone will bear the iQoo Z6 Pro moniker. The iQoo Z6 Pro is said to have an OLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate and offer 1,300 nits of peak brightness. It could be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC. According to the company, this handset will be the fastest smartphone in India under Rs. 25,000 price bracket at release. It is claimed to have an AnTuTu benchmark score of over 550,000 points. For optics, the handset is expected to feature a 64-megapixel primary camera, paired with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a macro sensor. It is tipped to have a USB Type-C port with support for up to 66W fast charging, which is said to charge its battery full in up to 40 minutes. The iQoo Z6 Pro is believed to sport a matte finish and a waterdrop-style notch. The alleged hands-on video also indicates that this smartphone will not feature a 3.5 mm jack. The iQoo Z6 Pro will reportedly be priced under Rs. 25,000, and sold exclusively on Amazon. Currently, there is no information available regarding the colour options and RAM/storage variants. Can OnePlus 10 Pro beat iPhone 13 Pro and Galaxy S22 Ultra? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts. https://gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/iqoo-z6-pro-specifications-hands-on-video-snapdragon-778g-soc-specifications-design-2882276

Large-scale construction projects usually involve extensive coordination. In practice, however, the way in which information is exchanged between construction stakeholders often ends up being an inconsistent multi-step process. Now, a consortium project under the technical and scientific leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE is working on a digital solution in the form of the Infra-Bau 4.0 platform, which establishes a network that takes in every stakeholder in an infrastructure project. It provides a means of mapping out resources and processes digitally, making it easier to plan and reschedule activities during the construction process.There is a lot of construction going on in Germany—but the construction industry is far from fully exploiting the opportunities offered by digitalization. New working methods such as building information modeling (BIM) can provide digital planning data, but have yet to be implemented on a wider scale—and they are not so well-equipped to deal with scenarios involving networking and rescheduling at short notice, both of which are commonplace on construction sites. This means that construction projects still initiate many of their steps individually, using manual methods, and are lacking automated, coordinated and transparent procedures as well as consistent communication and planning standards. The Infra-Bau 4.0 project aims to close this gap. With the help of funding from the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), a large number of consortium partners from science and the construction industry is developing a digital com-munication platform that will make it possible to design more efficient infrastructure projects and reduce the workload, time and costs involved as a result. Fraunhofer IESE in Kaiserslautern is providing technical and scientific leadership and bringing its years of expertise in digital ecosystems to the project. "When we talk about digital ecosystems, we mean socio-technical networks where companies, technology and people cooperate with one another using a digital platform, and where each stakeholder benefits from participating," explains Denis Feth, Expert "Security and Privacy Technologies" at Fraunhofer IESE and project manager on the technical and scientific side. "As part of the project, our institute examined the subject from a holistic perspective, something which involved asking ourselves how a construction industry platform should be structured, how we could encourage participation and how we could ensure that data would be exchanged securely." Meta-platform pulling the strings All these considerations have given rise to the Infra-Bau 4.0 platform, a digital ecosystem that networks all the stakeholders in a construction project, from site managers and planners to individual construction workers. It is even possible to integrate construction machines. The platform takes all this information and maps out a digital project hierarchy that reflects the real-life situation on the construction site. Each person has their own account, which they can use to interact with other participants, and the exchange of information is clearly structured and traceable. "It was—and still is—important to us that our platform didn't create any extra work for the stakeholders and that the application didn't contain any hurdles," states Feth. "We also don't intend to compete with any other existing solutions. On the contrary, all the stakeholders actually continue to interact with their usual tools and the meta-platform pulls the strings in the background in a way that makes it possible to exchange information." From BIM software to project-management solutions and specific construction machinery applications, the platform is already compatible with numerous construction site tools that are readily available in the industry. Not only does it enable data to be exchanged, it also cleverly uses artificial intelligence methods to reuse data, as Feth explains: "Currently, planners usually end up having to find manual workarounds if unplanned changes come up during construction. That's not the case with our platform. It consolidates the collected data and gives planners useful, well-founded suggestions for decisions they could make, with optimized parameters such as cost and time." The Infra-Bau 4.0 project was launched in summer 2020, with the project partners initially focusing purely on the construction phase. As a first step, they analyzed realistic case studies in order to determine the requirements that the platform would have to meet. They then concentrated on the technical design and detailing before actually implementing the platform. The next stages involved a broad evaluation of the platform functions and a final event. The project was officially completed at the turn of the year. Denis Feth is very happy with what the project partners have achieved so far: "We have done a tremendous amount of work within a space of 18 months and have demonstrated that our communication platform is highly versatile and contains technology that works in practice. Both the consortium and our sponsors remain convinced that our idea holds a great deal of potential." As a result, the follow-up project is already in the pipeline and is expected to launch soon. This time around, the project partners' plans include widening the focus to cover other steps involved in construction steps and implementing and evaluating the platform in a real construction site context. https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-digital-ecosystems-efficiency-industry.html

The first proper gaming benchmarks of AMD's Ryzen 7 5800X3D have been revealed by Xanxo Gaming in their unofficial review of the CPU. Based on the gaming performance benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D offers absolutely stellar results versus Intel's flagship Core i9-12900K Alder Lake CPU. AMD Beats Intel In Gaming With 3D V-Cache Powered Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, Up To 29% Performance Versus Alder Lake Core i9-12900K The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D is going to be the first and only chip with 3D V-Cache based on the 7nm Zen 3 core architecture. The CPU is going to offer 8 cores, 16 threads, and 100 MB of combined cache thanks to its additional 64 MB 3D Stacked SRAM design. Clock speeds will be maintained at 3.4 GHz base and 4.5 GHz boost with a TDP of 105W. As for the pricing, the CPU is going to feature the same MSRP as the 5800X at $449 US which means that the non-3D chip is going to get a price cut down to either $399 or even lower. The pricing makes the 5800X3D more expensive than the Intel Core i7-12700K which does offer more cores/threads but lower cache. It will be interesting to see performance benchmarks between the two chips. AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU Gaming Benchmarks The test platform included the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D on an X570 testbed with DDR4-3200 CL14 memory and compared to an Intel Core i9-12900K running on a Z690 platform with DDR4-3200 CL14 memory too. Now while Alder Lake can definitely support much faster memory compared to the AMD platform, especially DDR5, those do come in at an extra cost and don't provide a valid comparison. Both platforms were using the same GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition graphics card. As for the gaming benchmarks that include several AAA games tested at 1080p resolution, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D matched the flagship Intel Alder Lake CPU, the Core i9-12900K, in 6 out of the 12 games. It didn't lose in the rest, in fact, the $449 US chip managed to outperform the $500 US+ chip that is the Core i9-12900KF in those titles which is might impressive. The lead is anywhere from up to 29% to an average of 10-15%. Now the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D does lack overclocking capabilities and as a tradeoff for adding 3D V-Cache, AMD had to lower its clock speeds a bit so traditional CPU workload performance would either be similar or a bit slower versus the standard Ryzen 7 5800X. This chip is specifically said to be designed for gamers as such, the application performance would be unnoticeable unless the app does make use of the extra cache somehow. For gamers on the AM4 platform who were looking for a faster option and having second guesses about whether they should move over to Intel given their higher lead in the segment prior to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, now have something that they can invest in on their existing platform. This will help AMD retain its userbase till they launch their next-gen AM5 platform featuring Ryzen 7000 CPUs on the newer Zen 4 core architecture. Given the huge performance increase over non-3D chips that V-Cache brings, we definitely would have loved to see an even cheaper option such as the Ryzen 5 5600X3D in the market but hopefully, AMD continues to invest in such technologies for its future generation of processors. The 5800X3D will be available on 20th April with reviews hitting the web on 14th April. https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-7-5800x3d-cpu-crushes-intel-alder-lake-core-i9-12900k-in-gaming-benchmarks/

Name of the Game : Totally Accurate Battle Simulator Price : 3.69$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/508440/Totally_Accurate_Battle_Simulator/ Offer ends up after Xhours: 15 April Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 @ 3.1 GHz or AMD FX-6300 @ 3.5 GHz or equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or AMD R9 270 (2GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better) DirectX: Version 10 Storage: 4 GB available space Additional Notes: Only runs on 64 bit systems RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Win 10 Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 @ 3.4 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 @ 3.2 GHz or equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD R9 290X (4GB VRAM with Shader Model 5.0 or better) DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 6 GB available space Additional Notes: Only runs on 64 bit systems

Roblox titles are well known for their free gifts and rewards, and the free codes are a part of it. They are released and updated frequently, so if you wish to use them, then make sure to redeem them as soon as possible. In this article, we are going to maintain a daily updated list of All Star Tower Defense codes, so make sure you log in every now and then. Roblox’s All Star Tower Defense is all about pulling out creativity while crafting new building units to keep away the enemies from reaching you. The progress and the fun in the game depend entirely on how you decide to maintain your troops and units. Here is our collection, consisting of active and expired redeem codes. ACTIVE ALL STAR TOWER DEFENSE CODES congratulations2kingluffy300ksubscribersonyoutube300k (New!) ultramove - Ultra Capsule Expired superwoop - 400 gems 1mgroupmembers - 800 gems and 800 gold themadao - 1000 gems, 750 gold, and 1 EXP IV -astddevs - 500 Gems, 500 Gold, EXP IV world2ishere - 300 Gems, 500 Gold world2comingsoon - 250 Gems, 250 Gold astdx2022 - 500 Gems, 1000 Gold merrychristmas2k21 - 1,000 Gems, 1,000 Gold, EXP IV winterbreakwhen - 250 Gems, 250 Gold KingLuffyFan200K - King Ruffy SUBTOBLAMSPOT100kBOA - MS.LOVE december2021 - 300 Gems, 500 Gold thecityofangels - 250 Gems, 250 Gold eatlotsonthanksgiving - 300 Gems, 500 Gold igot2look - 250 Gems, 250 Gold 100ksubnavyxflame - 300 Gems and Mega Rare Super Koku Black novemberupdate - 300 Gems, 500 Gold starshipway - 650 Gems, 650 Gold, EXP IV navyxflame80ksubs - New Mega Rare! anniversaryastd - 1500 Gold, 1200 Gems, Omega-Rare goldgemgold - 650 Gold and 250 Gems 4partyrocking- 250 Gems wowshutdown - 250 Gems longwait - 450 Gems fruit100k - 200 Gems, Exp III NavyxFlameYT60K - 200 Gems, Exp III robloxyay - 300 Gems, 800 Gold, EXP III happyhalloween2021 - 200 Gems, 300 Gold, 1 Pumpkin Capsule thursdayfun - 250 Gems tacotuesday - 250 Gems shutdownagaincode21 - 250 Gems septemberupdate21 - 250 Gems nooshutdown - 400 Gems 2bcodeswagmodeblazeit - 400 Gems and Mega-Rare Kakashi nowherescoredeal specialkingluffy100k gamebreakingvisits101 illbewatchingyou theotheronecode minishutdown mrworldwide morecodeforyouxd FreeRobuxxKF codeoflight listentothemusic132 howareyoutodaymyfriendo fruitysubmore 4thofjulyupdate NAVYXFLAME4CODE updatejuly2021 fruit 2021memorialday2021x Update53021 Lovetobrazil lesgolesgoyuuh supertime biggerthanlife1 fruitgame 600klikes updatejune2021 ohmahgawdskill addnewunitstobannerfix diamondnowina yellowsix tysmfor1mfavorite smoothcriminal2 jahajha shotofmemories quickshut lieawake freedom likeapartyonthelist 1bvisit1b 1billionvisit21drip eastercoda21 helloworld2021 somemorenewcoode isitthenewerayet hchgaming handsoftime gameon2021 lovetofightastd thisisthenewestcode subtome subinferman incredibledayum likethegamepog2021 700mil updatebelike epicnew pert rainmen bigtim lateupdatendat WHAT ARE ALL STAR TOWER DEFENSE CODES? These codes usually come with free items such as gems, rare skins, EXPs etc. The codes are sent out by the developers of the game after the game receives an update or when there's an upcoming event or a certain announcement is made regarding the game. HOW TO REDEEM THE ASTD CODES STEP BY STEP? The steps to redeem the All Star TD codes in-game are pretty simple. Simply log into the game and locate a gear symbol at the bottom right corner of the screen. After you find the option, tap on it to enter the code Enter one of the active All Star Tower Defense codes Finally, press the button to claim the rewards. How to grab more redeem codes? If you are looking for more All Star Tower Defense codes, then you can head to the official Discord server of the game where some exclusives are distributed randomly You can also follow the official All Star Tower Defense Twitter. And don't forget to check out this page as we constantly update it with new and active All Star Tower Defense redeem codes. https://www.pocketgamer.com/coin-master/free-spins/

The Ultima series of role-playing games has been foundational for videogames not once, but at least twice. The original series pioneered a path that western RPGs would follow for decades, and Ultima Online was the proving grounds for many of the best ideas and solutions in MMORPGs today. Now the series’ creator is going for the hat trick: Richard Garriott, known to Ultima fans as ‘Lord British,’ is making another MMO – but this time, it’s going to be built using blockchain technology. Garriott is working with long-time collaborator Todd Porter, and the pair say they’re well aware of the problems crypto brings with it, both in terms of the technology itself and its reputation with players. “There’s not really any good NFT games right now, in my opinion,” Porter tells us. “I’ve not seen anything that I felt has really held up any gameplay.” Garriott agrees, and says part of that is down to the fact that it’s still early days – there hasn’t been enough time since NFTs became a major fad for anyone to develop a strong title based on the technology. Garriott’s and Porter’s approach to designing a game with blockchain is different from others we’ve seen, but the existing experiments haven’t gone particularly well so far. Hackers absconded with $600 million worth of Axie Infinity NFTs in March, and NFT marketplace objkt.com records 27 total sales of Ubisoft’s Quartz NFTs, which it minted for Ghost Recon Breakpoint a few months prior to announcing the end of new content development. (Ubisoft, however, appears undeterred.) The game Garriott and Porter are working on is in the early stages of production and doesn’t have an official name yet, but it’ll be a modern spin on the familiar Ultima format – a top-down, isometric fantasy RPG. Porter says they’ve secured traditional sources of funding for the game’s development, but will supplement that with an NFT-based land sale. Players interested in owning part of the game will be able to purchase specific chunks of it as NFTs. The concept art Garriott and Porter shared with PCGamesN shows detailed square plots of land that look like they’ve been dug up and lifted off the surface of a miniature fantasy world, complete with layers of topsoil and the underlying rock. Some concept art even shows the land packaged in attractive gilt gift boxes. Owners will be able to build shops or inns on their property, or even create a portal to a dungeon level they’ve created. “Not only that, but the economics of that thing benefit you directly” under this system, Garriott says. “For example, if you happen to be the owner of an NPC-run pub in town, you could get the economic reward just by virtue of having helped it come into existence.” The plan is to give landowners and proprietors a high degree of control over what’s available on their plots of land. A blacksmith’s shop might offer unique sword designs, drawing players from around the land willing to spend lots of coin. That could have a knock-on effect of making adjacent plots more commercially valuable as well. If that sounds a bit like creating a crypto-backed owner class of in-game landlords, Garriott says that’s not really a new phenomenon in games. Ultima Online famously developed a lively secondary market for items and, notably, housing plots in high-traffic locations. “In Ultima Online, when people started buying and selling shops on eBay, we had to go through the trouble of going like, well, how do we feel about it? Do we want to stop it, because we haven’t guaranteed that the sale will actually be persistent? And we’re not getting anything out of it,” Garriott explains. “All we get from people trading items is risk and complaints. [Using blockchain] is a way to just clarify the economics in a way that is very fair and consistent between the players who are buying, selling, and trading these virtual assets.” The value blockchain adds, as Garriott and Porter explain it, is that it provides a unified system for players to become financially involved in the game, from what is traditionally the crowdfunding stage through to the post-launch live service phase. In the past, developers and publishers have had to rely on a small constellation of separate platforms to handle the various stages of fundraising and monetisation – Kickstarter for raising capital, eBay for grey market player trades, Steam or another storefront selling the game itself. “[Using blockchain] lets us unify that whole path,” Garriott says. “It lets us make sure that path is persistent and could be managed outside of our games when people say they want to be trading things on, hypothetically, eBay or some other crypto exchange or within the game. Fundamentally, we should be agnostic, which we are in this case.” Porter and Garriott say they understand the scepticism with which players have regarded many crypto-based games to date – these are misgivings both men say they’ve shared. The design of their as-yet-unnamed MMO is informed by that scepticism, they say, and the game isn’t meant to get more people involved in the crypto ecosystem. Garriott says there are still too many problems with it to expect players to want to interact with it at all. “I happen to be a cryptocurrency investor myself,” Garriot says. “I find investing in it to be incredibly complicated and difficult. So we have no illusions to think that we want to expect players to know or care or think about the blockchain. We will handle all that behind the scenes.” “Blockchain has the same issue with gas [the fees associated with trades] that we do in the real world: it’s getting more and more expensive,” Porter adds. “So it would be impractical for us to design a game where every object was existing on the blockchain – it would be cost-prohibitive.” Garriott says he hopes the system will ultimately reward players who decide to build and create new content and experiences. “If you make a play space that’s super po[CENSORED]r, well, I hope you make a lot of money at that, because that means we have a lot of happy players in there,” he says. “So that’s really where our mind is going: how can we provide direct value to players that is purposefully monetised in real dollars regularly. It’s when they’re contributing to the actual fun factor and the actual acquisition of players.” https://www.pcgamesn.com/ultima-online/nft-mmo

Every criminal's nightmare is about to come true.

Prices that consumers pay for everyday items surged in March to their highest levels since the early days of the Reagan administration, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, jumped 8.5% from a year ago on an unadjusted basis, above even the already elevated Dow Jones estimate for 8.4%. Excluding food and energy, so-called core CPI increased 6.5% on a 12-month basis, in line with the expectation. However, there were signs that core inflation appeared to be ebbing, as it rose just 0.3% for the month, less than the 0.5% estimate. That in turn sparked some hope that inflation overall was easing and that March might represent the peak. Markets reacted positively to the report as stocks rose and government bond yields declined. “The big news in the March report was that core price pressures finally appear to be moderating,” wrote Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. Hunter said he thinks the March increase will “mark the peak” for inflation as year-over-year comparisons drive the numbers lower and energy prices subside. Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said the slowing increase in core CPI is a “welcome” development in the effort to bring down inflation. ″“I’ll be looking to see whether we continue to see moderation in the months ahead,” Brainard told the Wall Street Journal. The data reflected price rises not seen in the U.S. since the stagflation days of the late 1970s and early ’80s. March’s headline reading in fact was the highest since December 1981. Core inflation was the hottest since August 1982. Due to the surge in inflation, worker wages, despite rising 5.6% from a year ago, weren’t keeping pace with the cost of living. Real average hourly earnings posted a seasonally adjusted 0.8% decline for the month, according to a separate Bureau of Labor Statistics report. The inability of wages to keep up with costs could add to inflation pressures. The Atlanta Federal Reserve wage tracker for March indicated gains of another 6% which is “symptomatic of inflation pressures continuing to broaden,” said Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings. Coulton pointed out that the core inflation deceleration was due largely to a drop in auto prices, while other prices continued to show increases. Shelter costs, which make up about one-third of the CPI weighting, increased another 0.5% on the month, making the 12-month gain a blistering 5%, the highest since May 1991. To combat inflation, the Fed has begun raising interest rates and is expected to continue doing so through the remainder of the year and into 2023. The last time prices were this high, the Fed raised its benchmark rate to nearly 20%, pulling the economy into a recession that finally defeated inflation. Economists generally don’t expect a recession this time around, though many on Wall Street are raising the probability of a downturn. “Overall, this report is encouraging, at the margin, though it is far too soon to be sure that the next few core prints will be as low; much depends on the path of used vehicle prices, which is very hard to forecast with confidence,” wrote Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “We’re sure they will fall, but the speed of the decline is what matters.” Price increases came from many of the usual culprits. Food rose 1% for the month and 8.8% over the year, as prices for goods such as rice, ground beef, citrus fruits and fresh vegetables all posted gains of more than 2% in March. Energy prices were up 11% and 32%, respectively, as gasoline prices popped 18.3% for the month, boosted by the war in Ukraine and the pressure it is exerting on supply. One sector that has been a major driver in the inflation burst subsided in March. Used car and truck prices declined 3.8% for the month, though they are still up 35.3% on the year. Also, commodity prices excluding food and energy fell by 0.4%. Those declines, however, were offset by gains in clothing, services excluding energy and medical care, each of which increased 0.6% for the month. Transportation services also rose 2%, bringing its 12-month gain to 7.7%. In a sign of economic recovery from a sector hard-hit during the Covid pandemic, airline fares jumped by 10.7% in the month and were up 23.6% from a year ago. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/consumer-prices-rose-8point5percent-in-march-slightly-hotter-than-expected.html

The mountain gorilla, a large, strong ape inhabiting Africa’s volcanic slopes, has few natural predators. Yet due to detrimental human activity, such as poaching, civil war, and habitat destruction, the mountain gorilla, a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, has become the most endangered type of gorilla. Currently, the mountain gorilla’s habitat is limited to protected national parks in two regions of Africa. One group of gorillas lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The other group is spread over three national parks in the Virungas mountain region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. Mountain gorillas are as shy as they are strong. But when threatened, they can be aggressive. They beat their chests and let out angry grunts and roars. Group leaders will charge at the threat. Mothers will fight to the death to protect their young. Mountain gorillas live in groups of up to 30. The group, or troop, is led by a single alpha male, an older silverback. These males are called silverbacks because of the silver stripe they develop on their backs when they mature. The oldest males of the group are at least 12 years old. These troops also include several younger males, adult and juvenile females, and infants. In addition to providing protection to group members, silverbacks maintain order and decide all activities within their troop. They schedule feeding trips, resting time, and travel. They also father the majority of the young in the group. Female mountain gorillas can produce young beginning at age 10. They carry one or two babies at a time and give birth after a 8.5-month gestation period. In general, they will bear between two and six offspring in a lifetime. Newborn gorillas weigh about 1.8 kg (4 lb.) at birth. They are as weak and uncoordinated as human babies. For the first four years of their lives, they get around by clinging to their mothers backs. By 3.5 years of age, the young gorillas are fully weaned from their mothers milk and start the same diet as mature mountain gorillas: plants, leaves, roots and shoots. Fully-grown male mountain gorillas can weigh up to 180 kg (400 lb). Females weigh half that at about 90 kg ( 200 lb). Aside from the silver stripe on their backs, male mountain gorillas are distinguished from females because they have a crest of fur on their heads. Both genders have similar thick black hair covering their body. Their thick hair keeps them warm in cold mountain temperatures. Conservation Status Mountain gorillas are considered endangered by IUCN’s Red List. Not only are mountain gorillas threatened by loss of habitat due to human encroachment, they have also become victims of human violence. As civil war rages in Africa, efforts to conserve mountain gorilla po[CENSORED]tions have been curtailed. Mountain gorillas have also been killed or captured by poachers. Their body parts are sold to collectors, and baby gorillas are sold illegally as pets, research subjects, or private zoo animals. What You Can Do to Help To help, you can make donations to the International Gorilla Conservation Program. You can also support the Gorilla Fund International, set up by conservationist Dian Fossey. https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/mountain-gorilla/

Sad you didn't jump on the Lucid Air bandwagon quite quickly enough to nab one of the limited-edition Dream P models with 1,111 horsepower? Fuming that you can't cash it in now on eBay for way over $200K? Well, dry your tears and get your ordering fingers ready, because Lucid just announced the very next best thing: The Air Grand Touring Performance model, which produces just 61 horses shy of that Dream P's four-fingers figure and therefore may harbor similar upside pricing potential. What Is A Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance Edition? Mostly it's a way to richen Lucid's mix in these times of production-capacity constraints, now that all 520 of the original Dream Editions have been spoken for, and it shares most of the Dream's feature content (glass roof, DreamDrive Pro advanced driver-assist system, 21-speaker Surreal Sound system, micro-array headlamps, massaging seats, soft-close doors, 900-volt ultra-fast charging system, etc. ). There is a new five-spoke 21-inch wheel design unique to the Grand Touring Performance, but mostly it's the power and torque that change. The front and rear motors are detuned slightly from the Dream P's 1,111 hp and 1,025 lb-ft to "just" 1,050 ponies and 921 lb-ft. That's up from the regular Grand Touring's 819 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque (that power represents a modest increase from the 800 figure originally quoted when the Air was named our 2022 Car of the Year). How Fast Is The 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance? Top speed is quoted at 168 mph, but you probably care more about how quick the new Air is. Lucid claims the 0-to-60-mph sprint should only take 2.6 seconds—a scant tenth in arrears of the Dream P's claimed time and 0.4 second ahead of the 3.0-seconds-flat we measured (and Lucid claims) for the basic Grand Touring model. And, yes, that figure trails behind the Tesla Model S Plaid's crazed 2.07-second performance on an unprepped surface. How Does The Range Compare? EPA range for the new Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance model comes in at 446 miles—446 miles. That's down from the 451 the Dream Edition P claim, and the regular Grand Touring's 469 miles (on 21-inch tires—19s are available, which boost that figure to 516 miles). But if you can plot a route past a few 350-kW DC fast-charging stations, these 900-volt Lucids can add 300 miles of range in 21 minutes. And no current Tesla Model S can touch even this lower-range Lucid Air's range figure, so while the Performance model might not keep up with a Plaid at the track, it'll cruise right past one on its way to the next charger. When Can I Get The Grand Touring Performance, And For How Much? Deliveries in the U.S. start this June (Canadians must wait until August), and the price is $180,500. That's ten Gs above the original Dream Edition P's opening gambit, but you've surely heard about automotive price inflation. Now you've just gotta pick a color, and there are four to choose: Stellar White, Infinite Black, Cosmos Silver, Quantum Grey, and Zenith (resale?) Red. https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-lucid-air-grand-touring-performance-first-look-review/

IPL 2022, CSK vs RCB: Chennai Super Kings ended their losing streak in IPL 2022 after defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs. Shivam Dube (95 not out), Robin Uthappa (88) and Maheesh Theekshana (4 for 33) were the heroes for the defending champions, who had lost their first four matches of the season. Chennai Super Kings shook off a horror start to their IPL 2022 campaign to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 23 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. This was CSK's first win of the season - the defending champions had lost their first four matches and coach Stephen Fleming had admitted the team's self-belief was shaken. However, on Tuesday, up against an in-form RCB, there seemed to be no dearth of self-belief even after a poor start with the bat. Shivam Dube (95 not out) and Robin Uthappa (88) added 165 for the 2nd wicket as CSK went from 60 for 2 at the end of 10 overs to 216 for 4 at the end of 20. RCB needed a good start to challenge CSK but they lost Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Anuj Rawat by the end of the powerplay. Glenn Maxwell was looking dangerous but his innings was cut short by Ravindra Jadeja. CSK vs RCB, IPL 2022 Highlights Debutant Suyash Prabhudessai, Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik tried heroically but the ask was too demanding after RCB's big guns failed to fire. Karthik gave Chennai fans a huge scare, going on a six-hitting spree but he was dismissed off 34 from 14 balls in the 18th over by Dwayne Bravo. It was the first time Karthik was dismissed in the new season. After Faf du Plessis won the toss and decided to bowl against his old team, CSK lost Ruturaj Gaikwad to Josh Hazlewood, another ex-CSK star. Moeen Ali was brilliantly run out by Suyash Prabhudessai but Robin Uthappa and Shivam Dube hit back with vengeance and their century partnership for the third wicket left the RCB bowlers dazed. CSK started off watchfully and they were in a spot of bother at 36 for 2 in the 7th over but Uthappa and Dube ensured the defending champions had enough runs on the board to challenge the star-studded batting line of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell. It was a furious fightback from Chennai Super Kings - they were 60 for 2 off 10 overs. In the next 10 overs, the Super Kings added 156 runs. Robin Uthappa was dismissed by Wanindu Hasaranga for 88 after he had added 165 for the third wicket with Shivam Dube in 12.1 overs. Shivam Dube came close to his maiden hundred as well but he perished to Josh Hazlewood for 94 in the final ball of the CSK innings. FAF, KOHLI FAIL Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli were dismissed cheaply in RCB's chase of 217. While du Plessis fell to spinner Maheesh Theekshana while Mukesh Choudhary got Kohli, the highest run-scorer in the history of the Indian Premier League. Anuj Rawat, who scored his maiden IPL half-century against Punjab Kings a few nights back, became Theekshana's second victim as RCB continued their disastrous start to a massive chase. Chennai Super Kings had scored over 200 in their second match of the season but they had failed to defend their total against Lucknow Super Giants. On Tuesday, CSK started brilliantly by picking up three big wickets to set RCB back. JADEJA GETS MAXWELL CSK skipper Ravindra Jadeja has had an ordinary season so far but he got the important wicket of Glenn Maxwell in his first over on Tuesday. It was the 7th time Jadeja had dismissed Maxwell in T20s. Maxwell had shown early signs of responding to the Super Kings but the CSK captain outwitted the dangerous RCB batter with an arm ball to send him packing for an 11-ball 26. SUYASH DAZZLES ON DEBUT Suyash Prabhudessai made his debut for RCB only because Harhsal Patel had to return home after the demise of his sister. In his first match, Suyash Prabhudessai made an immediate impact - first with a sensational run out and then with the bat. Coming in to bat at No.6, he took on Chris Jordan and Ravindra Jadeja right away to fight back after a poor start for his team. While experienced campaigners du Plessis and Kohli were removed before the powerplay, Suyash came out all guns blazing and showed some real spunk along with Shahbaz Ahmed, who himself played some scintillating shots. Suyash was dropped on 32 in Dwayne Bravo's first over but he could not capitalise on the dropped chance - after adding 2 more runs to his score, he was done in by Maheesh Theekshana. SPIN MAGIC RCB came coming hard at CSK despite losing quick wickets because they had no other chouce in a steep chase. However, Maheesh Theekshana came to the party for the defending champions in only his second match and picked the 4 key wickets of Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai and Shahbaz Ahmed. He should have taken Dinesh Karthik's wicket too but Mukesh Choudhary dropped an easy catch at point. NO SPARK Ruturaj Gaikwad was the highest run-scorer last season but he has failed to set the stage on fire in 2022. He got out for 0, 1, 1 and 16 in the first four matches for the Super Kings but on Tuesday, he looked better than he has all summer so far. Three boundaries from the young opener did seem to set the tone for CSK but he was trapped LBW by former CSK pacer and RCB debutant Josh Hazlewood for 17. SENSATIONAL RUN OUT Moeen Ali is all about intent but he wanted to take his time in the middle after another early wicket for CSK. A few overs of him in the middle with the bat and any bowling attack would start to stress. But his innings was cut short by Suyash Prabhudessai, another RCB debutant. Suyash Prabhudessai stopped a cut from Moeen at backward point and then followed that up with a superb throw to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik who destroyed the stumps with Moeen well short of the crease. FIREWORKS FROM CSK This was Chennai Super Kings' 200th match in the IPL. Maybe, that was enough motivation to do something special after a dismal start to their campaign in 2022. Shivam Dube and Robin Uthappa have been the best batters for the Super Kings this season and the two came together to take the attack to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Dube took on the wily Wanindu Hasaranga, hitting him for a six and a four in his first over. Uthappa was more circumspect but he decided it was time to up the ante in Glenn Maxwell's third over - smashing the part-time off-spinner for three sixes. Uthappa was the first of the two to get to his half-century, taking only 33 balls to bring up the milestone . Dubey reached his fifty off just 30 balls. Robin Uthappa hit a six off Josh Hazlewood in the 16th to bring up the 100-run partnership off only 53 balls with Shivam Dube. CSK would have been very concerned at one stage but the breathtaking partnership for the third wicket helped them set up a total their bowlers would have been happy to work with. Robin Uthappa was caught by Suyash Prabhudessai in the deep when he was on 81 but the bowler Mohammed Siraj had overstepped. Luck was smiling on the 4-time champs and RCB's bowlers were dazed. Uthappa eventually fell for 88 to a googly from Hasaranga but by then, he had added 165 runs with Shivam Dube. https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/ipl-2022/story/csk-vs-rcb-report-chennai-end-losing-run-uthappa-dube-theekshana-1936749-2022-04-12

Written by Vanessa Friedman Last spring, when much-loved designer Alber Elbaz unexpectedly died from COVID-19 just after introducing a label called AZ Factory, the fashion world first mourned, then wondered what would happen to his new company, backed by the luxury conglomerate Richemont. How could it go on without him? An answer came earlier this year: Enlist a series of “amigo” designers to carry on the spirit of experimentation and self-care that defined AZ Factory, expressing that spirit as they saw fit: in clothes, but also in objects, at installations, whatever. And the first would be Thebe Magugu, a 28-year-old South African designer, founder of a namesake label and winner of the 2019 LVMH Prize for emerging talent. This month, Magugu unveiled his collection for AZ Factory, which will be sold in two drops in June and September. Here he reveals how it happened and what it meant to take on the mantle of Elbaz. Q: How did your collaboration with AZ Factory come about? Did you know Alber? A: I never met him, but when we first got satellite television, I used to see his fashion shows. Then last year, I got an email from Alex Koo, Alber’s partner, saying he and the AZ Factory team were planning this tribute show, “Love Brings Love,” and they’d invited 44 or so brands to pay homage to Alber. He asked me to take part, and I said, “Of course.” It was such a beautiful show, seeing everyone’s interpretation of Alber looks throughout the years. Two or three months passed, and I got another email from AZ telling me about its strategy going forward, that the company would invite creatives across fashion, photography, what have you, to work with the brand, and I really wanted to do it. I wanted to tease the connection between myself and Alber, especially the fact that we’re both from the continent: him from Morocco and me from South Africa. That was the starting point of the collection. And then the question I posed was: What if Africa was the birthplace of fashion? Q: What if? A: Well, first and foremost, the values of fashion in the Northern Hemisphere have to do with storytelling — this idea of many hands working and knowledge that can be passed on from generation to generation. And those are really the same values we have in Africa for African crafts. Q: So how did you connect these two? A: I started researching a lot of silhouettes and merging them with my own. Before he passed, Alber had been working on quite a few prints with an Algerian printmaker named Chafik Cheriet. A lot of them were animal prints but quite abstracted, and I was immediately attracted to them. It’s almost as if this collection completes a collection that never was. One of my favorites is this exploded meerkat in red. Alber was also working with body conscious and solution-driven knitwear, so I took that and made a pure-white dress with these bell sleeves that reminded me of a bride, which in my language, Zulu, we call a makoti. It pays homage to that, but there’s a cutout on the chest that has our stainless steel sisterhood emblem on it. And then that little bag references the African geles, the hats, that I’ve been exploring. Q: You also included the look you made for the “Love Brings Love” show, right, which is now part of the exhibition at the Palais Galliera? A: Yeah, we felt like it was important that we reintroduce this look and make it available to people because originally it was a one-off and is now in a museum. It was a reference to Alber’s Guy Laroche period, a two-piece skirt and shirt, but dip-dyed. We had a running joke in the studio that it looked like it ran into a giant squid. We also did a lot of trompe l’oeil, like the skirt that looks pleated but is just a flat piece of fabric that’s printed with the grooves and the impressions of a pleat. Even the belt is fake. Q: This does sound like a collaboration to me, though. What makes it different? A: The word collaboration, especially now, implies a power dynamic. But here, there was no brief imposed. And what makes it quite special is that I got to leave the project with quite a few resources, especially technical resources. A lot of times, the AZ design studio was doing things that I technically didn’t know how to do. And they gave me contacts to certain suppliers and manufacturers. That makes it more like an incubator in a way. Q: What else did you learn from the experience? A: I was really struck by the sense of kindness and duty to others that Alber had. It’s not that common in fashion. Somewhere in our history, the idea of kindness began to be associated with weakness or indecision. But people like Alber, and like Virgil Abloh and some others I have interacted with, operate from that inherent sense of kindness, even at the heights they reach. They still retain that soul and humanity. Kindness, I think, will get you quite far. I really deeply believe in karma. What you put out will make its way back. ALSO READ |Bollywood’s obsession with neon colours continues as dopamine dressing rages Q: Does this make you want to take on a bigger brand? A: I think that what I’m building with my brand is quite special and has ramifications over and above me as an individual. I really do enjoy what I do and what I’m creating. But I will say, I am an insomniac. I don’t sleep. So I could do one brand in the day and one at night. I could do it all. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/fashion/what-if-africa-was-the-birthplace-of-fashion-7865746/

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden's virtual meeting came on the back of their differing stands on Ukraine. Days before their meeting, Mr Biden had called India's stand "somewhat shaky" and one US official had warned that India had been informed that the consequences of a "more explicit strategic alignment" with Moscow would be "significant and long-term". But India stood firm in its stand despite what appeared to be growing pressure from the US. Delhi continued to promote dialogue to end the war. It didn't criticise Russia directly but chose some strong words about the need to respect the sovereignty of each nation. In that backdrop, the leaders' summit - which was not planned and was requested by the White House - is significant for geopolitical developments. It was followed by the planned annual 2+2 Dialogue between Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and their US counterparts Antony Blinken and Lloyd Austin in Washington. It's evident from the statements that both sides have shown willingness to understand each other's positions on Ukraine. Pratyush Rao, director for South Asia at Control Risks consultancy, said the visit came at a sensitive time for the relationship. "This was a visible reaffirmation at the highest levels by both sides to the bilateral relationship, amidst all the media speculation about deepening strains over the Ukraine conflict. The message was, yes we do differ on Russia and will unlikely bridge the gap, but won't allow it to derail wider co-operation in the Indo-Pacific either," he added. While PM Modi and his ministers reaffirmed their stated policy of non-alignment on Ukraine, Mr Biden and his ministers appeared more understanding of Delhi's position - a marked shift from some earlier strong statements of Washington officials. Mr Blinken said India "has to make its own decisions about how it approaches this challenge". He also noted that India had issued strong statements at the UN and it had called for an independent investigation into the killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha. In a candid remark, he said "India's relationship with Russia has developed over decades at a time when the United States was not able to be a partner to India". He added that "times have changed" and the US was willing to be a partner of choice with India across virtually every realm - commerce, technology, education, and security. Former Indian diplomat Anil Triguniyat said this statement showed that the US has understood India's position in a broader geopolitical context. "Both sides have too much to lose if the bilateral relations are strained. Their relationship is rich and the meetings just reaffirmed that," he added. Beyond Ukraine, the two sides also reaffirmed their commitment in continuing co-operation in the Indo-Pacific, and also in the trade, defence and security sectors. The US said it saw India as "a net provider of security in the region". "China is seeking to refashion the region and the international system more broadly in ways that serve its interests," Mr Blinken said. Both the US and India agree on playing a bigger role in the region to counterbalance China's growing influence. India has a long disputed boundary with China. Their troops were involved in deadly clashes in the Galwan valley in 2020 that resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. China said later it lost four troops in the clash. Ukraine looms large over Biden-Modi talks Why India is not criticising Russia over Ukraine What Putin's India visit means for world politics Mr Jaishankar acknowledged that the Quad - which includes India, the US, Japan and Australia - had emerged as "a powerful force for global good" and its "elevation benefits the entire Indo-Pacific". Mr Rao said India reposing its faith in the Quad was significant. Russia, India's time-tested ally, has criticised the Quad and called it a forum to target China. Both Moscow and Beijing have become closer and often jointly taken stands against the West. In that context, Mr Rao said that the Indian foreign minister's public and unequivocal endorsement of the Quad was important and will likely resonate among his audience in Washington. Defence ties Washington also acknowledged that Russia is India's biggest defence supplier - accounting for more than 50% of its imports. In contrast, the US was India's second-largest supplier between 2011 and 2015 after Russia, but fell behind France and Israel in the period between 2016 and 2021. Former Indian diplomat Jitendra Nath Misra said India continued to import from Russia because it got good value for money, and, crucially, transfers of technology in some areas. "The US needs to give commitments on technology transfers to be able to get a bigger share of India's defence imports," he said. Defence Minister Singh talked about PM Modi's "Make in India" campaign and invited US defence companies to set up shop in India. But there hasn't been any big-ticket announcement on this. However, a significant measure was announced about the two countries jointly developing air-launched unmanned aerial vehicles. "More such measures are needed to address India's defence needs and help reduce its dependence on Moscow," Mr Misra added. But the crucial issue of India's acquisition of Russia's S-400 missile defence system remains unsolved. The purchase has come under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (Caatsa), which was introduced in 2017 to target Russia, Iran and North Korea with economic and political sanctions. It also prohibits any country from signing defence deals with these nations. Mr Blinken said the "US had not made a determination regarding potential sanctions or potential waivers under the CAATSA law". There was also a veiled suggestion to India when Mr Blinken said the US was asking countries to avoid major new transactions for Russian weapons systems. Mr Triguniyat says the ambiguity over the S-400 showed that the US wanted to keep its options open but it doesn't want to rock the boat at the moment. It's clear that there is a lot more ground to cover for the US to replace Moscow as India's largest defence supplier. Meanwhile, Mr Blinken also talked about India's human rights record, saying the US was "monitoring some recent concerning developments in India, including a rise in human rights abuses by some government, police, and prison officials". The Indian ministers didn't respond to this but analysts say Democrats, including former president Obama, have raised such issues in the past. The statement may have caused discomfort to Indians but analysts say its unlikely that the issue will become a major irritant in the relationship. Energy and trade Indian companies have been trying to circumvent sanctions to take advantage of the discounted oil prices being offered by Russian firms. When this question was put to Mr Jaishankar, he denied that India was ramping up its oil imports from Russia. "I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases [from Russia] for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon. So you might want to think about that," he said. The US has steadily increased its export of crude oil and refined petroleum products to India - accounting for 15% of India-US trade, which stood at $113bn in 2021. The two countries believe that there is vast potential to take the bilateral trade to $500bn in the future. The two sides announced a series of measures, including restarting the US-India Commercial Dialogue and the US-India CEO Forum, to improve trade ties. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61042314

Netflix is updating its ratings system — it's got two thumbs now. On Monday, the world's biggest subscription-based video streaming service announced it will offer a third thumbs-based option for you to provide your opinions on what you're watching. In addition to Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down, Netflix members can vote for a title with “Two Thumbs Up”. Think of it as a way to signify greater satisfaction. If a Thumbs Up is akin to liking something, Two Thumbs Up conveys you love it. Netflix is rolling out the new rating metric from today, and it will be available next to the Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down buttons on Netflix apps for TV, Android, iPhone, and on Netflix.com on the Web. Why Netflix is introducing Two Thumbs Up “We've heard from members that it's very important for them to distinguish between just liked titles from titles that they really loved. And so, we've built this feature, tested it, and we're rolling it out [now] globally,” Netflix's director of product innovation Christine Doig-Cardet told Gadgets 360 last week. In a blog post Monday, she added: “Consider Two Thumbs Up as a way to fine-tune your recommendations. A Thumbs Up still lets us know what you liked, so we use this response to make similar recommendations. But a Two Thumbs Up tells us what you loved and helps us get even more specific with your recommendations.” For instance, if you loved the recently-released Abhishek Bachchan-starrer Dasvi or the Madhuri Dixit Nene-led The Fame Game — I would like to personally hear from you, by the way — then Netflix will give more weight to other movies and series that include its cast members. Or those that come from its makers, such as Karan Johar's Dharmatic that produced the latter. This applies to every title on Netflix. If you loved Bridgerton's second season that dropped on Netflix in late March, you might be treated to more shows or films starring the cast — or those from the home of its producer Shondaland. What's the value of Two Thumbs Up though? Is it double that of Thumbs Up? That would make sense after all. Doig-Cardet told me that there's no “predetermined weight”, but rather, it's just “another input that goes into our personalisation. It takes into account like what you've watched, what you've liked, what you disliked, and the Two Thumbs Up is just another input. It knows that that's going to be a stronger signal than just liking, but there's no predetermined weight.” And why Netflix is moving away from its binary system Two Thumbs Up is the first big change to Netflix's rating system in half a decade. Almost five years to the day, Netflix abandoned its star rating system — it allowed you to rate titles on a scale of one to five stars — in favour of a binary one: thumbs up or down. At the time, Netflix said it would remove friction and simplify the whole process. Now, Netflix is complicating it a bit with Two Thumbs Up, as it brings back some level of gradation. Why is Netflix going against itself? Did it realise that the binary system was too simplified? “What we heard directly from our members is that they were longing to have a wider spectrum of emotions to convey about a title,” Netflix's director of personalization design Ratna Desai told Gadgets 360. “And obviously, that nuance of taste is very valuable to have a dialogue around, because it can improve recommendations in a new way. What we have here is another way to understand our members' tastes and their evolving tastes. The binary system was definitely something that members engaged with, but was limiting. Now, we're finding that there are new ways to look at our relationship with members.” But wait, what about my already-rated titles? Naturally, you can go back and change ratings for movies and series that you rated in the past. Netflix hinted that it might even make it easier for users to do this by way of a new user interface, though Desai and Doig-Cardet stopped short of revealing any specifics. They did note how positively Two Thumbs Up has been received during testing. “We've been testing this feature for a few months, and actually, we've been surprised how much they've engaged with already-watched titles to update that input, now that they know that they have that option,” Doig-Cardet said. “So we're not too concerned, because there's a very high usage of the feature, not just like for newly-launched titles, but also those that people have already watched and rated in the past.” “That goes to the point that there's a willingness to fine tune their tastes, and there's an eagerness with some subset of members to do this,” Desai added. “The fact that they're going to the extent of going back in time and re-reviewing these titles shows us that there's kind of like this longing and motivation for an unmet need.” Can I get a Two Thumbs Down? Now that Netflix has abandoned the binary system and expanded its thumbs-based approach, does this open the possibility of a “Two Thumbs Down” option? Doig-Cardet threw it back to the users and told Gadgets 360: “Yeah, if numbers indicate that that's something that they desire. Right now, we don't have that type of indication. Members tend to want to give more feedback on the positive side than the negative.” Clearly, no one is listening to me. insert sad smiley face here https://gadgets360.com/entertainment/news/netflix-two-thumbs-up-rating-system-android-iphone-tv-apps-why-binary-ditch-down-2878607

3D printers may soon get better at producing intricate metal and plastic parts, thanks to new software developed at the University of Michigan that reduces harmful heat buildup in laser powder bed fusion printers. Called SmartScan, the software demonstrated a 41% improvement in heat distribution and a 47% reduction in deformations in a recent study. It's also likely to speed the manufacturing process in two ways: by reducing the need for printers to slow down to help with cooling and by significantly reducing heat-caused defects that must be corrected after printing. Laser powder bed fusion is a form of 3D printing used in aerospace, automotive and biomedical industries to manufacture parts that are too intricate to make with conventional manufacturing. It uses a laser to fuse layers of powdered metal or plastic together. But the laser's heat can build up in the delicate parts being printed, causing deformation and other defects. "This problem gets even more serious for parts with really thin features," said Chinedum Okwudire, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and corresponding author of the paper in Additive Manufacturing. "The heat doesn't have a lot of room to spread, so you need to be smart about how you move the laser around, otherwise your part will deform in really weird ways." SmartScan tackles the problem by considering how heat flows within a given part and mapping an optimized scan sequence to limit heat accumulation in any given area. It analyzes the shape of the part and the thermal properties of the material being used, including conductive and convective heat transfer. Others in the field have experimented with varying printing patterns to reduce heat buildup, for example by jumping from one area to another or alternating between horizontal and vertical scanning directions. But Okwudire says SmartScan is the first solution that uses a thermal model to optimally guide the laser to distribute heat more evenly. "When you bring science into it, you can do it in a way that is better and works for even the most intricate parts," Okwudire said. To determine the effectiveness of this first version of SmartScan, the researchers used a laser to imprint an identical pattern on two stainless steel plates. They used the SmartScan process for the first plate and switched to traditional printing patterns for the second plate. The prints made with SmartScan were consistently less warped and showed more uniform heat distribution during the marking process than the other methods. Based on the results of the experiment, the team is confident that, with further research, they'll be able to adapt SmartScan to build full 3D parts. They plan to further improve the software by factoring the fusing of metal or plastic powder into their thermal modeling, as well as enabling active updating of a scan sequence during printing based on real-time observed temperature measurements using an infrared camera. "The results are very promising, and we've gotten a lot of positive feedback," said Okwudire, who has started to demonstrate the software to industry partners. "We went with a simple model because it works, and it works better than the trial-and-error approaches used today. We wanted to focus in a direction that is practical and truly has the chance to make a difference." https://techxplore.com/news/2022-04-smarter-3d-faster.html

NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace GPUs will be coming to gamers later this year in the next-gen GeForce RTX graphics cards. These cards are expected to rock some extreme specs and some extreme GPU requirements to operate as detailed by Kopite7kimi in his latest round of leaks. NVIDIA's Next-Gen Flagship GeForce Graphics Card Detailed: AD102 GPU, 24 GB & 21 Gbps Memory, Up To 600W TGP There might be a new rumor surrounding the naming convention used by the next-gen GeForce graphics cards with some now pointing towards a name change to GeForce RTX 50 series instead of the previously expected GeForce RTX 40 series. In the end, whatever NVIDIA decides to call the next GeForce lineup isn't as important as its underlying specifications. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 'Ada Lovelace' Graphics Card With GA102-300 GPU 'Rumored' Specs We know from the leaked NVIDIA Ada Lovelace GPU configurations which show that the flagship GA102 Gaming chip will rock a total of 144 SMs, a 71% increase over the existing GA102 GPU, and house a massive 18,432 CUDA core count. The chip used by the flagship GeForce graphics card will rock the AD102-300 GPU and we can't say for sure if this will be the full-fat SKU since the RTX 3090 Ti with the GA102-350 rocks the full configuration while the GA102-300 SKU featured on the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is a cut-down SKU. According to Kopite7kimi, the flagship GeForce graphics card will be based on the PG137/139-SKU30 PCB. These are both reference and Founders Edition designs. The reference design is provided to AIBs as a reference for their custom models while the FE design is exclusive to the reference Founders Edition model. The graphics card is said to retain the 24 GB memory capacity while offering a memory speed of 21 Gbps across a 384-bit bus interface. That's the same memory design as the flagship Ampere GeForce, the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, & should rock the same amount of bandwidth at 1004 Gb/s. As for the power input, the card would feature a single PCIe Gen 5 connector with a TGP rating of up to 600W. You will require a 4x 8-pin to 1x 16-pin adapter if you are running an older PSU or a single Gen 5 to Gen 5 connector if you have a compliant power supply. https://wccftech.com/nvidia-ada-lovelace-geforce-rtx-graphics-card-flagship-gpu-ad102-24-gb-21-gbps-memory-600w-tgp/

Name of the Game : PAYDAY 2 Price : 3.24$ https://store.steampowered.com/app/218620/PAYDAY_2/ Offer ends up after 24:14 hours: XApril Requirements: MINIMUM: OS:Windows 7 Processor:2 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor Memory:4 GB RAM Graphics:Nvidia & AMD (512MB VRAM) DirectX®:9.0c Storage:83 GB available space Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible RECOMMENDED: OS:Windows 10 Processor:2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor Memory:8 GB RAM Graphics:Nvidia & AMD (1GB VRAM) DirectX®:9.0c Storage:83 GB available space Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible

Life as a traveling merchant can't be all that easy, especially when you're living in the destruction and ruin left behind by an evil demon. In Akindo - Merchant’s Road, you play as an optimistic trader looking to revitalise commerce in the land, but what's a merchant to do when there are monsters lurking in every corner? You get yourself some hired guns, obviously, and start reshaping the economy for the good of the po[CENSORED]tion. Of course, your intentions aren't exactly purely noble, as you're doing what you're doing to score some buck. This is where the city-building aspect of this unique RPG comes in but is that element worth your time and effort? GAME REVIEWS Akindo - Merchant's Road review - "Unique concept, but can feel a tad grindy and repetitive" Star onStar onStar onStar offStar off By Catherine Ng Dellosa | 34 minutes ago iOS + Android | Akindo - Merchant's RoadGET Akindo - Merchant's Road review - "Unique concept, but can feel a tad grindy and repetitive" By Catherine Ng Dellosa | Apr 11 iOS + Android | Akindo - Merchant's Road Life as a traveling merchant can't be all that easy, especially when you're living in the destruction and ruin left behind by an evil demon. In Akindo - Merchant’s Road, you play as an optimistic trader looking to revitalise commerce in the land, but what's a merchant to do when there are monsters lurking in every corner? You get yourself some hired guns, obviously, and start reshaping the economy for the good of the po[CENSORED]tion. Of course, your intentions aren't exactly purely noble, as you're doing what you're doing to score some buck. This is where the city-building aspect of this unique RPG comes in but is that element worth your time and effort? Table of contents: Akindo - Merchant’s Road story and graphics Akindo - Merchant’s Road gameplay Akindo - Merchant’s Road verdict AKINDO - MERCHANT’S ROAD STORY AND GRAPHICS After humanity takes down the evil Demon King, the world of Akindo lies in shambles in the aftermath of the battle. The Pyrrhic victory comes at a cost - the world is now faced with the gargantuan task of picking up the pieces of a crumbling society, with the world economy on the verge of collapse. Arabilis: Super Harvest review - "Not-so-idyllic farm life with a roguelike twist" Thankfully, your wide-eyed little merchant is up to the task. Your main goal is to build structures, open commercial and trading spots, revitalise businesses and get the po[CENSORED]tion thriving again, but you can't do all that without the help of some might and muscle. As you recruit heroes to fight for you from the gacha pool, you'll eventually build a formidable party from your roster of recruits to join you in your cause. All these come in adorable pixel art, with each new hero unique in both appearance and skill. The pixel art visuals are complemented by the lovely background music - plus, the monsters themselves look pretty cute too, adding to the overall charm of this portrait game. AKINDO - MERCHANT’S ROAD GAMEPLAY Each new island you discover provides you with hexagonal grids you can explore or construct buildings on. Exploring the grid means entering into battle, where you can simply swipe to move your characters along toward enemies on a side-scrolling screen. Heroes summoned fight automatically to protect your merchant, but just in case they all fall in battle, you'll still have a handy Coin Gun to help you ward off foes until you run out of ammo. Top 10 best simulation games for Android Different locales offer different enemies as well, although to be honest, the types of monsters - albeit cute - didn't feel too varied for me. Still, there are airborne foes and grounded foes, which means you'll have to strategise the right party combo to maximise your battle prowess and take advantage of your heroes' different classes. For instance, ranged fighters can hit equally ranged foes, while melee characters can easily defeat enemies in close-quarters combat. You can level up your party members using coins you earn after each battle, as well as craft weapons and armour for them using materials you farm from foes. GAME REVIEWS Akindo - Merchant's Road review - "Unique concept, but can feel a tad grindy and repetitive" Star onStar onStar onStar offStar off By Catherine Ng Dellosa | 34 minutes ago iOS + Android | Akindo - Merchant's RoadGET Akindo - Merchant's Road review - "Unique concept, but can feel a tad grindy and repetitive" By Catherine Ng Dellosa | Apr 11 iOS + Android | Akindo - Merchant's Road Life as a traveling merchant can't be all that easy, especially when you're living in the destruction and ruin left behind by an evil demon. In Akindo - Merchant’s Road, you play as an optimistic trader looking to revitalise commerce in the land, but what's a merchant to do when there are monsters lurking in every corner? You get yourself some hired guns, obviously, and start reshaping the economy for the good of the po[CENSORED]tion. Of course, your intentions aren't exactly purely noble, as you're doing what you're doing to score some buck. This is where the city-building aspect of this unique RPG comes in but is that element worth your time and effort? Table of contents: Akindo - Merchant’s Road story and graphics Akindo - Merchant’s Road gameplay Akindo - Merchant’s Road verdict AKINDO - MERCHANT’S ROAD STORY AND GRAPHICS After humanity takes down the evil Demon King, the world of Akindo lies in shambles in the aftermath of the battle. The Pyrrhic victory comes at a cost - the world is now faced with the gargantuan task of picking up the pieces of a crumbling society, with the world economy on the verge of collapse. Arabilis: Super Harvest review - "Not-so-idyllic farm life with a roguelike twist" Thankfully, your wide-eyed little merchant is up to the task. Your main goal is to build structures, open commercial and trading spots, revitalise businesses and get the po[CENSORED]tion thriving again, but you can't do all that without the help of some might and muscle. As you recruit heroes to fight for you from the gacha pool, you'll eventually build a formidable party from your roster of recruits to join you in your cause. All these come in adorable pixel art, with each new hero unique in both appearance and skill. The pixel art visuals are complemented by the lovely background music - plus, the monsters themselves look pretty cute too, adding to the overall charm of this portrait game. AKINDO - MERCHANT’S ROAD GAMEPLAY Each new island you discover provides you with hexagonal grids you can explore or construct buildings on. Exploring the grid means entering into battle, where you can simply swipe to move your characters along toward enemies on a side-scrolling screen. Heroes summoned fight automatically to protect your merchant, but just in case they all fall in battle, you'll still have a handy Coin Gun to help you ward off foes until you run out of ammo. Top 10 best simulation games for Android Different locales offer different enemies as well, although to be honest, the types of monsters - albeit cute - didn't feel too varied for me. Still, there are airborne foes and grounded foes, which means you'll have to strategise the right party combo to maximise your battle prowess and take advantage of your heroes' different classes. For instance, ranged fighters can hit equally ranged foes, while melee characters can easily defeat enemies in close-quarters combat. You can level up your party members using coins you earn after each battle, as well as craft weapons and armour for them using materials you farm from foes. After successfully ridding a grid of enemies, you can start constructing buildings to grow the po[CENSORED]tion. You can construct anything from simple roads to expensive mines, and each structure you build will periodically reward you with raw materials you can craft to either build more structures or boost your characters' gear. WHAT'S THE APPEAL? Upon playing the game, I found the concept very unique - it has the right blend of RPG and city-building elements to keep me entertained. The more I played, however, the more I felt like the requirements were a little restrictive, in that it's a little difficult to progress unless you keep grinding for materials during combat. It does feel very grindy in this respect, and when you add that to the fact that enemies aren't too varied (you'll mostly win simply by having a higher level than your opponent), it can all feel very repetitive. You can use special skills that charge up in battle to complement all the auto-fighting - like the Priest's AOE heal or the Necromancer's all-enemy damage - but it'll still very grindy when you consider the many different raw materials you need just to build or craft something. You can, of course, watch ads to speed up combat or earn more rewards, but that really doesn't help with the many prerequisites during construction. I also didn't enjoy the fact that materials needed aren't labelled, nor can you really tell where you're supposed to farm them. You'll simply have to decipher which icon looks like which prerequisite, and hope for the best that you'll earn that raw material after combat with some random foes. Top 15 best farming games for Android phones and tablets That lack of a quality-of-life feature is my biggest gripe here - it's just a shame that a game that requires you to craft and merge materials is unable to provide you with the right info to craft and merge them. Still, Akindo - Merchant's Road is a unique title that aims to do something new compared to what's currently on the market today. It's worth giving it a go just to see how its genre-mashing elements come together nicely - it's a free-to-play game, after all, and I didn't feel like the ads were particularly intrusive. https://www.pocketgamer.com/akindo-merchants-road/review-unique-concept-but-can-feel-a-tad-grindy/

Trolls in Valheim should take a bit more notice when you clobber them, thanks to the latest patch for the lo-fi survival game. The latest Valheim patch includes adjustments to troll behaviour to make them stagger correctly when they’re hit. The hotfix, patch 0.208.1, also makes a variety of nice quality of life changes that should make recovering your lost gear a bit less frustrating, too. Developer Iron Gate says it has taken the step of “reminding the trolls that they should in fact get staggered” when adventurers smack them with something heavy. “Not so fun for them, but fun for you!” the studio points out reassuringly. This ought to at least make trolls a bit more manageable – they won’t be shrugging off hard hits quite as often, anyway. Another nice fix in this update is a change to the way your inventory is handled when you reclaim your tombstone after being unceremoniously killed (possibly by a troll). The latest patch makes it so your recovered inventory items will automatically stack with anything you’re currently carrying, rather than requiring free slots for each item picked up. Apart from these, the rest of the notes pertain to small but impactful changes that either address bugs or streamline the user experience – there’s not any big new content in this update, but Iron Gate says it’s more meant to “make your gameplay experience a bit smoother”. For example, if you’re playing on a gamepad, you won’t automatically buy twice from traders anymore, and there are some new keyboard and gamepad hints to help you out in the inventory screen. We’re hoping to see the Mistlands update for Valheim before the end of this year, but you can check back on the Valheim roadmap for any updates to the timeline for the next major content patch. https://www.pcgamesn.com/valheim/troll-staggering-patch

In 2012, a heinous crime enraged a whole country. Based on the case files of the Delhi Police, the story follows the unfailing determination of Varthika Chaturvedi, the investigating officer, to find the perpetrators of the crime. This time, the hunt is personal.

The Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates substantially to control inflation but may not be as “behind the curve” as it appears, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Thursday. One of the Federal Open Market Committee’s most “hawkish” members in favor of tighter policy, Bullard said a rules-based approach suggests the central bank needs to hike its benchmark short-term borrowing rate to about 3.5%. However, he said bond market adjustments to the Fed’s more aggressive policy, in which yields have surged higher, suggest rates are not that far askew. “If you take account of [forward guidance], we don’t look so bad. Not all hope is lost. That is the basic gist of this story,” Bullard said in a speech at the University of Missouri. “You’re still behind the curve, but not as much as it looks like,” he added. Markets are pricing in rates hitting the 3.5% rate in the summer of 2023, a bit slower than Bullard anticipates, according to CME Group data. The comments come the day after minutes from the March FOMC meeting indicated officials were close to approving a 50-basis-point rate hike but settled on 25 points due to uncertainty around the war in Ukraine. A basis point equals 0.01% In addition, members said they foresee the Fed starting to shed some assets on its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet, with the likely pace evolving to a maximum $95 billion a month. Both moves are an effort to control inflation running at its fastest pace in more than 40 years. Bullard, a voting member on the FOMC this year, said Thursday that “inflation is too high” and the Fed needs to act. In projections released in March, Bullard called for the highest rates among his committee peers. He has said he wants to see 100 basis points’ worth of hikes by June. The benchmark fed funds rate now is in a range targeted between 0.25%-0.5%. “U.S. inflation is exceptionally high, and that doesn’t mean 2.1% or 2.2% or something. This means comparable to what we saw in the high inflation era in the 1970s and early 1980s,” he said. “Even if you’re very generous to the Fed in interpreting what the inflation rate really is today … you’d have to raise the policy rate a lot.” The Fed uses “forward guidance,” such as its quarterly dot plot of individual members’ interest and economic expectations, in directing the market to where it thinks policy is going. Judging by moves in Treasury yields, the market already has priced in aggressive Fed tightening. That makes the central bank not so far behind the curve in the inflation fight as it might appear, Bullard said. “The difference between today and the 1970s is central bankers have a lot more credibility,” he said. “In the ’70s, no one believed the Fed would do anything about inflation. It was kind of a chaotic era. You really needed (former Fed Chair Paul) Volcker to come in … . He slayed the inflation dragon and established credibility. After that, people believed the central bank would bring inflation under control.” Volcker’s rate hikes did bring down inflation in the early 1980s, but not without triggering a double-dip recession. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/07/feds-bullard-says-interest-rate-policy-is-behind-the-curve-but-all-is-not-lost.html

Black and white stripes make the zebra one of the most recognizable animals in the world. The plains zebra, also known as the common zebra, is the most abundant of three species of zebra, inhabiting the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. The other two species are Grevy’s zebras and mountain zebras. On average, plains zebras are smaller than the other two species of zebra. They range in height from 1-1.5 m (3.5-5 ft.) and can weigh almost 450 kg (1000 lbs.). Plains zebras also have a different stripe pattern than the other species. They have broad stripes that run horizontally towards the back and vertically towards the front, meeting in a triangle in the middle of their bodies. They also have a stripe that runs down the center of their backs onto the tail. Finally, plains zebras have underbelly stripes. Although all plains zebras share these similarities in stripe patterns, no two zebras have exactly the same pattern. Zebras have very good hearing and eyesight, which helps them stay clear of predators such as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs. It also helps that they can run 56 km/h (35 mph) and pack a powerful kick. If one zebra spots a predator, it lets out a sharp two-syllable call. The young and female zebras run, while the males trail behind to defend them. If one is attacked, others circle around to help protect it from predators. Plains zebras are herbivores, meaning they eat plants. They spend the majority of their day eating, mostly grazing on grass, but also eating leaves and stems. To keep up with the frequent grinding of these foods, zebras’ back teeth continue to grow throughout their lives. Zebras are known to travel great distances to find food and water when the dry season arrives. When not eating or traveling, zebras do take the opportunity to sleep. In fact, they sleep standing up! But zebras only sleep when they are in large groups so that they can be alerted of danger. A typical plains zebra family consists of a male, called a stallion, several females, called mares, and their children. When a female becomes pregnant, it takes 13 months to have the baby, called a foal. These family groups are called harems. The harems will often join with other families to form large herds. Zebras can live up to 25 years in the wild. Conservation Status The plains zebra is listed by the IUCN as near threatened, with their po[CENSORED]tions decreasing. Plains zebras are threatened by habitat loss due to human development and farming. They are vulnerable to hunting throughout their range, especially when they move out of protected areas. Many are hunted for their skins. What You Can Do to Help If you would like to help the plains zebra, you can donate to the African Wildlife Foundation, whose initiatives help preserve critical zebra habitat and wildlife corridors. https://animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/plains-zebra/