King_of_dark

For every supercar brand that has succeeded there have been plenty that have fallen by the wayside…When you're spending a lot of money on a top-end car you expect it to have some pedigree; branding count for a lot when buying most cars, but where supercars are concerned it's nothing less than crucial.In the past few decades very few new brands have emerged in the supercar arena and survived for any length of time – but dozens have come and gone having failed to make their mark. These are just some of thoseFor every supercar brand that has succeeded there have been plenty that have fallen by the wayside…When you're spending a lot of money on a top-end car you expect it to have some pedigree; branding count for a lot when buying most cars, but where supercars are concerned it's nothing less than crucial.In the past few decades very few new brands have emerged in the supercar arena and survived for any length of time – but dozens have come and gone having failed to make their mark. These are just some of those

Dhanteras is one of the most auspicious festivals celebrated across the length and breadth of the country. The name Dhanteras is formed of two words Dhan -- which means money -- and Teras -- which means thirteenth. The festival is celebrated on the thirteenth day of Krishna Paksha in the Vikram Samvat Hindu calendar month of Kartik. This year, the festival on wealth, Dhanteras, will be celebrated from November 12 in the evening till November 13. So as you celebrate 'Dhanatrayodashi' or 'Dhanteras', here are some wishes, messages, quotes and greetings to share on this auspicious day:1. God’s blessing may come as a surprise and how much you receive depends on how much your heart can believe. May you be blessed beyond what you expect. Happy Dhanteras!2. On the auspicious day of Dhantrayodashi, here's wishing you good health and wealth in abundance.3. On this auspicious festival, may your life: Shimmer with Silver; Shine with Gold; And dazzle like Platinum! Happy Dhanteras!4. Iss Dhanteras kush kash ho, Dilo mein khusiyan, Ghar mein sukh ka vaas ho, Har moti pe aapka taj ho Mite duriya, sab aapke pas ho Yeh Dhanteras aapka khas ho!5. Dear Goddess Lakshmi! Bless the recipient of this message with thirteen times Dhan on Dhanteras. Happy Dhanteras!Dhanteras 2020 Greetings1. May this Dhanteras Light up new dreams, fresh hopes, undiscovered avenues, different perspectives, everything bright & beautiful and fill your days with pleasant surprises and moments. Happy Dhanteras to you and your family.2. Dhanteras d=dhan, h=health, a=anand, n=nature, t=talent, e=enjoyment, r=romance, a=aitbar, s=subhagya so HAPPY dhanteras3. Dinodin badhta jaye apka karobar, Pariwar me bana rahe sneh aur pyar, Hoti rahe sada apar dhan ki bochar, Aisa ho apka DHANTERAS ka tyohar.4. Dear Goddess Lakshmi Bless the recipient of this message with thirteen times wealth on this Dhanteras. Happy Dhanteras!5. This Dhanteras, I wish a very long and healthy life to you. May you grow wealthier and may you live a blissful life. Stay blessed and keep smiling—happy Dhanteras to you and your loved ones.Dhanteras WhatsApp and Facebook Messages1. Aaj se aap ke yahan dhan ki barsat ho, Maa Laxmi ka niwas ho, Sankat ka nash ho, Sar pe unnati ka taj ho. Happy Dhanteras.2. May this Dhanteras Light up new dreams, fresh hopes, undiscovered avenues, and different perspectives, everything bright & beautiful and fill your days with pleasant surprises and moments. Happy Dhanteras to you and your family.3. May the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras bring along the happiness and health in your life…. Wishing you a warm and wonderful Dhanteras.”4. May the auspicious day of Dhantrayodhashi bring you all the goodness in the world. May you be showered with healthy, wealthy and happy life forever — happy Dhanteras to you.May Devi Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth shower you with the riches,May Lord Kubera treasure your hard-earned and well-deserved earnings,And may Lord Dhanvantri bless you with good health.5. May you be showered with the choicest blessings of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Dhanvantari and Lord Kubera. A very Happy Dhanteras to you and everyone in your family.

Residents of the city of approximately 200,000 people first reported hearing gunshots at around midnight.Military police reported that a fire had been set in a tunnel on the main road leading to the city, presumably to prevent the security forces from sending reinforcements to the town. The police headquarters also came under attack. In other parts of the city, at least six people were used as "human shields" by the armed men, who forced them to sit on a pedestrian crossing to block the road.Residents posted images on social media of what they described as snipers on rooftops.Mayor Salvaro told radio station Radio Gaúcha that the "bandits" had made their getaway in a convoy of cars.Footage posted on social media shows a convoy of black cars leaving the town centre in an orderly fashion.The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.Local media have described the raid as part of a phenomenon they call "New Cangaço", which references a term used to describe the banditry that plagued parts of Brazil in the 1920s and 1930s.Small and medium-sized cities have been the preferred targets for this new type of banditry.In 2019, there were 21 bank robberies in the state of São Paulo alone, according to official figures. In the first half of 2020, there had already been 14.robberies started five years ago. The targets are banks and firms which store and transport valuables.Dozens of criminals take part in a single raid and many of them are heavily armed with machine guns and sometimes even explosives.While most of the raids have been carried out in Brazil, there has been at least one instance where a Brazilian gang carried out a spectacular robbery in neighbouring Paraguay.

Hotel Sowls (PC, Switch [reviewed]) Developer: Studio Sott Publisher: CFK Co., Ltd. Released: December 31, 2019 (PC), July 30, 2020 (Switch) MSRP: $4.99 (PC), $7.99 (Switch) I am, admittedly, a sucker for unique art styles. Sure, I enjoy lush graphics, beautiful pixel art, or stylish cel-shading, but they don’t grab my attention in the same way as something that forges a path in a different direction. I get excited around the styles that Bernband, Burrito Galaxy, or even the simple papercraft worlds of Brendan Chung’s Citizen Abel games pull off. Heck, I’ll admit to being fascinated by Paper Mario.That’s what drew me into Hotel Sowls. I was instantly charmed by its blobby, lo-fi art style. It’s something I haven’t really seen before in a video game. It seems to wear its personality on its sleeve. That’s only the start, though. Now it’s time to get it up on the autopsy table, peel back its skin, and see if there’s any of that personality seeped into the meat itself. The narrative to Hotel Sowls is as simple as it is weird. You play as a misshapen pharmacologist in a bowler’s cap who spends all their life savings on obtaining a mysterious stone. They have dreams of researching it and developing a new medicine that will win them the Nobal Prize. However, they make the mistake of staying at a nearby hotel, and after waking up the next morning (with a hangover, in my case), they discover their stone has gone missing.The difficulty is that they only have five days to stay in the hotel, but don’t let the pressure get to you — time only advances as the story progresses. You’re left with no clues as to who did it, so it’s up to you to question the staff and uncover the mystery of who broke into your room and stole the precious stone. At its core, Hotel Sowls is an adventure game. You can even drop it into the point-and-click subcategory, because on the console version, interaction is done via a cursor. I kind of hate it. Just give me an action button. I generally left the cursor hovering over my dude and just used it for that purpose anyway. To make matters worse, during my playthrough, the cursor got stuck in its action state, so I couldn’t even use it to tell what items were interactive. I’m getting off track here.You’re generally left up to your own devices as you explore the hotel’s six floors and collect clues about where you’re supposed to head next.This can get a bit obtuse. I was able to reach the “true” ending without using any sort of external guidance, but there were times where I wound up walking in circles until I typically discovered something to suck into my inventory that I overlooked because everything blends into the background. Your character will tell you what you should be focusing on, your journal keeps clear notes most of the time, but no one is going to tell you where to meet “IT,” or that the bottle on the table can be picked up. You’re on your own there. Even though the hotel is presented as one big puzzle and it proudly displays that there are multiple endings to find, you’re not given free agency to solve the mystery. Hotel Sowls is almost entirely linear. By questioning staff, interacting with the environment, and picking up items, you're really just seeking flags that will allow you to continue to the next portion of the game. It’s very mechanical in this way.The multiple endings are a cute treat, but you’re not going to organically reach one or the other based on the choices you make. Rather, it’s more down to which one you choose to trigger. There are some inventive ones, and finding them all takes some thinking outside the box, but like much of the game, it’s very mechanical. As for the plot, it too unfortunately suffers from a lack of spark. It’s presented in a charming fashion with stilted dialogue, weird characters, and even the makings of an unsettling backstory. But when it comes to cashing in on all of these otherwise tantalizing facets, Hotel Sowls falls short.The characters, as weird as they appear, are a little dry underneath. Many of them just seem to be harboring a subtle hostility towards you and each of them is a part of a dark secret, but almost every one of them is interchangeable. The chef is committed to nutrition, the bartender is obsessed with lemonade, the security guard is shirking their duty out of world-weariness; but that’s about as deep as they go. Their entire person can be summed up in a short journal entry.So when it came time to start having feelings about them, I had nothing to muster. Any emotional payoff that the game’s story might have had was completely lost. There are certainly parts of a good story, but it’s not explored well enough to really have an impact. That’s not to say Hotel Sowls isn’t a serviceable game, it’s just that there isn’t much to grip you beneath its unique aesthetic. The art style, the atmosphere, and even the music are all very much on point. It’s easy to get sucked in by what it displays on the surface.However, beneath the veneer, there isn’t much that makes Hotel Sowls shine. The plot, the characters, and the gameplay are all wax-paper thin. The game ticks away mechanically under its inspired art style. I’m actually taken aback by how soulless Hotel Sowls really turned out to be. I guess it just goes to show that you can’t judge a hotel by its chandelier.[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.] CPU: Info CPU SPEED: Dual Core CPU RAM: 4 GB OS: Microsoft Windows 7.1/8/8.1/10 VIDEO CARD: Graphics card with DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities PIXEL SHADER: 4.0 VERTEX SHADER: 4.0 FREE DISK SPACE: 3 GB

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Super Mario 3D All-Stars (Switch) Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo Released: September 18, 2020 (Vaulted on March 31, 2021) MSRP: $59.99 We all have our favorite Mario game.Maybe it's a classic entry you played during your childhood. Maybe it's a newer one that blew you away. Me? It's kind of a mix of both, as Super Mario World still rules the 2D roost as far as I'm concerned, but Mario Galaxy 2 and 3D World definitely fit into that latter category.I'm sure everyone is going to have opinions on which Mario is "best" to include in a Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation, but the ones Nintendo actually gave us are a decent selection. Because I know a lot of people are going to want the technical rundown quickly, here it is:Mario 64 runs at 720p in both handheld and docked modeMario Sunshine is 720p handheld and 1080p docked (and it's widescreen now)Mario Galaxy is 720p handheld and 1080p dockedIf that's not good enough for you, you can close this window now. If you're still here, it's time to dig into the games. Raise your hand if you've finished Mario 64 more times than you can count: I thought so.Say what you will about it "looking and playing like an outdated relic," but Mario 64 still holds up for me. The incredibly enticing hub castle is still a masterpiece in design, as is the open-ended nature of the game and the devilish machinations of hidden stars. The presentation of Mario 64 in this package is somewhat disappointing, but the game isn't.Mario 64's sandbox puzzle approach is brilliant. If you hate a mission parameter or even a full level, you can just leave. As a kid, there were entire portions of the castle that I didn't explore fully until I made the push to acquire all 120 stars. The fact that the hub is actually a level (and isn't so labyrinthine that it starts to become a chore to navigate) still blows my mind.The controls translate well to the Switch (as they did on the DS), and naturally, the camera can take some getting used to if you didn't grow up with the original. It's very fun to play in handheld mode, but as a note, this is "Super Mario 64," not the DS version with extra content. There isn't a whole lot more to say about this one. It's a classic, but the 3D All-Stars version isn't going to wholly convert anyone. Look, I've played Sunshine more than enough to make a judgment call on it (I even had a Sunshine speedrunning competition with a friend of mine with side-by-side TVs!), and I know I'm wading into dangerous territory here, but it's still incredibly polarizing.Foundationally, Sunshine is a 3D mascot platformer with a water jetpack strapped to Mario. I'm just going to get into it: the problem lies with the FLUDD system. Depending on who you talk to, having to micromanage the FLUDD is either strategically engaging or tedious. I’m somewhere in the middle. Aiming it can be a chore and the gimmick can feel very tired halfway in as the game tries to come up with more tricks to constantly refill your water meter without trivializing many of its puzzles or battles. Although there are lots of clever ways the game eases you into these situations, for me, the best levels are FLUDD-less, full stop.There are some really interesting and abstract designs in these side levels, years before Mario Galaxy was a twinkle in someone's eye. The FLUDD isn't a constant problem either; it just crops up every now and then and becomes a thorn in your side. The tropical setting of Isle Delfino is also starkly unique, a few levels are legitimately taxing, and the stakes feel a little higher overall. As far as the All-Stars version goes, Sunshine's resolution is better than Mario 64 while docked, and GameCube-era visuals still look great to me, minus some washed-out colors every now and then.I revisit Sunshine around once a generation and appreciate it slightly more each time — even if it is still near the bottom of my 3D Mario power rankings. Hey, guess what you all? I did it! I made a definitive ruling on Mario Sunshine. I'm sure this won't be debated for another 18 years. Mario Galaxy on the other hand...one of the most disparaging things people say about it is "sure, but it's no Mario Galaxy 2." And hey, not many games could measure up to that masterpiece of a sequel! But Galaxy 1 still stands on its own, especially now that more control options are available.Most notably, you can play the entire thing in handheld mode, as Nintendo opted to sub in touch screen functionality for the Wii's IR pointer. If you're playing docked or in tabletop mode, Nintendo requires motion controls — but the Pro Controller's Y button can double as waggling for Mario's spinning mechanic (you'll also need an extra Joy-Con for the passive co-op mode). Speaking of the Pro Controller, the game is fully playable with it. Menu selection and star bit shooting are done through motion-control aiming. Easy enough.As far as the bones go, this is the game in the trio I’ve played the least, but I really enjoyed discovering it all over again. The level design is a bit uneven in that some feel appropriately epic on a galactic scale, and a few have a copy-and-pasted feel to them like you're going through the motions until you're wowed again — a pacing problem the sequel addressed. But Galaxy can suck you in if you let it, especially if you're isolated from the ability to play Galaxy 2, this collection's big omission.Mario Galaxy also has a fair bit of worldbuilding (including a brutal intro where Bowser's forces completely wreck the Mushroom Kingdom), but it's a lot more digestible and adorable, as the galactic motif is extremely zen-like. The introduction of Rosalina also assists in helping Galaxy craft its own world, without the reliance on nostalgia. It plays very smoothly and still looks great to this day (shots fired: the two Galaxy games look better than some current-gen games). It deserves to be in this collection. As far as 3D All-Stars' extras go, you're basically getting a music player for all three games (that can be used while the Switch is in portable mode like a little iPod) and that's about it. The menus are eloquently framed like a museum of sorts, but once you read the flavor text and flip through the available music tracks, you're done. The games are the core of this release.Super Mario 3D All-Stars, as barebones as it might be as a compilation, is a great way to experience (or re-experience) these games all over again. It was a joy running through all three of them even if they weren't strictly upgraded. That goes double for Mario Galaxy, as this is going to be my preferred way to play it from now on.[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.] CPU: Info CPU SPEED: Dual Core CPU RAM: 4 GB OS: Microsoft Windows 7.1/8/8.1/10 VIDEO CARD: Graphics card with DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities PIXEL SHADER: 4.0 VERTEX SHADER: 4.0 FREE DISK SPACE: 3 GB

New owners, new leaders, new product plans: in a year that has come with upheaval as standard, Aston Martin can perhaps uniquely consider the coronavirus as just another hurdle to overcome.But for all the sense that the change (most notably its closer tie-up with Mercedes-Benz) might do Aston good in the long run, it’s hard not to ponder whether the need to survive has impacted on its ability to thrive.Cast your mind back three years and you might recall chief designer Marek Reichman’s hugely swaggering assertion that Rolls-Royce and Bentley were the equivalent of “Ancient Greece” as he uncovered the first of two Lagonda concepts, electric-powered and built around sustainable materials.A well-to-do rumpus ensued, as Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös fired back that Reichman had “zero clue what’s going on in the upper, upper segment”, pointing out that Aston sold cars to buyers several strata below its wealthy clientele.Now the Lagonda concepts are on ice. It seems a perfectly logical decision; Aston faces enough challenges without having to invest huge amounts of resource in developing an all-new range of cars in a hurry.Yet – theoretical though it may be, given executive chairman Lawrence Stroll’s lifelong belief in the value of promoting brands in Formula 1 and current emotional investment in his son Lance’s career in the sport – you have to ponder whether it might have been worth the gamble of pouring the money heading the way of the soon to be rebranded Racing Point F1 team into accelerating these electric ambitions instead.Some will argue that the hundreds of millions an F1 team costs wouldn’t get you far down the road to launching a new electric car platform, but that equation has surely changed with Mercedes’ co-ownership. Marketing via F1 has never been clear-cut, whereas the returns on EV leadership are there, if not on the bottom line then certainly on the share price. Market valuations aren’t everything, but the stratospheric rises in the worth of BYD, Nio and Tesla in 2020 must surely have given Aston’s investors pause for thought (or tears).Already you can sense the opportunity to lead is slipping away. Rival or not, Rolls-Royce is making noise about electrification and sustainable materials, while Bentley is so far ahead on these fronts that it threatens to leave everyone behind.The tipping point won’t come until the first wave of cars are released, of course, and Aston may yet still be there. But right now, it appears to be focused on a different race altogether.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — In a bare room, students seated on the floor recite the alphabet. But these are not children. The students are refugee women in Malaysia, some in their late 50s, who for the first time are learning how to read and write, both in Malay and English.The weekly classes in a dingy neighborhood outside Kuala Lumpur are offered by the Women for Refugees group, which was formed in September by two law students to help illiterate migrant women integrate into the local community and empower them to be more than just passive wives.“I don’t know even know my ABCs, but now I am learning,” Zaleha Abdul, 54, a Muslim Rohingya refugee, said as she struggled to remember the alphabet during a class last month. She said she wants to be more independent when going shopping or anywhere else.Like Zaleha, many refugee women in Malaysia have picked up the local tongue, but without knowing how to read or write, they are mostly confined to familiar surroundings.Arissa Jemaima Ikram Ismail, 23, was a volunteer with a relief agency when a refugee leader in the town of Selayang, which is home to many migrant workers, requested help to uplift women in his community.She and fellow law student Davina Devarajan, 25, then met some of the women and were surprised that they wanted to learn the English and Malay languages. For most refugee women, education is often viewed as a low priority, Arissa said.The duo then formed Women for Refugees and recruited teachers via Instagram. They now have about 20 volunteers, giving weekly two-hour literacy classes in English and Malay in a rundown two-story block that houses some 50 families.“It was very essential for us to not pitch the refugee women as a charity, where they are constantly requiring external aid,” Arissa said. “We want to equip them with the necessary skills so that they can sustain themselves ... and contribute back to the community.”The free classes are open to all migrant women, although currently the students are all from Myanmar and Indonesia.Over a dozen women, ranging in age from 18 to 50, initially attended, but they brought along their children, which proved to be disruptive. The group then launched classes for the children in a separate room so that their mothers could study in peace.In the long run, Davina said they hope to expand classes in other neighborhoods and include technical skills that could help the women earn an income.All classes have, however, been halted since mid-October in tandem with restrictions put in place in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas to curb a fresh surge in coronavirus cases. The restrictions were expanded to most of the country this month, and all schools nationwide were shut until the end of the year.Arissa said teaching still goes on with pre-recorded lessons that are viewed on three shared laptops in the migrants’ living quarters, and that live classes were also being conducted once a week for older migrant children.She said that as the coronavirus subsides, she would “love to integrate more volunteers ... to actually come and teach them and have this very community-based integration between” the women and the locals, many of whom view migrants as a burden on the country’s resources and healthcare system.Arissa’s group is not the first to offer literacy courses for refugees in Malaysia, but one of only a few to focus on women. Some 178,000 refugees and asylum seekers in the country are registered with the United Nations High Commission of Refugees, and many pockets of the refugee community are left out in terms of educational opportunities.When The Associated Press visited in October before the classes stopped, Shahidah Salamatulah, 38, was among three women learning how they would communicate in English if they had to seek treatment at a medical clinic. The women broke into giggles at the antics of their Algerian volunteer teacher.Shahidah, a Muslim from Myanmar and a mother of two, said she was preparing for a new life abroad. She was called for interviews three times last year by the UNHCR on possible resettlement to a third country, but there has been no news amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Being a military kid involves a lot of change.So far I've lived in two countries - the UK and the US - and five states: Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Texas and Virginia.Because my dad is in the Navy I've moved house 10 times to live on many different military bases.I've attended 11 different schools and there've been times when I've gone to two or three different schools in one year.It's been difficult. I'm always having to start over and meet new people.I'm always the new kid no matter where I am.There have been a lot of times where it's felt very lonely. In particular, my freshman year of high school was a really hard time emotionally. I cried a lot. I felt very disconnected.I've learned that it takes a lot of commitment to make and keep friends.And always being on the move has taught me how to put in the effort to keep in touch with people.My best friend from kindergarten is still my best friend today, even though I haven't lived near her in years. Another big lesson I've learned is acknowledging just how important kindness is, especially because I meet so many new people all the time.Truly, I don't think people realise it but being kind is the most simple way to become acquainted with new people.I rely a lot on technology, too. I got an email account when I was about eight years old to keep in touch with my friends.I started using YouTube when I was about 10 or 11 because I found that documenting my life, because I'm always moving, was another good way to hold on to memories with different friends.I don't think I could have kept in touch with everyone without technology and social media.While it's hard at times, it's also a really interesting life. It's very cool to experience so many new places.I appreciate having gotten the opportunity to experience how other people live. I feel like it's helped raise me.I love being able to travel back to the places I've lived and know there are people there who care about me.It's incredible to see how connections and friendships can stretch across a whole country.For a kid, military bases are fun because they're like their own little world.A lot of them have bowling alleys, movie theaters, commissaries, pools and youth centres. Some even have abandoned bunkers to explore. But you'll find sometimes, when you live on a base, that you can end up staying there without leaving for weeks at a time.You can definitely feel very trapped.And on military bases, all the houses look exactly the same. It can feel like a very fake world to live in.It's hard, too, because while you're closed off from the outside world, the outside world can't come to you either. When I wanted to hang out with friends, they couldn't just stop by for a visit.Both my parents are very accepting and laid back. It never felt like I was growing up in a tough military household.But I've had a lot of friends who say it's expected of them that they have to join the military because they have generations above them that were a part of it.I'm also very grateful because my dad has never been deployed to a war zone.But I have other family members in the army who have gone off to war. They struggle with things like PTSD.Growing up as a military child, I think I became desensitised to so much of what I was seeing.In military schools we'd make Christmas cards for soldiers who were away on the front lines, for example.I didn't really acknowledge it because I was so used to seeing it but I've been surrounded by war my whole life.It just seems so normal to me now because it's been a part of my life forever.

Whether it’s from a friend, a colleague, or a psoriasis support group member, you may frequently hear about a natural or complementary psoriasis treatment and be tempted to try it. These do-it-yourself remedies, when used alongside your traditional psoriasis treatment, may offer temporary relief from some psoriasis symptoms, which can range from itchy, flaky skin associated with mild to moderate forms of psoriasis to the irritation that occurs when you have a more severe form of the disease.The fact is, however, that there's little scientific evidence to suggest that psoriasis home remedies work, says Stefan C. Weiss, MD, a dermatologist at the Weiss Skin Institute in Boca Raton, Florida. Still, you may find at least temporary relief by following some of these suggestions — and, as Dr. Weiss points out, it won't hurt to try. Just be sure to consult with your doctor first.Potential home remedies may include modifications to your diet — such as drinking more water and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables — that are good for your general well-being, along with improving your psoriasis and relieving some of its symptoms.Many people believe that activities such as yoga can relieve psoriasis flares and pain by reducing stress, which is known to trigger symptoms. “It’s impossible to avoid all stress in our lives,” says Colby Evans, MD, a dermatologist in Austin, Texas, and a member of the board of trustees of the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF)But stress-management techniques — whether it’s prioritizing daily tasks, getting enough sleep, or connecting with support groups — can relieve a lot of those psoriasis-triggering feelings. People also believe that Dead Sea salt baths can alleviate the itching and burning associated with psoriasis.Then there are spices and supplements that may provide anti-psoriasis benefits. Despite the lack of scientific evidence, psoriasis patients have reported some success with healthy oils like those found in avocado, coconut, fish, and flaxseed. Tea tree oil can relieve symptoms of scalp psoriasis when used in specially formulated shampoos. Besides its dietary benefits, olive oil can be applied to the scalp and hair, and it can help loosen skin flakes associated with psoriasis. Apple cider vinegar may also help relieve the itch associated with scalp psoriasis.Whatever the home remedy, it’s important that you discuss treatment options with your healthcare providers. Do-it-yourself therapies should not be used as a replacement for your prescribed medications and treatments, but they may be helpful additions to your overall psoriasis management regimen. Check out these ideas for treatments that you can talk to your doctor about.

MONTREAL -- The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Quebec reached a new milestone Sunday as the province surpassed 140,000 confirmed cases.Quebec reported 1,395 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of cases to 141,038 since the start of the pandemic.During the same period, four people died due to the disease in addition to eight who died between Nov. 22 and Nov. 27. The 12 new deaths bring that total to 7,033 in the province.The seven-day average rate of new daily cases is now 1,285.The Quebec Institute of Public Health is reporting 11,991 active cases in the province, and that 1,108 more people have recovered from the disease bringing that total to 122,014.Complete coverage at CTVNews.ca/coronavirusCoronavirus newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inboxThe number of hospitalizations in the province decreased by 13, and there are now 665 people receiving treatment in the province's hospitals. Of those, 92 people are in the intensive care ward, one fewer than on Saturday.Health-care professionals analyzed 24,450 samples Nov. 27. (Quebec releases its testing data from two days prior to its daily updates).REGIONAL DATAMontreal reported over 400 new cases for a second straight day with 437 new cases (50,756 total).Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean's total cases surpassed 5,000 Sunday with 104 new cases for a total of 5.092.Other regions with triple-digit increases were Quebec City with 167 new cases (11,616 total), Monteregie with 137 new cases (19,937 total), and Laval with 120 new cases (11,368 total).Three deaths were reported in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (125 total) and Montreal (3,621 total); two in Chaudiere-Appalaches (132 total); and one death was reported in Bas-Saint-Laurent (19 total), Quebec City (434 total), Lanaudiere (325 total) and Monteregie (861 total).ACROSS CANADAAs of 11 a.m. Sunday, there were 366,193 confirmed COVID-19 cases reported across Canada and 11,988 deaths.The following are the regional numbers from provinces and territories in Canada:Quebec: 141,038 confirmed (including 7,033 deaths, 122,014 resolved)Ontario: 113,038 confirmed (including 3,624 deaths, 95,876 resolved)Alberta: 54,836 confirmed (including 524 deaths, 39,381 resolved)British Columbia: 30,884 confirmed (including 395 deaths, 21,304 resolved)Manitoba: 16,118 confirmed (including 290 deaths, 6,804 resolved)Saskatchewan: 7,888 confirmed (including 45 deaths, 4,521 resolved)Nova Scotia: 1,271 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,078 resolved)New Brunswick: 481 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 363 resolved)Newfoundland and Labrador: 333 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 297 resolved)Nunavut: 164 confirmed (including 33 resolved)Prince Edward Island: 72 confirmed (including 68 resolved)Yukon: 42 confirmed (including 1 death, 29 resolved)Northwest Territories: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)-- with files from The Canadian Press.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One) Developer: Toys for Bob Publisher: Activision Released: October 2, 2020 MSRP: $59.99 Crash Bandicoot is a legend in my household.As a kid, I couldn't get enough of the 'lil furball, whether it was via the classic platforming series or Crash Team Racing. When I met my wife, as luck would have it, we would both share a love for Crash-related games, and spent much of our early dating years toiling away taking turns with the trilogy or engaging in late-night Crash runs.Witnessing the series slowly slip away from Sony's grasp and into the state of irrelevancy was tough. That all changed in recent years with the N. Sane Trilogy and now Crash 4 thanks to the tireless efforts of developmental stewardship from Vicarious Visions and Toys for Bob. Crash 4 is good. Better than I thought it would be after all these years.The fun little narrative that involves time-hopping with multiple big bads from the series is a bit much at times (there's a lot of characters to juggle), but it serves as a good excuse to swap the players in and out of various locales on a regular basis. The tone is extremely cartoony (in a Saturday morning kind of way) and I am very much here for it. There's lots of exaggerated Tex Avery style animation and plenty of physical comedy. It's adorable.Mechanically, level design straddles the line between classic Crash and more modern mentalities. It doesn't swing too far on the latter side of the pendulum though, instead opting to mostly follow the guided 3D platforming, vehicular riding, and chase scene blueprint laid out in 1996. A few obstacle-course-oriented bosses feel anticlimactic and there are some occasional camera issues (like a hazard coming around the corner when you least expect it), but a quick checkpoint system eases the pain of said mishaps.It's natural to worry about the extra characters, but they're done gracefully, in a way that doesn't force them into the core loop. Tawna (who sports a hookshot), Dingodile (he has a vaccum cleaner jetpack) and Neo Cortex (who can dash and turn enemies into platforms) only have a few required critical path levels. So if you dislike them, you only need to "suffer" a few stages: the rest are optional if you dig their playstyle. Me? I found all of them to be fun in their own way, but I like that the core focus is on Crash/Coco without getting too out of hand. The same principle applies to the new "mask" power-ups, which are sparingly littered about each level: until everything is ratcheted up to 11 near the end. You can see Toys for Bob putting in time in each stage to lay out the ground rules of most major mechanics before they become a thing. For instance, during one particular chase scene, the player walks through a patch of mushrooms (which slows them down) and is required to spin through a bone cage to start the sequence. From there, without much fuss, they can pick up on what they need to do while in the heat of the moment before it frustratingly roadblocks them during the chase. Crash 4 can be punishing, but most of the time, not unfairly so.Crash 4 is also interesting in that it tries to accommodate just about everyone with two difficulty settings (modern, with unlimited lives, or retro, with limits), multiple playable characters from different perspectives, and a ton of extras jam-packed in. It's totally viable to play the whole thing through on the modern setting and not go for any extras and wholly enjoy yourself. Likewise, you can also jack up the difficulty and try to clear each stage in under three lives — while also locating every single piece of Wumpa Fruit (the Mario "coins" of the Crash world), finding every hidden gem, and smashing every last box. Good luck!To some extent with its time trial extras, Crash has always been about the high score aspect, but this one takes it to a new level. You can even replay every stage, flipped, for new rewards, or go for broke to try and grab "flashback tapes" by making it through a certain point in the stage without dying once (typically a third of the way through, but sometimes longer). It's the right amount of balance to encourage players to learn the ropes, but allow them to clear it without jumping through hoops. Given how vicious some of the later levels can be if you're going for the gold, I can dig that approach.I was already satisfied with all of the above, but the local Bandicoot Battle and Pass N Play modes are nice touches that tie it all together. The latter is just how it sounds: up to four players pass a controller in-between deaths and/or checkpoints, with individual scores provided for each person. The former is very reminiscent of Activision's own Tony Hawk series — "HORSE" — but with a Crash Bandicoot spin. Each person takes turns commandeering Crash or Coco, opting to either clear level checkpoints the fastest or smash as many crates as possible. Whoever bests the other player in the most amount of checkpoints wins. It's simple, but very addictive, especially if you happen to live near someone who has experience with 3D platformers. I'm going to be going back through the solo challenges to unlock skins for weeks to come (we're safe from microtransactions for now, knock on wood), but this adds even more excuses to come back. I hope skin selection is patched in at some point, though.Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a strong return for the series, and a showcase of what might have been if we got a true follow-up to Crash 3. I sincerely hope that Activision entrusts Toys for Bob (and Vicarious Visions) with the keys to the Crash kingdom from here on out. I wanna see more of the little guy.[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.] CPU: Info CPU SPEED: Dual Core CPU RAM: 4 GB OS: Microsoft Windows 7.1/8/8.1/10 VIDEO CARD: Graphics card with DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities PIXEL SHADER: 4.0 VERTEX SHADER: 4.0 FREE DISK SPACE: 3 GB

I’m pretty average at games. Painfully average. Whenever there’s a leaderboard, I rarely find myself at the top; I rarely find myself at the bottom either. I’m always in the middle. If it’s an online shooter, I’ll never be the MVP, but I’ll find a way to contribute towards my team. In co-op games, I’ll often find myself following the lead of superior players – eager to help out but scared of making a mistake. Heck, even when I’m playing single player campaigns, I usually set the difficulty to Normal. It just feels right for me.Demon’s Souls is obviously one of the more po[CENSORED]r games in the PlayStation 5’s launch lineup, and I know it’s got a lot of people scared. I totally get it. The discourse surrounding this game can be terrifying; you’ve got to “git gud” or go home, and it can be off-putting. Heck, even the marketing campaigns for subsequent titles like Dark Souls put the fear of god into average players like you and I: prepare to die. But what if I don’t want to die? It doesn’t sound like a particularly fun way to relax, does it?My advice: don’t be deterred! I’m not going to lie to you, Demon’s Souls is a difficult game – but it’s not so hard that you can’t enjoy it. Listen, if I can make progress in this game and have a lot of fun in the process, then so can you. Honestly, I find the discussion around FromSoftware’s titles to be misleading: it’s turning people away, and frankly the experience isn’t quite as hard as you’re being led to believe. It just takes a different mentality; invest, and you’ll be richly rewarded. In this particular example, it’s the best PS5 game. Here are my tips for enjoying Demon’s Souls even if you’re an average gamer like me:The first thing I’d recommend you do is read the resources available to you. Demon’s Souls is over a decade old now, and many of its ambiguous secrets have been blown wide open by fans. There’s nothing to be scared of anymore, you just have to take a little time to digest the information and use it to influence your decisions in the game. Our Demon’s Souls guide is a really great place to start.Take the game slowly, as well. This isn’t the type of title that you can just blitz your way through; that’s a recipe for disaster. If you savour it, though, examine every nook and cranny, then you’ll find yourself making slow and steady progress. The moment you start rushing is the moment you’ll hit a wall.Don’t be afraid to play in co-op. Summoning other players into your game is a big part of the Demon’s Souls experience, and you’ll find a lot of fans are really eager to help you out and show you the ropes. Not everyone is uber-friendly, of course, but you’d be surprised how welcoming the community is at showing you secrets and helping you to beat bosses. It’s a part of the game, so enjoy it.Above all else, just relax. Everyone’s lost souls and everyone’s hit brick walls. The game can lack the direction of more modern releases, but there’s nothing stopping you from setting your own objectives. If your weapon’s not cutting it anymore, then Google one that fits your build and plan a way to acquire it. Do you need to farm some resources? Then find out where best to get them and go there; spend a bit of time stockpiling, and upgrading your level in the process. There’s always something you could be getting on with, so don’t worry if you get stuck – put your time into a different aspect of the title instead, and come back when you're ready. I’m absolutely loving Demon’s Souls right now, and I think if you’ve been put off by the discussion surrounding it, you definitely could, too! There’s really nothing in this game so impenetrable that an average player can’t overcome it; you just need to have the right mentality going in. Don’t miss out on PS5’s best game because you think you won’t be able to make progress in it; you may end up surprising yourself in the end!

Luxury manufacturer BMW has a fair bit of new stuff heading our way for the 2021 model year, and some of it — like the giant grilles on the new 4 Series and M3 and M4 — will be pretty hard to miss. The most sweeping change in the lineup is thatModel-year 2021 sees minimal changes for the two baby Bimmer SUVs with the addition and subtraction of some paint colors, and price reductions for the Convenience, M Sport and Premium option packages for the 2021 X1.Like its X1 sibling, the 2021 X2 gets some new exterior colors while losing others, as well as option package price reductions. The Dynamic Handling Package for the X2 28i, which added adjustable dampers and an M Sport steering wheel, is no longer available.BMW X3 and X4Bigger changes happen with the 2021 X3, which adds the plug-in hybrid X3 xDrive30e; both Android Auto and BMW’s Active Driving Assistant safety tech are now standard.The 2021 X4, the coupe version of the X3, also adds standard Active Driving Assistant and Android Auto compatibility, along with option package price reductions and the usual changes to exterior paint and interior upholstery choices.Both the X3 M and X4 M now offer the Competition Package as optional equipment instead of as a stand-alone model.BMW X5 and X6The 2021 X5 lineup loses the xDrive50i trim level but adds the xDrive45e plug-in hybrid. Both the X5 and the X6 gain Android Auto compatibility and 40i models for both now have a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. Like the X3 and X4 M cars, the larger X5 and X6 M switch to an optional Competition Package instead of a separate Competition model.BMW X7 and Alpina XB7Model-year 2021 X7s equipped with a 22-inch wheel and run-flat tire package get a top speed increase to 155 mph, and a 75-unit limited-edition X7 Dark Shadow will be available. The Alpina XB7 began production in August.Sedans, Coupes and Convertibles (and Gran Coupes)BMW 2 SeriesThe 2021 2 Series coupe and convertible add standard Apple CarPlay compatibility, while the four-door Gran Coupe gains standard Android Auto. A Driver Assistance Package is now available for the Gran Coupe. There are no changes for the M2 Competition.BMW 3 SeriesPlug-in hybrid 330e and 330e xDrive models are new for 2021, and the M3 returns, too, using the gigantic grille of the 4 Series. M340i models also get a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. A new Shadowline appearance package adding dark exterior trim is also available. A manual transmission is still available on the M3, too, though not on the regular 3 Series.BMW 4 SeriesRedesigned for 2021, the 4 Series gets a new, polarizing face to go with more power and technology, which we have covered in more detail than will fit here. The convertible version switches to a soft top from a power retractable hard top, and the new M4, too, deserves more words than this space allows.BMW 5 SeriesMore of a refresh than a complete redesign, both the 2021 5 Series and the higher-performance 2021 M5 see updates to exterior and interior styling, and the non-M 5 Series also gets powertrain updates.BMW 7 Series and Alpina B7Both the regular 2021 7 Series and the 2021 Alpina B7 lose their in-dash CD players (sorry, audiophiles) while adding a drive recorder to capture and store driving footage. The 7 Series also makes the Cold Weather Package standard equipment and makes heated seats, steering wheel and armrest standard, too.BMW 8 SeriesBMW will not be importing 2021 M8 coupes and convertibles, only the four-door M8 Gran Coupe, so buyers looking for a two-door M8 will have to find a 2020 model. Like its M SUV brethren, the M8 replaces the Competition model with a Competition Package.BMW Z4Last among BMW’s cars, at least alphanumerically, the Z4 adds Android Auto compatibility and sees prices on its various option packages change slightly.

CHUNKY — The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted countless traditions in 2020, but it will not keep living rooms across Mississippi from featuring Christmas decor, nor will it deter customer demand for fresh trees.In fact, business is booming at farms that have opened for the season, said Southern Christmas Tree Association President Michael May.May, one of 27 Mississippi Christmas tree suppliers who are members of the association, runs Lazy Acres in Newton County. The agritourism destination’s pumpkin patch opened earlier this year, and tree sales begin there on Nov. 21.“We strictly do choose-and-cut at our farm, but I know some growers who allow pretagging, and they are seeing a significant uptick in customers,” May said. “This was the best year ever for our pumpkin patch.”May modified safety protocols at his farm for visitors to the pumpkin patch, and those precautions will remain in place to protect tree customers during their visits.“Some of our growers are not doing wagon rides to their fields and are letting everyone walk to them instead,” he said. “We have some additional handwashing stations here at the farm. We’re encouraging families to visit and enjoy the experience of getting a tree, but we’re recommending that they wear masks and socially distance.”Like May, John Kushla, professor and forestry specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, anticipates a strong retail season this year despite the pandemic and a steady diet of severe weather across the state for much of 2020.“I think our growers in Mississippi fared well through the Easter tornadoes and hurricanes this year,” Kushla said. “The hurricanes damaged some crops in southern Alabama and Louisiana. Broken trees had to be cut down, but those blown over could be staked and salvaged.”Customers can expect to pay $10 to $15 a foot for their tree this year. Customers can find their closest Christmas tree farm by visiting the Southern Christmas Tree Association website at http://www.southernchristmastrees.org/.“Those growers who sustained storm damage this year may charge more for trees to recoup losses, unless they can claim them on crop insurance,” Kushla said. “I would encourage customers to contact growers before visiting the farm. Since supply may be short, customers should place orders for a real tree now, or call ahead to make sure there are trees available to purchase.”Leyland cypress is the most po[CENSORED]r species association growers produce. It produces a full tree and is less aromatic than other species. The next bestselling tree is Blue Ice, which is a variety of the Arizona cypress. Precut, imported trees are usually Fraser fir from the mountains of the Carolinas or Tennessee.“It has been increasingly difficult for our growers down here to acquire Fraser fir for resale,” Kushla said. “This has compounded the shortage of real Christmas trees.”Kushla said Southern Christmas Tree Association members, who are primarily in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama, will probably sell on the order of 32,000 to 34,000 trees this season.For tips on live Christmas tree care, visit the MSU Extension for Real Life blog at

The arrival of Barack Obama's memoir (part of a $65 million book deal with Michelle Obama) and President Donald Trump's looming unemployment have stirred understandable speculation about a potential Trump memoir. These books have long been a way for former presidents to share their experiences, explain their thinking, and shape their legacies.For President Trump, who has provided a nonstop string of commentary on his presidency from Day One, a presidential memoir could represent something different: a chance to give his insults and untruths an appearance of sanction and formality that they have never had.A Trump memoir could make the President tens of millions of dollars, the kind of deal he needs to begin servicing $400 million in loans that are about to come due. For publishing houses, the benefits are less clear cut: if they publish Trump's memoir, they'll likely make a substantial profit, but they'll also face tremendous public opposition. As conservative publisher Adam Bellow told Publishers Weekly, "They will have a very difficult needle to thread, because there is the threat of attacks from without and rebellion from within."In recent days, both Publishers Weekly and The New York Times have asked whether publishers will buy a Trump memoir. But the more important question is not will they buy it, but should they? And the answer to that is a resounding no. Not because refusing to publish will silence Trump -- it won't -- and not because publishing houses should avoid controversy -- they shouldn't. Rather, publishers should pass because they have a role to play in defending liberal democracy. There is no doubt that a Trump memoir would be rife with lies and conspiracies, as those have been the backbone of the Trump presidency. Nor would it be easy for a publishing house to counter that with fact-checking. It is unlikely Trump would consent to being fact-checked, a practice that many conservatives have come to view as an extension of liberal media bias rather than a safeguard against error. And publishing houses don't have a tradition of fact-checking books, relying instead on a set of norms: authors generally fact-check their own work (or hire someone to do it) in order to avoid the reputational harm of getting things wrong.But what happens when getting things wrong -- or worse, willfully lying -- no longer comes with reputational harm? The old guardrails no longer work, and no new system has arisen to replace them.While at any other point in US history the decision to publish a presidential memoir would have been a no-brainer -- publishing a president meant both prestige and profits -- Trump has altered that equation. To publish his memoir would fill a publishing house's larder at the expense of its reputation. Not only because the house would be aligned with a would-be authoritarian, but because it would be rewarding his attacks on democracy and enabling his ongoing misinformation campaign about the 2020 election. Should Trump receive a huge payday at the end of his presidency, it could provide clear incentives for continued attacks on democracy (which, notably, have been part of a fundraising scheme themselves, efforts to retire his campaign debt and create a political slush fund to finance his post presidency). After all the country has endured on his watch -- attempting to ban citizens from seven Muslim majority countries from entering the country, ripping immigrant children from their parents' arms in the name of "deterrence," stripping health care protections from trans people, attacking the electoral process, spreading misinformation about a pandemic that will likely have killed 300,000 people in the US by the end of the year according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former head of the FDA -- if the end result is a financial reward for the President in the form of a book deal, every person who buys it will be eroding democracy a tiny bit further with each purchase.Publishing houses have hastened this erosion as they have expanded their conservative publishing arms. Though major US houses have long published a broad range of political ideas, right-wing books that struggled to break through in the 1940s and 1950s found a home in conservative publishing houses like Regnery. The offerings ranged from works of political philosophy by authors like Russell Kirk as well as more conspiratorial polemics, including two books by Robert Welch, the founder of the John Birch Society.This world of conservative publishing was mostly a self-contained enterprise until the 1980s, when Ronald Reagan's presidency spurred new interest in conservative books by writers like George Will and Robert Bork. But it was the rise of conservative entertainment, starting with Rush Limbaugh in the late 1980s, that blew the right-wing publishing market open. The meteoric success of Limbaugh's two books, "The Way Things Ought to Be" and "See? I Told You So!" -- both published by Pocket Books -- convinced the major publishing houses that there was a huge untapped market in conservative books, and by the early 2000s most houses had launched imprints that focused on right-wing books.Some of these books wrestled with serious political ideas, some were light entertainment, some were caustic attacks. Though hardly comparable to one another, all gained a gloss of respectability from their publication by major houses and made those houses significant profits, with relatively little protest from the public.That has changed as the right has more openly embraced illiberalism. And the end of the Trump administration and the possibility of a Trump memoir is hastening the reckoning to come for houses that have not yet decided where they land on the question of promoting illiberal ideas and propping up authoritarian actors.Of course, publishing houses are not alone in this dilemma. As the Trump administration ends, the people who made the Trump administration possible will be looking not only to cash in but to clean up, to take their place in a social and political order that confers legitimacy on people for the positions they've held and the connections they've forged. "Senior adviser to the president" is a title that opens a lot of doors; "President of the United States" opens even more.So, what do institutions foundational to liberal democracy do with people like Stephen Miller, architect of the Muslim ban and family separation? With Kellyanne Conway and Kayleigh McEnany, who have sat atop the administration's misinformation machine? With Bill Barr, who has corrupted the Justice Department to protect the President's pecuniary and political interests? How much reputation-laundering will universities and think tanks and news outlets do for these people, even as they continue to attack everything from the rule of law to fact-based reality, eroding the basis of liberal society?Donald Trump crystallizes that dilemma for publishing houses. But the reckoning should not begin and end with a refusal to publish Trump's memoir. Illiberalism and conspiracism will continue to flourish on the right, embraced not just by the soon to be former President but by senators, party leaders, and media personalities, and publishing houses will need to decide how much oxygen and funding to give to those as well.Nor are publishers the only ones facing a reckoning. Even if the major publishing houses pass on a Trump memoir, right-wing publishers will happily snap it up. How the rest of us treat that eventual book -- the readers who buy it, the reviewers who treat it as a forthright account, the networks who plumb its pages for juicy gossip and amplify its content -- reflects our values, too.Rebuilding a commitment to liberal democracy does not happen solely, or even principally, at the ballot box. It happens in our universities, our newspapers, our bookstores and our communities, and the coming months and years are going to require each of us to keep that commitment central to our cultural consumption as well our political activism.

LONDON (AP) — Most people in England will continue to face tight restrictions on socializing and business after a nationwide lockdown ends next week, with pubs and restaurants ordered to remain shut in areas that are home to more than 20 million people.The government announced details on Thursday of three-level regional measures that will take effect Dec. 2. Only three remote and island areas with a total po[CENSORED]tion of 700,000 are in the lowest tier, where pubs and restaurants can open almost as normal and members of different households can meet up indoors.More than half of England’s 56 million people, including London’s 8.6 million residents, are in the middle level, where most shops, restaurants and leisure businesses can open — with some restrictions — and audiences can return in limited numbers to theaters and sports stadiums.ADVERTISEMENTAnother 23 million people in a huge chunk of central and northern England, including the large cities of Birmingham and Manchester, along with the large southeastern county of Kent, will be placed in the top tier, where pubs and restaurants can only serve takeout and delivery, and leisure venues such as cinemas and bowling alleys must stay closed. Shops, gyms, hairdressers and beauty parlors will be able to open across the country, however.Prime Minister Boris Johnson said “tough measures” would be needed until spring, when it’s hoped a combination of vaccines and mass testing can help life return to normal.“If we ease off now we risk losing control over this virus all over again, casting aside our hard-won gains and forcing us back into a New Year national lockdown, with all the damage that would mean,” he said at a news conference.The government imposed a four-week lockdown in England early this month to curb an autumn surge in coronavirus cases, with travel restricted and nonessential businesses closed. The government’s statistics office says the infection rate appears to have leveled off, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said “we must remain vigilant.”The measures must be approved by Parliament, which is due to vote next week. Johnson faces opposition from some of his own Conservative Party lawmakers, who say the economic damage from the measures outweighs the public health gains.Operators of pubs and theaters were among those warning that they can’t make money under conditions imposed in tier 2, where alcohol can only be served with meals and entertainment venues are restricted to half capacity.“There has got to be a real danger that if these restrictions aren’t lifted very, very soon now there will be a lot of businesses that simply won’t reopen,” said Conservative legislator Graham Brady, who said he planned to vote against the “authoritarian” measures.ADVERTISEMENTScotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own set of restrictions.The new measures will be reviewed Dec. 16 and lifted for five days over Christmas across the whole U.K. During the festive period travel restrictions will be paused and up to three households will be able to form a “Christmas bubble” for socializing.Britain has had Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, with more than 57,000 confirmed deaths.The government hopes that a combination of mass testing using rapid-turnaround tests and vaccines will allow most restrictions to be lifted by spring 2021.Hancock said a mass testing project in Liverpool reduced infections by three-quarters and allowed the city to be moved down from tier three to tier two.Three coronavirus vaccines, developed by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, have shown promising results in clinical trials but have yet to be approved by Britain’s medicines regulator.In the meantime, government scientific advisers are warning people to be careful when using their temporary freedom to meet family and friends at Christmas.“Would I want someone to see their family? Of course, that’s what Christmas is about,” England’s Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, said.“But would I encourage someone to hug and kiss their elderly relatives? No, I would not.”

South African sport must make the most of a gilt-edged opportunity to shape a sustainable future as it picks itself up by its bootstraps during the Covid-19 outbreak.Since March, sports administrators have had to deal with the pandemic which has made for extraordinary times.Toby Sutcliffe, the chief executive at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Sport Training Centre, says the guardians of SA Sport must “think outside the box” as sport prepares to resume in the country.Many codes of sport have held annual elections recently and a few more are in the pipeline over the next few weeks. Sutcliffe says these elections will be crucial for the future of SA sport.“There is no better time than now to unite and agree on a sustainable plan for the future. If we manage to do so all in sport will reap the rewards,” said Sutcliffe.“We must be wary of the ‘Travel and Tracksuit Brigade’ because people place their selfish interests above anything else. As a result, players have competency trust issues. We need people who are honest and credible to run sport.“We in South Africa need to learn to put our aspirations behind us.”Sutcliffe believes there will be changes on the sporting landscape. It will not be ‘business as usual’ when the pandemic is over. Sport will, however, remain an integral part of Mzansi life.“At times, sport has united us as a nation. One only has to cast one’s mind back to the 2010 World Cup, and the three Rugby World Cup wins in 1995, 2007 and 2019,” said Sutcliffe.“Mass participation makes up an essential contribution to the physical and emotional well-being of individuals.“Unfortunately, this does not equate to sports being a priority after the pandemic. The sports industry contributes only 0.5% to the country’s economy while employing a minimal number of people on a full-time capacity, but with millions of non-earning volunteers.”Sutcliffe said administrators need to research what was done in the past, and what the outcomes were in their efforts to plan the future“Between 1997 and 1999 the sports industry grew at a rate 1.2 times higher than the rate of the SA economy. That is why we have world-class facilities. It also led to an economic boom for the industries involved in sport,” Sutcliffe explained.“Since then, sports administrators have allowed conflicts of interest to cloud their vision. A direct consequence has been the gradual demise of sports in the country with fewer and fewer spectators in attendance.“Now, the pandemic has had an impact on the mental health and financial well-being of the po[CENSORED]tion. One can only wonder how the sporting industry in South Africa will adapt and change to the ‘new norm’.”Sutcliffe said universities have formed the backbone of SA teams for decades and will continue to do.“Pretoria is a good example,” said Sutcliffe. “There was a stage when there were seven former Pretoria players in the SA cricket team.“Six of last year’s Springbok World Cup squad are former Pretoria players.“Then there are elite athletes like Tatjana Schoenmaker, Akani Simbine and Caster Semenya who are further examples of the pivotal role universities play in SA sport.”

So, here we are. Less than two years after Damian Hinds returned from a trip to Germany full of praise for my native country, his successor, Gavin Williamson, has announced that the much-discussed FE White Paper, due to be published in the autumn, will build a “world-class Germany-style” further education system.So, of course, born and raised in Germany and a product of its education system (although I never came anywhere near FE), I was keen to see what the education secretary might have in mind. It turns out, on closer inspection, that there is not a great amount of detail on what exactly “Germany-style” means.Williamson: England to get 'German-style' FE systemBackground: 'Importing Germany's skills system isn't the answer'Opinion: Post-16 education needs reform. Now is the timeHigher-level technical skillsAnd interestingly, Germany came up only twice – once when he announced that this was the future and again when he highlighted the much higher proportion of adults in Germany with higher-level technical skills.The tone of the speech, however, indicates what of the Germanic approach it is Gavin Williamson is keen to import. Much of its focus was on the value attached to further education in England. It had been the forgotten sector, said Williamson, lacking investment and support. Too many young people for whom this was not the right route had been pushed towards university, and that had to be addressed, he insisted.Now, there are, of course, plenty of young Germans who make wrong career choices – who study when they shouldn’t, or who choose an apprenticeship for the wrong reasons. What is true, however, is that apprenticeships, in particular, are viewed as much more prestigious. The German economy is literally built on them, and we know it.There was no looking down on those off to be apprentices when I was in the last few years of school heading towards university. Instead, we were jealous of the strides they were taking in their careers, with cars and money to spend at weekends and business cards. They were out-earning me then, and I am afraid to say I and many of my peers have never caught up with them since.I can see why the culture Germany has adopted around vocational education and training is enviable – although I struggle to see how that can be implemented through policy changes. Esteem has to build over time, through role models and success stories and policy consistency.The other part of the German system the education secretary mentioned was also interesting. He wanted an FE system, he said, that was “employer led”. We knew that already, of course – there has been much talk about apprenticeship standard being co-designed by employers.In the German system, though, it is more than that. Apprenticeships are the main way in which vocational education is delivered to young people in Germany. School-leavers most commonly apply to an employer – either because there is a suitable vacancy or speculatively because they like the business. They then get taken on by that employer and sent to college for blocks of training or on day-release, with the curriculum, and the exam and assessment, co-designed by the Industrie und Handelskammer, IHK, the German equivalent of a chamber of commerce.Today, following Williamson’s speech, I spoke to an HR professional responsible for apprenticeships at a large-ish German business that takes on around 60 or 70 apprentices every year, with about 200 employed at the company at any given time. She told me that they advertise vacancies on bigger platforms, in local papers in the rural area they are based in, and on their own website – and that a significant number of applicants for apprenticeships have previously done work experience with them. “They know what it is like to work here, they know it is a great working environment.”She also said that the vast majority – 90 per cent-plus – stay on after their training. “They come to us when they are 16 or 17, so, by the time they have done three years of training, you really get to know them, you know where their strength and weaknesses are. And when they come to you at that age, you can really have an impact on them.”For the theory side of their training, the young people go to the local college, only a few miles away. There would be other options, said the manager, but they have long-established relationships with that institution and its staff and are happy with the quality of the training – the content of which is determined by regional government.But the most important thing she said was this: “We train for ourselves.”Taking responsibility and helping shape training, employing and growing young people is not something German employers do for charity. It is to make sure they get the workforce they need. That is why they are invested. And why they are willing to invest, even when times are hard. And once the economy and education work together in that way, you won’t need a landmark speech to promote “further education, further education, further education”.

The Geneva motor show, traditionally one of the car industry’s biggest annual events, will not take place next year – and will be sold by organisers in a bid to secure its long-term future. The decision casts fresh doubts over the long-term viability of all motor shows.This year’s event was scrapped days before the doors were due to open in March as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread rapidly throughout Europe, leaving the Foundation of the Geneva International Motor Show (FGIMS) facing a major financial shortfall. It also upset many manufacturers, which had already paid for their stands and were in the final stages of assembling them.FGIMS said the decision to axe next year’s event was taken after most exhibitors said they probably wouldn’t take part and would prefer that the show’s return be delayed until 2022.“The automotive sector is currently going through a difficult phase, and exhibitors need time to recover from the effects of the pandemic,” the organisers added.They said they were uncertain whether an event on the scale of Geneva, which traditionally attracts more than 600,000 visitors, could take place while the pandemic continues.The FGIMS had been in talks with the state of Geneva over a 16.8 million Swiss franc (£14.1m) loan to bolster the event but, with the loan being contingent on an event running in 2021, it has now been declined. Instead, FGIMS intends to sell the motor show to Palexpo SA, the exhibition centre in which it is held, in a bid to secure its future. Palexpo is considering some form of car show for next year as a temporary replacement.How Covid-19 has accelerated the decline of showsLockdowns and subsequent social distancing rules have led to the cancellation of virtually all large-scale events. As well as Geneva, the Paris, New York and Detroit shows that were due to be held this year have all been axed, while Beijing – originally scheduled for April – has been delayed until October. The Goodwood Festival of Speed, which effectively serves as the UK’s motor show, has also been canned.While many of those decisions have been driven by restrictions and measures to tackle Covid-19, the financial impact of the pandemic has also played a key part, with badly hit car firms unwilling to commit large sums to creating show stands.With travel restrictions in place, several firms are launching cars through online events, which still offer a substantial reach but at a greatly reduced cost. Such events can also be scheduled to maximise publicity, as opposed to competing with other manufacturers at a show. That trend was already evident before the pandemic. For example, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, Hyundai, Opel/Vauxhall and Volvo had all decided not to attend this year’s Geneva show. Last year’s Frankfurt show featured a greatly reduced manufacturer attendance.In recent years, several firms had taken to exhibiting only at shows that were in key markets or coincided with new model launch plans. But many are now taking that further. Lamborghini recently announced that it wouldn’t attend any more shows, with marketing chief Katia Bassi saying: “We believe that having an intimate relationship with the customer is key and motor shows are no longer aligned with our philosophy.”While the benefits of stand-alone unveilings are clear, the motor show decline removes a major marketing opportunity and stops the wider public from getting up close and personal with new models in one place.What’s the future of the motor show?The sale of the Geneva show to Palexpo SA should ensure that it returns for 2022, although there will be questions about whether the car firms will come back after a two-year break. What seems certain is that future motor shows are likely to move away from the traditional formula of static car displays on stands in exhibition centres.The organisers of the biennial Paris show have said it is unlikely to return in ‘traditional’ form in 2022, focusing instead on “innovative mobility” and a business-to-business trade event.Germany’s biggest motor show, which alternates with Paris on the schedule, will also have a new look for 2021, with organisers shifting it from its long-term home in Frankfurt to Munich.This year’s Detroit show had seemed likely to serve as a vision for how future events could look. Having struggled to attract exhibitors in recent years, with many firms preferring the New York or Los Angeles shows or tech events such as CES, organisers aimed to revitalise it by moving it from January to June and reshaping it as a Goodwood-style ‘festival’ with a large interactive outdoor area. But with that cancelled, it will be at least 2021 before the revised concept can be tested.Best show moments I’ve never seen such a stunned yet amused look on a face as that of snapper Stuart Price at the unveiling of the 2012 Bentley EXP 9 F, the SUV concept that became the Bentayga. The car had been nicknamed Falcon, so obviously Bentley brought along a real-life falcon to be next to then boss Wolfgang Dürheimer as it was unveiled. Whether Stu’s stunned look was for the concept’s front end or the falcon, I’m not sure, but the giggles were from him catching the look on the face of VW Group supremo Ferdinand Piëch at the weirdness in front of him. l’ll never forget Porsche’s king hit to every other car maker at Geneva 2010. No one had known precisely what was coming, but by 9am on that first day we all knew that, instead of searching for a show star, the answer was right there in front of us. By that time the covers were off the 918 Spyder concept – a 214mph hybrid hypercar with 282bhp of electric front-wheel drive and a mid-engined 600bhp V8. It not only described brilliantly but also looked fabulous, even shading its predecessor, the Carrera GT. Has another car ever been revealed at a motor show that was so wrong… and yet so right? To my mind, nothing comes close to Aston Martin’s Lagonda SUV concept from the 2009 Geneva show. Although attitudes have changed since then, it was the idea of Aston building an SUV that caused as much horror as the car’s looks. The irony is that if the Lagonda had been put into production, it would have fitted right in with many of the other undignified luxury SUVs on the roads today, and Aston would probably be in far ruder health. It’s 1999 and only my second Geneva motor show. As a junior in a pre-digital era, I’ve been told to collect press kits; I’ve even got a trolley to carry them. It’s largely a trudge, but there’s rare cool metal to see, too. In a corner, there’s a new supercar. I’ve read that many such cars are no-hopers: poorly engineered and unlikely to take on the establishment. But even my novice eye can tell that this one, engine cover open, looks different. There’s real integrity and it’s beautifully finished. As well it might be; it’s the Pagani Zonda.

This man has been detained by the Mossos d’Esquadra for having secretly installed a program that remotely controlled the computer camera to drink photos and record videos with the victims’ webcam without them noticing. The detainee, a Spanish national, was dedicated to repairing and selling laptops that he collected at recycling points, but to which he installed the spyware. For this reason, he is accused of crimes of discovery and revelation of secrets.The investigation began on January 20, where a woman who had bought two computers (one for herself and one for a friend) in September 2019 found photos of her on the laptop’s hard drive that she had not taken. For this reason, she decided to take the computer to a computer store, where they discovered that she had installed the hidden program that recorded videos and made captures with the webcam, and that it started in the background in a hidden way every time the computer When she told her friend, she discovered that she also had the program installed.For this reason, the Mossos decided to carry out a raid on July 2 at the seller’s house in Vallbona d’Anoia, where they seized enough material to demonstrate that, indeed, he was the one who controlled the program and who carried out the captures, since he had that material on his property, where he had dozens of hard drives around the house that are being analyzed. The Mossos affirm that there would also be more users affected, so the investigation remains openTherefore, it is very important that when you buy any second-hand device, you do an installation from scratch of the operating system to avoid the presence of programs of this type. This is very important especially in Windows, since it is very easy to install this type of programs. In Android it is more complicated to install them without the user realizing it, but there we also have to do a Factory Reset when we buy a second-hand mobile to avoid that someone has been able to modify it to obtain images of us or even our credentials.

U.S.-China relations have not been so tense since before President Jimmy Carter and Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping agreed to exchange ambassadors in 1979. Attitudes have hardened especially in the last two months, in part because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in part because of the troubling developments in Hong Kong. Some voices in the Washington establishment are even advocating a “decoupling” of the deep, complex business connections between the two countries that have been built up over decades.Because many U.S. companies give their China operations a large measure of autonomy, top management and boards often do not have a good grasp of the risks they face. Based on a review of 75 confidential board assessments conducted over the past 15 years, we can report that almost no board possesses a complete picture of its company’s operations in Greater China, including Hong Kong. Management may make presentations about international sales in general, but very few details about China surface at the board level.When business was prospering in China, boards could afford to turn a blind eye to the details. But that’s a mistake now, given the impending storm clouds. Disruptions in their access to the Chinese market or in their supply chains and procurement channels would spell disaster for many companies, including household names such as General Motors, Apple, and Intel.To understand their China risks, U.S. executives and boards need to start a discussion. As we see it, the agenda should include the following five questions:There has been a great deal of talk about reducing U.S. dependence on China That’s why some companies have moved some of their production to Vietnam or Mexico. But these have been relatively small in scale and significant moves to “re-shore” manufacturing from China to the United States would be expensive and difficult, partly because of a shortage of skilled manufacturing workers in the United States. Any such move also would risk backlash from Chinese authorities.What’s more, China has cornered the market in many critical components. As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo found in seeking to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, crucial reagents for testing kits come from only one place: China. Certain kinds of masks and protective gear come from only one place: China. Nearly every computer and smart phone in use in the United States comes from China or at least has some component in it that is manufactured in China.Perhaps even more seriously, China dominates production of many of the critical raw materials that go into the products of the new economy – from smartphones to wind turbines. These include critical “rare earth minerals” like yttrium (used for charging electronic devices like smartphones), cerium and lanthanum (used for touch screens), and neodymium (used in electric car batteries).If a company has a significant percentage of its sales in China, say 10–20%, it obviously is going to fight, on all levels, to maintain those sales. In many cases that will mean the company cannot maintain critical distance from the Chinese government.But closeness to the Chinese government could create problems elsewhere, including the domestic U.S. market. “Do CEOs and boards really want to help the Chinese smother Hong Kong, erase Xinjiang and Tibet and sink all the non-Chinese fishermen in the South China Sea?” asks Clyde Prestowitz, author of the forthcoming book, The World Turned Upside Down: China, America and the Struggle for Global Leadership. “At some point, it seems to me, that kind of acquiescence is bound to look pretty bad.”The risk is especially serious for companies like American semiconductor manufacturer Nvidia, which provides products used in facial recognition technology that could be used by the Chinese government to enable human rights violations.What is our exposure to legal changes in Hong Kong?China is signaling that it intends to introduce its own version of justice in the former British colony, which hosts the Asian regional headquarters for many American companies. Tens of thousands of Americans live there. Hong Kong is critically important for many U.S. companies because of their partnerships and relationships with Hong Kong Chinese players, who help them navigate their way in China itself. Some companies have located IP and other sensitive financial and legal functions in Hong Kong, in large part because Hong Kong law affords businesses stronger legal protection and property rights, which could be compromised.If the legal system in Hong Kong deteriorates, as seems inevitable, a financial analyst working in Hong Kong for a Wall Street firm might come under pressure from mainland authorities for writing a negative research report about a Chinese state-owned enterprise. International companies could be also be pressured to make management changes, of the sort already imposed on some Hong Kong corporations; last year the Chinese government forced the ouster of two senior executives of Cathay Pacific airlines for issues related to support of the pro-democracy movement by Cathay employees.The possibility also looms that Hong Kong Chinese, Chinese, or even Chinese Americans working for U.S. companies in Hong Kong could be detained or arrested. “The people of Hong Kong should prepare to cope with the varieties of arbitrary detention that have been inflicted on compatriots elsewhere in China,” Jerome Cohen, director of the U.S.-Asia Law Institute at New York University, recently wrote.Finally, if the Trump administration concludes, as the president has announced, that Hong Kong no longer has a high degree of autonomy from China, then the U.S. Congress may withdraw the island’s current special status as a privileged trading partner. This would mean, amongst many other things, that tech exports from the United States, which now flow freely to Hong Kong, would be subjected to the same export controls as on goods shipped to China and the Hong Kong dollar would no longer be pegged to the U.S. dollar. Depending on the details of what Congress and the Administration enact, U.S. travelers to Hong Kong might also require visas, which they currently do not.How much should we collaborate with Chinese companies?In the open international research environment that American scientists cherish, U.S.-based researchers often collaborate remotely with Chinese counterparts. That could prove problematic, because the findings and insights they share may go further than their research partners in view of the Chinese government’s civil-military “fusion.”“Should American researchers be working with Chinese researchers on such technologies as facial recognition technology in low-light environments?” Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center and a cybersecurity policy fellow at New America, asked on a recent Zoom call sponsored by the U.S.-Asia Law Institute. “I think probably not … How do you know that your technology is not being used, even indirectly, to incarcerate hundreds of thousands of Uighurs?”China also has a track record of research espionage: the Ministry of State Security is known to have targeted Chinese and Chinese-American employees at U.S. companies to obtain access to their technology or to penetrate their companies’ decision-making process. American law obviously prevents companies from discriminating against people on the basis of their ethnicity, but there are policies and procedures that can be put in place to better safeguard IP and key decisions. One practical but costly step would be asking all employees to disclose international travel, disclose other sources of income and reveal contacts with foreign governments.How secure are our company’s IT systems?It’s not just approaches to their people that companies have to watch for. In 2018, Bloomberg Businessweek published an article revealing that China’s People’s Liberation Army had covertly installed microchips in components that had been sourced from China for use in IT products used by many companies internally, including Apple, which vehemently disputed the report.China’s software hacking capabilities are also highly sophisticated, as evidenced by the work of the state-sponsored APT10 group in Tianjin (APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat), which was able to penetrate American cloud computing systems and remain inside them for four years, as disclosed by the Department of Justice in December 2018.APT10, which federal officials said was acting in concert with the Chinese government, was able to penetrate the systems of dozens of companies and government agencies in at least 12 countries, as documented in a book recently published by one us (Holstein), The New Art of War: China’s Deep Strategy Inside the United States. Other recent disclosures suggest that government-affiliated groups in China have developed malware that can be attached to Microsoft Word documents and is virtually undetectable.Our confidential soundings suggest that some chief executive officers and their chief information officers have either chosen not to discover Chinese bugs or hackers or have been willing to accept the possibility that their systems have been compromised. The reason is that proofing their IT systems against intruders would cost millions of dollars and detract from short-term earnings. And if any breaches were to be disclosed publicly, that might irritate the Chinese government and call into question a company’s continued access to the Chinese market.***Responding to these issues will require sustained, structured discussions between entire boards and top managements. No single board committee can carry the full load. The issues extend beyond the ability of an audit committee, whose job is to focus on the numbers, which is only one part of the overall challenge. Human resource committees also need to be part of the equation to respond to the espionage risk. Compensation committees need to find creative ways of retaining top managers if quarterly and annual earnings begin to suffer. The discussions will also need to be held under the tightest security. Zoom calls are not a good idea. The goal should be to identify and manage issues before they explode into the public domain.