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Game Information: Initial release date: 26 Nov, 2020. Software Developer: AlfaSystem Co.,Ltd. Publisher: Chorus Worldwide Games. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. The real bummer about Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire is that it has a much better subtitle in Japan. The vertical shmup – inspired by the cult Castle of Shikigami series – goes by the illustrious name Sisters Royale: I’m Being Harassed by Five Sisters and It Sucks. Brilliant. It all plays into the plot, which sees a band of siblings battling for the affection of a strapping young bachelor named Yashin. Our recommendation: turn off the cut-scenes. Once you get beyond the weeaboo pandering narrative, you’re left with a likeable bullet hell bonanza which is strangely moreish. This is a stripped back experience in every sense of the sentence: there are five stages and five characters, but the longevity comes from high score chasing and unique abilities. Each hero can fire in different patterns, but it’s their Shikigami attack which sets them apart. In the case of one character, this serves as a homing projectile – but at the expense of mobility. The experience gets even more interesting when you factor in that both your score and effectiveness in combat are altered by your proximity to enemy projectiles. In other words: the closer that you stand to the epilepsy-inducing action on-screen, the better your performance will be. It’s a neat risk-reward mechanic that encourages dangerous play, and with each sister playing slightly differently it’s going to take you some time to master each one. Unfortunately, the game introduces some random variables which detract from the overall experience. The ice level, for example, sports slippery surfaces, which are infuriating in a precision shooter such as this. We’re not overly keen on a stage which takes place primarily in the dark either, as it adds a layer of unpredictability that can make the action feel unfair. With just five stages on offer, you’ll soon tire of these poorly conceived novelties. When the shooting’s in full swing, though, it’s entertaining stuff. The patterns are fun to dance through, and the visuals are busy yet readable. Aside from some high-quality anime portraits, the visuals aren’t really worth writing home about, and the audio’s particularly forgettable, too. But the controller response is good, and the title’s able to induce that trance-like status which all good shmups demand. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i3 or AMD equivalent Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 460 or AMD HD6790（VRAM 1GB） DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 350 MB available space

AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) could show up in June, according to YouTuber Coreteks. They claim to have spoken with a handful of game developers, who say that they already have access to some form of FSR already. Furthermore, they claim FSR will not require proprietary hardware and could run on even Nvidia's graphics cards. Coreteks outlines what could be some features of FSR in the video embedded below, around the five minute mark. To break it down, Coreteks says that AMD will use algorithmic super sampling to upscale a frame with low overhead, and they'll do this early on in the graphics pipeline. That is said to require only minimal developer time to implement, which is a mantra we've seen AMD aiming for with other features of the RDNA 2 architecture, such as Infinity Cache. This will launch in June this year, which could stack up with an online AMD event alongside the E3 festivities, if I had to take a guess. Again, nothing concrete here, but it's not entirely out of the question. There's a bit of a question mark over this next feature, even in the Coreteks video, but they claim FSR will work cross-platform, meaning Nvidia graphics cards can play, too. What that means for compatibility with older GPUs is anyone's guess. That's not out of the realms of possibility, at least. Other FidelityFX features are a part of the hardware-agnostic GPUOpen library of effects, and let's not forget FreeSync, built with Adaptive Sync, has been an open invitation to Nvidia, one which it only recent took AMD (and VESA) up on. As a reminder, AMD has not yet spoken about FSR publicly, stating that it will be ready when it's ready. We can't say for sure whether any of the above is accurate or will be present in the first public release of FSR. All we know for sure is that AMD intends to release FSR sometime in 2021, and that it will offer some form of analogue to Nvidia's DLSS in order to bolster team red's ray tracing performance. How it'll perform next to Nvidia's DLSS is another unknown today, but it's got some big shoes to fill since the increased effectiveness of Nvidia's second major DLSS release. It makes some of the best graphics cards today even better, and there's very little downside to speak of.

MariaDB has added proprietary bells and whistles, in the form of distributed SQL, for its DBaaS and supposedly developer-friendly front end. The biz supporting the open-source MySQL-derived database introduced its DBaaS SkySQL last year and has now announced the general availability of its distributed SQL as one of the engines in MariaDB's SkySQL system, said CMO Franz Aman. "What's cool about distributed SQL is that you get all the scale of NoSQL, but you get it with all the benefits of relational," he said. "So, you have strong consistency, you have full SQL vocabulary, but at a scale that is ready for the internet for internet-scale." Dubbed Xpand, the DBaaS engine is designed to tolerate infrastructure failures and maintain availability by storing multiple copies of data on different database nodes. MariaDB is adding zone awareness to ensure that redundant data is kept in all the right places and survives if a zone goes down entirely. The MariaDB database is available under GPL terms. It was sharded out of MySQL when MySQL co-founder Michael Widenius forked the code to the new open-source database after MySQL had been gobbled by Oracle. But MariaDB, the company, builds proprietary features and services on top of the open-source database, which includes MaxScale, an advanced database proxy which hides the database layer from the application and developer, and co-ordinate automatic failover, transaction replay, load balancing and read/write splitting, the vendor said. MaxScale is time-delayed open source, in that it will become open source when new updates arrive. Matt Yonkovit, head of open source at database consultancy Percona, said there were open-source alternatives to the new technologies from MariaDB. For example, Yugabyte offers an open-source distributed SQL database, while ProxySQL is an open-source database proxy. The problem with using proprietary add-ons with open-source databases is it can cancel the benefits of going open source in the first place, Yonkovit said. "It's about how much control can you keep as you start to implement these features. 'As-a-service' is slowly – or maybe rapidly – evolving into 'lock-in-as-a service'. It's OK if you understand that, but I think a lot of users I talked to think, 'oh well I'm using MySQL' and they just assume portability between systems," he explained. "MariaDB has now diverged significantly enough from MySQL where it's not really compatible in the same way. So, that kind of comfort goes if a company goes under, or they get bought and change the focus, I can then just switch over to another provider: I see that eroding, more and more."

We’ve already seen prices for the full range of the electric Kia EV6 arrive, and now it’s the turn of Hyundai to deliver prices and specs for the Ioniq 5 EV, both built on the same dedicated EV platform and both offering a properly convincing electric offering. The Ioniq 5 offers a total of four powertrain options, with a 58kWh battery with RWD or 4WD and a 73kWh with RWD or 4WD, ranges of up to 300 miles and all with 800V charging delivering an 80 per cent charge in 18 minutes. In addition to the four powertrain options, there are also three trim options – SE Connect, Premium, Ultimate – with all but the SE Connect available with either battery size and 4WD only with the 73kWh battery. The SE Connect only comes with the 58kWh battery and RWD. The Ioniq 5 SE Connect 58 kWh (£36,995) comes with 19″ alloys, cloth upholstery, mood lighting, 12.3″ infotainment, digital instrument panel, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Wireless phone charging, Smart Cruise, rear-vie camera, Speed Limit Assist, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Follow Assist and Driver Attention Alert. Move up to the Ioniq 5 Premium and you get electric driver’ seat, heated front seats, LED projector headlights, power tailgate, Highway Drive Assist, Forward Collision Assist, and Blindspot Collision. The Ioniq 5 Premium costs from £39,225 for the 58kWh RWD, £41,945 for the 73kWh RWD and £45,145 for the 73kWh 4WD. Hit the top spot with the Ioniq 5 Ultimate and you add in leather, privacy glass, chrome bits, black gloss beltline, electric ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, BOSE Sound, HUD, V2L and sliding centre console. Prices are from £42,295 for the 58kWh RWD, £44,945 for the 73kWh RWD and £48,090 for the 73kWh 4WD. Extra goodies you can option include Vehicle to Load on Premnium models for £365, Eco Pack (Ultimate models) £1,195 and Tech Pack (Ultimate Models) for £1,495 and a selection of nine colour choices.

A restoration project has commissioned a 3D laser scan of the oldest surviving synagogue in Wales Merthyr Tydfil Synagogue has been recorded for posterity to millimetre accuracy because of a project by Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales (RCAHMW) in partnership with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage. The work undertaken on the Grade II listed building is the first step in a long-term project led by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage to restore the site and create a Welsh Jewish Heritage Centre. The unique building was identified as among the most important 16 synagogues at risk in Europe after a survey by the organisation in 2017. Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to carry out a comprehensive laser scan of the exterior and interior, a technology which uses lasers to take millimetre accurate 3D measurements of every part of a building’s surface and its environs. This data has been used to create plans and elevation drawings of the building and will be archived in the RCAHMW’s National Monuments Record of Wales as a permanent record of the synagogue. The data can also be used to form the basis for 3D modelling and there are future plans by the project partners to create a virtual reconstruction of the synagogue as it was before it closed in 1983. The style of the building externally is Gothic and, as such, is in contrast to other synagogues built in the UK which tended to use Oriental or Byzantine styles. A unique feature is the stone Welsh dragon which sits proudly on the gable of the entrance bay. The building was previously used as a Christian Centre and gym before lying derelict for some years. It was purchased by The Foundation for Jewish Heritage in 2019. Michael Mail, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage said: “We are delighted to be working with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales and Wessex Archaeology in utilising latest technologies to document the special synagogue of Merthyr Tydfil and provide a resource that will help with the eventual presentation of the building’s story.” Susan Fielding, Senior Investigator for Historic Buildings at RCAHMW said “The Merthyr Tydfil synagogue, opened in 1877, is one of the most historically and architecturally important faith buildings in Wales. “After many years of the building being at risk, we are very pleased to be working with the Foundation for Jewish Heritage and Wessex Archaeology on this survey as an exciting step on the road to bringing the building back to life and telling the story of the rich heritage of Jewish communities in Wales”. Chris Brayne, Chief Executive at Wessex Archaeology said: “We’re delighted to have been able to bring our technological know-how to bear in deepening the understanding of this unique piece of Jewish and Welsh history. “The accuracy of the laser scanning technique means that the building can both be digitally preserved in its current state as a record for future generations and offers the opportunity to recreate what it would have looked like in its former glory. “There are some really exciting possibilities ahead for engaging people with this amazing place.”

An Italian fisher wounded when his trawler was machined-gunned by the Libyan coastguard was fired on from a boat supplied by Italy’s government to help Tripoli control the flow of migrants. Libyan authorities, who say the coastguard vessel fired warning shots into the air, said three Italian fishing vessels had entered Libyan territorial waters without authorisation before the incident on Thursday, the latest episode in a territorial dispute involving crews from the Sicilian port of Mazara del Vallo who fish for red prawns off the Libyan coast. The fishers were freed following the intervention of an Italian navy vessel, which also managed to rescue the man after his arm was injured in a volley of machine-gun fire. The Italian navy confirmed the patrol boat that fired the shots was the former Italian coastguard patrol boat 660, nicknamed Ubari, which was provided to the Libyans in November 2018 to intercept migrants crossing the Mediterranean. It followed a 2017 deal signed by Italy’s former interior minister Marco Minniti and the leader of Libya’s UN-backed government, Fayez al-Sarraj, to train and equip its coastguard. The deal empowered the Libyan coastguard to intercept migrant boats at sea and redirect them to Libya, where aid agencies say refugees are abused and tortured. The Libyan coastguard colonel Massoud Abdalsamad told Italian media his men “fired warning shots into the air against vessels which had allegedly trespassed into Libyan waters”. He was approached for comment but has not responded. A Guardian investigation revealed in April that Massoud had been wire-tapped by Italian prosecutors investigating sea rescue charities for alleged complicity in people smuggling . On one occasion, in June 2017, when asked by Italian coast guards to rescue a migrant boat in distress, Massoud replied: “It’s a day off. It’s a holiday here. But I can try to help. Perhaps, we can be there tomorrow.” According to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration by the end of that weekend 126 people died. The trawler captain, Giuseppe Giacalone, told the Italian news agency ANSA: “It is a miracle we are alive. We were shot at. The cabin of our boat is full of holes. It was 2pm on Thursday when it happened. While we were sailing towards the north-east, a Libyan patrol boat caught up with us and started shooting. The shots hit us and the dashboard glass shattered.” The incident is likely to spark a row in Italy after the prime minister, Mario Draghi, went to Libya in early April and complimented the coastguard, saying he was “satisfied with the rescues carried out by Libya”. Italian fishing boats have previously been attacked by Libyan authorities as far back as the mid-1990s, when Tripoli began protecting its fishing waters from foreign vessels with the use of force. In the 180 miles of sea that separates Libya from Italy, the “War of the Gambero Rosso”, named after the prized red prawn found in those waters, has continued for decades but intensified after 2005, when Muammar Gaddafi unilaterally decided to extend Libya’s territorial waters from 12 to 74 miles offshore. According to data from Sicily’s Distretto della Pesca, a cooperative of fishing industry stakeholders, in the past 25 years more than 60 boats have been seized or confiscated, about 40 fishers detained and dozens of people injured. The most serious recent incident took place in September 2020, when two Sicilian fishing boats – named Antartide and Medinea – were approached by Libyan patrol boats that accused them of fishing in Libyan territorial waters and, from there, were transferred to Benghazi, a region in eastern Libya controlled by Haftar. The 18 fishers from Sicily – eight Italians, six Tunisians, two Indonesians and two Senegalese – were held captive in Libya for more than 100 days and were eventually freed in December, ending a political standoff between the two countries over the fate of the men.

Name of the game: Command & Conquer™ Remastered Collection Price: 9.99 Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 17 May Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 8.1/10 (64-bit Version) Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 @ 2.4ghz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400 @ 2.4ghz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 420 or ATI Radeon HD 5570 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 32 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 8.1/10 (64-bit Version) Processor: Intel Core i5 4690K or AMD Ryzen 7 1700 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 or ATI Radeon HD 7850 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 32 GB available space Additional Notes: Hard Drive Space: 32 GB on SSD

Game Information: Initial release date: 24 Oct, 2018. Software Developer: Codebyfire. Publisher: Mode 7. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. The Colonists is an addictive little world-builder featuring cute robots. And while it doesn't do much to set itself apart from its strategic peers, it's a relatively accessible game, complete with step-by-step tutorials and a gameplay structure that's easy to understand. In a genre where complexity can be a serious hurdle, The Colonists finds agreeable ways to ease you into the experience, and it's better for it. But that's not to say The Colonists totally lacks depth. The further your robot-run civilisation flourishes, the more there is to manage. At first, things are simple. You build wooden huts, basic water wells, and small farms. These resources are converted into battery energy for your mechanical minions, and naturally, a growing po[CENSORED]tion demands more and more sustenance. You'll soon find yourself expanding, scouting new territory and harvesting the land's many resources so that the cycle can continue. Then comes the research, and the furthering of science. Your wooden shacks are replaced with stronger materials, dirt paths become busy roadways, and you learn how to coax rare metals from the earth. Bit by bit, your robots attempt to imitate humanity, and it's all very charming. For the most part, there's a nice, relaxed feel to The Colonists that makes it easy to pick up and play — even if it's just for quick ten minute session. And like any good world-builder, just sitting back and watching things work is very satisfying. Creativity is perhaps a bit of an issue, though. As alluded, The Colonists is pretty straightforward, and the path of progression doesn't allow for much deviation or customisation. There are no difficult choices to make, no branching upgrades to choose from; you just improve and expand upon what you already have, repeating the process until the entire map is filled with bustling 'bots. But at least in terms of content, The Colonists has plenty for you to do. There's a campaign made up 14 missions — essentially tasking you with colonising different locations. Meanwhile, sandbox mode lets you choose a map, tweak various gameplay settings, and play however you like. We especially enjoyed messing around in the latter once the campaign had shown us the ropes, and taking things at our own pace. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: 64 bit Windows Processor: Multicore with SSE2 instruction set support Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: 1GB DX9 (shader model 3.0) DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 1 GB available space

EVGA is offering some hefty discounts on various hardware right now, including a large all-in-one liquid cooler with a 360mm radiator and three cooling fans. It lists for $159.99, but you can get it for $79.99 with free shipping, by applying coupon code LTTSAVE50 at checkout. This is a fantastic price for a 360mm AIO liquid cooler. It's a good one, too—this is essentially a bigger version of the CLC 240, which we list as one of the best CPU coolers, in part because that one's affordable. The deal on the 360mm model, however, has you paying less for more cooling performance. Win, win. This is the biggest AIO cooler EVGA makes. It features fully sleeved tubing for a sleek look inside your PC, customizable RGB lighting on the pump assembly, and three fans with Teflon nano bearings and a unique design to keep the airflow high (74.82 CFM) and the noise low (16 to 39.9 decibels). This is compatible with "current and future" sockets, including LGA 20xx, 1200, 115X, 1366, for Intel, and AM2, AM3, AM4, FM1, FM2, TR4, for AMD, as well as "upcoming variants" for both. That means Alder Lake (LGA 1700) and Zen 4 will be supported, if EVGA keeps true to its word. If this is too big, you can apply the same coupon code to EVGA's CLC 280 cooler, which brings the price down from $139.99 to $69.99.

A UUID stored on the local machine would be used to identify sessions and web analytics service Yandex Metrica used to estimate daily active users. "Telemetry collection is optional and configurable at any time," he added. The change has not gone down well. At time of writing it had attracted over 2,000 "thumbs down" emojis, while a mere 39 users clicked "thumbs up." Hardly a ringing endorsement. Telemetry collection is an area that causes much gnashing of teeth and twisting of knickers in the open source community. While some see it as a pointless invasion of privacy, others find it invaluable for solving issues or identifying how people use a product. Audacity 'scared and excited' to be bought and brought under Muse Group's roof, promises to stay free and open source The Audacity of it all: Version 3.0 of open-source audio fave boasts new file format, 160+ bug fixes Ardour goes harder: v6.0 brings 'huge engineering changes' to open-source digital audio workstation Tails OS hits version 3.0, matches Debian's pace but bins 32-bit systems However, stir third-party services like Google Analytics and Yandex into the mix and the reaction is overwhelmingly negative. There is also the question of opt in vs opt out. Red Hat software engineer Eric Gustavsson had a poke through the code and confirmed it was an opt-in affair, although we can see how a user cheerfully clicking through boxes (because nobody ever does that) might inadvertently opt themselves in. Telemetry collection is not a new thing for other brands under the Muse Group umbrella. Stablemate notation software firm Musescore defended its use of the technology back in 2019. Adding it to Audacity, however, runs the risk of a fork of the code or some customers looking elsewhere. As one user delicately put it: "Currently over 99.97 per cent of the reactions to the original commit are negative. Clearly the users are overwhelming[ly] opposed to it. If it gets added, that will be a massive middle finger to people who have used Audacity all these years and will most likely result in a loss of users." Quite. The Register has contacted Audacity and the Muse Group for comment. The latter has yet to respond. The former did, and the original Github PR description was updated in an effort to smooth ruffled feathers. The Audacity team confirmed that the feature would require a user to opt-in and was purely there to identify issues and get a handle on the size of the user base. As for those third parties, the team said: "We do not incorporate cross-site tracking, limiting the ability to identify the user by both Google and Yandex," before going on to say: "We will consider replacing Google and Yandex with another service if we find one that fulfills our requirements." But as for the telemetry itself: "Just to reiterate, telemetry is completely optional and disabled by default." The joy of open source means that users can, if they wish, verify Audacity's claims for themselves before deciding that the time has come for a fork. ®

Chinese electric car maker NIO has launched in Europe, starting in the Norwegian market with its ES8 SUV and ET7 saloon. It’s the first European country the brand will sell its vehicles to, although the firm has said it could soon expand into the UK if there’s enough interest. In Norway, pre-orders for the NIO ES8 SUV will start in July, with first deliveries expected to arrive in September. It has an output of 537bhp and a maximum range of 500km (around 310 miles). Sales of the ET7 saloon won’t start until next year. Launching in Norway makes sense for NIO. It is one of the most EV-friendly countries in Europe. In Norway, sales of electric cars are currently outstripping those of their petrol, diesel and hybrid equivalents. As part of the launch NIO will develop a Norwegian charging network including the company’s innovative battery swap stations. The first four stations are due to go into operation before the end of the year, with twelve more set to arrive in 2022, creating a network in five cities across Norway. NIO’s claims its battery swap stations dramatically cut the wait times owners would endure recharging. Owners simply drive their cars into a dedicated service pod, which automatically swaps the flat battery for a fully charged one in just three minutes. NIO also plans to bring its “NIO House” concept to Norway. This is a clubhouse accessible to owners with work stations and a cafe, and it’s where potential customers can learn more about the brand. The first European outlet will be built in Oslo, with four more locations scheduled to open across Norway throughout 2022. Hui Zhang, NIO’s European Vice President, discussed the timescales for the company’s launch in the UK, saying: “The UK has always been an important country to NIO, and is referred to as a special place for our founder William Li. The brand was formally launched in London and Oxford and remains our centre for simulation and computer aided engineering. “The UK market is slowly waking up to the appeal of EVs and growth is dramatic in a market that collapsed due to COVID but in 2020, pure EVs were still just 6.6% of sales, just over 100,000 vehicles. “We would only enter once conditions were right, we have the after sales and customer service infrastructure. The NIO houses, valet charging, NIO app are a key element of our offering in China so we have to consider what works in the UK. There are other considerations; the need for right hand drive requires additional engineering for a limited number of markets. We will continue to consider the benefits.”

Eggs and objects were thrown at members of a mosque at what was believed to be a racially aggravated attack. The Ilford Islamic Centre in Albert Road became a target last night (May 4) at around 11pm, when worshippers were egged and had other items thrown at them. It is believed that five people were hit by the items thrown. Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they received reports of an alleged racially aggravated attack. A spokesperson has said there have been no arrests. The alleged main attacker is described by a witness as a white man in his 20s with a shaven head, while it is thought there were three other passengers in the vehicle. Redbridge Council leader Jas Athwal tweeted to say he was "saddened and disgusted" about the attack. Cllr Athwal added: "The council will continue to work closely with the police and uniformed patrols in the areas surrounding the mosque will be increased. "In Redbridge we are proud of our diversity and the strength and support of our communities of faith. "Incidents like this have no place in our borough and we will work with our friends and neighbours at Albert Road mosque and the police to ensure the safety of all worshippers." Detective Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman, in charge of policing for the Redbridge area, said: “We take all reports of hate crime very seriously and have launched an investigation. “Incidents like this will not be tolerated and my officers will be undertaking enhanced patrols in the area to provide reassurance to the local community and visitors to the mosque.” Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call police on 101.

The traditional ruler of South Africa’s Zulu nation has been buried amid an increasingly acrimonious succession battle involving allegations of poisoning and forgery. Queen Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu, died aged 65 last week, only a month after she took the role after the death of her husband, King Goodwill Zwelithini. Since her death, different factions within the royal family have sought to challenge for the throne, alleging she was poisoned and that her husband’s signature was fraudulently added to his will. The Zulu are South Africa’s largest ethnic group, accounting for more than one-fifth of the country’s 60 million inhabitants, most living in the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal. The royal family has no formal government powers but upholds Zulu tradition and controls millions of hectares of land through a trust. Monarchs also receive public funds and have significant political influence. No details have been released on the cause of death of the queen, who was buried on Thursday, though some South African media reports say she had been ill for some time. Mantfombi married King Goodwill Zwelithini in 1977, becoming his third wife of six and regent, according to instructions left in her husband’s will. The king died in hospital, aged 72, in March after being admitted for treatment for diabetes. Allegations that the queen had been poisoned have been dismissed by family insiders as a misunderstanding of reports that traces of toxins had been found in her liver some time ago. The king’s five decades of rule prompted much criticism of political choices and an allegedly lavish lifestyle. His successor will take possession of an extensive portfolio of properties worth millions of dollars and huge herds of valuable cattle. Under his will, Mantfombi was appointed regent pending the installation of a successor. Discussions on the succession were due to begin only after the royal family’s three-month mourning period had elapsed. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the traditional prime minister to the royal family, has pledged there would be “no leadership vacuum in the Zulu nation” and called for restraint among family members.

Name of the game: GOD EATER 3 Price: 11.99 Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 4H Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 64-bit, SP1 Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD FX-8120 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon R9 290X DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 25 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 fury DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 25 GB available space

Game Information: Initial release date: May 7, 2021 (Japan: May 😎. Software Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. If we're being brutally honest, Resident Evil Village puts Resident Evil 7: Biohazard to shame. That's not to say we've soured on Ethan Winters in the four years since his introduction, but rather what Capcom has done next goes way above and beyond the events of the Baker incident. Resident Evil Village is incredible. By borrowing the best bits from its predecessor and combining them with DNA strands from a certain Spanish settlement, we finally have a proper rival to the great Resident Evil 4. It's no coincidence either that the first mainline entry to be directly inspired by the 2005 classic can consider itself up there with the very best — such is the everlasting quality of Las Plagas. The gothic horror setting is back, inventory management emulates Tetris once more, a Merchant takes cash for supplies and weaponry, and there are no undead hordes to be seen for miles. With the first-person perspective and general combat mechanics of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard retained, this really is the best of both worlds. Protagonist Ethan Winters could probably even consider himself to be in the very same position. Three years after Chris Redfield rescued him and wife Mia from the clutches of Eveline, the twosome are living happily with a daughter named Rose in Europe. That is until the boulder-punching star breaks into their house one night and murders Mia, kidnapping baby Rose in the process. The next time Winters wakes up, he finds himself in a remote village packed full of werewolves and other monstrosities. Ethan uses this as a chance to search for answers — so do we since Capcom still refuses to properly reveal the man’s face — and it's here where he bumps into the stars of the show. The dwelling is owned and operated by five important figures, all of which you'll meet and interact with over the course of the 12-hour campaign. They each have a section of a village to call their own, which leads to a series of vastly different environments despite the usual trappings of the snowy setting. And yes, one of those high-ranking members is indeed the woman of the moment Lady Dimitrescu. The 2.9 metres tall monster of a female stalks many of your moves in Castle Dimitrescu — the location that houses the perfect blend of classic Resident Evil gameplay. Combat feels weighty with weapons that take their time to reload and blast enemies to smithereens while puzzles remain interesting and engaging throughout. There are keys to discover, intricate brain teasers to solve, and upgrades to be bought from the Duke. It's all so, so much more satisfying than any other recent instalments have had to offer. You just have to keep an eye out for Lady Dimitrescu at every turn. She'll follow you about and make her presence known in the same way Mr X did in Resident Evil 2, attacking you when she gets chance and keeping you on edge whenever some downtime has to be taken in order to solve a puzzle. Some corners of the internet will be disappointed that she doesn't actually feature as much in the game as pre-release marketing has led us to believe, but when Lady Dimitrescu is on the prowl, the castle owner is a force to be reckoned with. At least her transformation is something to behold. Let your imagination run wild, and then Lady Dimitrescu goes one step further. However, dare we say that despite her sass and villainy, she's actually the least interesting member of the group? We really do think Capcom has buried the lede here (potentially on purpose) because what Heisenberg, Donna Beneviento, Salvatore Moreau, and overall leader Mother Miranda bring to the table is nothing short of staggering. As previously mentioned, they have all taken a piece of the village for themselves, allowing each one to shape those areas however they see fit. Heisenberg has used the opportunity to construct a huge factory churning out his own set of physical horrors and Salvatore Moreau takes charge of the lake, swamp, and what lurks beneath. But then there’s Donna Beneviento. We're sworn to secrecy and won't be able to reveal what that creepy doll and its owner have been up to, but then we wouldn't want to spoil the sequence anyway. Seriously, that's a very, very special one-hour stretch. You'll be discussing it with your friends long after the credits roll. It's the highlight of what Capcom is going for with Resident Evil Village, but there are so many more moments that will stick with fans for a long time. The prolific Japanese developer goes places with this one. Boss fights that wouldn’t look out of place in The Evil Within, surprises and stretches of gameplay you wouldn't expect from the series, and awesome callbacks to previous titles. It even avoids the franchise's usual trope of a poor final act. The game has it all — the less we say the better if anything. Resident Evil Village is something you need to experience for yourself. What brings it back to some basis of reality is the village itself, located in the centre of the four extremes the leaders have put together for themselves. The way it opens up as you progress is satisfying while scribbled notes that litter the ramshackle houses create immediate empathy for those killed by the Lycans that have taken over. You really get the sense this is a place on the edge — those still left are just barely clinging on. But despite that hostility, it's the only place you could even begin to call home from start to finish. Small-scale puzzles bolster your inventory and livestock can be slaughtered to turn into permanent upgrades whenever you encounter the Duke — it's worth investing time into the location, especially as it grows in both size and emotional weight the more you progress. There's just a sense of constant dread fuelling the game, accentuated by a haunting soundtrack and a purposefully uneasy atmosphere. It's something that gets under your skin to create fear and tension as you explore each room and stumble upon new areas. Jump scares are very rarely utilised, allowing the fearful ambience of the village to consume you. Perhaps our only real criticism then is that enemy variety isn't quite up to par. The Lycan horde is bolstered by variations on their own species as well as more adventurous foes in the late game, but some locations don't have quite enough to call their own in order to always keep you guessing what's around the next corner. There's much more variation than what the Molded had to offer in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but you'll have to rely on boss fights for some truly unique encounters. No matter what monstrosity you're up against though, you can rest assured the entire fight will look good. Demon's Souls now has a competitor for the best looking game on PlayStation 5 — what Capcom has achieved so early in the generation is very impressive. Don't worry about Resident Evil Village being a cross-gen game because with HDR and Ray-Tracing enabled, character models come to life and lighting illuminates rooms and hallways like never before. You really notice the difference when it's not there. The trade-off here is a frame rate hovering somewhere between 45 and 60. It's an odd window to target, especially for console gaming, and we'll admit it takes a second or two to get used to. It gradually becomes second nature the more you play, but with minor frame rate drops when the action gets intense, it's not always smooth sailing. The other option is the rock-solid 60 frames-per-second mode, although you'll lose all the benefits of Ray-Tracing. And they, simply put, are a game-changer on PS5. Resident Evil Village is far and away the best example of how much an impact the feature can have on a lit environment. Sticking with the default option is our strong recommendation. The PS5 SSD also justifies itself with load times that come and go inside three seconds. Select your save and you won't encounter a single load screen outside of the immediate one to get you back in the action. Throw in excellent use of the PS5 DualSense controller's Adaptive Triggers and Capcom has put in work to make sure Sony's latest console is firing on all cylinders. Much like Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, each weapon comes with different tensions on the triggers. It's much harder to accurately fire a sniper rifle than a handgun, for example. Long may this sort of fantastic implementation continue. Rounding out the package is the return of The Mercenaries mode, a round-based undertaking where you fight for high scores by taking down enemies and racking up combos. It's a fun and meaty addition split across multiple stages that are sure to lengthen your overall playtime. The mode won't change anyone's mind if they're not into this sort of stuff, but fans will welcome its homecoming with open arms. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 (64 bit) Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 ／ Intel Core i5-7500 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 560 with 4GB VRAM ／ NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB VRAM DirectX: Version 12 RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 (64 bit) Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ／ Intel Core i7 8700 Memory: 16 GB RAM Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700 ／ NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 DirectX: Version 12

Woah! That's the only sane reaction to seeing Sabrent's insane RocketQ Battleship, a product it teased on Facebook in January and is now nearing release. What it all boils down to is 64TB of high speed SSD storage packed onto a HighPoint RAID controller with eight NVMe ports. I'll take two, please. Sabrent never announced a release date (and still hasn't), but there's now a product page for the RocketQ Battleship on HighPoint's website (via TechPowerUp), where it's noted the device is "coming soon." "Built around Sabrent’s diverse Rocket Series of NVMe SSD’s, Elite Class AIC drives offer unprecedented storage capacity and class-leading versatility," HighPoint says. As configured, the array of 8TB Rocket Q SSDs (why the SSDs are stylized "Rocket Q" and the Battleship "RocketQ" is a good question) in the image above are PCIe 3.0 models. However, the HighPoint SSD7540 is a PCIe 4.0 x16 controller with support for up to 64TB of storage. Sabrent notes it works just fine with its faster PCIe 4.0 Rocket 4 Plus SSDs, which earned our Editor's Pick award for its combination of fast performance (both synthetic and real-world) and relatively cool temps. The decision comes down to speed versus capacity. Sabrent's Rocket 4 Plus is rated to deliver up to 7,100MB/s of sequential read performance and up to 6,600MB/s of sequential writes, but tops out at 4TB. The Rocket Q, meanwhile, offers up 3,300MB/s for read operations and 2,900MB/s for writes—still fast, but not PCIe 4.0 fast—and scales to 8TB. HighPoint intends to offer the RocketQ Battleship under its FnL (Fast n' Little) line of AIC (add-in card) solutions, complete with a full-length heatsink and dual fans to keep temps in check. There's no mention of price yet, but the controller alone costs $1,006 on Amazon, and the 8TB Rocket Q SSDs go for $1,300 a pop. So you're looking at a little over $11,400 in hardware. Even if there's a discount for buying it all together, I imagine it's still going to cost north of $10,000, and probably closer to $11,000. So never mind, I'll stick with my single 2TB SSD setup.

The Apollo robo-taxi service only operates in Shougang Park, an area of the capital city that will host some events in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Just ten self-driving cars are rolling in this first commercial test of the tech. The cars are summoned with an Uber-like app and offer level-four autonomy – meaning they can independently drive in predefined geo-fenced areas, and allow humans to take the wheel if they feel it necessary. Baidu has shown off videos of the cars, which are medium-sized SUVs, stopping at pedestrian crossings at night, handling city and highway traffic with ease, and happily navigating tunnels. The tech titan claims its cars can change lanes all by themselves, park automatically, handle complex intersections, and drive in smoky conditions. The cars use LIDAR; cameras facing forward, backwards, and laterally; and radar using both ultrasound and millimetre wave radio. Reports from the Chinese media say the cars have not been troubled by pedestrians and have not posed a problem, natch. The tech platform used by the cars is open, and available on GitHub if you fancy taking it for a spin. Baidu plans to expand its service into other Chinese cities in coming months.

The headline figure is that 650bhp powerplant, which is good enough to give the 2273kg GT Speed a top speed of 208mph and a 0-60mph time of just 3.5 seconds. But that's not the half of what makes this car so special. The Speed gets, for the first time on a Continental GT, a limited-slip differential at the rear with clever torque vectoring, and rear-wheel steering, which make what is a heavy, front-engined car (the W12 is 6.0-litres, don't forget) much more dramatic and agile. This is a GT that likes to oversteer. It'll go on sale late in 2021 and we'll drive it on the road nearer the time, but for now join Matt Prior on a few quick laps of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit, as well as for a walkaround 'unboxing' view of some of the GT's finer details.

One of our Muslim officers has spoken of observing Ramadan while working on the frontline of policing − and how he once broke his fast with a swig of water after chasing down a crime suspect. Sergeant Luke Shah is a response cop answering 999 emergency calls for help from the public across Birmingham. And that doesn’t change during the holy month when Luke, like all practising Muslims, fasts between sunrise and sunset. It means that the 30-year-old − who joined us five years ago following two years working as a volunteer Special − doesn’t eat or drink anything during daylight hours between 12 April and 12 May. Luke is giving an insight into his police work during Ramadan in a BBC One Show feature called Fasting on the Frontline that’s due to air on 4 May. He said: “On occasions I’ve ended up breaking fast with a swig of water having just chased down and arrested a crime suspect or having done a blue light run to an emergency. “Police work comes first so as long as I get to open my fast with anything at all, I’m happy to continue working or dealing with any incident. “People ask me ‘how do you work a busy shift without food or drink’? “To be honest it really doesn’t bother or affect me. As long as I’m disciplined and plan for Ramadan I’m able to handle the physical and mental demands of being a police officer alongside the fasting and religious observation. “I start planning mentally for it weeks ahead. And when Holy Month starts I adapt my meals to include things like oats in the morning for slow release energy through the day." PS Shah − who has an Irish mother and Pakistani father − got his passion for policing during visits to see family in Karachi where several uncles worked for the city police force. He’s one of four Muslim officers on his response unit based in Newtown and they support each other by opening or breaking fasts together when shift patterns allow. Luke added: “I work three shift patterns: 7am-4pm, 1.30pm-11pm and 10pm-7am. The early shift is the toughest because I get up at around 4am to pray and eat before trying to get a bit more sleep before starting work. “But there’s a solidarity in the team, among everyone not just Muslim officers, and colleagues help out wherever they can to accommodate us if needed during the holy month." Last year, West Midlands Police was named one of the country’s most inclusive employers having been ranked second overall in the Top 50 UK Employers List. The league table sees some of the UK’s leading companies and public sector bodies judged by a panel of experts on their performance in a range of areas within the diversity arena. Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby from our Diversity & Inclusion team, said: “We understand how important Ramadhan is to our Muslim colleagues and so we want to ensure we can support them through the holy month wherever we can. “This may include annual leave or time off, or flexible working patterns or changes to refreshment breaks to coincide with fasting opening and closing times or rearranging training courses which may have an adverse impact on colleague’s welfare due to fasting." Want to follow in Luke’s footsteps? We’re recruiting… come and join us!

The boundary between France and Belgium is believed to have been inadvertently redrawn by a farmer who found the 200-year-old border stone marking the divide in an inconvenient location for his tractor. The French farmer could theoretically face criminal charges after making Belgium bigger by moving the stone that has marked the border since after the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. A local amateur historian taking a walk in forest near to the Belgian village of Erquelinnes discovered two weeks ago that the stone dating back to 1819 had been moved 2.29 metres (7.5ft). The farmer’s perimeter fence had also been shifted. The Franco-Belgian border, stretching 390 miles (620km), was formally established under the Treaty of Kortrijk of 1820. While amused by the enlargement of his town, David Lavaux, the mayor of Erquelinnes, gently pointed out that the farmer was legally obliged to move the border stone back – and that it would be best not “to create a diplomatic incident”. “We have no interest in expanding the town, or the country. He made Belgium bigger and France smaller. It’s not a good idea,” Lavaux told the French TV channel TF1. “I was happy, my town was bigger. But the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc didn’t agree. “If [the farmer] shows goodwill, he won’t have a problem, we will settle this issue amicably,” Lavaux added with a smile. If the farmer fails to comply, the issue could be referred to the Belgian foreign ministry, which might have to summon a Franco-Belgian border commission, dormant since 1930, to settle the exact delimitation of the border. “We should be able to avoid a new border war,” Aurélie Welonek, the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc, told La Voix du Nord.

Name of the game: PayDay 2 Price: 4.99# Link Store: Steam Offer ends up after X hours: 12h Requirements: MINIMUM: OS:Windows 7 Processor:2 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor Memory:4 GB RAM Graphics:Nvidia & AMD (512MB VRAM) DirectX®:9.0c Storage:83 GB available space Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible RECOMMENDED: OS:Windows 10 Processor:2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor Memory:8 GB RAM Graphics:Nvidia & AMD (1GB VRAM) DirectX®:9.0c Storage:83 GB available space Sound:DirectX 9.0c compatible

Game Information: Initial release date: 14 Dec, 2018. Software Developer: Capybara Games Publisher: Capybara Games. Platform: PlayStation 4, Windows Microsoft. While available on Xbox and PC for over a year, Capy’s latest title Below took its sweet time arriving on a Sony platform. Luckily, this extra time was taken to craft a whole new mode, and ultimately this ends up being the best version of the game you can play. The problem is, even in this form, the release leaves quite a bit to be desired. The PS4 version retains the original version of Below with the 'Survive' mode. This leans more heavily into its roguelike elements, and retains a much more punishing difficulty level, where even one misstep can spell doom. Block at the wrong time, or dash too far, and you have to start from the beginning. Mercifully, the game does offer an abundance of shortcuts to open, early on no less. This makes things much more palatable as the game’s pace is of a much more deliberate and slow tempo. The all-new 'Explore' mode ratchets the difficulty way down, has fewer things you need to micromanage, and generally offers a more enjoyable experience. This allows the real stars of Below to shine: the art and music. With fewer things vying for your attention, it’s easier to appreciate just how gorgeous the cavernous, procedural environments really are. This enables Jim Guthrie’s incredible music to stand out more as well, though oftentimes, the only sound is the ambience offered by the caves, which is equally as masterful as the music. Unfortunately, neither mode really does a good job of giving you a real reason to progress deeper. The combat, though weighty and satisfying, gets monotonous fairly quickly. The motivation to explore is almost entirely up to you, as the game really doesn’t see fit to tell you much. Yes, the environments are gorgeous, but Below winds up having the opposite problem of many games, in that there isn’t enough hand-holding. We found ourselves constantly craving more information, only for Below to not provide it. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 (With Platform Update for Windows 7) Processor: Intel i3 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 550 or higher DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 5 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel i5 or higher Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia 750 or higher DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 10 GB available space

Graphics cards are hard to come by these days, though in my daily hunt for deals, I'm seeing several prebuilt desktops sporting the latest generation GPUs from Nvidia (GeForce RTX 30 series). Most are grossly overpriced, save for this Alienware Aurora R12—it's in stock (at the time of this writing) at Best Buy for $1,899.99. It's not on sale, but it does have that elusive 'Add to Cart' button lit up, at least for now. Part for part (including the cost of Windows), you're looking at a markup of a few hundred bucks, at least in normal times—at the heart of this system is a GeForce RTX 3070, which commands around $1,400 on eBay. The system also rocks an 11th Gen Core i7 11700F, which is one step above the Core i5 11600K, one of the best CPUs for gaming. It is an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on Intel's latest generation Rocket Lake architecture, with a 2.5GHz base clock, 4.9GHz max turbo frequency, and 16MB of L3 cache. It also has 16GB of RAM, which is the sweet spot, and a 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD for storage chores. The storage allotment is a buzzkill, in that a 256GB SSD is not the least bit exciting, but it's something you can upgrade easy enough if the need arises.

The majority of Android and iOS apps created for US public and private schools send student data to assorted third parties, researchers have found, calling into question privacy commitments from Apple and Google as app store stewards. The Me2B Alliance, a non-profit technology policy group, examined a random sample of 73 mobile applications used in 38 different schools across 14 US states and found 60 per cent were transmitting student data. The apps in question send data using software development kits or SDKs, which consist of modular code libraries that can be used to implement utility functions, analytics, or advertising without the hassle of creating these capabilities from scratch. Examples include: Google’s AdMob, Firebase, and Sign-in SDKs, Square's OK HTTP and Okio SDKs, and Facebook's Bolts SDK, among others. The Me2B's research project assigned three risk profiles to the SDKs it found: medium, high, and very high. Utility SDKs, which perform useful, expected functions, are considered medium risk. Analytics SDKs, which collect behavioral data about app usage, are considered high risk because of the potential for fingerprinting, data abuse, and data transit to partners. Advertising SDKs are deemed high risk because they may gather unique identifiers and may be ranked very high risk if they're linked to an advertising platform, like Google's DoubleClick, or if they appear in state data broker registries, like AdColony and InMobi. The study does not address whether these apps comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), which governs how data for children under 13 should be handled. Nor does it address other privacy compliance questions, much on the minds of marketers since the recent settlement of three class actions lawsuits about mobile apps targeting children with ads. Rather its focus is simply on the lack of disclosure and the fact that students deserve better privacy protections. The data that concerns Me2B includes: identifiers (IDFA, MAID, etc), Calendar, Contacts, Photos/Media Files, Location, Network Data (IP address), permissions related to Camera, Microphone, Device ID, and Calls. About 49 per cent of the apps reviewed sent student data to Google and about 14 per cent communicated with Facebook, with the balance routing info to advertising and analytics firms, many among them characterized as high risk by the Me2B researchers. Private schools and Apple users win out Among the public school apps, 67 per cent sent data to third parties; private school apps proved less likely to send data to third parties (57 per cent). "This finding is particularly troubling since public schools most likely utilized public funding to develop or outsource the apps – meaning that taxpayers most likely paid to fund apps that are sending student data to online advertising platforms," said Lisa LeVasseur, Me2B executive director, Zach Edwards, who heads Me2B's data integrity testing team, Karina Alexanyan, CEO of ed-tech consultancy Humanification, in an online post. There was a significant difference across mobile platforms: 91 per cent of student Android apps sent data to high-risk third parties while only 26 per cent of iOS apps did so, and 20 per cent of Android apps piped data to very high-risk third parties while only 2.6 per cent of iOS did so. The Me2B researchers credited Apple's recent introduction of its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework as further increasing the "respectfulness gap" between iOS and Android apps. In fact, Apple last month told developers that it would begin rejecting apps that contain advertising SDKs that implement fingerprinting. This may moderate SDK-based privacy concerns on iOS apps at least. Nonetheless, the researchers expressed concern that 95 per cent of third-party data channels in the surveyed student apps are active even when the user is not signed in and that these apps send data as soon as the app is loaded. They also noted that neither the Google Play Store nor the Apple App Store (despite the privacy disclosure improvement brought about by Cupertino's App Privacy labeling requirement) provides details about which third parties receive data from apps, "leaving users no practical way to understand to whom their data is going, which may well be the most important piece of information for people to make informed decisions about app usage."