BirSaNN

Music Title: PARTY REMIX 2023 🔥 Mashups & Remixes Of Po[CENSORED]r Songs 2023 🔥 DJ Remix Club Music Dance Mix 2023 Signer: - Release Date: 13/01/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/4

CCI, in October last year, slapped a Rs. 1,337.76 crore fine on Google for exploiting its dominant position with respect to Android. Google on Friday hit out at the competition regulator for slapping penalties for alleged abuse of its dominant position, saying the orders strike a blow at the effort to accelerate digital adoption in India and will lead to higher prices. Failing to secure an interim relief on more than Rs. 2,200 crore fine imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the US tech giant penned a blog 'The Heart of the Matter' to put across its point on how the orders would harm the digital ecosystem in the country. India, it said, is at a juncture where barriers to access must be brought down, and safe and secure smartphones made available to all. "At a time when only half of India's po[CENSORED]tion is connected, the directions in the CCI's order strikes a blow at the ecosystem-wide efforts to accelerate digital adoption in the country," it said, adding the firm is appealing against the orders. CCI, in October last year, slapped a Rs. 1,337.76 crore fine on Google for exploiting its dominant position with respect to Android, which powers 97 percent of smartphones in India. It imposed another Rs. 936 crore penalty on the US tech giant in a case related to its Play Store policies. While in the first case, CCI asked Google to allow smartphone users on the Android platform to uninstall apps and let them select a search engine of their choice, the regulator had asked the company to take corrective steps on policies that forced developers to use Google Play's billing system to list their apps on its Play Store. Currently, one cannot delete apps such as Google Maps or YouTube from their Android phones when they come pre-installed. Google has not been able to secure relief from the appellate tribunal NCLAT, which asked the company to deposit 10 percent of the fine within four weeks. Google has since moved the Supreme Court in at least one case. In the blog, Google said Android is a key part of the Indian mobile and Internet growth story. "In 2008, when Android launched, access to smart, internet-enabled devices was a huge challenge due to prohibitive costs. Over the last 15 years, through Android's free open-source software and suite of high-quality apps, Google has helped device manufacturers make smartphones more affordable by a vast margin," it said. As a result, a fully functional smartphone is available at less than Rs. 6,000. "For a country like India, where the cost of adoption is the biggest barrier to digitisation, this has had profound implications. More users have incentivised more developers, and each of those developers achieve immediate scale by writing a single app for Android," it said. The number of annual app downloads in India reached a new high of 29 billion in 2022, making it the second biggest app market after China, offering developers in India and elsewhere, a strong platform to establish viable businesses on Play Store. Google said predatory apps expose users to financial fraud, and data theft and while it can scan apps on its Play Store for malware as well as compliance with local laws, the same checks may not be in place for apps sideloaded from other sources. CCI-ordered remedies strike blows on digital adoption drive in India, it said, adding remedies ordered by the regulator would lead to increased exposure to online harm and privacy risks. "Devices built on incompatible 'forks' (or different versions of Android) would prevent Google from securing those devices, as these versions will not support the security and user safety features that Google provides," it said. "Lack of robust and consistent security upgrades will leave the users of those devices exposed to cybercrime, bugs, and malware — which is most troubling for the millions of new internet users who are especially vulnerable," it added. Android, today, offers the right balance of a consistent security bedrock through baseline compatibility while device manufacturers have the choice to create bespoke and highly differentiated user experiences for their brands on top of that. "Unchecked proliferation of such apps on less secure devices can expose vast swathes of Indian users to risk of their data being exposed and pose threats for individual and national security," Google said. Since incompatible Android forks will not support the security and user safety features that Google provides, security responsibilities for these devices will instead fall to the OEMs, who will need to invest extensively in creating consistent, all-year-round security upgrades themselves. This, it said, will result in higher costs for the OEMs, and consequently, more expensive devices for Indian consumers. As a result of Android's compatibility programme, when developers write apps for Android, the apps can immediately access Android's vast base of users. This allows even small developers to compete with large developers across the whole Android ecosystem, based on the merit and superiority of the product. If CCI order is implemented, "they will no longer have the level playing field they have today with Android, and larger developers, who can support a wider range of incompatible forks, will be able to dominate the market based on their scale, rather than the quality of their product," it said. Google said the free Android operating system enables device manufacturers to build a wide range of devices at different price points that gives users unprecedented choice. Android leaves OEMs free to pre-install any other app and app stores and they all already do. "Users are free to install apps from sources beyond app stores ('sideload') — in such cases, Android displays alerts to ensure users act with awareness for their own safety. "For developers, beyond providing a vast, vibrant platform to reach users, Android offers tools, predictability, timely security upgrades and multiple monetisation options," it added. link: https://www.gadgets360.com/internet/news/google-android-play-store-apps-policies-cci-orders-strike-blow-digital-adoption-india-3690754

The day you were waiting for (or not) is finally here. You can now download Apple Music and Apple TV apps for Windows 11. Official Apple Music and Apple TV apps for Windows 11 released as preview versions - download them today Many people don't know this, but Apple has been making apps for Windows for a long time - yes, shocking, isn't it? And today, the Cupertino giant is taking its portfolio of apps a mile further with the release of the official Apple Music and Apple TV apps for Windows 11 on the Windows Store. Download Apple Music Preview App for Windows 11 Download Apple TV Preview App for Windows 11 Since these are 'preview' apps, you can expect broken functionality in certain places. If you're not into testing out beta apps at all, then it is highly recommended that you steer clear of these until the full and final versions are released. According to Apple, if you install Apple Music, it will completely break iTunes. The fix? Uninstall the preview version of Apple Music completely in order to have iTunes back. In other words, if you're still using iTunes on Windows for whatever reason, and we can't think of that many, then you should take the warning from Apple seriously. This is a preview version of Apple Music, and not all features may work as expected. After installing the Apple Music preview, iTunes will no longer open, and audiobooks or podcasts on this device will be inaccessible until a compatible version of iTunes is released. To revert back to iTunes, you’ll need to uninstall this version of the app. The same goes for Apple TV as well. However, Apple says it may not work as expected, therefore, proceed with caution. Ignoring the warnings, this is a great move from Apple as it gives Windows users more options when it comes to consuming content. And since these are proper Windows 11 apps, therefore you can expect them to function with all the latest technologies underneath. link: https://wccftech.com/download-apple-music-and-apple-tv-apps-for-windows-11-released/

AMD has finally issued a fix for their core-disabling AGESA 1.0.0.4 BIOS firmware which prompted motherboard makers to roll back their recent uploads. Upgrading To AGESA 1.0.0.4 BIOS Firmware On Your AM5 Motherboard? No Need To Worry About Cores Getting Disabled As AMD Issues Fix Last week, motherboard makers including MSI, ASRock, Gigabyte & ASUS, rolled out their latest AGESA 1.0.0.4 BIOS firmware for their AM5 products which added enhanced support for Ryzen 7000 Non-X and initial support for Ryzen 7000 X3D CPUs. RELATED STORY Jason R. Wilson You Might Be Downloading The Wrong AMD Drivers By Searching On Google, Bing & Others However, just a few days after the roll-out, MSI, ASRock & ASUS rolled back the BIOS due to a major flaw that disabled a CCD on a few Ryzen 5 7600(X) CPUs that feature dual CCD layouts. Although we know that some Ryzen 5 7600 chips come with a disabled CCD, for some reason, the older SMU on the previous version of AGESA 1.0.0.4 Firmware disabled the cores on the CCD that was operational which meant that users had to roll back to get access to all cores. Now, chi11eddog, has reported that AMD has issued a fix in its latest SMU version that is labeled as '84.79.210'. The new version fixes not only the boot issue with Ryzen 5 7600 CPUs but also the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900 series chips. Users will no longer face the "Downcore" bug when installing this new version of AGESA 1.0.0.4 BIOS firmware for your AMD X670 or B650 AM5 motherboard. You can find a screenshot of the AMD AGESA 1.0.0.4 BIOS SMU below: Now that the BIOS is fixed, MSI has reuploaded the latest firmware for its motherboards. Find the BIOS updates in the Support section of the product pages of your Socket AM5 motherboard on the MSI website. MSI X670 & B650 Motherboard BIOS (AGESA 1.0.0.4): MOTHERBOARD NAME DOWNLOAD LINK MEG X670E GODLIKE BIOS Link MEG X670E ACE BIOS Link MPG X670E CARBON WIFI BIOS Link PRO X670-P WIFI BIOS Link MPG B650 CARBON WIFI BIOS Link MPG B650 EDGE WIFI BIOS Link MPG B650I EDGE WIFI BIOS Link MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WIFI BIOS Link MAG B650M MORATR WIFI BIOS Link MAG B650M MORTAR BIOS Link PRO B650-P WIFI BIOS Link PRO B650M-A WIFI BIOS Link PRO B650M-A BIOS Link AMD's Ryzen 7000 Non-X CPUs landed this week while the Ryzen 7000 X3D CPUs will be launching next month so anticipate a range of chipset drivers and new BIOS firmware to release when they do. link: https://wccftech.com/amd-issues-smu-fix-for-core-disabling-agesa-1-0-0-4-firmware-new-bios-available-by-msi/

Nickname: @BirSaNN Video author: Apollo432 Name of the game: Battlefield 2042 Link video: Rate this video 1-10: 10/10

Get Luckey It's looking like the PSVR 2 may very well be the quality headset it's priced to be, as Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey has expressed glowing optimism for the new VR headset. In a Twitter reply to PlayStation's head of indies, Shuhei Yoshida, Luckey stated he "was blown away" by the PSVR 2 headset, which was recently demoed at CES 2023. He added that he thinks the original PlayStation VR was "arguably the biggest success of the generation," and looks to have high hopes for the PS5 peripheral which launches on February 22. While PSVR 2 has been getting plenty of positive buzz from hands-on previews, it bodes well that one of the VR industry's leading figures has spoken so highly of the device. Oculus has undoubtedly been instrumental in bringing VR to the mainstream, with headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 sitting firmly among the best VR headsets released to date. What does this mean for PSVR 2? PSVR 2 seems like it's shaping up to be everything we'd hoped, then. That's quite the relief considering it's even more expensive than the PS5 console itself. And while we lament the headset's lack of backwards compatibility and no PC support at launch, its impressive specs give us confidence it'll likely be a great bit of kit in itself. If PSVR 2 is as powerful as we think, then, the sky's the limit for the kinds of software we could end up seeing for the VR headset over the next few years. Exclusives like Horizon: Call of the Mountain are leading the charge at launch, but fascinatingly, we're seeing that some of the best PS5 games are receiving PSVR 2 modes and features. Among those are Resident Evil Village and Gran Turismo 7, the latter of which will also be updated with PSVR 2 support at launch. Resident Evil 4 will also have PSVR 2 content, so we know that the headset can handle industry-leading tech like Capcom's RE Engine. But what other titles could we see potentially grace PSVR 2? Personally, I'd really like to see more PS5 games be updated with PSVR 2 modes. While Returnal's fast-paced roguelite gameplay may be at odds with the intimacy of VR, I'd love the chance to explore its drop-dead gorgeous environments up close. Though something a bit slower-paced, like the Demon's Souls remake, could benefit from VR thanks to its dreadfully atmospheric locales. Still, I have to agree with one of the more common requests I've seen; and that's to bring Valve's superlative Half-Life Alyx to PSVR 2. Considered the quintessential VR experience by those lucky enough to try it on more powerful hardware like the Valve Index, it'd be a potential killer app for PSVR 2. Since Valve is no stranger to porting its releases to console, I don't think Half-Life Alyx is out of the question here. link: https://www.techradar.com/news/psvr-2-is-a-winner-according-to-the-creator-of-one-of-the-best-vr-headsets

Samsung is expected to reveal its latest smartphone lineup next month, but reserving one today will get you a nice bonus. Samsung is gearing up to reveal the latest Galaxy lineup, with its annual Galaxy Unpacked event streaming on February 1. The company is expected to show off both the Galaxy S23 and a new Galaxy Book--and if you reserve them today, you can get up to $100 in Samsung Credit. Reserve Your Galaxy Reserving a product before it’s revealed is a little bizarre. However, keep in mind that you don’t need to put any money down and there is no obligation to follow through on your purchase. In other words, you can reserve the upcoming products today, and if you decide they’re not your cup of tea, you can back out without dropping a dime. If you do decide to move forward with your reservation, you’ll earn Samsung Credit based on the following guidelines: Reserve Galaxy Smartphone: Get $50 Samsung Credit Reserve Galaxy Book: Get $50 Samsung Credit Reserve Both: Get $100 Samsung Credit Your Samsung Credit can then be used on subsequent purchases to pick up new earbuds or other accessories. Reserving the Galaxy Book or Galaxy Smartphone is simple. Just head over to the official Samsung website, enter your name and email, and you’re all set. When your reservation is ready, Samsung will shoot you an email with details on how to finalize the transaction (and earn your Samsung Credits). You’ll have until February 1 to sign up, at which point the offer will disappear and the products will (likely) be revealed. Be sure to tune in to the Galaxy Unpacked on February 1 to hear more about the upcoming Galaxy lineup. link: https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-best-mobile-games-of-2022/2900-4522/

Today’s Skull and Bones delay was just the tip of the iceberg. Ubisoft announced earlier today that Skull and Bones is delayed yet again, and naturally we took the opportunity to have some fun with it(opens in new tab). But word of the delay came as part of a much larger update reflecting real trouble at the company: Ubisoft is struggling, and has opted to cancel three more unannounced projects in order to focus on its existing brands and live services. The game industry in recent years has shifted toward "mega-brands and long-lasting titles that can reach players across the globe, across platforms and business models," Ubisoft said in the update. Over the past four years, Ubisoft has attempted to do the same with its own major properties, including Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, and The Division. But it hasn't paid off: Games announced during the "investment phase" of this strategic shift have yet to come out, and its most recent releases have not met expectations. "We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement(opens in new tab). "We are facing contrasted market dynamics as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending. "Despite excellent ratings and players’ reception as well as an ambitious marketing plan, we were surprised by Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope underperformance in the final weeks of 2022 and early January. Just Dance 2023 underperformed as well." But Ubisoft's troubles run much deeper than a couple of holiday flops. At the risk of oversimplifying things, it just can't seem to make anything happen. Skull and Bones is maybe the highest-profile example of Ubi's recent inability to get games out the door, but don't forget that the three unannounced projects cancelled today come just six months after Ubisoft pulled the plug on four other in-the-works games(opens in new tab), including Ghost Recon Frontline and Splinter Cell VR. Frontline was a particularly stinging loss. It was unveiled in 2021 as a military-themed battle royale(opens in new tab) game, presumably aimed at giving Ubisoft a presence alongside games like Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, Escape From Tarkov, and Hunt: Showdown. Now, not much more than a year later, Ubisoft is still on the outside looking in at the success of those games, with no imminent prospect of getting in on the action itself. We are clearly disappointed by our recent performance. We are facing contrasted market dynamics as the industry continues to shift towards mega-brands and everlasting live games, in the context of worsening economic conditions affecting consumer spending." Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot But the bigger issue for Ubisoft is, well, a lot bigger. The company has canned seven separate projects within a single fiscal year and has nothing to show for their absence. Nor does it have any major live-service games, like Apex Legends or GTA Online, to keep the money trucks rolling between releases: Efforts on that front including Ghost Recon Frontline, Hyper Scape(opens in new tab), and XDefiant(opens in new tab) have all fizzled, while The Division: Heartland(opens in new tab), which is supposed to be out later this year, has already been almost completely forgotten. (Heartland, by the way, was also delayed—it was initially supposed to go live sometime in 2021-22.) Ubisoft’s best bet for a live-service hit is likely Assassin's Creed Infinity(opens in new tab), which sounds promising but is also years away. Some of Ubisoft’s troubles, to be fair, are just plain bad luck. Rainbow Six: Extraction(opens in new tab), for instance, was an interesting extraction shooter that was almost immediately forgotten after it launched in early 2022. But as we noted in December(opens in new tab), Ubisoft can’t even seem to make the games it’s already made. The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake that was supposed to be out in early 2021 appears to have become trapped in limbo(opens in new tab), and the only real news we’ve had about the Splinter Cell remake announced in 2021 is that the director quit(opens in new tab) in October 2022. The bottom-line cost for Ubisoft is ugly. The company has depreciated roughly €500 million ($538 million) in capitalized research and development expenses related to "upcoming premium and free-to-play games and the newly cancelled titles," which essentially means that money spent developing those games is down the toilet. It's also revising its net bookings target for the third quarter of the current fiscal year way down, from €830 million ($893 million) to €725 million ($780 million). Beyond that, Ubisoft is looking to cut another €200 million ($215 million) in expenses over the next two years through "targeted restructuring, divesting some non-core assets, and usual natural attrition." Ubisoft's ongoing struggles also make it a tempting target for a takeover. The company successfully fought off a drawn-out acquisition bid by Vivendi in 2018, and the Guillemot family, which founded Ubisoft in 1986 and continues to hold a controlling stake, has repeatedly emphasized its desire to “remain independent.” But Ubisoft's share price has tailed off dramatically over the past five years, from a high of €103 in July 2018 to less than €24 today, and that makes high-priced offers like the one tendered last year by Chinese powerhouse Tencent very difficult to turn down. All of this, of course, comes on top of high-profile allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct(opens in new tab) at various Ubisoft studios, the lessons of which still don't seem to have entirely sunk in(opens in new tab). It's not necessarily a death knell for Ubisoft, but the company is clearly in a bad spot. Turning that around will be a major undertaking, requiring not just cost-cutting measures but a meaningful change in the company's ability to actually make and release some dang games—all while trying to convince circling sharks to leave it the hell alone. As we like to say in farm country, that’s going to be a tough row to hoe. link: https://www.pcgamer.com/ubisoft-is-having-a-bad-time-cancels-more-unannounced-games-as-its-share-price-plunges/

• Name: @BirSaNN • Time & Date: 01:43 / 13/01/2023 • Screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/6VkI5Tp

to give him a chance / I hope you will be active good luck !

Rishi Sunak is facing a major backbench rebellion over the government's plans to prevent harmful material on the internet. Thirty-six Tory MPs are backing a plan to make social media bosses face prison if they fail to protect children from damaging content online. Their amendment to the Online Safety Bill is due to be voted on next week. The idea was suggested under Boris Johnson, but eventually dismissed in favour of higher fines for firms. The rebellion follows other significant backbench revolts in recent weeks over housing targets for councils and restrictions on onshore wind farms. On both of those issues, the prime minister backed down and offered concessions to avoid defeat in the House of Commons. Plan to make big tech remove harmful content axed Online Safety Bill to return as soon as possible Who needs to 'step up' to keep kids safe online? Under the rebels' proposals, senior managers at tech firms could face up to two years in jail if they breach new duties to keep children safe online. The provision would not apply to search engines. Child protection These duties include taking "proportionate measures" to stop children seeing harmful material, including through measures such as age verification, taking content down, and parental controls. Currently the bill would only make managers criminally liable for failing to give information to media regulator Ofcom, which is set to gain wide-ranging powers to police the internet under the new law. Making managers liable for a failure to comply with broader safety duties in the bill was rejected after a consultation ahead of the bill's introduction, which concluded it could make the UK tech sector less attractive. Companies failing in their legal duties, including protecting children, could be fined up to 10% of global revenue. However, supporters of the amendment, including child protection charities, argue that only personal liability for company bosses will ensure the child safety provisions are effective. Tory rebels point to the construction and financial services industries, which have similar personal liabilities for company managers. 'Toothless' A leading Tory rebel, Miriam Cates, told the BBC the group met Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan earlier this week, and ministers recognise the "strength of feeling" over the issue. She added that they were open to government concessions, but any proposal to change the law would have to retain personal liability for managers. Labour has confirmed to the BBC that it supports the rebel Tory amendment. It means the government, which has a working majority of 68, is at serious risk of defeat. The party has tabled similar amendments throughout the bill's passage through Parliament. Labour's Shadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell has previously said a lack of criminal liability for social media bosses would leave Ofcom "toothless". Other Conservatives supporting the bill include former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, and several former ministers including former home secretary Priti Patel. The Online Safety Bill was introduced in March under Mr Johnson, and has been repeatedly changed during its passage through Parliament. Its progress was delayed last month after the government decided to make more changes to the bill. It is due to return to the Commons next Tuesday, after which it will begin what is likely to be a long journey through the House of Lords. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64247034

A previously unknown extinct tortoise was revealed in an investigation on these giants' evolutionary history. At least a millennium ago, a giant tortoise crept through Madagascar, grazing on plants by the boatload — a bountiful diet that made it the ecosystem equivalent of mammoths and other big herbivores. And like the mammoth, this previously unknown giant tortoise is extinct, a new study finds. The scientists discovered the species while studying the mysterious lineage of giant tortoises living on Madagascar and other islands in the western Indian Ocean. After stumbling across a single tibia (lower leg bone) of the extinct tortoise, they analyzed its nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and determined that the animal was a newfound species, which they named Astrochelys rogerbouri, according to the study, published on Jan. 11 in the journal Science Advances(opens in new tab). The tortoise's species name honors the late Roger Bour (1947-2020), a French herpetologist and expert on western Indian Ocean giant tortoises. It's unclear when the newfound species went extinct, but the specimen studied appears to be about 1,000 years old. "As we get better and better technology, we are able to provide different types of data that often change our perspective," study co-author Karen Samonds(opens in new tab), an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University, told Live Science. "It's really exciting to discover a new member of the community." Related: This may be the biggest turtle that ever lived Volcanic islands and coralline atolls across the western Indian Ocean were once teeming with giant tortoises. Weighing up to 600 pounds (272 kilograms), these ponderous megafauna heavily influenced their ecosystems, if only through their voracious appetites. The 100,000 giant tortoises still living today on Aldabra — a verdant atoll northwest of Madagascar — consume 26 million pounds (11.8 million kg) of plant matter each year. Most species native to that region are now extinct due to human activities, and paleontologists are still struggling to piece together the story of these bygone tortoises. But analyzing these giants' ancient DNA is providing a path forward, which, in turn, sheds light on prehistoric island life. "If we want to know what these island ecosystems were like originally, we need to include giant tortoises — large, extinct members of the ecosystem which took on the role often occupied by large grazing mammals," Samonds said. "And in order to understand the key role they played, we need to understand how many tortoises there were, where they lived, and how they got there." By the time explorers began collecting giant tortoise fossils in the 17th century, Madagascar's native giant tortoise po[CENSORED]tion po[CENSORED]tion had long since vanished — likely victims of colonization by the Indo-Malay people 1,000 years earlier — and their relatives plodding the Mascarene archipelago and the Granitic Seychelles were living on borrowed time. European sailors harvested the tortoises for food and "turtle oil," and all but those native to far-flung Aldabra were gone by the 19th century. The tricky task of reconstructing their history would fall to modern paleontologists. "Tortoise remains are notoriously fragmented, and it's a real challenge to figure out what a tortoise looked like just from part of a shell," Samonds said. Scientists also struggled to make sense of a fossil record muddied by the tortoise trade. Had a particular specimen found in the Mascarene originated there, or was its carcass dropped off by a ship inbound from the Granitic Seychelles? "In the end, a lot of these fossils sat in a cabinet, unused and unstudied," Samonds said. But recent technological advances in ancient DNA analysis granted Samonds and colleagues a glimpse inside the black box of tortoise evolutionary history. "It's thrilling that we now have this technology and can use ancient DNA to put these broken fossil pieces to good use." For the study, Samonds and colleagues generated nearly complete mitochondrial genomes from several tortoise fossils, some of which were hundreds of years old. By combining these sequences with prior data on tortoise lineage and radiocarbon dating, the team was able to describe how giant tortoises migrated to various Indian Ocean islands. The extinct Mascarene Cylindraspis lineage, for instance, appears to have left Africa in the late Eocene, more than 33 million years ago, and taken up residence on the now-sunken Réunion volcanic hotspot. From there, the species spread around local islands, resulting in the divergence of five Mascarene tortoise species between 4 million and 27 million years ago. Samonds hopes future paleontological studies will follow the present work's example and benefit from incorporating ancient DNA analyses into more conventional methodologies. "Including ancient DNA allowed us to examine how many tortoise species there were and what their relationships were to each other. It also helped us appreciate the original diversity of tortoises on these islands," Samonds said. "We couldn't have explored these topics before." link: https://www.livescience.com/extinct-giant-tortoise-madagascar

Three 5.5-liter V-8-powered Cadillac V-LMDh race cars will compete in the the day-long competition at Daytona in an array of eye-catching colors. Cadillac is preparing for the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, showing off the gold, blue, and red liveries that its three V-LMDh endurance cars will wear at the iconic event. The blue number 02 car will also run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with new rules for endurance racing in 2023 making IMSA SportsCar racers eligible for the World Endurance Championship. The V-LMDh car uses a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter DOHC V-8 and a spec hybrid system, sending up to 670 horsepower through a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Cadillac may not be the first brand you associate with motorsports, but the American automaker has found success in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in recent years, winning the premier American endurance racing series three times since 2017. With the first race of the season—the grueling 24 Hours of Daytona—fast approaching, Cadillac has revealed the liveries that its three V-LMDh race cars will wear as they rocket around tracks across the nation. Each car flies one of the colors found in Cadillac's V-Series logo. The number 01 and 02 cars—run by Chip Ganassi Racing under the Cadillac Racing banner—are gold and blue, respectively. The 01 will be driven by Sebastian Bourdais, who won Daytona in 2014, and Renger van der Zande, who triumphed at Daytona in 2019 and 2020 in a Cadillac, with six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon joining for the opening round. The 02 will be piloted by two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn, and Richard Westbrook. Following the 24 Hours of Daytona, the trio will head over to Sebring to begin the World Endurance Championship, going after overall victory at Le Mans later in the year thanks to new rules that allow the top class endurance race cars in IMSA to also compete in the WEC. The number 31 car, painted red, will be fielded by Whelen Engineering Racing, with 2021 IMSA champion Pipo Derani and Alexander Sims at the helm. Jack Aitken, who substituted for one Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2020, will help out during the longer endurance events, including Daytona. The V-LMDh car was first previewed last summer with the Project GTP Hypercar, and is powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter DOHC V-8, mated to the standardized hybrid system that all LMDh competitors use. The powertrain combines for up to 670 horsepower, routed through a seven-speed sequential gearbox. Cadillac has four wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona since 2017, and will look to capture a fifth victory when the race kicks off on January 28. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42474956/cadillac-24-hours-of-daytona-liveries-revealed/

Letting this continue might not be best for either of you, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Try using distance as a boundary I’ve got a colleague who I get along well with – we are “work friends” but not outside of work. I like her a lot but recently I am feeling that my boundaries are being encroached upon. I’m also feeling guilty for being selfish. When she first joined she shared a very traumatic personal experience her family suffered. I think I’ve become an outlet for support she is not getting elsewhere. Recently I can’t go five minutes without her wanting more of my attention than I can give. I just don’t reply when I’m busy, but it’s complicated: she seems to be constantly in conflict, so the conversation is almost always negative, and she isn’t really interested in empathy – she just seems to want a punching bag. I am not losing patience yet – but it is starting to become stressful for me. I am quite sure that raising firmer boundaries will simply turn me into one of her personal conflicts. Work by Ford Madox Brown (1852) How do I figure out what to do with my professional life? Will I always feel helpless and bored? Read more Please help! How can I manage this with kindness, while maintaining being a source of work support, while not being detrimental? Eleanor says: Sometimes you try to fill someone’s emotional support bucket and find out it’s more like a sieve. You’ve asked two different questions here – one about how to handle someone else’s emotional experience with kindness, and one about how to establish firmer boundaries at work. Unfortunately each question here is going to inform the other; you can’t give her the full support and empathy of a bona fide friend because that would undermine the work boundary you’re trying to set, and you can’t just send a curt email because you want to act with kindness as well as professional propriety. So how can we find you a way to do both? One thing to keep in mind when you find yourself becoming an emotional crutch is that this might not be as helpful for the other person as they think it is. When we are seriously suffering from lack of empathy and patience, we can get immense succour from even small amounts of either: when you’re starving, crumbs feel like a meal. But the risk is those small soothing mechanisms mask what is really needed: making changes. It sounds like vent sessions to a wearying colleague are not actually what this woman needs. You say she’s been through a great deal and needs supportive relationships and possibly a professional to talk to. Trying to get the comfort of those relationships from work is not going to be an emotional success in the long-term. The good news for you is that, since this isn’t what she needs long-term, it isn’t as cruel as it might feel (to both of you) to phase it out. This is really important to keep in mind when people start relying on us more than we feel comfortable with, especially at work: you are not a therapist or a best friend, and allowing your relationship to replace one or the other can be fraught for both of you. It might help to focus on that when you’re feeling guilty about giving her less. So, how can you establish firmer boundaries without causing a conflict? The best thing would be if she could think it was her idea: if you slowly became a less satisfying person to vent to. Perhaps you could focus on slowly winding down the amount of time you spend together – if it was three hours this week, make it two and a half next week. Slowly introduce excuses that mean you can’t spend time together (maybe you have to call your mum on your walk today?). Distance can be its own boundary. You could make it less rewarding to come to you, too; fewer smiles, fewer “oh nos!”, fewer things that feel good to get from an interlocutor. The occasional conversational blocker could work, too: “Yes, you told me.” “I remember”; impassive conversational “reflectors” that don’t reciprocate with emotion. It can be very difficult to feel you’re the only thing keeping a person afloat, but it’s not sustainable for either of you if that’s what is going on. Perhaps by making it feel a little less good to come to you in the short term, she might make the changes she needs to feel better in the long run. This letter has been edited for length. link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/13/my-colleague-wants-more-attention-than-i-can-give-how-can-i-manage-this-with-kindness

President Vladimir Putin has removed Russia's top commander in Ukraine, just three months after he was installed. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov will now lead what Mr Putin terms a "special military operation". Gen Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin who has overseen recent brutal attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The reshuffle comes as Russians claim they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after suffering a series of military defeats in recent months. Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine on 24 February. Gen Gerasimov, who has been in post since 2012, is the longest-serving Russian chief of general staff of the post-Soviet era. Gen Surovikin - now his deputy - has been dubbed "General Armageddon" for his brutal tactics in previous wars, including Russia's operations in Syria and the heavy bombardment of the city of Aleppo in particular. Shortly after he was appointed to lead the operation in October, Russia began its campaign to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving millions of Ukrainian civilians without power or running water for extended periods in the depths of winter. He also oversaw Russia's withdrawal from the southern city of Kherson - a major success for the Ukrainians. Why the battle for a Ukrainian salt town matters Ukraine battle hints at rift in pro-Russian forces Defying Russia in the city 'at end of the world' Russia's defence ministry said the decision to replace Gen Surovikin was aimed at organising "closer contact between different branches of the armed forces and improving the quality and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces". But the move has been seen by some as a sign that he may have gained too much power. "As the unified commander in Ukraine, Surovikin was becoming very powerful, and was likely bypassing [Russian Defence Minister Sergei] Shoigu and Gerasimov when talking to Putin," military analyst Rob Lee wrote on Twitter. Some of Russia's hawkish military bloggers, who support the war but frequently criticise the way it is being carried out, have been highly critical of Russia's military leadership, including the new head of the special operation, Gen Gerasimov. Wednesday's announcement comes as fighting continues in Soledar. The fall of Soledar may help Russian troops in their assault on the strategic city of Bakhmut, about 10km (six miles) to the south-west, providing them with a secure artillery position within range of the city. Soledar also has deep salt mines, which could be used to station troops and store equipment, protected from Ukrainian missiles. Russia's mercenary Wagner Group has taken full credit for "storming" it. On Tuesday night, the group's leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his forces were in full control of Soledar. However, on Wednesday the Russian defence ministry released a statement appearing to contradict his claim - or that only Wagner group troops were involved. This led to Mr Prigozhin repeating the claim on Wednesday evening. In a short statement on Telegram, he boasted that his mercenaries had killed around 500 pro-Ukraine troops. "The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers," he wrote. Ukraine has recently made similar comments about piles of Russian bodies. There is no independent confirmation. The US-based Maxar Technologies company has published pictures of Soledar from August and early January, showing the scale of destruction during the recent fighting. The apparent differences in Russia's official narrative surrounding the latest events around Soledar hint at divisions in the country's military leadership, particularly between the Wagner Group and the defence ministry. For his part, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that Soledar had fallen. "The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend" to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday, "but the fighting continues". "We do everything, without stopping for a single day, to strengthen Ukrainian defence. Our potential is growing," he added. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64235713

The Moroccan passport allows its holders visa-free travel to 65 countries throughout the world. Rabat- London-based company Henley & Partners has ranked the Moroccan passport as the 80th most powerful worldwide in its 2023 Henley Passport Index. According to the company's most recent report, the Moroccan passport is still ranked 80th, as it was in the second quarter of 2022. The Moroccan passport now allows its holders visa-free travel to 65 countries throughout the world compared to the second quarter of 2022 where it gave its holders visa-free access to 64 countries. Analyzing data compiled by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Henley & Partners examined 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. Alongside Morocco, holders of Cuban and Ghanaian passports also have access to 65 visa-free destinations. Morocco ranked second in North Africa, behind Tunisia (76rd globally), with the Mauritanian passport coming in third (85th globally), Algeria and Egypt ranking fourth (90th globally), Sudan ranking fifth (100th globally) and Libya in the sixth spot regionally (101th worldwide). The UAE topped the Middle East and North Africa rankings, with the Emirati passport providing free access to 178 countries and ranking 15th worldwide. Japan tops the global rankings, with the most powerful passport in the world allowing holders to enter 193 countries without a visa. Singapore and South Korea tied for second place in the global rankings, allowing holders of their passports to enter 192 countries without a visa. Meanwhile, Germany and Spain tie for third place, with a visa-free score of 190. Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan come last in the global rankings, with visa-free access to only 30, 29, and 27 destinations, respectively. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/01/353505/moroccan-passport-still-ranks-80th-worldwide

Nick Movie: Operation Fortune: Ruse de guerre Time: January 13, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 1h 54m Trailer:

Live Performance Title: "Say So", "Streets" & "Kiss Me More" (Medley) (Live at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards) Signer Name: Doja Cat Live Performance Location: - Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/10

Music Title: Best Music Mix 2023 🎧 Remixes of Po[CENSORED]r Songs 🎧 EDM Best Music Mix$ Signer: - Release Date: 12/01/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/6

Accepted. Good luck see you after 2 weeks