Random border checks will be imposed to stop French holidaymakers going to ski in neighbouring Switzerland, Prime Minister Jean Castex has said. France, in common with Germany and Italy, is shutting its ski lifts over Christmas to stop the spread of Covid-19, but Swiss slopes are already open. The ski season at Christmas and the New Year is a vital part of the economy for many European countries Mr Castex said it was his duty to protect fellow citizens. "The conclusion you need to make is that 'I'm not going to Switzerland'," he told BFMTV on Wednesday, adding that anyone who did go would face quarantine on their return. Who's opening and who isn't? Several EU leaders have tried to co-ordinate plans ahead of Christmas. However, Switzerland is not part of the European Union, and Austria and Spain are keen not to shut their slopes entirely. That has left one French town hall on the Swiss border draping Swiss flags from its windows in protest at the French decision not to allow the ski lifts to run. Châtel is among a number of resorts on both sides of the border that make up the Portes du Soleil ski area. Mayor Nicolas Rubin accused French leaders of failing to listen and consult. "We've got a problem with the French government which shuts the slopes a month before Christmas while our Swiss neighbours keep theirs open," he told French radio. In Switzerland itself the situation is still unfolding. Alpine resorts want to minimise restrictions but the government will decide on Friday whether to impose a limit on visitors. Austria and Italy were setting out their Covid plans for the coming weeks on Wednesday: Austrian reports suggest people living near ski resorts could be allowed to go skiing over the holidays as well as people on local day trips. Quarantine requirements in Austria would make visiting from abroad unlikely Italy is aiming to limit travel between regions and also between municipalities over the Christmas and New Year break. Last week Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said: "It's not possible to allow holidays on the snow, we can't afford it" Germany has already joined France in calling for a holiday ban on ski tourism But Spain is trying to reach an agreement on measures for its autonomous regions to be able to open safely over the festive period. Germany seeks EU deal to close ski resorts How Europeans are preparing to celebrate Christmas Live updates: 'No corners cut in vaccine approval' What the French PM said "I'm doing my utmost to appeal to every colleague," Jean Castex said. "The Italian prime minister, the German chancellor and France are working together. The Spaniards and Swiss aren't going along with us, but diplomatic action is under way." He said his intention was to protect French resorts as well as French citizens from coronavirus, so not only would checks be put in place on the border, but prefects in areas along the border could impose seven-day isolation while Covid testing took place. France is hoping to reopen its ski slopes from 20 January but the prime minister says the aim for the next few weeks is to prevent an influx of visitors over the festive season. Among the most notorious outbreaks during the last ski season was at the Austrian resort of Ischgl, where visitors from as many as 45 countries said they caught coronavirus. Authorities are facing possible compensation claims from thousands of people for failing to act fast enough. 'Momentous' errors in ski resort Covid outbreak Austrian government sued over Covid at ski resorts The World Health Organization says the problem lies not so much in the nature of skiing but in travelling to the ski slopes and in mixing with other skiers afterwards.

What is it? The debut of the electric Fiat 500 was always going to seem more poignant than the arrival of a similar-size new-shape electric rival. Not because it was necessarily better but because of the implications that its arrival would hold for the 500 franchise, Fiat’s only truly successful model range, globally speaking. Since 2007, Fiat has made an impressive sales success of its 3.5-metre-long baby, continuing to sell cars in big numbers more than a decade beyond the original car’s debut and proving conclusively that buyers still heartily approve of a design style that first appeared with the tiny, rear-engined Cinquecento classic 60 years ago. Still, the announcement in mid-2019 that the next model would be bigger and taller, use an all-new platform and be available only with battery-electric power was quite a shock. What would it mean for total 500 sales? Would serial 500 buyers (of which there were plenty) take to a bulkier version? What about a petrol model: surely Fiat wouldn’t abandon overnight what has overwhelmingly been its most po[CENSORED]r form of motive power? Since then, much detail has emerged. Fiat has reassured buyers that a gently improved version of the familiar 500 will continue, underscoring that by re-engineering it with a new 70bhp three-cylinder mild-hybrid powertrain that has a 12V starter-generator to harvest electricity on the overrun and use it to improve acceleration and fuel efficiency. Meanwhile, although the electric model is 61mm longer overall, 39mm longer in the wheelbase, 56mm wider and 40mm taller than the renamed Classic petrol version, reassuringly cute photographs and a drive earlier this year in a lightly disguised prototype proved that the distinctive 500 look can indeed be expressed in a new size. Yet still there were questions, most of which were never going to be answered until we had the chance to see the local pricing and specifications and, above all, to drive the new 500 in the UK’s unique conditions. Thus it suited our purposes that a local launch event planned for rural Oxfordshire had to be relocated for pandemic-related reasons to familiar roads around Fiat’s headquarters in Slough, 25 miles west of London. The new 500 hatchback comes in four equipment levels – Action, Passion, Icon and La Prima – while the 500 convertible is offered only in the top three. The ragtop premium is £2650 to £3000, depending on the trim; our full-house La Prima model cost £29,995, whereas the soft-top version will set you back £32,995. Every electric 500 except for the entry-level Action gets a 117bhp permanent-magnet motor to drive the front wheels, with power supplied by a 42kWh battery yielding around 200 miles of range on the WLTP scale. The Action has a 92bhp motor and a 24kWh battery, offering more like 120 miles between charges, but its official 0-62mph acceleration time of 9.0sec is identical to that of more powerful versions, evidently because of their extra battery weight. The full-power 500 La Prima weighs close to 1365kg, a clear 100kg more than the 24kWh version and 350-360kg more than the smaller, petrol-engined originals The driving environment is roomy (you sit high) and there’s more room for legs and feet than in the petrol 500. Take a peep at the rear cabin, though, and you will soon see this is no four-metre supermini: accommodation goes from cramped for two to merely tight. The interior materials are mostly of high quality. The instrument array is still based on the original’s single dial, but the graphics are better organised and much clearer (partly because there’s no need for the former’s confusing concentric tachometer scale). The wide screen dominates the centre of the fascia, but the whole treatment is classier and more modern. A simple row of push-push ancillary switches runs below the screen, and prominently sited below those are the PRND buttons that make this Fiat go. It’s all very satisfying on the eye. The seats are better, too. They’re not sporty but there’s now a more conventional relationship between the seat and the steering column, which now adjusts for reach as well as height. Like most decent electric cars, the 500 zips off the mark with ease and energy, with torque and smoothness of response its keynotes. A whine accompanies progress, but it’s all very refined and, like in most electric cars, the 0-40mph energy belies what seems a fairly routine 0-62mph time. You get the choice of three driving modes – Normal (which replicates conventional driving), Range (a two-pedal set-up with strong regenerative braking) and Sherpa (others would call it Eco), which, if your range meter is showing 160 miles, say, adds another 15-20 by reducing all power consumption and performance. It’s a thoroughly appealing and easy-to-use powertrain except for the dead-stop braking facility in Range mode, which is a bit more abrupt than most would prefer. As far as we could judge on a mixed-roads 80-mile drive, the offer of 160-200 miles (the latter if you make generous use of Sherpa mode) is realistic. Given the differences between the electric and petrol 500 models, it’s surprising how similar they are in some ways. The EV’s steering is accurate enough and relatively light but has the same rather artificial feel (others are far better) and, despite the odd effect you would expect the extra body weight to have on ride quality, the new car can seem rather bouncy in some modes. However, it remains quiet over bumps of all kinds, which feeds the occupants’ impression that it’s a refined machine.

Welcome

Google has confirmed it will begin to migrate users from its legacy text-based communications platform Hangouts to its new Google Chat service. From December 3 onwards, group conversations originally set up in Hangouts will begin to appear on the Google Chat platform, which is currently available to enterprise customers only. All existing conversations and saved chat history will be transferred over in full, which Google claims will ensure a "smooth transition". Here's our list of the best collaboration tools right now Working from home: the mouse, monitor, keyboard and router you need Check out our list of the best productivity software on the market According to a company blog post, the service will soon allow new group members to access conversation history in full, including messages exchanged before they were added. Pioneered by Slack, this system is designed to allow new team members to get up to speed as quickly as possible. The migration of group conversations from Hangouts to Google Chat and tweaks to the new service will roll out incrementally over the course of the next few weeks. Google Chat upgrade The transition from Hangouts to Google Chat was first announced back in April, soon after the wholesale shift to remote working. In tandem, Google revealed it would rebrand its video conferencing service (then Hangouts Meet) to Google Meet. The arrival of Google Chat also brings with it several upgrades, including an improved interface, integrated video conferencing and the ability to search conversation logs for specific information. "Chat includes familiar Hangouts features like direct and group messaging, with helpful additions like send to inbox, emoji reactions and suggested replies," Google explained. "In addition, Chat features the same strong phishing protections we built in Gmail, so if a link is sent to you via Chat, it will be flagged if it's found to be malicious." Although the rise of Google Chat will erase Hangouts from enterprise packages, the service will still live on temporarily as part of the company's consumer-facing chat offering. As of next year, however, Chat will become available as a free service for all users - both integrated into Gmail and in the form of a new standalone app.

AMD's RDNA2 architecture has been full of surprises, especially in its ability to hit astronomically high core frequencies compared to the Nvidia competition. But, it appears we haven't seen the best of what RDNA 2 can offer. Patrick from Twitter has tweeted that the RX 6900 XT can hit 3 GHz (if cooling isn't a bottleneck) before running into artificial limiters. Similarly, IgorsLAB shared specifications in BIOS for the yet unannounced RX 6700 XT, showcasing its official limit of 2950Mhz on the core clock. Note that these numbers are highly theoretical and way above what these GPUs do at stock settings. Both the Radeon RX 6800 XT and 6900 XT have rated boost clocks of 2,250 MHz. So, unless you're using liquid nitrogen or other crazy cooling methods, it's unlikely that you would hit or be able to exceed the reported 2.8-GHz limit on the 6800 XT, 3-GHz limit on the 6900 XT and 2.95-GHz limit on the 6700 XT. It makes sense that the RX 6900 XT would have the highest frequency limit, as it is the highest tiered GPU in AMD's lineup and presumably has the best silicon as well. But what's really interesting is that the RX 6700 XT is alleged to have a maximum clock of 2950 MHz while the the RX 6800 XT maxes out at 2.8 GHz. This indicates that the 6700 XT could be great for overclocking. If this is true, and the RX 6700 XT cards ship around these specifications, we could see the highest factory overclocked RDNA2 chips on the market. The 40 CUs on the RX 6700 XT would potentially be fed with more juice, allowing higher frequencies on air, and only having 40 CUs means it's much easier to cool vs. 60 CUs like on the RX 6800.

I was there! Four days ago, Blizzard told us how the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expansion might go. For once, they were optimistic! Having been a part of countless launches throughout my life (including the original Xbox Live, which was one of the most fun), it's smart to expect the worst. For many an MMO launch it's common for the game to be completely offline that entire day, followed by a bottleneck situation where everyone is trying to log in at the exact same time. Chaos ensues. But not for Shadowlands. Blizzard instead decided to deploy this expansion launch server-side, which allowed players to log in beforehand and wait for the new questline. That's exactly what I did. Pictured in the image above are the moments before launch, while I waited with my Blood Elf Demon Hunter in Orgrimmar. As soon as the clock struck 6PM ET (launch), war drums sounded, and the quest-giver for the expansion appeared. It was as simple as that. I was ready to go and within one minute I was whisked away to Northrend, then the new starter zone The Maw. There are reports that some US and European servers weren't so lucky, but for many players I talked to, the experience was flawless. Given how catastrophic some launches have been these past few years, it's a win for Blizzard, and I hope all future expansions go this smoothly. Now let's see if they can keep it up. "Since we first told you about our decision to delay, we've used the time to further polish the expansion and shore up the endgame, including overhauling the combat and rewards in the Maw, and reworking the Covenant systems to make your choice more immediately impactful and have clearer long-term goals," said Blizzard. The team also brought up a couple of other important dates worth remembering. Shadowlands' pre-launch event is happening on November 10 (expect a Scourge invasion), and the Castle Nathria raid will arrive several weeks later, on December 8, alongside Shadowlands Season 1. Busy month. I'm going to have to make some tough calls on which games to prioritize.

1100BHP Nissan GT-R R35 - Forza Horizon 4 | Logitech g29 gameplay

US President Donald Trump's controversial special adviser on the coronavirus, Scott Atlas, has resigned. Thanking Mr Trump for the honour of serving the American people, Dr Atlas said he had "always relied on the latest science and evidence without any political consideration or influence". During his four months in the role, Dr Atlas questioned the need for masks and other measures to control the pandemic. He also repeatedly clashed with other members of the coronavirus task force. The radiologist and senior fellow at Stanford University's conservative Hoover Institution joined the task force in August. As well as questioning the usefulness of masks he was against lockdowns and supported herd immunity as a strategy to deal with the outbreak. WHO head calls herd immunity approach 'immoral' US holds subdued Thanksgiving celebrations A US city engulfed by Covid, but no lockdown He sparked further controversy last month when he tweeted "people rise up" in response to new restrictions imposed in Michigan. His tweet came just weeks after it emerged the state's governor, Gretchen Whitmer, was the subject of an alleged kidnapping attempt by militia members opposed to virus mitigation efforts. Public health officials - including top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci - had accused Dr Atlas of giving President Trump misleading information about the spread of the virus. After Dr Atlas' resignation, Dr Fauci told the BBC that the current situation in the US was worse than at any time since the start of the outbreak. "The slope of our curve is very steep so that every day it seems we almost break a new record," he said. As of Sunday, the number of Covid-19 cases recorded in November in the US surpassed four million, double the figure recorded in October. Academics at Stanford University welcomed Dr Atlas' resignation, saying it was "long overdue and underscores the triumph of science and truth over falsehoods and misinformation". Fox News said Dr Atlas had joined the administration on a 130-day contract, which was set to expire this week. In his resignation letter, carried by Fox, he said his advice had "always focused on minimising all the harms from both the pandemic and the structural policies themselves, especially to the working class and poor". He also spoke of the "free exchange of ideas that lead to scientific truths", adding: "Indeed, I cannot think of a time where safeguarding science and the scientific debate is more urgent." President-elect Biden has taken a markedly different stance to his predecessor, urging everyone to wear masks and pledging a "bedrock of science" to his policy on tackling the pandemic. Is this Covid wave in the US the worst yet? Where has been hit hardest? The US has recorded more than 13 million coronavirus cases and more than 266,000 people have died. Millions failed to heed scientists' appeals to stay at home during the Thanksgiving holiday, prompting Dr Fauci to warn the US could see "surge upon surge" of cases as people travel back. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to discuss the rollout of a vaccine with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices this week, a move which Dr Fauci said offered a "light at the end of the tunnel".

What is it? The second generation of the electrified Volkswagen Golf GTE, driven here in the UK for the first time. The brief for this front-driven plug-in hybrid hatch remains as seemingly contradictory as it’s ever been: deliver an elevated level of performance and driver engagement while simultaneously offering lower running costs and a wallet-friendly benefit-in-kind tax rating. That sounds like a fairly appealing - if challenging - recipe on paper, doesn’t it? The thing is, the previous GTE was a refined and slick-operating plug-in hybrid by the standards of the day, but as an electrified take on the excellent Mk7 GTI, it felt a bit, well, tepid. Its powertrain lacked the endearing effervescence you’d normally expect from a fast family hatch; and although it handled competently, the additional weight of its battery and electric motor dulled its agility and left it feeling a bit sedate. So hopefully, this new one will be a more convincing take on an eco-friendly GTI - even if its general blueprint hasn’t really changed all that dramatically. Up front, you’ll still find a turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine and an electric motor that’s integrated into the same housing as the six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Individually, those power sources develop outputs of 148bhp (petrol) and 107bhp (electric, a 9bhp uplift) but they combine for a system output of 242bhp. Not only is that a match for the current GTI, but it’s a 41bhp improvement over the previous GTE, too. Torque, meanwhile, stands at a combined 295lb ft - 37lb ft more than last time. Brake-based torque vectoring should help through corners, as should the optional adaptive dampers that were fitted to our test car. There’s also a bigger, 13kWh (gross capacity) battery, which gives the GTE a WLTP zero-emissions range of 39.7 miles and helps slot it into the 10% benefit-in-kind tax bracket. Of course, in the real-world, you’d be lucky to get that much, but for what it’s worth, the GTE quoted us a range of 24 miles with the battery at about 80%. So you can probably expect 30 miles or so between charging sessions, depending on how you use it, which is par for the course with rivals. What's it like? Hit the starter button and the GTE defaults to its electric motor, which, rather unsurprisingly, is more than up for the task of trundling about town. There’s enough punch to get you up to city speeds swiftly and throttle response is as spot on as you’d need to be. At these lower sorts of speeds, the GTE rides pretty well, too, if not quite with the same easy-going comfort as the regular Golf. It feels quite tightly controlled and there’s a bit of fidgeting present, but it’s not so rigid and unyielding that you’ll find yourself wincing as you roll over a drain cover or expansion joint. Push the throttle a bit harder and you’ll rouse the petrol engine, which sparks into life swiftly. Curiously, the 1.4-litre motor feels a little smoother and sounds slightly quieter under lighter throttle loads than it does under the bonnet of the largely identical Seat Leon e-Hybrid. The GTE’s ride feels a bit tidier and more well resolved than it does in the cheaper Spanish hatch, too, even though they share the same basic suspension configuration. I guess those DCC adaptive dampers will at least be partly responsible for this difference, seeing as they didn’t appear on the Seat we drove a few weeks ago. Head out of town and the GTE makes for a comfortable motorway companion, thanks to the fact that there isn’t too much tyre roar or wind noise and the driving position is spot on. Meanwhile, the petrol engine and electric motor combine effectively so that it doesn’t feel damp or lacking in outright potency if you need to give it the beans on a slip road or when passing slower traffic. Shifts are pretty slick, and if you dial things up into Sport mode, it makes an okay noise, too. Its warble isn’t quite as meaty as the GTI’s 2.0-litre motor, and it does get a wee bit thrashy at the top end, but it’s not bad. The uplift in performance and a slightly more tuneful soundtrack mean it’s now a much more convincing take on a plug-in hot hatch - at least from a powertrain perspective. So what about from a handling point of view? Well, it’s still no GTI, but neither is it totally limp. In fact, throw it down a decently winding stretch of road and it can be quite good fun. Its steering instantly feels more immediate in its responses and tactile in its weighting than the rack you get in the lowlier Leon; and there’s a good level of front-end grip to back that keenness up. Plough on through faster, sharper bends, and you’ll sense its brake-based torque vectoring system gently dragging its inside front corner closer towards the apex, too. The car still feels a bit heavy, mind, and although it’s entertaining enough, it still doesn’t feel quite as mobile or adjustable as the best, bona fide hot hatches.

So many sources now suggest that the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra will support the S Pen that at this point it’s looking very likely – but the latest source saying as much also claims that we’ll still get a Samsung Galaxy Note 21. Industry sources speaking to ETNews (a South Korean tech news site) claim that Samsung has ordered digitizers for the screen on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra – that’s a component that’s necessary in order for the S Pen to function. Although the source doesn't mention the S21 Ultra by name, they say that only the top model of the Samsung Galaxy S21 range is set to get this, which would be the Galaxy S21 Ultra – or whatever that phone ends up being called. Read our full Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra review Check out all the best Samsung phones These are the best 5G phones Two become one That’s in line with previous rumors, but one new bit of information is that there will apparently be just one Samsung Galaxy Note 21 model, down from two Samsung Galaxy Note 20 models (the Note 20 and the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra). This is apparently to “reduce the weight of the Note series” and push towards Samsung’s foldable phones as being the other main flagship range alongside the Galaxy S series. The report adds that to help with this, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 will also support the S Pen. We’ve heard before that Samsung might be looking to discontinue the Galaxy Note series, with the range’s one standout feature (the S Pen) apparently being added to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 3. But previous leaks had suggested there either wouldn’t be another Note, or that the range would continue as normal in 2021, and be discontinued later. Based on this leak though it sounds like the Note range might be more gradually phased out, with just one model in 2021, and then perhaps none in 2022 – though this latest leak doesn’t mention Samsung's plans beyond 2021, so that’s just speculation. The leak also echoes earlier ones in claiming the Galaxy S21 will be announced in mid-January, and then go on sale at the end of January, and of all the claims about the future of the Galaxy Note range, we’d say the idea of a gradual phase-out sounds the most likely. If Samsung really is moving the S Pen to other devices – as rumors overwhelmingly suggest it is – then the Note’s days probably are numbered. But with the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 both likely to be seriously expensive devices, there’s still a gap in the market for a more affordable stylus-toting Samsung – and a basic Samsung Galaxy Note 21 could fill that role nicely.

If you're wondering where and how to buy an RTX 3080 or RTX 3070 card, your chances of succeeding in what's left of 2020 seem slim. Most stores are constantly sold out of the GPUs and barring extremely good luck, you may be waiting until sometime in Q1 of next year to get your card. But what if you are willing to buy rather than build your RTX 3000-series powered desktop? If you order the Alienware Aurora R10 or R11 desktop PC, you could be playing Cyberpunk 2077 in 4K with ray-tracing on (see Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements) when the year's most-anticipated game launches in early December. And believe it or not, Dell has the Aurora configurations with RTX 3080 and 3070 on significant Cyber Monday sales. So, not only are you getting the card, but you're also getting a discount of as much as $237 off the list price when you use the coupon code WEEKEND10 at checkout. The cheapest RTX 3080-enabled Alienware desktop is the Aurora R11 for $1772. However, at that bare minimum price, you only get 8GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive to go with the Core i7-10700F CPU. A more-realistic minimum config involves the same CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for $1931. The WEEKEND10 coupon seems to only work on custom configurations and some, but not all ready-made configs. Alienware makes two models of Aurora with the new RTX cards inside. The Aurora R10 uses AMD Ryzen 3000-series processors while the R11 has 10th Gen Intel CPUs. Otherwise, the two are pretty much identical. The prices listed below are starting prices, but all the models are configurable with higher-end processors, more RAM and more storage. When I checked my zip code, the estimated shipping dates ranged from December 8th to December 17th, depending on whether I wanted to pay extra to a little extra ($25) expedite. The base specs of the Alienware Aurora R11 with RTX 3070 and 3080 aren't bad. The Core i7-10700KF can turbo up to 5.1 GHz and it has 8 cores. However, if you're spending more than $2,000 on a computer, you should probably have more than 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. We recommend spending $196 to step up to the Core i9-10900F, $196 to double the RAM and $147 to get a 1TB SSD with a 1TB hard drive as well. Or again, you could upgrade with your own parts after buying and save some money. While the Aurora R10 isn't available with the new Ryzen 5000 series CPUs yet, it has a selection of Ryzen 3000 chips available. The base configuration has a Ryzen 7 3700X CPU that has 8 cores and a boost clock of 4.4 GHz. However, you can configure with a more powerful processor, going all the way up to the Ryzen 9 3950X for an extra $784. We recommend splurging an extra $147 for the Ryzen 7 3800X (8-cores, 4.5 GHz boost) or Ryzen 7 3800XT (8-cores, 4.7 GHZ boost). We'd also pay $196 extra to move up to 32GB of RAM and $147 to get a 1TB SSD with a 1TB hard drive for data. Or you could just add more storage or RAM on your own after buying. For more savings, check our list of best Cyber Monday deals overall, best Cyber Monday monitor deals, best Cyber Monday SSD deals, best Cyber Monday CPU deals, best Cyber Monday graphics card deals, best Cyber Monday laptop deals, best Cyber Monday gaming PC deals and best Cyber Monday Raspberry Pi deals.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands (PC) Developer: Blizzard Publisher: Blizzard Released: November 23, 2020 MSRP: $39.99 The last time we left off in our journey through the expansion, I was making my way through Bastion (City of Angels). Now I've conquered Maldraxxus (Edgy Bone Town), Ardenweald (Elf Village), and Revendreth (Vampire Burg). All of the parenthetical names are strictly mine (and sum them up well I think!). Bastion is a highlight. Like a more serene Suramar, this zone is the glimmer of hope you need after a series of mostly somber places, dating all the way back to Warlords of Draenor. It's here that I really started to appreciate Blizzard's penchant for micro-storytelling again (and its silliness, like the Flappy Bird minigame). Its ability to flesh out the smaller characters that eventually plug into the big picture. Now Shadowlands isn't immune to campy dialogue (sometimes to the point of parody), even during a few of its more pivotal emotional scenes, but it's amazing that the writers are able to juggle everyone and have it mostly come together. I just hope they don't pull an "actually it was an Old God" maneuver again. Edgy Bone Town is a little less interesting aesthetically. It's kind of like a combination of the Undercity and a few other existing prior expansion locations. The inner workings of the Spartan-like culture are fascinating though: again, a telltale sign of that feat of micro-storytelling. Entering into the chaos of a gladiatorial pit was a great intro for the group, and set the tone of the zone itself. It's probably the region I learned to appreciate the most after revisiting it for endgame content. It grows on you. Ardenweald might be the most familiar zone from a visual perspective (I felt shades of Val'Sharah after entering it), but it's nonetheless still awe-inspiring. There's also some big lore moments here, as is common with nature-related storylines in World of Warcraft. I end up finding something new every time I jump back into it, and some of the quests are off-the-wall, in a good way. Vampire Burg, the fourth and final story region, is my home town. My covenant (that thing you choose at the end of the story to align yourself with one of the factions). It's full of Nosferatu, Gary Oldman-in-Dracula-looking dudes, enough backstabbing drama to fill an HBO season. It's also one of the more varied areas, with an array of haunting and regal aesthetics. It's austerely sickening in a way, not only in how some of its denizens act in regards to its caste system, but in the sense of the core of the region itself. Yet, it's also home to a few of the funniest quests of the last couple of expansions. It's fascinating, and I totally didn't just choose it to be my main focus because I liked vampire-related media (go watch Vampires vs. the Bronx if you want a recent recommendation). I promise. So the zones are good, but the leveling process was a joy too (despite its relative ease) because of the strong focus on worldbuilding. Phasing, which was used in earnest in Wrath of the Lich King as a way for the developers to tell different stories in the same physical space, still works. Also, little touches like artwork appearing in the quest prompts rule, and accentuate Blizzard's artistic prowess. This game is running on an older looking engine, but some of the artwork (like the in-game shot at very top of this review) is breathtaking and sticks in your mind. I'm thankful that I'm able to play every expansion with Demon Hunter wings now, so I can take it all in properly. In case you missed it, WoW recently had a "level squish" that brought every down from 120 to level 50: in preparation for the new Shadowlands cap of 60. For the most part this system excelled at garnering more meaningful progress while leveling (as you could reach more ability milestones rather than meaningless dings), but no attention was paid to levels 50 through 60 for the expansion. "10% extra power for [x] skill" is not cutting it, and nothing opens up until you start pledging to your covenant. Blizzard is still leaning into the "borrowed power" concept, which funnels into the new covenant system. In short, this concept is named due to the fleeting nature of very substantial powers, which will be taken from players after the expansion is finished. While it might be far better than the Heart of Azeroth mechanic from the prior expansion, it's a shame that the Covenant system, for the most part, feels like it has a timer on it. That's not necessarily a problem now, but I did feel the lack of an impact going from Battle for Azeroth into Shadowlands: and the boring 50-60 upgrades didn't help. With that in mind, there's plenty of stuff to do once you reach the cap, and I'm really digging the Covenant storyline so far. You can swap if you want (for a nominal time sink fee), but for now, I'm loving the continuation of the Revendreth storyline. It's a lot like the ongoing Suramar saga in Legion, but with the ability to choose between the four regions. Minus the borrowed power stench lingering in the air, it's a great way to really connect players with the world instead of just relying on grinding out world quests to see what it has to offer (those are still in too). There are essentially four endgames now. Torghast Tower of the Damned (which is basically a play off Final Fantasy XIV's Deep Dungeon roguelike) concept is also fun for now, and has more of a lore reason to exist than random islands from Battle for Azeroth. Building up my Covenant is keeping me busy and entertained though, and I'm anxious to see where this all leads (and swap Covenants at some point to explore another point of view). Of course, it's all very familiar. Shadowlands feels like a smoothing of Battle for Azeroth on multiple mechanical levels, but not a fundamental shakeup. Leveling parameters often pertain to the same "kill [x]" objective, while world quests echo that fundamental simplicity. It's not inherently bad, as many MMOs do the same thing (Final Fantasy XIV's Fates, for instance), but it might not be enough to jolt lapsed players into a long0term cruise. If you're one of those people, it's worth a joy ride though. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands hasn't quite wowed me in the way that Legion did, but it's an improvement upon many concepts from Battle for Azeroth. There's a clearer story that seems to have more embedded bones, with a more pronounced set of zones that stand on their own. As always long-term support remains to be seen, but for now, WoW is still one of the best MMOs out there. (Minimum) CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 or AMD FX 8300 CPU SPEED: Info RAM: 4GB RAM (8GB if using supported integrated graphics) OS: Windows 7 64-bit VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon RX 560 or Intel UHD 630 (45W) PIXEL SHADER: 5.0 VERTEX SHADER: 5.0 FREE DISK SPACE: 100 GB Recommended Requirements CPU: Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU SPEED: Info RAM: 8 GB OS: Windows 10 64-bit VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 PIXEL SHADER: 5.1 VERTEX SHADER: 5.1 FREE DISK SPACE: 100 GB DEDICATED VIDEO RAM: 8192 MB

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Australia has demanded China apologise for posting a fake picture on a government Twitter account that depicted an Australian soldier murdering an Afghan child. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Beijing should be "utterly ashamed" for sharing the "repugnant" image. It comes amid escalating political tensions between the two countries. The image referred to alleged war crimes by some Australian soldiers. Warning: This story contains an image some people might find distressing. Earlier this month, a report found "credible information" that 25 Australian soldiers were involved in the murders of 39 Afghan civilians and prisoners between 2009 and 2013. The findings from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) inquiry sparked widespread condemnation, and are now being investigated by police. Australia to sack troops over Afghan killings On Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao posted a fabricated image which portrayed an Australian soldier with a bloody knife next to a child. The child is seen holding a lamb. The image appears to be a reference to previously reported allegations that elite Australian soldiers used knives to murder two 14-year-old Afghan boys. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported the ADF report did not substantiate those allegations. However it did find "credible evidence" of unlawful killings and a "warrior culture" within elite units. The allegations included that junior soldiers were encouraged to shoot prisoners for their first kill. Mr Zhao's tweet said: "Shocked by murder of Afghan civilians & prisoners by Australian soldiers. We strongly condemn such acts, and call for holding them accountable." Australia has requested Twitter remove the post from its platform, describing it as "disinformation". Mr Morrison described the post as "truly repugnant, deeply offensive, utterly outrageous". "The Chinese government should be totally ashamed of this post. It diminishes them in the world's eyes," he said. "It is a false image and terrible slur on our defence forces." He added that Australia had established a transparent process to investigate the alleged war crimes, as was expected of a "democratic, liberal" country, Escalating rhetoric Mr Morrison went on to acknowledge that there are "undoubtedly" tensions between the two nations, but said: "This is not how you deal with it." He warned Beijing that other countries around the world were watching its actions towards Australia. Bilateral relations have rapidly deteriorated this year after Australia led calls for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, and ongoing discussion about Beijing's alleged interference in Australian affairs.

What is it? Given the calibre of the products in recent years, it is a damn sight easier now more than ever to dispense with misplaced brand snobbery when it comes to Skoda. Not only that, but fail to see past the badge and you might even unwittingly cheat yourself out of owning one of those rare ‘sweet spot’ cars that effortlessly melds many talents, because the latest Octavia vRS Estate is essentially the Mk8 Golf GTI wagon that Volkswagen won’t build. To varying extents, this has been true since the very first Octavia vRS Estate landed in 2005. But now in its fourth generation, Skoda’s hot wagon shadows the Golf GTI’s make-up very closely indeed – perhaps more closely than ever, both inside the elegant cabin and beneath the bodywork. Available in estate and hatchback forms, the 2021-model-year Octavia vRS uses the same 242bhp engine as its GTI cousin (and in an identical state of tune), offers the same six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch (DSG) gearboxes, and uses the same modular VW Group platform, although the wheelbase has been extended by around 5cm for Skoda, so there’s more rear leg room. There’s also the same 15mm drop in ride height compared with regular models in the range and, of course, the typical array of visual tweaks. You can now also have the Octavia vRS with the same adaptive dampers as the Golf GTI, whose ‘digital slider’ selection tool allows you to choose not merely between two or three settings for damper response but dozens, ranging from extra soft to extra firm. Both cars also use the same VAQ ‘limited-slip differential’, which is actually an electronically controlled clutch pack mounted outside the differential housing and on one of the driveshafts, although it achieves the same aim of nixing wheelspin and variably distributing torque. An Octavia vRS with four-wheel drive is coming, but the sole powertrain option will be a 197bhp 2.0-litre turbodiesel. As ever with Skoda, the really interesting bit concerns price. At £32,695 in DSG form, rising to £33,620 if you choose the optional Dynamic Chassis Control adaptive dampers (and you should), the Octavia vRS Estate costs £1340 less than Volkswagen asks for the DSG-equipped Golf GTI hatch. It’s this, more than anything, that makes the Skoda impossible to ignore. What's it like? However, in reality, there’s plenty that separates the two cars on the road. The Octavia vRS inhabits the less exciting, more laid-back role its long body suggests. Its light steering is marginally less direct than typical hot hatch fare, meaning you have to do more to draw the nose right into the apex of corners, although it’s still a pleasingly accurate car. The 2.0-litre turbo motor is also notably subdued, even under big loads – not necessarily what the typical Golf GTI buyer wants but perhaps just right for the fast estate driver who’s looking for something more rounded. In a similar vein, straight-line performance is strong enough for overtaking on a whim, but the car never surges forward with much excitement. It’s more stately than that, and the dampers can now be softened off to the extent that progress can actually become a little nauseating. However, with so many options, rarely is it too taxing to find the right blend between control and suppleness. This is, as ever, an extremely easy car to get along with.

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Xbox Series X consoles may be hard to get hold of these days, but for anyone lucky enough to already have one – or anyone who wants to prepare for the day they do – can make the most of some excellent Xbox Series X Cyber Monday deals on compatible games. Amazon has slashed the price on a number of Xbox games, which will be compatible with either Xbox One or Xbox Series X. The multiplayer seafaring game Sea of Thieves is now just $19.99 after a massive $30 discount, for one, while Cyberpunk 2077 – still due to release December 10, don't worry – is just $49.94 instead of its usual $59.99 RRP. With Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice also getting a price drop, it's a great time to buy a bunch of discounted Xbox games in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales period. You'll be able to play any Xbox One games on the Xbox Series X, and the console's Smart Delivery system means you'll largely be able to get free upgrades of these flagship games when next-gen iterations launch if they haven't already. Not in the US? Scroll down for the best Xbox Series X accessory deals in your region. TechRadar is rounding up all the top deals in the run up to the Black Friday sales period, and we’ve put all the best Black Friday 2020 deals in an easy-to-navigate article to help you find the bargains you’re looking for. We're been looking out for the best Cyber Monday Xbox One deals, and there's a wealth of them to choose from, which means it's a great time to be in the world of Xbox - or to join it if you're sitting on the fence. It's good to know that all of the Xbox One games and accessories are compatible with the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, which means there are some great Cyber Monday deals and discounts to be had. These include the best Xbox Series X headsets, the best Xbox Live Gold prices, and Xbox Game Pass deals – all while future-proofing yourself if you decide to upgrade. The Xbox One has, of course, been around for seven years now, and in that time it has amassed quite the back catalogue of games. If you need some help choosing, why not consult our best Xbox One games list, or just start scrolling down below to see what's available right now before the clock runs out on these Cyber Monday Xbox One deals. But, let’s be honest, the sheer amount of Cyber Monday gaming deals can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve sorted through some of your favorite retailers, cross-referenced all the prices, and zeroed in on the best offers. All to give you a stress-free experience on the big day. Anyway, let's get down to business. You'll find all the best Cyber Monday Xbox One deals below. And for more savings, don't forget to check in with our guides to Cyber Monday Xbox Series X offers, Cyber Monday PS5 deals, and Cyber Monday Nintendo Switch deals as well.

If you're looking for Cyber Monday deals involving lots of memory, Newegg and G.Skill have a 64GB kit of DDR4-3600 RAM for just $225. To put that in perspective, that's $56 per 16GB, which is already a great starting price when you look at our best DDR4 memory guide. This just gives you lots more memory to work with. It's probably more than most of us really need. But then again, there are high-end 32GB kits that cost this much. This is an older DDR4 kit with CL18 timings, but it should still work in modern AMD and Intel boards. That includes sockets AM4, LGA1151, and LGA1200, as well as HEDT platforms (if you buy two kits and run 128GB of RAM). Not every CPU and platform will be able to run at DDR4-3600, but most will do so. You may need to manually tweak the RAM voltage and/or timings to get things stable, but we've had good luck with other Ripjaws V kits. If you're doing heavy lifting like photo or video editing, 3D rendering, software development, or other professional workloads, having lots of memory is a great way to improve system responsiveness. Or you can use virtualization on your workstation and run multiple operating systems concurrently. Whatever floats your boat. To think only ten years back, a 64GB SSD had a similar price. That's progress. For more savings, check our list of best Cyber Monday deals overall, best Cyber Monday monitor deals, best Cyber Monday SSD deals, best Cyber Monday CPU deals, best Cyber Monday graphics card deals, best Cyber Monday laptop deals, best Cyber Monday gaming PC deals and best Cyber Monday Raspberry Pi deals. G.Skill densed up (is that even a word) the TridentZ NEO DDR4 series, now available at 32GB per DIMM module thanks to new Hynix ICs (16nm C-die). This TridentZ NEO 64GB (x2 32GB) memory is not just purring nicely at 3600 MHz, it has XMP 2.0 memory profiles compatible with both intel and Ryzen platforms as well. Yes, I've been advocating more DDR4 memory over frequency for years. Now I do need to refine that statement a little bit, as the dynamic changed with AMD Released the Ryzen series. See with an Intel system, whether you use 2667 MHz or 3600 Mhz, you'll be hard-pressed to spot performance differences. Ryzen processors, however, like faster DDR4 memory for gaming, not just that, it has an appetite for low latency DDR4 memory as well. As such over the past two years you've seen an overall bump in DDR4 frequency, 3200 Mhz now is the norm, and something we advise with Rzyen 1000 and 2000 series processors. However the Ryzen 3000 series functions really well at 3600 MHz. Of course, there's another factor to weigh in, AMD has released 3rd gen Threadripper processors, and the more threads you have, the more memory you would want. 64, 128, 256 GB of DRAM, hey it's not as crazy as it sounds with 64-core / 128-threaded processors. DDR4 memory modules you can choose plenty from, the cheap but dull all-green Kingston Value memory, for example, works absolutely fine. Then the regular mainstream DIMMs, then step it up a little and high-frequency memory is a hint faster and often cooler looking inside your PC with the fancy designs and heat spreaders. The product tested today has simple aluminum heat spreaders, all black. Then there's enthusiast-grade memory for the performance enthusiasts. Team Group is based in Taiwan, a brand we've been working with for a while now as I do believe their products affordable yet offer really good quality and stability. The DIMMs we received today are mainstream to high-end, as they clock in at 3600 MHz (effective through XMP) but have a CL rating of just 18. Stylish RAM for the people that need fast performance, the people that build their own PCs, and perhaps customize them a little. That all said and done, G.Skill now offer DDR4 modules with an amazing density of 32GB po[CENSORED]ted RAM per DIMM. They just submitted the CL18 version for a review, and I know, that's a bit slow on the latency side, but it's running 3600 MHz. The kits have been designed specifically for Ryzen processors, and thus Threadripper processors as well. Meaning, if you have updated your sBIOS towards the latest revision, this memory you can insert and it'll work straight out of the box by activating an XMP profile. Volume over frequency configured at CL18-25-25-45 as what we're looking at today. There's also a CL16 version available btw, but this CL18 kit currently sells at roughly 200 bucks, that's 3 bucks per GB yo!