Revo

Anushka Sharma, who is expecting her first child, has been spotted quite frequently in the last few months. And the actor, almost always, gives serious maternity goals with her looks. It was no different when the Zero actor was spotted twice recently. For one outing, she opted for an oversized sweatshirt dress from the label MM6 Maison Margiela. She teamed that with comfortable white sneakers and let her hair loose. Virat, too, was spotted looking sharp in grey pants teamed with jacket and t-shirt. On another occasion, she went for an oversized white shirt and we love how soothing the look is. The shirt was teamed with blue denim and Kolhapuri chappals. And as we all know, you can never go wrong with this combination. Recently, she did a maternity photoshoot with fashion magazine Vogue and the results were stunning! She spoke about the way she bonded with other women during pregnancy. “When you are expecting, you connect with people you never thought you would. Honestly, all the women in my life, not only my close friends, have been so kind, so helpful in reaching out…For all those questions, you have to have that circle. I think it’s really underrated, that ‘sisterhood’.”

After signing from Red Bull Salzburg, the 25-year-old has endured a testing first 12 months on Merseyside - but can 2021 be his year to shine? It is safe to say that Takumi Minamino will never forget his first year at Liverpool. It is 12 months since the Japan international moved to Merseyside, the Reds having beaten off strong competition to complete his signing. At just £7.25million ($9.8m), it looked like the perfect transfer. A typical Liverpool transfer, if you like. Minamino had impressed playing against them for Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, and appeared an ideal fit for a Jurgen Klopp team. Bright, energetic, versatile and full of quality, his capture, ahead of the likes of Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, was seen as something of a coup. A year on, though, fans are still waiting for the 25-year-old’s Anfield career to ignite. Minamino made his Liverpool debut in the third round of the FA Cup – a memorable 1-0 win over Everton – and he is likely to feature there again on Friday as the Reds travel to Aston Villa, with Klopp expected to make a number of changes to his starting line-up. It was certainly a strange Christmas for the forward. He scored his first Premier League goal on December 19, netting his side’s opener in their historic 7-0 win at Crystal Palace, when everything looked rosy for the champions. But if he hoped that might lead to an extended run in the team, his prayers have not been answered. He completed 90 minutes at Selhurst Park – only the second time he has done so for Liverpool in the league - but he has not featured since. As Klopp’s men have stumbled, dropping seven points in three games against West Brom, Newcastle and Southampton over the festive period, Minamino has remained unused. Curious, to say the least – especially with the Reds scoring just one goal in those three fixtures. Klopp turned to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Divock Origi against West Brom, and used Gini Wijnaldum, Thiago Alcantara and Xherdan Shaqiri off the bench up at Newcastle. Against Southampton, when his side managed just one shot on target in 90 minutes, he called upon Shaqiri and James Milner. Not Minamino. That, really, is how it has been for him on Merseyside. Moments of promise, but few and far between. One step forward followed by two back. “Rhythm,” is one of Klopp’s favourite words, but it has been hard to find for this player. There have been 29 appearances in all competitions, but only 11 starts – and only four of those have come in the Premier League. Eighteen times he has been an unused substitute. That is understandable, to a degree. He is, after all, competing for a position with three of the world’s best forwards, and the performances of Diogo Jota have made his task even tougher. Jota hit the ground running following his summer switch from Wolves, with nine goals in 17 games before a knee injury halted his progress. “It’s hard to get in this team,” Klopp said when asked about Minamino in November. “But Taki is a sensational boy and a great player, so he will face that challenge. His time will come, no doubt.” The big question, though, is when? And where? Minamino is certainly versatile. He has played on the right, on the left and as a No.9, and against Brighton in November he was deployed as a third central midfielder alongside Milner and Wijnaldum. But if truth be told, he has not convinced anywhere yet. Not quite quick enough to play wide, not quite strong enough to play centrally. His impact has been fitful. His best game at Anfield, still, was in a Salzburg shirt. He has ability, clearly, and his attitude is faultless. He wants to succeed, you can see that, and he has a good understanding of the tactical demands of playing in this Liverpool side. He knows about pressing, about positional play, about where to run and why. Staff have been delighted with how he responded to the incredible challenges of 2020 – particularly off the field. Adapting to a new country, a new language and a new culture is one thing; doing it during three periods of national lockdown is quite another. Minamino used the time well. His English is now close to perfect, and he has built strong relationships with team-mates, in particular Sadio Mane and Naby Keita, who live near him in Formby. "He has come out of his shell," said Virgil van Dijk back in September. Goal asked Klopp about Minamino’s first year in England on Thursday, ahead of the Villa game. “I don’t think it was a very difficult year,” he replied. “But I know what you mean. You come into a new club and everyone thinks you will score 20, 30, 40 goals…. “But he is in a really good shape. He developed, he got used to the intensity, to the training and he made big steps.

Rabat – The UAE is set to reopen its borders to Qatar, officially concluding the 3.5-year Gulf crisis that saw Qatar isolated from its neighbors. On Tuesday, Qatar signed a diplomatic agreement with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE that is becoming a practical reality as the coalition lifts its border restrictions. The UAE will open its land, sea, and air borders with Qatar on Saturday, showing its commitment to the newfound political agreement to end the Gulf crisis. The country’s diplomats had promised to reopen its borders “within a week,” following Saudi Arabia reopening its borders on Tuesday, January 5, during the agreement’s signing ceremony. After months of fruitful negotiations, the parties involved signaled they had finally reached a deal to end the diplomatic isolation of Qatar and end the Gulf crisis. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan al-Saud stated that all parties were “extremely pleased” to have reached an agreement that was “entirely satisfactory to all nations involved.” With diplomatic talks concluded, the Gulf crisis is now seeing its practical conclusion as former rivals again reopen their borders with Qatar and vital trade and travel can recommence. From Saturday, January 9, the UAE will resume cross-border travel and trade that had been halted since 2017. On Thursday the UAE’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Anwar Gargash, stated the UAE is “extremely, extremely supportive and positive about the declaration.” Rarely does a diplomatic stand-off such as the 3.5-year Qatar Gulf Crisis reach such an amicable conclusion. The diplomatic success is likely the result of Kuwaiti mediation, the first diplomatic victory since its renowned emir and international diplomat Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah passed away on September 29, 2020. The US has also facilitated the diplomatic triumph that ends Qatar’s isolation from its closest neighbors. The US has close ties to both Qatar, and the coalition that isolated it since 2017. The “Al Ula agreement,” named after the location of the signing, was brokered by the US and signed at the 41st GCC summit. The agreement means the Gulf crisis is now over and Qatar and its former rivals will now be “turning a page,” according to the most-recent public statements by Emirati FM Gargash.

Video title : It's Better to FAIL TOGETHER! 😂 | Funny Fails | AFV 2021 Content creator ( Youtuber ) :America's Funniest Home Videos Official YT video :

my vote goes DH2 , good sound

v2 text & effect

DH1 : 5votes DH2 : 3votes

What is it? Turbocharged Direct Injection technology (you may not know) is a Volkswagen Group invention, first used in 1989 for a TDI-badged diesel version of the Audi 100, before going on (for reasons you will know) to bring the company some quite undesirable publicity 26 years later. Injecting diesel fuel directly into the combustion chamber is nothing new, and neither is combining that fuel vapour with ice-cold turbocharged air for a bigger bang, but its starring role in this review will no doubt spark discussion for the very fact that it runs so overtly counter to the future-thinking rhetoric at the heart of Volkswagen’s current manifesto. Curiously, in fact, you could walk into a Volkswagen dealership at this very moment with a little over £30,000 in your pocket and emerge with either this 2.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel SUV or a much more futuristically styled electric hatchback (with a 261-mile range) in tow. Of course, as Wolfsburg gradually expands its electric ID line-up, we’ll start to see oil-burners such as this discontinued, but for now they continue to form an integral part of the brand’s European range, to the extent that some 20% of facelifted Tiguans sold in the UK are expected to be diesel-powered, even after the market introduction of the tax-friendly, plug-in eHybrid version next month. There’s no denying the superficial appeal of such a powertrain, even in light of the social stigma that’s now grown around cars that sup from the black pump. Even the most abstemious modern petrol motors can’t quite match a diesel for long-distance frugality, and for lugging large loads - in this case likely three children, a dog and maybe a bike or two - the low-end torque will be a significant boon. But the fact remains that these cars are no longer as cheap to run as they once were - for the majority at least - and as low-emission zones are adopted and expanded across the country, their daily usage will gradually become less and less viable. What's it like? We’ve quickly become used to the impressive capability of today’s buzzy little turbocharged petrol motors, and no longer sneer at the idea of a 1.5-tonne family mover being propelled by a powerplant you might once have associated exclusively with the supermini segment. So firing up a four-pot diesel motor today - however large the car - feels slightly old-school and a tad inappropriate, especially in an urban environment that’s quickly becoming inhospitable to all cars but those that shun fossil fuels altogether. Of course, should you live in such an area and venture only occasionally onto motorways and the like, you’re probably not considering a diesel in any case. And, indeed, this is not where the Tiguan TDI shines; there’s no mild-hybrid system here, which means no energy recuperation under braking, which in turn means you’ll no doubt waste as much fuel getting out of town as you would have saved over the course of the entire journey. It’s not exactly what you’d call quick off the mark, either, lumbering from 0-62mph in 9.3sec, so there’ll be no gap-chasing in traffic nor sprinting between traffic lights. The Tiguan’s diesel option is paired exclusively with a seven-speed DSG automatic, which slips effortlessly between ratios on the open road but feels lethargic in stop-start operations, holding each cog for a tad too long at the top of the rev range, before offering up another all too suddenly. Even when pushing on, kickdown appears to elicit more noise than anything else, and while the illuminated S at the base of the shifter might catch the keen driver’s eye, Sport mode fails to tangibly extract any zip or verve from that four-pot motor. Means of propulsion aside, this latest iteration of the Tiguan passes as a convincing value alternative to more ostensibly premium-oriented rivals. Say what you will about the gradual extinction of physical controls, but it doesn’t half make for an upmarket interior vibe (albeit one that’s harder to appreciate when you’re trying to turn the fan down at 70mph but keep activating the heated seat or demisting the windscreen). Our joint-top-rung Elegance trim test car’s panoramic sunroof made the cabin feel distinctly larger, while the plush dual-fabric seats felt sufficiently sized and bolstered to make long-distance driving the pleasurable experience you’d no doubt seek when specifying such a car. There’s little to take issue with in terms of material quality either, though the splashes of carbonfibre-effect trim might make more sense on the more aggressively styled R Line model. Swipe-tastic dashboard and airy cabin aside, it’s hard to escape the notion that this diesel version of Volkswagen’s sales chart stalwart has become a bit of a dinosaur. Long gone are the days we’d recommend a diesel SUV for anyone but a private buyer - especially so here given the 37% business-in-kind rating that oil-burning motor incurs - but even that would come with some significant caveats now. Reconcile yourself to its shortcomings, however, and you are likely to find the Tiguan's strong suits to be sufficient compensation. Should I buy one? Non-business buyers will pay £870 in vehicle excise duty alone for the diesel, and then you have to consider the very real possibility that such powertrains will be banned from city centres in the next few years. Neither of these considerations will keep you up at night if you spend all your time on the motorway, but you’d have to do some serious miles to justify the diesel over the bigger-selling 1.5-litre petrol, which only just lags behind in efficiency terms. As facelifts go, this is among the more significant of late, bringing welcome and noticeable improvements to the Tiguan’s styling, interior and range structure, but the increasingly apparent drawbacks of the diesel option make it harder than ever to recommend, despite its long-range refinement. It’s worth noting that if you’re married to the idea of a diesel Tiguan but do lots of urban driving, the closely related Seat Tarraco can still be specified with the 2.0-litre lump and a row-your-own ’box for similar money.

American model and actor Christie Brinkley recently underwent hip surgery after injuring it many years ago. In an Instagram post, the 66-year-old revealed she had an accident after her helicopter crashed on a mountaintop in Telluride many years ago. By her own admission, the pain worsened with each year, and even though 12 years back she was asked to get a hip replacement she delayed it — finding it too daunting. In the quarantine, however, as she had time to herself, she finally took the plunge and shared the news wearing a bathing suit! “New Year, New Hip! Yes, that’s a band aid on my hip. I injured my hip in a backcountry skiing helicopter crash on a mountaintop in Telluride many years ago. The pain in my hip got a little bit worse each year. 12 years ago I was told it needed to be replaced but the surgery was daunting! And I had things to do! But quarantine put a damper on any plans so I decided to finally take time for myself and do something about the pain that had progressively influenced my decisions,” (sic) she wrote. “I wanted to be ready to be able to say yes to opportunity. I had my surgery at Thanksgiving and I was dancing in my kitchen by New Years Eve and today I put on my long fins and explored the coral reefs propelled by my new hip! I’m writing all this to say If you’ve been putting something off that could improve your well-being but hesitate out of some sort of fear, I suggest learning as much as you can about the process and the results and expectations. I found the best Doctor for my circumstances and voila! I can’t tell you how happy I am to have done this,” (sic) she continued. “Now I can focus on getting back in shape and rebuilding my strength. Never too old to get hip! 😜 PS This was an early morning dive ( literally jumped out of bed and into the boat) so the sun was low snd raked highlighting the particles in the water I’m sure to have clearer shots in the days ahead!” she concluded.

In-form defender John Stones scored his first Manchester City goal since November 2017 to put his side in another EFL Cup final. John Stones ended his long goal drought as holders Manchester City secured a 2-0 derby win over Manchester United to set up an EFL Cup final showdown with Tottenham. Stones has been outstanding at the heart of the City defence since forcing his way back into the side this season and he scored his first City goal in 1,162 days at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The in-form centre-back had earlier put the ball in his own net early on but Marcus Rashford was offside, summing up how his fortunes have changed. United were unable to respond following Stones' goal early in the second half and Fernandinho doubled City's lead seven minutes from time with an excellent finish. Pep Guardiola's side were worthy winners, dumping their neighbours out at the same stage they did 12 months ago as they aim to win the competition for a fourth consecutive season. Stones was relieved to see the flag raised after the ball bounced off him and into his own net before Ilkay Gundogan had a goal ruled out for offside at the other end in a pulsating start after a poignant minute's silence for City legend Colin Bell, who died on Tuesday at the age of 74. Zack Steffen denied Bruno Fernandes with a magnificent one-handed save at full stretch and Kevin De Bruyne rattled the point with a rasping drive from 20 yards out. City were dictating the tempo and Phil Foden was also denied an opening goal after straying just offside in an entertaining, but goalless first half. It took less than five minutes of the second half for the opening goal to arrive, though, Stones finding the back of the net for a second time on the night when he turned Foden's inviting free-kick in with his left thigh. Dean Henderson tipped Raheem Sterling's header around the post and produced a fine save to keep out Riyad Mahrez's venomous strike as City scented a second goal. United could not find a way through a well-drilled City defence and Fernandinho settled it, firing home with his right foot from outside the penalty area following a corner from the right. What does it mean? Ominous City pay fitting tribute to Bell City made a big statement in the battle for the Premier League title when they outclassed Chelsea last weekend and they are now unbeaten in 12 matches. Guardiola's men have won five in a row and this was their first victory over United in four attempts as they paid a fitting tribute to their late midfield great Bell. City have dominated the EFL Cup and will be favourites to lift the trophy for a sixth time in eight seasons when they face Spurs in the final at Wembley on April 25. Stones rock solid alongside dominant Dias After falling out of favour at the Etihad Stadium, Stones has been brilliant alongside the hugely impressive record signing Ruben Dias. Brimming with confidence, Stones was typically calm on the ball and read the game superbly as United fired a blank for the first time since they were held to a goalless draw by City on the same ground on December 12. As well as scoring his first City goal since November 2017, Stones gained possession six times, won 80 per cent of his duels and had a passing accuracy of 95.3 per cent. The uncompromising Dias made six clearances, two blocks and won all of his five duels. Fernandes fails to fire United have now lost four semi-finals in a row and they could have no complaints. It was not a night to remember for Fernandes, who had a passing accuracy of only 59.4 per cent in the City half and twice blazed off target when he had a sight of goal. - City are only the second side to reach four consecutive finals in the competition after Liverpool, who did so between 1981 and 1984. - This will be their ninth final – only Liverpool (12) have played in more. - United have been eliminated from three of their last four semi-final ties in the tournament, having progressed from eight of nine before that. - The home team has won just three of the last 15 derbies between United and City in all competitions (D3 L9). - City have now had 16 different goalscorers in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League team. What's next? Guardiola's side are at home to Birmingham City in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday, while United also face Championship opposition in the form of Watford a day earlier.

Morocco’s Ministry of Education is set to cancel 109 vocational training courses currently provided in training centers across the country for their incompatibility with the domestic job market. Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi made the announcement during a session at the House of Councillors on Tuesday, January 5. “We will remove 109 existing training courses for their inability to offer employment opportunities for graduates,” he said. The cancellation of the training courses would leave only 15% of the currently available courses unchanged, Amzazi announced. To replace the cancelled courses, the Ministry of Education and the Office of Vocational Training and Job Promotion (OFPPT) said they will develop new courses that are better adapted to the job market. Read also: Minister: Vocational Training Can Propel Job Creation in Morocco According to Amzazi, the new vocational training courses will make up 42% of the training offered in OFPPT centers. Meanwhile, 43% of the available courses will undergo some changes in order to better prepare learners for the labor market. “The needs of the labor market are some of the most complex equations because they are constantly changing,” the minister said. The new vocational training courses to be implemented will cover the sectors of health, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, agriculture, crafts, and fishing, he announced. Amzazi, however, did not specify the sectors affected by the cancellation of training courses. The Ministry of Education and OFPPT will hold regular meetings to identify the changes in the domestic job market and adapt the training courses, the minister promised. In 2020, the two institutions carried out five studies about the most in-demand jobs in the country, he added, announcing that their results will soon be published. Vocational training is one of the main paths that young highschool graduates in Morocco can pursue. There are currently more than 360 public vocational training centers in the country with a total capacity of 500,000 learners.

welcome !

DH1 DH2

Nickname : @Revo 324 Tag your opponent : @G R 4 V E N 提 Music genre : Latin Number of votes ( max 10 ) : 7 Tag one leader to post your songs LIST : Me

my vote goes to DH2 , because it describe the reality of life in street

What is it? As the entry point to an expansive line-up that now includes nine different models, the Q2 is something of a gateway drug to the Audi SUV range. Many customers are completely new to the brand, so keeping it relevant in such a competitive part of the market is no minor task. That’s why the compact crossover received a subtle refresh late last year, sharpening its looks even further and bringing its interior technology more up to date with rivals such as the Mini Countryman and all-new Ford Puma. Styling revisions include a more expansive and purposeful-looking front grille that more closely resembles the larger Q5, redesigned front and rear bumpers, and LED headlights that come as standard across the range. The outgoing car’s sharp angles and sculpted shut lines, which weren’t to all tastes before, remain largely unchanged. Having driven the entry-level 1.0-litre 30 TFSI Technik back in October, it’s now time to test the more potent 1.4-litre, in step-up Sport trim and equipped with Audi’s optional S tronic seven-speed automatic transmission. What's it like? With 148bhp from four turbocharged cylinders, the Q2 feels usefully quicker and more responsive under acceleration than the 1.0-litre three-pot. At 8.6sec it is almost three seconds quicker in the 0-62mph sprint, and is noticeably smoother under load. Unfortunate, then, that the automatic transmission is so sluggish, shuffling cogs even under a light foot at consistent speed and taking its time to react when you put your foot down. It’s symptomatic of many recent VW Group models, and detracts from what should be an enjoyable driving experience. The newly redesigned gearlever is less awkward here simply because you’re using it less often, though given we found the Q2’s manual gearbox to be fairly accurate, we’d prefer it over the somewhat hesitant automatic. Otherwise, the Q2 feels the same as it ever did, with plenty of front-end grip and the variable steering is calibrated in such a manner that the car feels more agile than you’d expect through the corners. Though it rarely proves engaging when you do press on, there’s a level of dynamism to be found that might prove surprising. A somewhat firm ride is the trade-off, though that evens out slightly once you get up to speed. The customisable drive modes (now standard on Sport trim cars) do little to change that, though you wouldn’t call this car uncomfortable. Beyond some tweaked air vents (which during our test seemed rather hesitant to heat up the cabin) the interior refinements for 2021 are largely focused on infotainment. The 12.3in digital instrument cluster, now standard on Sport trim and above, remains a highlight, though the 8.3in infotainment system still relies heavily on a rotary controller and hot keys in the centre console. That’s because the underlying operating system is still shared with the previous-generation A3, rather than the latest interface, which is more touch-friendly. It’s still intuitive enough to use, though rival systems are rapidly catching up in terms of display clarity and level of customisation on offer. You don’t have to hunt too hard to find hard scratchy plastics, but the cabin manages to remain on the right side of premium, with welcome standard features like an electronic tailgate and fabric-wrapped sports seats. Should I buy one? This latest round of updates helps keep the Q2 towards the top end of the compact crossover class, though anyone hoping for more than visual appeal will find better driver’s cars elsewhere. Even those not seeking the best in dynamism or driver engagement are likely to experience frustration with the sluggish automatic transmission, so if you’re set on the Audi badge, we think the £1500 less expensive manual model might be the better choice.

From complex yoga poses to strength training, Rakul Preet Singh keeps her workout routine quite versatile. The De De Pyar De actor once again gave us major fitness goals as she aced a strength-building exercise. While the fitness enthusiast has been showing us home workouts for quite some time with gyms being shut owing to the pandemic, this time she hit a “proper gym” to exercise, and posted the video on Instagram. “Hit a proper gym after sooooo long. Building up that strength is going to be a task but we gota do what we gota do,” (sic) Rakul Preet captioned the video in which she is seen doing a deadlift. A weight training exercise, the deadlift involves lifting a loaded barbell or bar off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, and bending again to place the weight back to the ground. Other Bollywood actors like Anushka Sharma and Tiger Shroff have also inspired us in the past by doing the deadlift. Deadlift not only builds strength and lean muscle mass, but it also burns fat, improves grip strength, and works the hamstrings. It also helps strengthen joints and improve posture. If you are a beginner, try this exercise only under the supervision of an expert.

The Rossoneri are riding high at the top of the Serie A table without their talisman, but the Bianconeri remain dependent on their superstar striker "Tick tock tick tock" – Zlatan Ibrahimovic knew exactly what he was doing with his latest social media post. The AC Milan striker was cheekily sending a message to his followers that he was in a race against time to be fit for Wednesday's massive Serie A showdown with Juventus. However, the accompanying video of Ibrahimovic scoring in training did not just send fans into a frenzy. Milan coach Stefano Pioli was also immediately bombarded with messages from giddy journalists asking if his best centre-forward could really be fit to face the champions. In reality, while Ibrahimovic has almost fully recovered from the muscular problem which has sidelined him since November, he never had any hope of featuring at San Siro. The widespread desire to see him play was understandable, of course. This game was meant to be 'Zlatan versus Cristiano'; a battle between two goalscoring phenomena who are defying the ageing process. Ronaldo, 35, has struck 14 times in just 11 Serie A appearances this season; even more incredibly, the 39-year-old Ibrahimovic had scored 10 goals in just six appearances before injury interrupted his campaign. Still, while the Swede may remain out of action, Milan against Juventus remains all about their respective superstars. After all, the way in which the Rossoneri have coped without their talismanic attacker has underlined their title credentials. As former Milan and Juve coach Carlo Ancelotti told the Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday, "Ibra's absence was an exam that Milan have already passed with full marks." Indeed, there were those that felt that when Ibrahimovic hobbled off with 11 minutes remaining in a 3-1 win at Napoli on November 22, the Rossoneri's hopes of sustaining a top-four finish would quickly collapse. Instead, Milan have shown that while Ibra is their primary source of inspiration both on the pitch and in the dressing room, they have a squad of youngsters that are as tenacious as they are talented. Those qualities were both on show on Sunday, when Milan overcame the loss of Sandro Tonali to a first-half red card to triumph 2-0 at Benevento. Consequently, Milan have now accumulated 17 of a possible 21 points since losing Ibrahimovic to injury at the San Paolo. What is arguably even more remarkable is that the only unbeaten team left in any of Europe's 'Big Five' leagues have managed to maintain their remarkable scoring record. Pioli's players have racked up two or more goals in each of their last 17 games – the best run in Serie A history – with the likes of Rafael Leao coming into their own. The net result is that Milan go into matchday 16 as Serie A leaders, and a whopping 10 points clear of defending champions Juve in fifth. Andrea Pirlo's side have a game in hand, against fourth-placed Napoli, but never before have the Rossoneri held such a lead over their rivals during the first half of a season. Wednesday's contest, then, represents a unique opportunity for Milan to strike a decisive blow to the Old Lady's hopes of a 10th successive Scudetto. It certainly cannot decide the title race – the Rossoneri are just one point ahead of Antonio Conte's resurgent Inter – but it could well eliminate the Bianconeri from the reckoning. In that sense, it is a far bigger game for Juve than Milan; the visitors really need to win to kickstart their campaign. So, it is just as well that they will arrive at the Giuseppe Meazza with arguably the game's most reliable match-winner leading their line. Milan may have made do without Ibrahimovic, but Juve would arguably be lost without Ronaldo. The Portugal legend accounts for 48 per cent of the Bianconeri's Serie A goals this season (14/29). In addition, they drew all three of the games he has missed to date, against Crotone, Verona and Benevento. Pirlo has unsurprisingly attempted to rationalise his team’s obvious reliance upon the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. “From the beginning we tried to exploit Ronaldo for his characteristics,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “We wanted to have him be decisive in the last few metres in front of goal. “He was decisive [at every club], though, so it’s normal that when you have a champion like him, you depend on him.” They will certainly need him to deliver at San Siro. Milan may be missing Ibrahimovic, while Tonali’s suspension for his red card at Benevento has left Pioli desperately short on options in midfield, with Ismael Bennacer still unavailable through injury. However, Theo Hernandez’s return is a colossal boost for the youngest squad in Europe's top leagues, given the former Real Madrid man is this season rivalling Andy Robertson for the title of the world’s best left-back. It is even more significant when one considers that Juan Cuadrado – Juve’s first-choice right-back and one of their better players in 2020 – has contracted Covid-19 and is, therefore, ruled out for an unspecified period of time. The Bianconeri would have been banking on the Colombia international to have the pace and stamina to deal with Theo’s relentless marauding down the left flank. Juve could yet have Alvaro Morata back up front, but Pirlo is pessimistic about the Spaniard’s chances of making the bench, let alone starting. Paulo Dybala is instead expected to be paired with Ronaldo in attack, and the struggling Argentine will have been buoyed by his late goal in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Udinese. Juve’s hopes of victory, though, will rest on Ronaldo, and he will know that they cannot squander this chance to derail Milan’s title charge. The Rossoneri have coped wonderfully well without Ibrahimovic, but they will be even better when he returns. Juve’s time to take advantage of his absence is clearly running out. Tick tock tick tock...

Morocco’s former ambassador to the UN and to the UK, Khalil Haddaoui, has criticized former US diplomats John Bolton and James Baker for their “misleading” and Algeria-engineered narrative on the Western Sahara conflict. In an analysis published by Foreign Policy News, Haddaoui deconstructed Bolton and Baker’s analyses of the situation in Western Sahara and proved their contradictions. John Bolton, who served as the US ambassador to the UN (2005-2006) and the US national security advisor (2018-2019), criticized the American decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in an article published by Foreign Policy. Meanwhile, James Baker, who served as the US secretary of state (1989-1992) and the UN envoy to Western Sahara (1997-2004), qualified the American decision to support Morocco’s territorial integrity as a “rash move” in an opinion piece shared by The Washington Post. Both Bolton and Baker are avid defenders of a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, challenging Morocco’s sovereignty over the region. In his analytical response, Khalil Haddaoui began by criticizing the former US politicians for ignoring the role of Algeria in the conflict, despite their knowledge of the Algerian regime’s active support for the separatist Polisario Front. Haddaoui explained that one of the main reasons Algeria is fueling the territorial dispute and supporting separatism in the region is so it can gain access to the Atlantic Ocean through its proxy, self-styled Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). “To fully understand this issue, it must be considered within the geo-strategic context of the North-West African region, while taking into account the propensity of the Algerian power towards expansionism and its obsession to gain access to the Atlantic Ocean,” he wrote. Algeria does not truly defend self-determination The former Moroccan diplomat highlighted the contradictions between Algeria’s official claims and their actions, proving that their professed defense of the “Sahrawi people’s rights” actually serves the Algerian regime’s agenda. Algeria officially claims that it supports the Polisario Front because it believes the po[CENSORED]tion in Western Sahara needs to practice its right to self-determination. However, Haddaoui recalled, former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika once suggested dividing the region into two separate entities. During a meeting with James Baker in 2001, Boutflika went as far as describing the division of the Western Sahara territory as a “political solution.” The suggestion, which was documented in a UN Secretary-General report on February 19, 2002, completely contradicts Algeria’s public claims of supporting self-determination in the region. Haddaoui criticized John Bolton, who claims to care for the “Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination,” for not objecting to Bouteflika’s suggestion. “Why didn’t Bolton, who claims himself of being a close collaborator of Baker, object to the Algerian proposal to divide the territory as a ‘political solution,’ since it is a flagrant violation of the principle of the right to self-determination?” he asked. The former diplomat argued that this development proved Algeria’s hidden motives vis-a-vis the Western Sahara dispute. Morocco highlighted the contradictions in Algeria’s claims in a letter sent to the UN Security Council on February 25, 2002. “The Moroccan Government […] wishes to point out that [the Algerian proposal] is clearly contrary to all the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations and, in particular, the self-determination which Algeria has claimed to support in order to justify its interest in this dispute,” wrote Mohammed Bennouna, Morocco’s ambassador to the UN at the time. ‘Sahrawi people’ is a misleading term Haddaoui pointed out the fallacy in using the term “Sahrawi people” as indicative of the po[CENSORED]tion in Western Sahara, explaining that the Sahara region does not end at the Moroccan borders. “The Sahara is an immense geographical area, which is under several sovereignties. To only mention the region of North-West Africa, there is the Moroccan Sahara, as there is the Algerian Sahara and the Mauritanian Sahara,” the former diplomat wrote. “There are no ethnical differences between the po[CENSORED]tions of these regions as Bolton wants us to believe in his article. Talking of a ‘Sahrawi people’ only for the po[CENSORED]tions in the Moroccan Sahara is a fiction,” he added. Responding to Bolton’s accusations that Morocco is preventing a self-determination referendum, Haddaoui explained that the UN Security Council itself asked all the conflicting parties to explore other ways for achieving a solution to the dispute, in light of the difficulty to hold a referendum. The Security Council “supports the intention of the Secretary-General […] to ask his Personal Envoy to consult the parties and, taking into account existing and potential obstacles, to explore ways and means to achieve an early, durable, and agreed solution of their dispute,” said Resolution 1292, published on February 29, 2002. Algeria and Polisario opposed self-determination referendum Contrary to Bolton’s claims, Algeria is the party that has historically challenged the holding of a self-determination referendum in Western Sahara, Haddaoui argued. He recalled that King Hassan II proposed a referendum in the region at the 18th African Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 1981. Morocco was fully committed to allowing local po[CENSORED]tions in the region to participate in a self-determination referendum, as documented in Resolution AHG/RES.103 (XVIII) of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). However, Algeria and the Polisario Front opposed the decision and attempted to force African states to recognize an “independent state” in southern Morocco without a referendum. “The objective of Algeria was to get the OAU to admit within its membership the so-called [SADR], which it established in the refugee camps on its territory without the will of the po[CENSORED]tion,” Haddaoui explained. Algeria achieved its objective in collusion with the OAU Secretary-General at the time, Edem Kodjo, leading to an internal crisis within the continental organization and, ultimately, to Morocco suspending its membership. For Haddaoui, these historical facts leave no room for doubt as to Algeria’s role in the genesis and prolongation of the Western Sahara quagmire. Rather than the decolonization and self-determination it presents itself as, he argued, the Algerian regime is a destabilizing agent in the region that uses the separatist Polisario Front for geopolitical gains. “If Bolton has not understood what lies behind the veil of self-determination, then he will never understand the essence of this conflict,” wrote the former Moroccan diplomat. Algeria does not care about refugees in Tindouf camps Haddaoui concluded his analysis by drawing attention to the situation of refugees in the Polisario-controlled camps of Tindouf, in southwestern Algeria. “These refugees do not benefit from any rights as provided for by the 1951 Geneva Convention related to the Status of Refugees,” he pointed out. The Tindouf camps are a group of basic habitations in southwestern Algeria where the Algerian government delegated power to the Polisario Front. NGOs regularly decry the dire living conditions in the camps. Algerian authorities inflate the number of refugees living in the camp in order to maximize the amount of humanitarian aid sent by international organizations. Several NGOs have accused Algerian and Polisario leadership of diverting the aid destined for the refugees. Despite repeated requests, Algeria still refuses to let the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from conducting a census in Tindouf, Haddaoui denounced. “Algeria […] prefers to spend millions of dollars on lobbyists, as well as on the dozens of Polisario representatives who comfortably live in the big capitals of the world,” he wrote. After proving the contradictions and fallacies in Algeria’s claims, Haddaoui underlined that, for Morocco, the Western Sahara issue is a question of national unity and territorial integrity, away from any political agendas. He concluded his text with a quote by King Mohammed VI: “The Sahara is an existential issue and not just a question of borders.”

Of late, there has been no letup in the refresh rate battle. Though 144 Hz gaming monitors are almost a dime a dozen, there are plenty of faster screens to be had too. 240 Hz displays are becoming commonplace, and the bleeding edge is now at 360 Hz. When the word “commonplace” creeps into the narrative, it brings an inevitable drop in prices. More competition equals better value. Pixio embraces this economic inevitability with a host of high-performance panels that sell for reasonable money while competing with some of the best gaming monitors specs-wise. The Pixio PX279 Prime targets speed demons with its 240 Hz refresh rate, 1080p resolution and Adaptive-Sync in an IPS panel for under $350. Looking at each element, the Pixio PX279 Prime brings several things to the table that would’ve put a display in the premium category just a few years ago. Many swear by IPS for its superior viewing angles; the PX279 Prime delivers that with an AHVA part. Gamers interested in maximum frame rates won’t settle for anything less than 200 Hz; the Prime has 240. Adaptive-Sync is expected, and the PX279 Prime includes FreeSync and proved to be G-Sync compatible in our tests, despite lacking Nvidia certification (see our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor article). You could stop there, but Pixio also threw in HDR support. It isn’t a superlative addition. From the specs sheet alone, you should know this isn’t the best HDR monitor. There’s no dynamic contrast to broaden dynamic range, and the panel sports sRGB color only. The PX279 Prime is a slim and light package that requires only attachment of the base for assembly. You’ll need to grab a Phillips-head screwdriver for that task. Kudos to Pixio for packing with spongy foam rather than the crumbly stuff that gets white bits all over. Only a DisplayPort cable is included for video connection. There’s also a small external power supply. The PX279 Prime is nearly all-screen from the front with a thin, 8mm bezel around the top and sides and an 18mm strip across the bottom with a tiny Pixio logo. The anti-glare layer is effective and looks like the one found on nearly every computer monitor. Styling is simple and functional with a few molded-in lines around back. The side profile is thinner than many similar-sized monitors at 58mm. The stand is a solid piece of cast aluminum with a black crinkle finish. This is a great texture for preventing light reflection and resisting fingerprints. The only adjustment is tilt: 5 and -15 degrees. The screen sits at an ideal height for the average desk or table. If you’d rather use an arm, you can expose a 100mm VESA lug pattern by removing the upright. Also around back is the single control joystick. It manages every monitor function, including the power toggle. A tiny LED indicates red for standby and blue for normal mode. A clearly labeled input panel features a DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. The labels also indicate the maximum refresh rate possible. HDMI 1.4 can handle up to 120 Hz, while the other two reach 240 Hz. All work with Adaptive-Sync. There are no internal speakers, but a 3.5mm audio port can accept headphones or a powered sound system.There only USB port you see in the photo is for firmware updates only. OSD Features The on-screen display (OSD) is just like Pixio’s other monitors with game-oriented styling and signal info shown at the top. It’s divided into six sub-menus. Display is where you’ll find seven game-specific picture modes. All of them except User, the default, locks out the image controls, even the basic ones, like brightness and contrast. If you want to boost shadow detail, adjust the Black Equalizer slider. Sharpness will add edge enhancement at anything above 50. And Ultra Vivid appears to do the same thing. The look may be preferred by some, but we left it off. The Color menu has a decent set of calibration options. There are four color temp presets, one of which is labeled sRGB. Since the monitor’s color gamut is already sRGB, the sRGB preset doesn’t provide any benefit. The default setting is Normal, which features a cool white point. If you select User, grayscale tracking becomes much better -- almost perfect, in fact. You also get four gamma presets but, in our testing, they all produced an odd response that crushed detail and made the picture look flat. The best option is to select Off. We’ll show you those results on page three. Also here are color hue and saturation sliders, which are best left alone. A Low Blue Light mode is there to reduce fatigue when reading against a white background. The Gaming Setup menu has a FreeSync toggle, three level overdrive (Low is the best setting based on our experience), Game Assist (timers, frame counter and aiming points), HDR toggle, dynamic contrast (for SDR only) and MPRT (moving picture response time). That last one is a backlight strobe meant to reduce motion blur. It works instead of (not with) Adaptive-Sync. In our observation, MPRT provided almost no benefit. It’s not aggressive enough to make a difference in blur and it reduces brightness by around 10%. Pixio PX279 Prime Calibration Settings The PX279 Prime presented a few unique challenges during setup. Out of the box, the image looked too blue and flat. At minimum, we recommend changing the color temp to User and setting Gamma to Off. That will make a huge difference to all aspects of image fidelity. When we went for the final calibration, all that was needed was to drop the Blue slider one click. Below are the settings we used. To engage HDR, you must manually switch over in the Gaming Setup menu after applying the HDR10 signal and switch it off when going back to SDR. Gaming and Hands-on We started in Windows with a few motion-resolution tests. The overdrive worked best on its Low setting producing almost perfect results in the Blur Busters patterns we tried. Overdrive also worked in HDR mode but was less effective. We could see a difference between the three overdrive settings, but they all produced obvious ghosting with HDR content. Working in various productivity apps in SDR mode proved a positive experience. Though the PX279 Prime won’t be taken for a VA monitor, it has a bit more punch and depth than the average IPS screen. Color also looked nicely saturated despite Pixio sticking with the sRGB gamut. Our changes to gamma and color temp had a significant impact on picture quality (see our calibration settings). Straight out of the box, the image didn’t look as good. Switching to HDR for video is OK if that video is HDR-encoded. You can engage the PX279 Prime’s HDR mode without an HDR signal but that will make it look very washed out. Even when you have correctly mastered content, switching back and forth manually is tedious. An automatic feature would be nice. Gaming is clearly this display’s forte. When playing Tomb Raider, we quickly lost track of time. With frame rates staying consistently over 200 fps and perfect tear-free motion, we could play all day without fatigue. If your personal equilibrium is sensitive to full-motion gaming, the PX279 Prime will work well for you. The PX279 Prime’s dynamic contrast feature showed that it worked properly and didn’t crush highlight or shadow detail. But it sets the brightness to its highest level and makes the image almost harsh. If you play in a brightly lit room, it’s fine. But if you turn down the lights, it’s tiring to look at. Control lag was seemingly non-existent. The PX279 Prime will work well for any time of gaming, including twitch-fest titles. The backlight strobe feature offered no benefit, but blur wasn’t a factor to start anyway. The backlight strobe disables Adaptive-Sync, so we stuck with the screen-tearing tech for the rest of our review. HDR gaming was a mixed bag. On one hand, it made the picture brighter by locking the backlight to its highest setting. But contrast was no better, and overdrive became less effective. Regardless of the chosen setting, overdriv ecaused distracting ghosting around moving objects. It also made the background break up when we moved the mouse or the camera panned during cutscenes. Call of Duty: WWII looked just as good in SDR mode as it did in HDR mode but without any motion artifacts. The takeaway from our hands-on time is that HDR is not really necessary in the PX279 Prime. The monitor can already achieve decent contrast and accurate color in SDR mode with calibration.