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A government minister has said a new bill to amend the UK's Brexit deal with the EU will "break international law". Concerns had been raised about legislation being brought forward which could change parts of the withdrawal agreement, negotiated last year. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis conceded it would go against the treaty in a "specific and limited way". Former PM Theresa May warned the change could damage "trust" in the UK over future trade deals with other states. Labour's shadow attorney general, Lord Charlie Falconer, said the government had "an obligation to comply with the law, domestic and international". He added: "Throughout the Brexit process, the government purported to act within the law. This is new. And very bad." No 10 revealed on Monday that it would be introducing a new UK Internal Market Bill that could affect post-Brexit customs and trade rules in Northern Ireland. Downing Street said it would only make "minor clarifications in extremely specific areas" - but it worried some in Brussels and Westminster that it could see the government try to change the withdrawal agreement, which became international law when the UK left the EU in January. It comes as a sixth leading civil servant announced he is to resign from government - the permanent secretary to the Government Legal Department, Sir Jonathan Jones - amid reports he was "very unhappy" about the bill. The row also comes at the start of the eighth round of post-Brexit trade deal talks between the UK and the EU. The two sides are trying to secure a deal before the end of the transition period on 31 December, which will see the UK going onto World Trade Organisation rules if no agreement is reached. The UK's chief Brexit negotiator, Lord David Frost, called for "realism" from his EU counterparts, saying he would "drive home our clear message that we must make progress this week if we are to reach an agreement in time". The EU said it would "do everything in [its] power to reach an agreement" with the UK, but "will be ready" for a no-deal scenario. On Monday, Boris Johnson said if a deal hadn't been done by the time the European Council meets on 15 October, the two sides should "move on" and accept the UK's exit without one. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, Louise Haigh, said it was "deeply concerning" that the prime minister "appeared to be undermining the legal obligations of his own deal" with the introduction of the new law while the negotiations are taking place. 'Rule of law' The text of the new bill will not be published until Wednesday, although the government has confirmed it will deal with the issue of the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol - an element of the withdrawal agreement designed to prevent a hard border returning to the island of Ireland after Brexit. The practicalities of the protocol - which will deal with issues of state aid (financial support given to businesses by governments) and whether there needs to be customs checks on goods - is still being negotiated by a joint UK and EU committee. But Mr Lewis said the bill would take "limited and reasonable steps to create a safety net" if the negotiations failed. Speaking during an urgent question on the bill, chair of the Justice Committee and Tory MP Bob Neill said the "adherence to the rule of law is not negotiable". He asked Mr Lewis: "Will he assure us that nothing proposed in this legislation does or potentially might breach international obligations or international legal arrangements?" The Northern Ireland Secretary replied: "Yes. This does break international law in a very specific and limited way. He said the government was still working "in good faith" with the EU joint committee to overcome its concerns for the future of trade in Northern Ireland, but said there was "clear precedence for UK and indeed other countries needing to consider their obligations if circumstances change". Mrs May - who stood down as prime minister last year after her own Brexit deal failed to get the support of Parliament - said: "The United Kingdom government signed the withdrawal agreement with the Northern Ireland Protocol. "This Parliament voted that withdrawal agreement into UK legislation. The government is now changing the operation of that agreement." "How can the government reassure future international partners that the UK can be trusted to abide by the legal obligations of the agreements it signs? The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, also called it a "sad and shocking state of affairs for our country". He tweeted: "Breaking international law will do untold damage to our reputation abroad, it will make us poorer and make it harder to solve global crises like the climate emergency." 'Union splitting deal' Sammy Wilson, who acts as Brexit spokesman for the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, said he was "pleased" to have the new bill that could deal with some of the issues that could affect his constituents - such as state aid and customs checks. But he said the DUP had "warned ministers of the impact of the withdrawal agreement" early on, saying it was a "union splitting, economy destroying and border creating agreement that has to be changed and replaced". He added: "We will judge this bill on whether it delivers on these kind of issues." However, Claire Hanna, a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MP for Belfast South, said the protocol was "a symptom… of four years of terrible political decision making". She added: "It is now the law. This government is obliged to implement it in full." She also "cautioned" Mr Lewis "not to use the threat of a border on the island of Ireland or the hard won impartiality of the Good Friday Agreement as a cat's paw in this or any other negotiation." But former Conservative leader, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said the act that brought the withdrawal agreement into law in the UK allowed the government to "reserve the right to make clarifications under the sovereignty clause". Mr Lewis agreed, saying the law would "clarify... the points about what will apply in January if we are not able to get satisfactory and mutually suitable conclusions" in negotiations. He added: "It is reasonable and sensible to give that certainty and clarity to the people and businesses of Northern Ireland."

It'll debut in October Volkswagen will unveil a new compact crossover for American on October 13, 2020. It'll slot below the Tiguan in the brand's crossover lineup in the US. The first image and video tease how the vehicle looks from the front by showing off the headlights. "We’re excited to share the first glimpse of the newest member of the Volkswagen family," said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. "Great things come in small packages, as Volkswagen has proven throughout the years with its iconic Beetle, Golf and Jetta. This next car will be no exception." VW didn't offer any additional info about the crossover, but some earlier info hinted at what to expect. A slide from a presentation in 2019 indicated that Volkswagen intended to sell a sub-Tiguan crossover called the Tarek in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The examples for these countries would have manufacturing in Mexico. A plant in Argentina would build the vehicle for that market and Brazil. Gallery: VW Tharu (China Spec) The Tarek is reportedly closely related to the Tharu (above), which is currently available in China. However, the headlights for the existing vehicle don't look the same as what is visible in this teaser. It hints at styling tweaks for the North and South American versions. In China, the Tharu is available with a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine making 148 horsepower (110 kilowatts) or a 2.0-liter with 184 hp (137 kW). Both use a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and the crossover is available in front- or all-wheel-drive layouts. Given the styling changes, it's possible that there could also be powertrain changes for the American variant. The production of the Tarek will take the place of the recently retired Beetle at VW's Puebla factory in Mexico. Manufacturing will start in 2020, but customers likely won't be able to get the little crossover from dealers until 2021.

India has recorded more than 90,000 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking its total above that of Brazil. The country now has the second-largest number of confirmed cases in the world, 4,204,613. It has reported 71,642 deaths, the third-highest in the world. The surge in reported infections has mostly come from five states. The rise comes as the government continues to lift restrictions to try to boost an economy that lost millions of jobs when the virus hit in March. For the last seven days India's caseload has galloped, adding more than 75,000 daily infections per day. More than 60% of the active cases are coming from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. Cases have also begun spiking in the capital, Delhi, as well, with more than 3,200 infections recorded on Sunday, the city's highest in more than two months. An upsurge of Covid-19 in many rural areas has also led to an uptick in numbers. The virus has struck a remote tribe in India's Andamans islands, with 10 members of the Greater Andamanese testing positive over the past month. The rise in cases is also partly a reflection of increased testing - the number of daily tests conducted across the country has risen to more than a million. Although India has a low death rate from the disease, nearly 1,000 deaths have been recorded every day from across the country for the last seven days. In early August India became the third country in the world to pass two million cases. India went into a stringent lockdown in March in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, whose numbers were only in the hundreds then. It began to ease out of it in phases in June to promote economic activity, even as cases continued to spike. The pandemic and the lockdown caused massive disruptions to economic activity during the quarter. India's economy shrank by 23.9% in the three months to the end of June, the worst slump since the country started releasing quarterly data in 1996.

It had the optional flush-mounted door handles. Now that the new S-Class has been officially revealed, Mercedes has removed the remaining camouflage from its prototypes as only the badges remain hidden on this near-production prototype. Granted, we’ve seen dozens of images with the overhauled luxobarge, but this is the first time we get to check out Daimler’s new flagship out “in the real world.” Caught on the streets of Germany patiently waiting at a red light, the S had the optional handles that remain flush with the doors when they’re not in use. The handles electrically pop out not only when the driver approaches the car, but also in case of an accident or in a remote parking procedure. They’ve been implemented not only to make the W223 look more modern, but also to help with aerodynamics as the S-Class now has a drag coefficient of only 0.22 despite having a bigger frontal area. Gallery: 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan Some would argue Mercedes should’ve been more courageous with the exterior design changes over the W222, especially since the interior is completely new. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder as some will appreciate the evolutionary approach while others will criticize the three-pointed star for its “more of the same” solution. This particular prototype must’ve been a high-end version judging by the optional Digital Light headlights denoted by the blue accents in the cluster. Aside from providing supreme illumination with LEDs refracted and directed by 1.3 million micro-mirrors, these also serve another functional purpose. The headlights can project symbols onto the road surface, including traffic lights, stop signs, no-entry signs, and even an excavator symbol as a visual warning of upcoming roadwork. We’re dealing with a Benz-branded S-Class as the extra-long Maybach variant will not be revealed before November. Whether a further stretched Pullman version is in the making remains to be seen, but we do know the W223 lineup will be diversified with an armored Guard model and AMG S63e and S73e hot hybrids. The S-Class Coupe and Convertible will not return for the new generation, but Mercedes is developing the next-generation AMG GT and SL-Class models as direct replacements for the two-door S models. Reverting to a soft top, the iconic Sport Leicht has already been teased and will be unveiled in 2021.

NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One [reviewed], Windows) Developer: Saber Interactive Publisher: 2K MSRP: $29.99 (plus $9.99 fee to unlock all players) Release Date: October 15, 2018 After playing Playgrounds 2 for a few hours, my biggest question was "why does this exist?" I was trying to remember back to my time with the first game (which is no longer available for purchase) and deduce what was new in the sequel. Well, the microtransactions have definitely been ramped up, that's unmistakable. So I went on the official website. I guess the draw here is the expanded roster (that is still missing Patrick Ewing) and...new stages? I eventually came across my answer: This sequel exists to make money. I was looking back at my review for the first game. I made it a big point, even bolded the line, to mention that there were no launch microtransactions in NBA Playgrounds. That could not be further from the truth here. We are now in two currency territory, though both can be earned in-game. Everything just screams "give us more money:" 2K is now prominently in the title, two versions of in-game currency, and the early-goings are a slog to entice players to spend an extra $10. Earning players works the same way as the original, except now everything goes through an in-game currency. Players earn a currency that allows them to purchase card packs (like buying trading cards in real life) which contain a random array of players. Earning this felt a lot slower than the original game, though I will admit it has been a while. Unlocking players for a specific team becomes frustrating, which normally wouldn't matter because it is possible to mix and match players when playing a game. Unless you're playing Season Mode. Season Mode lets you play a 15 game NBA season (and potentially playoffs afterward) as any team. Players must select two players from that team, and if two players from that team are not unlocked yet, the game will gift two random (maybe?) players. Finishing a season unlocks an all-star from that team that cannot be earned through packs, even the "unlock everyone" micro-transaction. Well, I guess it's a macro-transaction because it's $10. The issue is that without a slew of players to pick from, this is just 15 exhibition games playing the same damn players each time. It's absolutely boring, and often unfair as your characters are ass and each opponent is going to have a legend or someone else great. So eventually I caved. I used the code the publisher provided and unlocked the full roster. If I had to pay ten dollars, after already paying thirty, I may have simply stopped playing Season Mode for a while. It is unfortunate, but I will say that the game felt infinitely better after owning all the characters. This is exactly what they want! There are three rarities of player packs (gold, silver, and bronze), each has a higher chance of unlocking higher ranking players. Normally it would take about ten-ish games to unlock enough currency for a single gold pack if you are completing challenges for players and playing well. Each game has three minutes on the clock, so when you consider clock stoppage, choosing players, and loading in, we'll say five minutes per game. So it will take about an hour to unlock a single pack of five player cards at best. In reality, it will likely take more than that. For all intents and purposes, this is a $40 game. That is double the price of the original game! Playing to unlock everything without paying extra is absolutely not worth it. So let's try and justify the price increase. The improvements made to the original post-launch are here, like the shot meter. I originally complained about the first Playgrounds because easy layups and open jump shots would miss; well now there's a visual red bar with a green section to perfectly aim each shot. Except even nailing the green section does not guarantee success. It all depends on a player's stats. To an extent, this makes sense: having Shaq shoot a 3-pointer should always rarely result in success, even if I nail the green section. BUT! If literally, anyone goes in for an undefended dunk, I should have a 99% chance to score, not 68. My guy is literally all alone and soaring into the sky, only to come down and doink it off the rim. The same goes with missing the green section, which always results in a 0% chance of success. This feels way too punishing. There's no gradient to the colors or percentage -- if you miss by a pixel, you're missing the shot and I hope your other player is a tall rebounder. Mechanically, the game is the same. Everything is dictated by a stamina bar, doing crazy stuff earns "lottery picks" which act as random bonuses to the team, and everything in general is over-the-top. At its core, it is still an enjoyable 2-on-2 basketball game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's just that now that is surrounded by an absolute mess of a currency and unlock system. Oh! I haven't even mentioned why there are two currencies yet. Well, obviously it's to convolute and confuse, but also because there are now pieces of clothing that can only be unlocked using the gold currency. Gold currency can be bought with real money, but there is also a chance to earn a paltry amount via standard card packs. So yes, you could earn 5000 gold currency (the cost of unlocking the entire roster) by playing. But even if you earned 100 gold currency per pack (not likely), you're looking at roughly 40-50 hours of playtime to do so. And by then, you will have unlocked approximately 150 - 200 players depending on your luck, so the overall value of unlocking everyone goes down. Damn, I got sidetracked again. Okay, so players are earned through packs using non-gold currency, and aesthetic items like pants, shirts, and costumes are earned through gold currency which can be occasionally earned from player packs (instead of a player, mind you) or bought with real money. The aesthetic items are literally just to play dress-up. I actually like this aspect on principal (it adds to the zaniness of the game), but the idea of enticing players to pay money for the chance to dress up Kristapz Porzingis like a pumpkin makes me cringe. This is a game that does absolutely not need to exist but does for the sheer fact that the original game had no way of raking in the dough. I don't expect this game to become a yearly title, because NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 is now set up to appropriately gouge the players for money for years to come. Unless maybe that doesn't work, in which case you can look forward to NBA 2K Playgrounds 3 brought to you by FanDuel to release in 11 months. ------------------------------------------------------------------ NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS : MINIMUM : OS: Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i3-530 / AMD FX-4100 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: nVidia GTS 450; ATI HD 7770 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0x Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. ------------------------------------------------------------------ RECOMMENDED : OS: Windows 7 64-bit / Windows 10 64-bit Processor: Intel Core i5-4430 / AMD FX-8370 Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: nVidia GTX 770; ATI R9 270 DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 110 GB available space Sound Card: Directx 9.0c Additional Notes: Dual-analog Gamepad recommended. Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include DirectX and Visual C++ Redistributable 2012. ------------------------------------------------------------------

Manhart adds a GTI's worth of power to the 911 Turbo S. With the debut of the sensational 2020 992 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S the previous 991.2 911 Turbo S is now just another used Porsche, which is great news. With many Porsche 911 Turbo customers always looking to own the most powerful 911 money can buy, many of them will offload their old 911.2 911 Turbo S’s, which will not only increase used supply but also decrease the price of used 911.2 911 Turbo S. This is great news because the team at Manhart just released their latest tuning package which boosts the 991.2 Turbo S to 850 horsepower. The 991.2 Porsche 911 Turbo S saw production from 2016 until 2019 and was the final production years of the 991 Porsche 911 platform. The final production years lead to a more refined package that increased performance while also remedying issues on early production cars. This stout platform is the perfect place for Manhart to turn up the wick and extract some additional power. The result is the Manhart TR850 which increases the 991.2 911 Turbo S horsepower from 580 hp (432kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque to 850 hp (634kW) and 803 lb-ft (1,090 Nm) of torque. To increase horsepower by 270 hp (201kW) and 287 lb-ft (390Nm) of torque over the stock car, Manhart went to work optimizing the turbos, adding a new intercooler, intake system, exhaust, ECU tune, PDK tune, and more robust clutches in the PDK. This list of simple modifications shows just how impressive the 911 Turbo S from the factory and how little is required to extract serious horsepower from the 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-6. According to Manhart the TR850 is capable of some serious performance with a 0 to 60mph (100km/h) time of only 2.4 seconds and a 0 to 125mph (200km/h) in 4.9 seconds. This impressive machine can be yours and with the slowing falling price of 991.2 911 Turbo S it is a bargain.

Daily Covid-19 testing figures have shown a significant number of newly diagnosed cases on both sides of the Irish border on Saturday. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health said 118 new cases have been reported in the past 24 hours. Its weekend figures are not full statistics and it does not provide details of coronavirus-related deaths on Saturdays or Sundays. In the Republic of Ireland, 231 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed. Four Covid-linked deaths registered in NI last week Family want answers about Covid-19 hospital death Irish publicans say food receipts law is 'madness' More than half (58%) of the new infections recorded in the Republic were in Dublin, with 133 positive tests in the county. Ireland's Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn described that as a "significant number" and said it was now "important that people in Dublin keep their social contacts as low as possible". On Saturday evening, Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin urged people to "heed the words" of Mr Glynn. https://help.twitter.com/en/twitter-for-websites-ads-info-and-privacy Irish health authorities have opened two "pop-up Covid-19 swabbing centres" at Croke Park and at Castleknock Health Centre in response to the increase in the infection rate in the capital. County Kildare, which recently emerged from a local lockdown, had the second highest number of new cases on Saturday with 18 positive tests. This was followed by County Limerick which has 13 new cases. Overall, more than two thirds (69%) of the new cases recorded by the Irish Health Protection Surveillance Centre are people under 45 years of age. No new coronavirus-related deaths were reported on Saturday so the Republic's death toll remains at 1,777. In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health's death toll stands at 564. However, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra), which produces more comprehensive figures, said on Friday that Covid-19 had been mentioned on 873 death certificates by 28 August. Since the pandemic began, 250,425 individuals have been tested for Covid-19 across Northern Ireland. Of those, 7,621 people have tested positive for the virus, meaning that about 3% of the individuals tested have returned a positive result.

Deemo: The Last Recital (PS Vita) Developer: Rayark Games, PM Studios Publisher: acttil, PM Studios Released: May 16, 2017 (US), TBA (EU) MSRP: $14.99 It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the eclectic music selection of Deemo: The Last Recital. Before I fired it up on my freshly dusted Vita, I assumed it would feature mainly original piano-centered compositions specifically written for the game. There are several of these orchestrations to be found, yes, but they are not the majority as Deemo also massages the ossicles with dance, electronica, EDM, J-pop, techno, neo-soul, jazz, and a bit of dubstep. The music may not always match the tone the game is aiming for, but goddamn is it great. Outside of a few tunes that sound like something I could have made back in college using Garageband, the soundtrack to Deemo has me in awe over both its scope and execution. With more than 100 songs and dozens of composers at work, there are many melodies that absolutely floor me. One track, "Entrance," sounds like it fell out of a Castlevania boss battle while another one of my favorites has the composition of a Sade B-side only with much worse lyrics. These songs are a joy to listen to and quite fun to play as well. For most of the music, probably 95% or so, I play the piano portion of the track. As I watch each note slide down the barren, monochrome picture, I tap or slide my finger on the touch screen at the right time to strike the piano chord. It’s nothing to look at, but having the game be completely touch-based enables Deemo to give the sensation I’m actually playing the piano. I just wish fewer songs sound as though I’m jamming an improvisational riff thrown over a Club Babylon dance track. Each song has three difficulty levels: easy, medium, and hard. These levels are not always the same for each track. For instance, one track can have an easy mode that marks it as a level 1 song while another song’s easy mode can have it as a level 4. The jump from easy to medium to hard is not always the same, either. A song can shift from level 1 to level 6 when going from easy to medium but then only go to level 7 when attempting it on hard. The levels for the different difficulties are set in stone for each individual song, but I have control of how quickly the notes slide down the screen, allowing me to fine tune the experience to my capabilities.It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the eclectic music selection of Deemo: The Last Recital. Before I fired it up on my freshly dusted Vita, I assumed it would feature mainly original piano-centered compositions specifically written for the game. There are several of these orchestrations to be found, yes, but they are not the majority as Deemo also massages the ossicles with dance, electronica, EDM, J-pop, techno, neo-soul, jazz, and a bit of dubstep. The music may not always match the tone the game is aiming for, but goddamn is it great. Outside of a few tunes that sound like something I could have made back in college using Garageband, the soundtrack to Deemo has me in awe over both its scope and execution. With more than 100 songs and dozens of composers at work, there are many melodies that absolutely floor me. One track, "Entrance," sounds like it fell out of a Castlevania boss battle while another one of my favorites has the composition of a Sade B-side only with much worse lyrics. These songs are a joy to listen to and quite fun to play as well. For most of the music, probably 95% or so, I play the piano portion of the track. As I watch each note slide down the barren, monochrome picture, I tap or slide my finger on the touch screen at the right time to strike the piano chord. It’s nothing to look at, but having the game be completely touch-based enables Deemo to give the sensation I’m actually playing the piano. I just wish fewer songs sound as though I’m jamming an improvisational riff thrown over a Club Babylon dance track. Each song has three difficulty levels: easy, medium, and hard. These levels are not always the same for each track. For instance, one track can have an easy mode that marks it as a level 1 song while another song’s easy mode can have it as a level 4. The jump from easy to medium to hard is not always the same, either. A song can shift from level 1 to level 6 when going from easy to medium but then only go to level 7 when attempting it on hard. The levels for the different difficulties are set in stone for each individual song, but I have control of how quickly the notes slide down the screen, allowing me to fine tune the experience to my capabilities. Again, these music sections are visually dour, but the rest of the game is quite lovely. While the majority of Deemo is spent looking at those notes slide down the screen, it also has me exploring this underground world as a little girl searches for a way back home. Falling through a window in the ceiling, this unnamed child is met by the titular Deemo, a lanky fellow who looks like the Slender Man got his noggin stuck in a mouthless Emil Head. Deemo plays a song on his piano for the girl and the magic of his notes causes a nearby tree to grow just a little bit. To get her back, I have to keep playing music and play it well, to turn that shrub into a mighty oak tall enough for her to climb out. That is easier said than done. The Last Recital is an enhanced port of the mobile game Deemo released back in 2013. This, I assume, is the explanation for my biggest gripe with it: the pacing. The game attempts to tell a heartwarming story about this little girl and her gangly friend, but its pacing absolutely kills it. When the tree hits certain heights, it rewards me with a magnificently animated cut scene and/or new songs to play. However, because the tree grows so damn slowly and those rewards quickly become few and far between, I am forced to play songs again and again, to essentially grind the game, in order to progress the story. This is frustrating and I cannot fathom why anyone thought it was a good idea to have progress drip-fed to the owner of a fully priced game as if it were still a free-to-play app. When I first play and succeed in a song, the tree grows a little bit, around a quarter of a meter depending on how well I do. Subsequent replays require nailing a full combo or a perfect run to add any significant height to the sapling. My only option to keep things moving at anything resembling a competent pace is to replay all the songs on the harder difficulty levels whether I am ready for them or not. A few songs are too much of a test for me, the arrangements and note placements too difficult for me to process. Part of that problem may be I’m not quite sure which is the preferred way to play the game. When holding my Vita like a normal human being and using my thumbs to hit the notes, I find success on easy and many of the normal difficulties. For most of the hard difficulties, however, I can’t do it. The keys move too fast and are too plentiful for me to hit them all. The size of the Vita doesn’t help the situation. Yes, I think the Vita is too big here. With the wide screen and the buttons on the side, I have to uncomfortably stretch my thumbs across the device to have a chance hitting all the notes. Alternatively, I found setting my Vita down on a table and attempting to play the game as if it were a piano led to success with the more difficult songs, allowing me to hit above the requisite 60% on almost all of them. Some, again, are out of my capabilities and I imagine will be until I teach myself to play the game with more than two fingers. When I finished the campaign, I gained access to a new after-story segment that offers even more songs to master. There is also a two-player duel/duet mode that sounds like fun but I have been unable to try out. And if 100 songs aren’t enough, there is apparently a boatload of DLC on the way. If it wasn’t for this perplexing progression choice made by the developers, and if the story of Deemo: The Last Recital played out at the pace it should, the game would be easy to recommend. In fact, if you love rhythm games, ignore the score below and pick it up for yourself because the music selection is outstanding overall and who knows when next we’ll get something else like it. But know the game isn’t nearly as good as it should be and you may spend far more time than you want repeating the same songs just to advance. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Deemo The Last Recital SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS : MINIMUM : Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 64-bits, Windows 10 64-bits Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz / AMD Radeon FX-8120 3.1GHz Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti / AMD Radeon HD 6950 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 10 GB available space -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECOMMENDED : Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 10 Processor: Intel Core i5-2400 3.1GHz / AMD Radeon FX-8120 3.1GHz Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060／AMD Radeon RX 480 or higher specification DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 10 GB available space Additional Notes: VR Mode recommended in particular --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There aren’t any details about its performance : Lingenfelter and Chevrolet have an extensive history together, and it isn’t stopping anytime soon. Ken Lingenfelter tweeted photos of a 2020 Corvette C8 Stingray dressed-up in the tuner’s revered Continental Tire livery, hinting that the company is developing aftermarket parts. Details about the car, the company’s show rig it’ll take on tour whenever such events are possible, are scarce. We know Lingenfelter often reserves the Continental livery for its highest-performing offerings, so we’re curious what upgrades the company has made to the powertrain. From the factory, the Corvette Stingray arrives with GM’s 6.2-liter LT2 V8 producing 490 horsepower 364 kilowatts) and 465 pound-feet (623 Newton-meters) of torque. Whatever modifications Lingenfelter made should result in a substantial increase in power, if the tuner could crack GM’s challenging cybersecurity features protecting the ECU. Gallery: Lingenfelter Chevy Corvette C8 Continental : There’ve been reports that GM’s more stringent security features will make it difficult for tuners to modify the Corvette’s code. Inject something the computer doesn’t recognize, and it puts the car into a recovery mode. You’ll need the car’s original code to rectify the problem. At the end of last year, GM said it didn’t want to leave its performance customers out to dry, though the company was adamant that security, especially for a modern-day vehicle, was important, too. The Corvette uses GM’s new electrical architecture that’s designed for autonomous and electric vehicles. However, it said it was exploring “next steps in the calibration space.” With summer coming to a close, outdoor car events are likely living on borrowed time, so we’re not sure when Lingenfelter will begin showing off its Corvette show rig. If it’s like the tuner's other creations, we expect there’ll be several upgrades eventually made available for the Corvette from Lingenfelter. No code is uncrackable, and tuners did find ways to bypass the security features of the C7, but the C8’s system is much more complicated. We’ll have to see how Lingenfelter modified its car.

Apple publishes new commitment to human rights document Anew Apple document outlines the company's commitment to upholding human rights, freedom of information, and expression. As reported by the Financial Times: Apple has for the first time published a human rights policy that commits to respecting "freedom of information and expression", following years of criticism that it bows to demands from Beijing and carries out censorship in mainland China, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong. The report notes the document was approved by the board and "quietly" published prior to a deadline for submitting motions for Apple's next shareholder's meeting. The document is titled 'Our Commitment to Human Rights' and begins with a quote from Tim Cook: "At Apple, we are optimistic about technology's awesome potential for good. But we know that it won't happen on its own. Every day, we work to infuse the devices we make with the humanity that makes us." The document says that Apple is "committed to respecting the human rights of everyone whose lives we touch." Apple says this commitment extends not only to the technology it makes, but its supply chain, and how it treats people. As noted, the move comes following heavy criticism of Apple for kowtowing to governments such as China and Russia over issues many see as human rights matters. The document notes that Apple, "in keeping with the UN Guiding Principles" will follow the higher standard where national law and international human rights standards differ. However, it also says that Apple will "respect national law while seeking to respect the principles of internationally recognized human rights." In a press release today, SumOfUs Campaign Manager, Sondhya Gupta stated: "Apple's adoption of a human rights policy is a breakthrough moment and we commend Apple for taking this first step. However, we still have questions about how the policy will be implemented and what oversight there will be. Apple has a huge influence on people's freedom of expression globally, and ultimately, the company's commitment to human rights will be measured by the difference it makes to the lives of millions of Apple customers living under cyber-surveillance in Hong Kong, Tibet, East Turkestan, China, and elsewhere. We will continue to work alongside shareholders and human rights defenders in dialogue with Apple to ensure the company lives up to this responsibility." SumOfUs says that with the new document, "Apple meets the first part of SumOfUs's shareholder motion by publicly committing to respect freedom of information and expression as human rights. The campaigners and investors welcomed Apple's new policy, and plan to file a new proposal for next year's shareholder meeting which would require Apple to report to shareholders on the progress the company is making in implementing it." Around 135,000 people have signed a SumOfUs petition calling for Apple to stop blocking VPN apps in China's App Store. SumOfUs states that Apple has blocked over 1,000 VPN apps at the request of the CCP in China. It is also critical of Apple's sluggish response to new Hong Kong security laws despite more decisive action from several major tech companies including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft.

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