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Game Information: Initial release date: 8 Dec, 2020. Software Developer: Out of The Blue. Publisher: Raw Fury. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. Norah is ill, and her husband Harry is missing after having gone searching the world for a cure. After receiving a mysterious package, Norah decides to go to the place Harry was last known to be — an island off the coast of Tahiti. Call of the Sea bills itself as a Lovecraftian mystery game, and whilst the first person adventure puzzler is clearly influenced by the writer's work, it falls short on the mystery front. There are six chapters that have you traversing the island, finding clues to solve puzzles, and ultimately reveal the whereabouts of Harry and the secrets behind Norah’s mysterious illness. The puzzles themselves are really what sell the game, the ideal blend of challenging and achievable. As Norah explores her environment, she’ll scribble notes that'll help solve puzzles for each chapter. It’s quite frustrating that you can’t look at these notes while in a puzzle; you have to exit to see them each time. It's not an issue for more simple puzzles, but for the more complex ones it’s a bit of a headache. The travel logs that Norah collects add a lot of context to the story, unravelling the fate of Harry and his crew and giving life to the island. It can be a lot to read, and it doesn't feel like the best way to unravel such a rich story, especially with so many missable items. The story itself is entirely predictable, and the characters are largely forgettable — you don't spend enough time with them to really care about their fates. At the end, the game gives you a choice, and there’s a kind of "so what" feel to the decision. It ultimately makes for an irrelevant choice, as it’s hard to care either way you go. Aesthetically, the game looks really pretty and is totally evocative of its 1930s setting. The game is plagued with hammy dialogue that makes it feel totally campy and like an old B-movie, but not altogether terrible when coupled with the Lovecraftian influence it draws on. Call of the Sea is a mostly fun puzzle game that falls short on the mystery it tries to have you unveil. While it looks aesthetically pleasing and ticks a lot of boxes for its period setting, the story is lacklustre and predictable. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: MINIMUM: OS: 64-bit Windows 7/8.1/10 Processor: AMD FX-6100/Intel i3-3220 or Equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 7750, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 or Equivalent DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 15 GB available space Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system RECOMMENDED: OS: 64-bit Windows 7/8.1/10 Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 1700/Intel i7-6700K or Equivalent Memory: 16 GB RAM Graphics: AMD RX Vega 56, Nvidia GTX 1070/GTX1660Ti or Equivalent DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 15 GB available space Additional Notes: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system

Whenever AMD or Intel launch a new processor line, their hardware partners are quick out of the gate with new systems boasting the latest silicon. And so it goes with Razer and Intel—the former just upgraded its Blade 15 Advanced laptop line with the latter's freshly minted Tiger Lake-H CPUs. Intel yesterday released five Tiger Lake-H chips, including two 6-core/12-thread Core i5 models and three 8-core/16-thread Core i7 and Core i9 chips. For its latest refresh, Razer opted for two higher end options, the Core i7 11800H (8C16T, 2.3GHz to 4.6GHz, 24MB L3 cache) and the Core i9 11900H (8C16T, 2.5GHz to 4.9GHz, 24MB L3 cache). The entire Tiger Lake-H stack is equipped with Intel UHD graphics, but we wouldn't crown the Blade 15 the best gaming laptop if it shunned discrete GPUs. And it doesn't—Razer's Blade 15 Advanced leans on discrete GPUs from Nvidia's mobile GeForce RTX 30 series (Ampere). Pricing for the refreshed models starts at $2,299, which gets a Core i7 11800H paired with a GeForce RTX 3060, along with 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, a 1TB NVMe SSD, and a 1080p display with a fast 240Hz refresh rate and 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. Note that Razer's spec sheet above has the refresh rate backwards on the $2,599 and $2,699 models—it's the latter that comes with a 360Hz display. Both models also feature a GeForce RTX 3070 GPU, and the storage and RAM as the $2,299 model. The rest of the models ($2,999 and up) bump up to Nvidia's flagship mobile GPU, the GeForce RTX 3080, while also doubling the RAM to 32GB. They come with an extra M.2 slot for expandable storage, too. Oddly enough, the i9 11900H option is only available with the 4K model. On the plus side, there shouldn't be a monumental gap in performance between it and the i7 11800H—the higher end CPU has a 200MHz faster base clock and 300MHz faster max boost clock. While that's not insignificant, the i7 11800's performance should be within striking distance of its i9 sibling. Even with all this firepower, taking full advantage of the high refresh rates (240Hz and 360Hz) is a tall ask. They're mostly beneficial for competitive gaming in less demanding titles, where hitting triple-digit frame rates is possible. Nevertheless, we'd rather Razer overshoot than undershoot when it comes to the refresh rates of its laptop screens.

Japan has passed laws that will allow it to create a new Agency to lead a national digital transformation effort. The nation has already introduced an identifier called “My Number”. The new plan calls for My Number to be recognised across national and local governments and to merge with other identifiers like health insurance numbers and drivers’ licences. Japanese central and local governments plan to eventually harmonise their back-office technology to make it easier to deliver digital services that draw on personal information attached to a My Number profile. My Number is currently card-based. Laws passed yesterday will allow it to be stored in an app, and smartphones used to identify citizens as they access services. Services will also be digitalised, a big change given that securing a physical stamp or seal on a paper document can often be required when working with Japan’s governments. Faxes also remain prevalent in Japan, and the inefficiencies they entail were starkly pointed out early in the COVID-19 pandemic when faxed medical records and other communications moved with frustrating lack of speed. Slow rollout of COVID-related stimulus payments also hurt Japan in 2020 and were attributed in part to poor digital services. A digitalisation drive was a key policy platform for new prime minister Yoshihide Suga as he strove for the top job in late 2020. As a result of legislation passing yesterday, the digital transformation agency he said was needed to do the job will start operations on September 1st. Some of the new agency’s tasks are not expected to be completed for years, so there’s plenty of scope for slow-motion messes on the road to a more digital Japan.

Like the five-seat standard car, itself substantially updated last year, the Allspace gains a redesigned front end incorporating a more prominent grille with illuminated strips and a redesigned Volkswagen emblem. Volkswagen has updated the SUV’s headlights, adding new interactive IQ Light LED Lights to follow in the footsteps of the standard Tiguan. First used by Volkswagen in its other, more luxurious SUV, the Touareg, these comprise 24 individual LED diodes that can adjust, partly automatically, to different driving conditions. The IQ Drive Travel Assist system is also new for the facelifted Tiguan Allspace, providing level two autonomous driving assist functions at speeds of up to 130mph. Carrying the updates on to the inside, Volkswagen has worked with audio specialist Harman Kardon to develop a new top-rung sound system, while the Allspace is the latest Volkswagen model to receive the firm's new climate control section with touch panels and sliders. The petrol engines on offer continue to be a 148bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels or a pair of 2.0-litre four-cylinder units that send 187bhp and 242bhp, respectively, to both axles. A pair of 2.0-litre diesels remain available as well, respectively sending 148bhp to the front and 197bhp to all four wheels. While Volkswagen recently introduced a plug-in hybrid variant for the standard Tiguan, as well as a 316bhp high-performance R version, joining the larger Touareg R as part of its performance division’s rapidly expanding line-up, it will not offer either variants for the Allspace. Volkswagen will confirm prices for the new Tiguan Allspace in due course, however a spokesperson told Autocar that in Europe “it will be more or less the same price as its predecessor” for a starting price of about €36,000 (£31,000).

For Muslims across the world the last month has been a time of strengthening and renewing their faith and following the teaching of the Quran. Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam and is observed by abstaining from acts of sin, praying five times and day and not eating or drinking from dusk until dawn. It would be expected that the physical demands of Ramadan would mean that there would be no energy left for any other activities, but in many cases it is quite the opposite. Banker Mohamed Abdin, is one of the many Muslims across London who have found unique ways to maintain their fitness during the holy month. "I’ve tried working out over the years at many different times during the day and I’ve found that for me, midnight is the sweet spot," he said. The 25-year-old first began fasting as a child and has continued to do so every year after. Throughout his teenage years and adulthood, he became more invested in personal fitness and opted to plan around Ramadan as oppose to stopping exercise for the entirety of the month. "Most people will end up shifting their routine in one way or another during Ramadan, especially when it comes to training. A lot of people, including myself, find it more demanding to actually train whilst in the fasting hours. "For me, midnight is the most convenient time. I’ve had enough time to digest my food, do my prayers and the gym is nice and empty. He added: "I find that although the timing of my training has shifted, the intensity remains – and to be able to maintain that level of intensity I need all the energy and water I can get my hands on." 'An indescribable feeling' There are over one million followers of Islam in London and an estimated 1.8 billion followers around the world. Therefore it comes as no surprise that Mohamed does not embark on his late night gym sessions by himself. "I’m grateful I have a couple of friends that I train with during Ramadan. I call them friends but we are brothers," he said. "They are my accountability partners and knowing that they are fasting with me allows me to really push through the month, in the spirit of community. "Having a unified cause and struggle bonds people more than anything else could, and being able to break fast with those same brothers and then push our bodies to their physical limits – it’s just an indescribable feeling."

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has vowed to increase the intensity of attacks on Gaza, after a day of ferocious confrontations that left 31 people dead as Israeli jets and Palestinian militants traded airstrikes and rockets. As medics on both sides put the death toll at 28 Palestinians, including 10 children, two Israelis and an Indian woman working in Ashkelon, the Israeli prime minister said there would be no pause. “It was decided that both the might of the attacks and the frequency of the attacks will be increased,” he announced. Netanyahu vowed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad “will pay a very heavy price for their belligerence”. Residents in Gaza City reported bombings of high-rise buildings, while families spent the night cowering in basements. On Tuesday evening, a 13-storey tower housing apartments and the offices of officials from Hamas, the Islamist group that holds power in Gaza, was hit by an Israeli airstrike and collapsed. Residents had earlier been told to evacuate. In response, Hamas’s military wing said it had fired 130 rockets towards Tel Aviv, and air raid sirens and then explosions were heard in the coastal city. Three people were reported injured when a rocket hit a bus in Holon, just south of Tel Aviv. Nearby Ben Gurion airport was closed and incoming flights were diverted to Cyprus. A state of emergency was meanwhile declared in Lod, south-east of Tel Aviv, the scene of two nights of rioting by Arab Israelis, in which synagogues and Jewish schools were reported to have been set on fire, as Israel’s internal strife threatened to be more destabilising than rocket attacks from Gaza. Those attacks began on Monday evening, when after weeks of intense violence in Jerusalem, Hamas fired a barrage towards the holy city, believed to be the first time it had targeted Jerusalem in more than seven years. Gaza health officials earlier said seven members of a single family, including three children, had died in an explosion. It was not clear if the blast was caused by an Israeli airstrike or a rocket that landed short. Medics in Israel said more than 25 civilians were being treated following rocket fire, including those wounded from broken glass and shrapnel. Militants had fired at least 250 rockets toward Israel, many of which were intercepted but some made direct hits on apartment buildings. One hit an empty school. The national ambulance service, Magen David Adom, said rocket strikes killed two women in the southern city of Ashkelon on Tuesday afternoon. Israel’s military said it had killed 15 Hamas “operatives” and a battalion commander in its airstrikes. The government said it would send troop reinforcements to the Gaza frontier and mobilise 5,000 reserve soldiers, leading to fears of a wider confrontation. Previous flare-ups have lasted a few days, with resolutions mediated through indirect talks. The White House said its “primary focus” was de-escalation and that Joe Biden was being updated on the worsening situation. His spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said US officials were talking to their counterparts in the region. “We believe Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, security, dignity and prosperity,” Psaki said. “US officials in recent weeks have spoken candidly with Israeli officials about how evictions of Palestinian families who have lived for years, sometimes decades, in their homes, and how demolitions of these homes, work against our common interests and achieving a solution to the conflict.” A UN security council session on the crisis was called for on Wednesday, by the Norwegian, Tunisian and Chinese missions. It is likely to be a test of the Biden administration’s position on an issue that it has sought to play down. In recent weeks, there has been a sharp escalation in anger over Israel’s half-century occupation its ever-deepening military grip over Palestinian life and a wave of evictions and demolitions. In Jerusalem, hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in near-nightly protests that escalated over the weekend and spread to other areas of Israel and the occupied West Bank.

Name of the game: Teardown Price: 15.99$ Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 14 May Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 Processor: Quad Core CPU Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or similar. 3 Gb VRAM. Storage: 2 GB available space Additional Notes: Intel integrated graphics cards not supported. RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i7 or better Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or similar. 8 Gb VRAM. Storage: 2 GB available space

Game Information: Initial release date: 30 Jan, 2019. Software Developer: Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Publisher: Unknown Worlds Entertainment. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. Subnautica: Below Zero is a game about crafting for convenience. This frigid follow-up to Unknown Worlds’ seafaring survival sandbox subscribes to the same blueprint as its 2017 predecessor, plunging you into an aquatic open world and willing you to explore it. Where you go, and how you get there, is entirely up to you. While there is a loose story to follow involving shady corporations and missing siblings, the main thrust of this arctic outing is mining materials that will ensure your survival is more straightforward. You’ll start the campaign with little more than a wetsuit and willpower, but as you slowly streamline your scavenging practices, you’ll end up with a sprawling underwater metropolis. Almost everything you do over the course of the 35-plus hour adventure contributes to your overall goal of surviving longer in increasingly deeper and hazardous waters. You’ll need to manage your vitals throughout, by cooking seafood, drinking filtered water, and – perhaps most importantly of all – breathing oxygen. There are some neat risk/reward systems here: curing meat with salt helps to preserve it and retain its nutritional value, but also increases the need for hydration. However, as your research progresses you’ll unlock unique blueprints which save you time and effort, such as a heated blade which simultaneously kills and cooks wildlife while you’re out and about. An alternative gameplay option removes the hunger and thirst meters, but you’ll still need to regulate your air intake. Whichever mode you select, it’s this carrot-on-the-stick style of gameplay that makes the deep-sea diving sim so moreish. The title is constantly teasing you with tantalising new builds that will make your life easier, allowing you to embark on even more adventurous expeditions in pursuit of rarer resources. Suddenly, you’re submerging hundreds of metres for minutes at a time, scouring the seabed for interesting elements. The loop won’t be for everyone, but the beauty is that no two playthroughs will ever be the same. You really are free to progress as you please, so whether your goal is to construct an Iron Man-esque underwater Prawn Suit and hike the bottom of the ocean or focus on your breathing apparatus to dive deeper depths, it’s up to you. There’s profound satisfaction to be obtained from forging your own aquatic habitat, and we ended up spending a lot of time customising the interior to our liking with posters and plant pots. But beyond the decorating, bases also provide a home for critical gameplay components, like battery charging stations and scanner rooms. In addition to your time under the water, you’ll need to explore frigid facilities on land. Temperature regulation replaces oxygen as you traipse icebergs, but you can craft motorcycles and cold suits to ensure you don’t feel like a fish out of water. The mixture of tropical oceans and glacial islands complement each other well, and make for an otherworldly locale you’ll want to explore. The game looks and sounds really nice, too, with some wonderful visual effects – like when sleet punctures the surface of the sea and lightning is refracted through the water. The title targets 60 frames-per-second by default on the PS5, although it regularly falls below that. You can opt for a higher resolution alternative, but the 30 frames-per-second cap doesn’t justify the bump in detail. It’s hard not to be absorbed by your surroundings. While the ocean isn’t particularly large in terms of surface area, it’s deep, with intricate cave networks and unique biomes to explore. Our only real criticism is that, with very few recognisable landmarks, it’s all too easy to get lost – and that’s even when you’ve crafted some of the navigational tools designed to help you to find your way. This is especially frustrating when you’re looking for a particular element or resource; you may very well recall mining it in the past, but unless you’ve specifically placed a beacon to mark the location, you could find yourself swimming in circles for hours before rediscovering the area. Personally, we spent a lot of time browsing Google for answers. The user interface, too, can be needlessly complicated. Fortunately, the DualSense fares better, with the haptic feedback allowing you to feel the impact of any bumps or scrapes you may take underwater. We particularly like how the adaptive triggers have been programmed subtly, adding satisfaction to toggling on flashlights and other basic operations. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i3 / AMD Ryzen 3 2.6ghz+ Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD 530 or better DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 15 GB available space Additional Notes: Subnautica Below Zero is an Early Access game, and minimum specifications may change during development RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i5 / AMD Ryzen 5 @ 3Ghz + Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 1050 Ti / AMD Radeon 570, 4GB VRAM DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 15 GB available space Additional Notes: Subnautica Below Zero is an Early Access game, and recommended specifications may change during development.

HTC has announced the Vive Pro 2, a new virtual reality headset offering a 5K resolution display with a 120-degree field of view and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. This isn't a standalone unit like the Oculus Quest 2 and instead is designed to be plumbed into your PC from the outset. You'll need a beefy PC to be able to drive that 4096 x 2448 screen, too, especially if you're aiming at that smooth high refresh. The high-resolution screen means there's almost no screen-door effect, something that is aided by the fact the new display uses proper RGB sub-pixels. The double-lens design, with two lenses for each eye, stacked on top of each other, is behind the upgrade in the Field of View and also helps ensure there is no blurring towards the edges. HTC has worked with Nvidia and AMD to optimize Display Stream Compression, which is apparently a first for a VR headset, to ensure that image quality is maintained while still offering backward compatibility with DisplayPort 1.2. HTC is keen to point out that it doesn't want to lose its existing loyal PC user base, and so will be offering the head-mounted display (HMD) as an upgrade path on its own for those that already have base stations and controllers, saving a fair chunk of cash in the process. Now for the deep breath moment, the pricing: HTC has a promotion for pre-orders that sees the headset-only version for $749 (£659) on its own. If you need the full starter pack which includes the headset, a pair of second-generation base stations, and Vive controllers, then you're looking at $1,399 (£1,299).

The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published a preliminary report into last month's fatal crash involving a 2019 Tesla Model S in Texas. The crash happened at approximately 21:07 local time on 17 April this year. Two men entered the car, one in the driver's seat and the other in the front passenger seat (according to home security camera footage). The Tesla then drove off, travelled about 167 metres before leaving the road on a curve, driving over a curb, hitting a drainage culvert, a raised manhole and a tree, the report found. A fire started in the Tesla's battery, which had been damaged in the crash. The conflagration destroyed the car, including the storage device housed in the infotainment console, although the restraint control module (which records data relating to the vehicle's speed, acceleration, belt status and airbags) was recovered and is being evaluated, NTSB added. The crash and fire resulted in fatal injuries for both occupants. The driver was 59 and the passenger 69. "The NTSB’s investigation of the crash is ongoing, and investigators continue to gather information including data to analyze the crash dynamics, postmortem toxicology test results, seat belt use, occupant egress and the post-crash fire," the report added. Authorities commenting at the time remarked that the positioning of the bodies following impact indicated that nobody was driving the vehicle, although Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted that logs recovered indicated that Autopilot had not been enabled. Musk also pointed out that lane lines were required for "standard" Autopilot. In its report, the NTSB stated: "The roadway was equipped with streetlights but did not have lines to define the travel lanes." The Tesla in question was equipped with Autopilot, which requires both the Traffic Aware Cruise Control and the Autosteer systems to be engaged. The former is a jumped-up cruise control, which deals with acceleration and deceleration while the latter assists with lane keeping. The NTSB showed in tests with an exemplar car that the latter also could not be engaged on that part of the road. Tesla's Autopilot has come in for criticism, most recently by the US Consumer Reports organisation, which found it was possible to use the system without a human sat behind the steering wheel in a Model Y. Musk's boasts regarding the self-driving capabilities of Teslas have also recently been scrutinised by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV's concern was around communication to the public regarding the true capabilities of Tesla vehicles and ensuring that customers understood the limits of the technology. A number of fatal crashes have been attributed to over-reliance on vehicle automation by drivers. As for last month's accident, the NTSB is continuing to work to determine the probable cause "with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes." The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Tesla are supporting the NTSB with the investigation. A parallel investigation by the Harris County Texas Precinct 4 Constable's Office is also under way. ®

Hawaii is in line to become the next state to ban testing on animals for cosmetics after the Hawaii Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act passed the state legislature’s final vote at the end of last month. The bill is now on the desk of Hawaii Governor David Ige to sign into law. The bill, introduced by Hawaii Senator Mike Gabbard several years ago, calls for cosmetic manufacturers to stop selling any cosmetic product involving new animal testing from January 1, 2022. “I’m stoked the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Bill (SB 345) that I introduced finally passed. With a good chance of becoming law, Hawaii will soon become the sixth state in the country to ban cosmetic animal testing,” Senator Gabbard shared in a post on his Facebook page. “I first introduced this legislation in 2018, with input from the Hawaiian Humane Society, Pono Advocacy, and Cruelty Free International—making Hawaii one of the first states to even consider banning cosmetic animal testing—and I’ve reintroduced it every year.” A vegetarian for 49 years and vegan for almost 10 years, Senator Gabbard expressed his dedication to advancing legislation that protects animals from the unnecessary pain and suffering caused by needless testing of cosmetic products; calling it a “no-brainer.” Tragically, each year, thousands of animals continue to endure harsh testing methods, including having chemicals dripped into their eyes or rubbed onto their skin, after which they are killed. “There’s been a growing awareness of the need to do more to protect our furry friends. People are increasingly looking for cosmetic products that are cruelty-free,” Senator Gabbard continued in the post. “With modern testing methods, we don’t need to test cosmetic products on animals. Plus, today’s methods are more accurate and efficient.” As reported by WAN in April of this year, Virginia recently passed similar legislation. In 2018, California became the first state to prohibit the sale of animal-tested cosmetics followed by Nevada and Illinois in 2019. Similar legislation is currently pending in Maryland as well. More than 40 countries have also restricted animal testing for cosmetics.

Home security camera footage shows that the owner of a Tesla got into the driver's seat of the car shortly before a deadly crash in suburban Houston, according to a government report Monday. But the preliminary report on the crash that killed two men doesn't explain the mystery of why authorities found no one behind the wheel of the car, which burst into flames after crashing about 550 feet (170 meters) from the owner's home. Nor does it conclusively say whether Tesla's “Autopilot” partially automated driver-assist system was operating at the time of the crash, although it appears unlikely. The National Transportation Safety Board said it's still investigating all aspects of the crash. An onboard data storage device in the console, however, was destroyed by fire. A computer that records air bag and seat belt status as well as speed and acceleration was damaged and is being examined at an NTSB lab. The NTSB said it tested a different Tesla vehicle on the same road, and the Autopilot driver-assist system could not be fully used. Investigators could not get the system's automated steering system to work, but were able to use Traffic Aware Cruise Control. Autopilot needs both the cruise control and the automatic steering to function. Traffic Aware Cruise Control can keep the car a safe distance from vehicles in front of it, while autosteer keeps it in its own lane. “The NTSB continues to collect data to analyze the crash dynamics, postmortem toxicology test results, seat belt use, occupant egress and electric vehicle fires,” the agency said in its report. “All aspects of the crash remain under investigation as the NTSB determines the probable cause.” The agency says it intends to issue safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes. The April 17 crash happened at 9:07 p.m. on Hammock Dunes Place, a two-lane residential road in Spring, Texas. Both the 59-year-old owner and the 69-year-old passenger were killed. The NTSB report said the car went off the road on a curve, drove over a curb, hit a drainage culvert, a raised manhole and a tree. The crash damaged the high-voltage lithium-ion battery, where the fire began. Local authorities said one man was found in the front passenger seat, while another was in the back. The report didn’t say how fast the car was going, but Harris County Precinct Four Constable Mark Herman said it was a high speed. He would not say if there was evidence anyone tampered with Tesla’s system to monitor the driver, which detects force from hands on the steering wheel. The system will issue warnings and eventually shut the car down if it doesn’t detect hands. But critics say Tesla’s system is easy to fool and can take as long as a minute to shut down.

In the Guide’s weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you’ve been burning to know the answer to – and settle it I absolutely hate talking on the phone. I am one of those infuriating friends who’d rather have a long, winding text conversation than speak on the phone to arrange a simple plan. People under the age of 60 who still leave voicemails? Seek help. And unknown numbers? I follow Dua Lipa’s first rule (don’t pick up the phone!). But it seems as if there’s a group out there who loathe the inconvenience of talking on the phone even more than me: screenwriters. Watch any film or TV show and you’re likely to notice (and be very irritated by) the fact that characters hardly ever say “goodbye” at the end of phone calls. After the main part of a conversation or a salacious bombshell is dropped, it’s very common for the phone call to abruptly end. No voices clumsily saying “bye” over the top of each other, no awkward variations on “speak soon”. Just pure silence. I am not the only one who is irked by the lack of on-screen goodbyes. It does seem quite rude: after all, even the 81% of millennials who find phone calls “anxiety-inducing” still probably try their best to be polite once they’re on the phone. But is it something people actually do? Anecdotally, it seems like it’s a no, at least in the UK. A reader wrote to the Guardian to say they’d tried this bizarre Hollywood trend for themselves, only for their friends to call back immediately and ask if their “signal had cut out”. Maybe it’s an American thing? This too seems doubtful. There is a whole thread on Reddit where Americans are insistent that not saying “goodbye” is not a part of their culture. There is also the fact that, on US reality TV, it’s very common to see stars such as the Kardashians calling each other and, unless a person is hanging up in anger, there’s usually a goodbye. So it seems as if it is an intentional decision in scripted shows and films. But why would screenwriters do this? One reason could be to add tension. If the conversation is between romantic partners, not saying “bye” could create distance between them. But goodbyes – like the ones dramatically uttered by Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, breathing down her landline to Mr Big – can be equally suspenseful. The disappearance of phone call farewells has probably got more to do with something much more boring: time management. Most of the time pleasantries don’t significantly further a story and, particularly when TV shows and films aren’t made for streaming, writers are very pressed for time. When a show is 23 minutes long, every second is precious and getting straight to the point is essential. A quick Google of how to write dialogue shows that “avoid small talk” is on almost every how-to list. Goodbyes being sidelined from our screens has become a major hang-up for detail-conscious viewers. It’s an instant, awkward reminder that the conversation we are watching is completely scripted. Looking wider, this feels like a sign that even in the streaming era, where running times are more flexible and we inhale content like tubes of paprika Pringles, keeping the pace of a story and holding our attention is more important than pretending everything is real. And that’s a bad call, if you ask me.

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians escalated dramatically on Monday as militant groups in Gaza fired rockets into Israel and Israel responded with strikes on the Palestinian coastal territory following a police raid on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that left hundreds injured. The rocket attacks were launched just minutes after the passing of a Hamas-issued ultimatum for Israel to withdraw security forces from both the Jerusalem compound that is home to the al-Aqsa mosque and the Old City’s Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. The two locations have been the scene of increasingly violent confrontations in recent days between Israeli security forces and Palestinians that have drawn mounting international concern. Anger had been growing for weeks among Palestinians before a now-delayed Israeli court ruling on whether authorities were able to evict dozens of Palestinians from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood and give their homes to Jewish settlers. Jerusalem residents reported hearing air raid sirens shortly after 6pm local time, when the ultimatum was due to expire, and the sound of explosions. Sirens were also reported near the coastal city of Ashkelon and in other areas close to the Gaza border. The Israeli army said there was an initial burst of seven rockets, one was intercepted, and rocket fire was continuing in southern Israel. The Gaza health ministry said 20 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Palestinian territory after the barrages against Israel. An Israeli military spokesperson said it had started to attack Hamas military targets in Gaza. The rocket strikes signalled a significant escalation and raised the likelihood of a tough Israeli response. Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, said: “Palestinian terrorism must be fought with an iron fist,” while opposition leader Yair Lapid called for a “strong and determined action to restore deterrence” raising the prospect of further military action. The rocket attacks, and retaliatory air raids, followed a day of rapid escalation that came after Israeli police stormed the compound early on Monday, firing stun grenades and teargas and clashing with Palestinians inside, who threw stones. The clashes left more than 500 Palestinians and 21 police officers injured. Footage from the scene showed crowds of people running in front of the mosque through clouds of smoke. The incursion raised tensions significantly given the huge historical sensitivity over the site, not least during the holy month of Ramadan. Seven of the injured from Monday’s clashes were in serious conditions, with local media reporting that a seven-month-old Israeli child had been injured by stones thrown at her family’s car. In an apparent attempt to avoid further confrontation, Israeli authorities had changed the planned route of a contentious march by nationalist Jews through the Muslim Quarter of the Old City. Palestinian residents of the Old City have long complained that the flag march, to mark Israel’s capture of the Jerusalem and its Jewish holy sites in 1967 during the six day war, is deliberately provocative. The marchers were ordered to avoid the area and sent on a different route circumventing the Muslim Quarter on their way to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. Hamas’s military wing claimed responsibility for the first wave of rocket fire in a statement saying it struck Jerusalem in response to Israel’s “crimes and aggression in the Holy City, and its harassment of our people in Sheikh Jarrah and al-Aqsa mosque”. “This is a message that the enemy should understand well,” said a spokesperson. Islamic Jihad in Gaza also claimed to have launched its own rocket attacks. The growing tensions followed the most serious clashes in the city since 2017. Hundreds of Palestinians and several dozen police officers have been hurt in recent days in clashes in and around the Old City, including the sacred compound, which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary – or Haram al-Sharif. The latest violence occurred as the UN security council held closed consultations on the situation in Jerusalem and was considering a proposed statement calling on Israel to cease evictions and calling for “restraint” and respect for “the historic status quo at the holy sites.” Addressing a special cabinet meeting before Jerusalem Day, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel “will not allow any extremists to destabilise the calm in Jerusalem. We will enforce law and order decisively and responsibly”. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the rocket attacks from Gaza against Israel should stop “immediately,” and he urged all sides to take steps to de-escalate the situation. “All sides need to de-escalate, reduce tensions, take practical steps to calm things down,” Blinken said as he met his Jordanian counterpart in Washington. Israel has faced mounting international criticism of its heavy police response and the planned evictions. Last week a UN rights body described the expulsion of Arabs from their homes as a possible war crime. In East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, Palestinians feel an increasing threat from settlers who have sought to expand the Jewish presence there through buying homes, constructing buildings, and court-ordered evictions, such as the case in Sheikh Jarrah. Nabeel al-Kurd, a 77-year-old whose family faces losing their home, said the evictions were a racist attempt to “expel Palestinians and replace them with settlers”. Under Israeli law, Jews who can prove a title from before the 1948 war that accompanied the country’s creation can claim back their Jerusalem properties. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs were displaced in the same conflict but no similar law exists for Palestinians who lost their homes in the city.

Name of the game: Koop Hero Price: 11.99$ Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 18H Requirements: MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 x64 Processor: Intel Core2 Duo E4500 (2 * 2200) or equivalent, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+ (2 * 1910) or equivalent Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce 7300 GT (512 MB), Radeon X1300 Pro (256 MB) Storage: 200 MB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7, 8.1, 10 x64 Processor: Intel Core2 Duo E6750 (2 * 2660) or equivalent, AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ (2 * 2600) or equivalent Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce 8600 GT (512 MB), Radeon HD 4650 (1024 MB) Storage: 200 MB available space

Game Information: Initial release date: 9 Jun, 2020. Software Developer: Recotechnology S.L. Publisher: Chorus Recotechnology S.L. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. A turn-based strategy game that takes a few pages out of XCOM’s book, 1971 Project Helios is a pretty solid excursion if you’re looking for a few hours of distraction. Presenting a post-apocalyptic world coated in ice and snow, you guide a collection of interesting characters through hordes of enemies to rescue a scientist who may be the key to mankind’s future. The world that developer Reco Technology has crafted here is truly an intriguing one, and the devs seem to feel the same, as the game prioritises world-building above all else. This is nice to see as the setting is worth exploring, but this is done at the expense of other narrative elements. The base narrative is slim, with motivations beyond “we must save this scientist” being almost non-existent. The characters – all eight of them – do get moments to shine, and each of their personalities is portrayed convincingly and very effectively. A bigger issue is their individual motivations, as many of them seem to come from different, possibly warring factions, but that information isn’t conveyed all too well. The gameplay is less uneven, though, as things don’t stray too far from what XCOM series has established for the genre. Characters move their allotted number of spaces and have special abilities to take down varying numbers of enemies. The abilities are satisfying to use, and the synergy between classes is impressive. There’s a particular strategy that can knock enemies to different tiles, and any units on “overwatch” can shoot them, getting free attacks. There are unlock trees, too, but the game’s short enough that each character having fixed abilities would have been fine. Mechanically, the best idea is the way cold affects your squad. Characters lose health to “frostbite” and it works quickly, encouraging a more aggressive playstyle than would normally be expected. This hurry-up mechanic brings a hint of desperation to the affair, and while it could easily have made playing the game a miserable time, it works phenomenally. While the gameplay is solid, we came away more impressed with the art direction and sound design than expected. The lightly stylised, cel-shaded look works for 1971, with the organic environments looking especially nice. The sheer variety of locations is impressive, too, including an oil rig, airbase, canyon, and nomadic village. Meanwhile, the exploration music is absolutely beautiful, though the combat soundtrack gets a bit repetitive. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 (64 bit) Processor: Intel Core i5-760 / AMD Phenom II X4 965 Memory: 6 GB RAM Graphics: NVidia GTX 580 / AMD Radeon HD 7870 Storage: 3 GB available space RECOMMENDED: OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 (64 bit) Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K/ AMD Ryzen 5 1600X Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GTX 970 or higher / AMD Radeon RX 480 or higher Storage: 3 GB available space

The first few months of 2021 have been absolutely massive for AMD and Intel. According to the latest report from Mercury Research, the first three months of 2021 saw the largest yearly increase in shipments of CPUs in a quarter of a century, and second only to the final moments of 2020 in terms of raw volume. You'd be perhaps surprised to learn that Intel has gained a touch in overall x86 market share in Q1 2021, whereas AMD reportedly lost out. There's only a percentage point in it: a 1% gain for Intel and a 1% loss for AMD, though. Far from major gains in either direction. Mercury Research puts that down to an increase in budget chip shipments for Chipzilla, which tallies with other figures out of the tech giant as of late. But where Intel has gained in mobile processor market share, it loses out marginally in desktop. That's where AMD's Ryzen processors are seemingly crushing it, and despite some difficulty sourcing the top-tier chips, such as the Ryzen 9 5950X and Ryzen 9 5900X, AMD is still managing to make gains within the market predisposed to Intel processors for so long. AMD reported massive revenue in its last earnings call, and a shift to more high-end processors with higher average selling prices in Q1 certainly goes a long way to explaining that. But perhaps the biggest win in AMD's eyes is the 1.8% increase in server market share quarter to quarter, and 3.8 percent year on year. That means its Epyc processors are selling supremely well against Intel's Xeon chips, and the market that AMD will be most determined to get more of a footing in. Datacentres are not quite so fickle as us gaming lot, see. While 1.8% may appear marginal, it equates to a helluva lot of server chips. In fact, since Intel's server sales were down, AMD managed its highest single-quarter market share gain since 2006, back in the Opteron days.

What do you know? The US Postal Service uses AI technology and have GPU servers running computer vision algorithms to track items being delivered across the country. The system is called Edge Computing Infrastructure Program (ECIP, pronounced EE-sip) and is designed to run inference operations on machine learning models using Nvidia’s GPUs. The USPS relies on deep-learning systems to perform image recognition tasks, and hopefully speed up the mail. “It used to take eight or 10 people several days to track down items, now it takes one or two people a couple hours,” said Todd Schimmel, the manager who manages ECIP and other USPS systems. Schimmel hopes USPS will deploy more algorithms that can detect if the correct postage stamp has been used for a package, and to automatically read barcodes even if they’re damaged. “We’re at the very beginning of our journey with edge AI. Every day, people in our organization are thinking of new ways to apply machine learning to new facets of robotics, data processing and image handling,” he added. It’s a good time to be hiring AI devs if you’re not Google, eh? Samy Bengio, a veteran expert in neural networks who left Google after it controversially ousted its two ethical AI team co-leads – Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell – has joined Apple. He will oversee a new AI research unit at the iGiant, and report to John Giannandrea, senior veep of machine learning and AI strategy, according to Reuters. The Chocolate Factory faced a PR disaster and internal revolt after it pushed Gebru out over an academic paper [PDF] criticizing large language models. Mitchell is also a co-author of the research. She was fired after Google accused her of violating the company’s code of conduct and security policies for downloading and sending files to an external Google account outside of work. Bengio supported the pair, and quit his job after Google reshuffled the management for its AI research team. The US government is serious about AI and it has a new government website to show for it The web domain ai.gov is now up and running after the passage of the US National AI Initiative Act from the previous Trump administration. The site was launched on Wednesday, according to Fed Scoop. Under the new law, the US government launched a new AI-focused unit working under the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It brings together numerous agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, to the Department of State, and the National Security Council to collaborate and invest in fundamental AI research. “The mission of the National AI Initiative is to ensure continued US leadership in AI research and development, lead the world in the development and use of trustworthy AI in the public and private sectors, and prepare the present and future US workforce for the integration of AI systems across all sectors of the economy and society,” the site said. ®

Vingroup JSC is shuttering its electronics devices unit VinSmart just months after exporting smartphones to the U.S. as it ramps up production of electric vehicles. The closure of VinSmart is to “mobilize all resources” for developing of VinFast - Vingroup’s carmaker unit, according to a statement Sunday. “This is a strategic step towards the aim of making VinFast one of the world’s leading firms in electric and smart vehicles,” Vingroup said. The move comes as Vingroup weighs a U.S. initial public offering for its VinFast auto unit that could raise about $2 billion. Vingroup has also said it is considering raising funds through a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. VinSmart, which had said it expects to ship as many as 2 million smartphones to the U.S. in 2020, was founded in 2018. It produced other devices including smart TVs. VinSmart will switch to provide smart solutions for vehicles and homes, and will focus on developing in-car infotainment for VinFast, according to the statement. It will also continue current research on smart city, smart homes and related IoT devices. VinFast, founded by billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong, began delivering gasoline-powered autos to Vietnamese consumers with BMW-licensed engines in 2019. The carmaker plans a rollout of electric cars in Vietnam later this year. The startup aims to deliver its first electric vehicles to the U.S., Canada and Europe next year and is looking to open a factory in the U.S. Vuong, who said in late 2019 he would back the company’s U.S. ambitions with $2 billion of his own fortune, has been refocusing his company, abandoning plans for an airline and divesting its grocery stores and agriculture businesses.

On Monday, Bill and Melinda gates announced their divorce, putting an end to their 27-year marriage. Bill and Melinda have now joined a growing number of older couples filing for "gray divorce," or a marriage dissolution later in life. In 2015, the National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau compared divorce rates from 1990 and 2015 and found divorce rates doubled for those who were 50 and older. People 65 and older were three times more likely to get divorced in 2015 compared to 1990. The rise in later-in-life divorces can be attributed to marriage dissolution becoming less taboo, a fixation on child-rearing, and people living longer, according to Barry J. Jacobs, a clinical psychologist and co-author of the AARP book "Love and Meaning After 50: The 10 Challenges to Great Relationships — and How to Overcome Them." People are living longer and growing apart Generally, married couples today have the same level of relationship satisfaction as previous generations, Susan Brown, co-director of the National Center for Family & Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University, told Thrive Global. But today's humans have longer lifespans, which could explain a rise in divorce for the baby boomer generation, said Brown. Today's 65-year-olds can live, on average, until they're 84, Washington Post previously reported. As baby boomers grow older, reevaluate their priorities, and gain a greater sense of self, they realize their spouse isn't someone they want to be with for the next 20 years. "That's a long time to spend with someone you're not that into anymore," Brown told Thrive Global. Divorce is more accessible and less taboo Divorce has also become more commonplace and people feel less shame around marriage dissolution, according to Jacobs. Until 1969, divorce was only granted if one spouse could prove the other was at fault, like for physical or emotional abuse or infidelity. But when no-fault divorces, or divorces that could be filed for any or no reason, were legalized over the next decade across the US, an increasing number of baby boomers, children at the time, witnessed their parents split up, National Affairs previously reported. "They were the first generation whose parents got divorced. Divorce doesn't seem like this tragedy in their lives. It's almost seen as part and parcel of normal family life," Jacobs said of the shifting mentality. There isn't a roadmap for married life after children Finally, the American nuclear family isn't structured to prepare parents for life after children, Jacobs said. A married couple with children often dedicates their lives to raising a family and places less importance on their romantic relationship. Once those children leave home, an older couple may realize they've lost their "sense of common purpose," according to Jacobs. "[When] spouses, who haven't really been engaged with one another because they've been engaged with the children for a long time, have to turn towards one another and talk all this through, it's very difficult," he said. In Jacob's experience, baby boomer couples who can't agree on how close to live to their children and grandchildren or how they want to spend their retired years will choose to part ways so they can live on their own terms.

A powerful Democrat-led House committee is pushing a federal judge to order Donald Trump to comply with a subpoena for his financial records, arguing he no longer has a viable claim to withhold materials now that he is out of office, according to a source familiar with the matter. The move from the House oversight committee, led by the chair Carolyn Maloney, marks the latest salvo from Democrats in their years-long pursuit to secure Trump’s tax records and related documents, in a case testing the scope and limits of Congress’s oversight authority. If successful, the committee would be a step closer to obtaining Trump’s tax records and potentially making them public, the source said. “While the committee’s need for the subpoenaed information has not changed, one key fact has: plaintiff Donald J Trump is no longer the president,” Douglas Letter, the general counsel for congressional Democrats, wrote in a motion filed last week in the US district court for the District of Columbia. “Because he is no longer the incumbent, the constitutional separation-of-powers principles that were the foundation of the supreme court’s recent decision are significantly diminished,” Letter wrote. Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York obtained the former president’s tax records in March, just hours after the supreme court denied his last-ditch attempt to keep them concealed. But, as they are part of a law enforcement investigation, they have not so far been released. The thousands of documents turned over by Trump’s accounting firm Mazars USA include tax returns from January 2011 to August 2019, as well as financial statements, engagement letters and communications related to financial disclosures, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said. But in a separate decision, the supreme court ruled last summer that Congress could not see many of the same records, saying instead the case should be returned to lower courts on account of “significant separation of powers concerns” surrounding the issue. The committee, though, now believes that with Trump out of office, the separation of powers concerns that arose when he was subpoenaed by Congress as a sitting president no longer apply, the source said. If the committee is ultimately successful, it could pave the way for Trump’s tax returns to one day become public, since Congress is not restricted by grand jury secrecy rules that bar the Manhattan district attorney’s office from releasing the documents except as evidence at a trial. A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. House Democrats and Trump have been locked in a bitterly contested dispute since April 2019, when the committee first issued a subpoena to Mazars USA demanding 10 years’ worth of Trump’s financial records under the leadership of the late Representative Elijah Cummings. Maloney reissued the subpoena to Mazars USA earlier this year, after the initial subpoena expired with the new Congress. “For more than 22 months, the committee has been denied key information needed to inform legislative action to address the once-in-a-generation ethics crisis created by former President Trump’s unprecedented conflicts of interests,” Maloney said at the time, in a memo obtained by the Guardian. “The committee’s need for this information – in order to verify key facts and tailor legislative reforms to be as effective as possible – remains just as compelling now as it was when the committee first issued its subpoena.”

Name of the game: Call of Duty Black Ops. Price: 19.99$ Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 17 May Requirements: OS: Windows® Vista / XP / 7 Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8750 or better Memory: 2GB Graphics: Shader 3.0 or better 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600GT / ATI Radeon® X1950Pro or better DirectX®: DirectX® 9.0c Hard Drive: 12GB* Sound: DirectX® 9.0c-compatible