Four democracy activists have been executed by Myanmar's military in what is believed to be the first use of capital punishment in decades. The four - including activist Ko Jimmy and lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw - were accused of committing "terror acts". They were sentenced to death in a closed-door trial that rights groups criticised as being unjust. Family members of the deceased gathered at Insein prison on Monday desperate for information on their loved ones. The mother of Zayar Thaw says she was not told when exactly her son would be executed, adding that she was unable to make proper traditional funeral plans as a result. "When we met on Zoom last Friday, my son was healthy and smiling. He asked me to send his reading glasses, dictionary and some money to use in prison, so I brought those things to the prison today," Khin Win May told the BBC's Burmese Service. "That's why I didn't think they would kill him. I didn't believe it." Meanwhile, the sister of Ko Jimmy - whose real name is Kyaw Min Yu - had earlier said they were yet to receive the bodies. The families have all submitted applications for information on the executions. State news outlet Global News Light of Myanmar said the four men were executed because they "gave directives, made arrangements and committed conspiracies for brutal and inhumane terror acts". It said they had been charged under the counter terrorism laws, but did not say when or how they were executed. The executions are the first since 1988, according to the United Nations. Previous executions in Myanmar have been by hanging. In 2021, the country's military seized power, an event which triggered widespread demonstrations, prompting a military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, activists and journalists. 'Shocked and saddened' News of the killing was met with intense criticism from opposition groups and human rights organizations. "I am outraged and devastated at the news of the junta's execution of Myanmar patriots and champions of human rights and democracy," said UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews. "These depraved acts must be a turning point for the international community." The shadow National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) said they were "extremely shocked and saddened" by the killings. The NUG - a group which comprises pro-democracy figures, representatives of armed ethnic groups and former lawmakers that was formed in response to the 2021 military coup - urged the international community to "punish (the) murderous military junta for their cruelty and killings". Who were the accused? Ko Jimmy, 53, was a veteran of the 88 Generation Students Group - a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the country's military junta in the 1988 student uprisings. He, alongside his wife, fellow activist Nilar Thein, were considered some of the pioneers of the pro-democracy movement. When monks led protests against the regime in 2007, Ko Jimmy and his wife mobilised activists and protesters from the 1988 demonstrations to participate. He served multiple stints in prison for his activism, before being released in 2012. He was arrested in October last year after being accused of hiding weapons and ammunition at an apartment in Yangon and being an "advisor" to the National Unity Government. Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, was a former hip-hop star turned NLD lawmaker. His band Acid released Myanmar's first ever hip-hop album, with his lyrics carrying thinly-veiled attacks on the military drawing the ire of the junta. He gradually became a close ally of pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, and often accompanied her on her international meetings with world leaders. He was arrested in November for alleged anti-terror offences. Both Phyo Zeya Thaw and Ko Jimmy lost their appeals against their sentences in June. Less is known about the two other activists - Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. They were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta. The military has claimed the results of a general election that saw Suu Kyi's political party winning by a landslide were rigged - an accusation election commission officials denied, saying there was no evidence of fraud. Since the coup, Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest, and slapped with a litany of charges ranging from corruption to violating the country's official secrets act, which could see her serving a sentence of up to 150 years. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which keeps a toll of those killed, jailed or detained by the military, says that 14,847 people have been arrested since the coup, with an estimated 2114 having been killed by military forces. Link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62287815

Music Title:NBA Youngboy - Change Signer: NBA YoungBoy Release Date: July 25 2022 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): Good

Name of the game: Insurgency: Sandstorm Price: 14,99$ Link Store: https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandstorm/ Offer ends up after X hours: 28 July Requirements: MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64 bits) Processor: Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz)/AMD FX-6300 (3.50GHz) Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760/AMD Radeon HD 7970 DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 40 GB available space RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7/8/10 (64 bits) Processor: Intel Core i7-8700 (3.20GHz)/AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (3.20GHz) Memory: 16 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980/AMD Radeon R9 390X DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 40 GB available space Additional Notes: SSD is recommended.

Two innocent words, but not the ones you want to hear just as you’re about to be lowered down a 65deg slope, strapped tight into a metal stretcher. Seven more words slip into my brain: “I really must stop volunteering for things.” I’ve no idea what the volunteers of the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue team did to resolve the issue, but 30 seconds later I’m back on the move, staring at the sky and putting all my faith in seven Welsh rescuers and several metres of rope. We’re in the Brecon Beacons National Park, spending a day with the volunteers who dedicate their lives to rescuing walkers/cyclists/ motorcyclists/sheep in this part of South Wales. Crucially, we’re here to learn what life is like after the Land Rover Defender. Mighty impressive though the new model is, it’s fair to say that economics and design (after it was Gerry-fied) have meant it has slipped off the radar for the sort of working people who made the original Defender the icon it is. There is one in service with the mountain rescue team in Patterdale, Cumbria, but a lot of others are looking at alternative solutions now. The Central Beacons team is one such example. They used to use a Land Rover Defender 110 and a Ford Ranger, but their shift away from the Land Rover was hastened by a fire at their base, and it has been an interesting, if laborious, process to find a replacement. It’s worth reinforcing at this stage that the Central Beacons team, like most mountain rescue outfits, are volunteers. They all have day jobs, families and lives outside the red jackets. They can get up to 130 callouts a month (the summer is busiest), most of those at weekends and each usually lasting three to four hours. Imagine all that, on top of ‘normal’ life, and now consider that you also need to go through a process of choosing, designing and building an entirely new vehicle. They must have some extremely patient partners, wives and husbands. Other mountain rescue areas had their own vehicle suggestions, but what you soon learn is that not only are these guys territorial – the line between different teams’ areas “can be drawn in blood”, jokes incident controller Jon Goddard – but also each patch has its own specific requirements. Central Beacons don’t need incredible off-road capability from their car, because most of their area is forestry tracks. What they need is comfort, both on and off road, and practicality. Goddard takes up the reasoning: “We needed to look at three criteria: carrying technical rescue items, medical kit and swift-water rescue equipment. We also needed to future-proof it. “The Defender has history in mountain rescue and is a great bit of kit, but the old 110 isn’t the most comfortable or practical. Ninety-five per cent of our use is on road, so we needed carrying capacity and comfort.” The co-ordinating Mountain Rescue England and Wales body gets £250,000 per year in total from the Treasury to put towards every single team in the country. Central Beacons spent £226,000 to get their fleet up and running again (their Renault Master Incident Control van cost £114,000), so it was a massive investment in time and money for this charitable outfit. Mechanically, not much has been changed on the D-Max, but Central Beacons did fit extra underbody protection. There are also winch mounts front and back, and designated attachment points so that ropes can be attached directly to the car. Effectively, the Isuzu becomes a huge land anchor when needed. The winches were a clever thought. Instead of having one winch per car, the Central Beacons team has one between two that can be mounted at the front or back. So no matter which way you get stuck, you can always pull yourself out. “There’s not a lot of point having a winch just on the front that’s only going to pull you further into the mud,” explains Goddard. The pod is the big change and makes life much easier than on the old Defender. There are three doors that open to reveal neatly sectioned storage areas, each one labelled and only as deep as the piece of equipment in it. Literally everything they need is back here, from carabiners to rope, belay devices to a stretcher, plus all the first-aid medical equipment. There are even two safes, holding the pain-relief drugs that are strictly signed out and accounted for. Within 30 seconds of the Isuzu stopping, kit is being deployed where it needs to be. And even to a novice like me, it’s clear to see how easy and effective this car is. We’re here on a relatively bright day (mostly cloudy, but it is Wales, after all), but at night, in the wind and rain, that ease of use is quite literally the difference between life and death. To see how well all this translates into practice, we’re witnessing two different rescues today, the first one involving a dog that has supposedly fallen down a cliff. (Dogs, incidentally, still play a major role in mountain rescue by covering vast distances, even though technology is taking over and allowing the rescuers to pinpoint casualties off the phone’s GPS.) Following a debrief outside the Master, the Isuzu heads off towards the cliff. You can see why the team didn’t need an off-roader that was too hardcore: barring a few sharp stones, you could imagine a well-driven Toyota RAV4 handling this. One person guides the car in for the last few yards, leaving plenty of space at the top of the cliff for the rescue zone, and then the real action begins. Time to help the dog. Despite there being seven people involved in the rescue, there’s no chaos. Every person knows their role and gets on with it. There’s a bit of chatter, but nothing that detracts from the task at hand and with an incredible discipline to proceedings. Ropes are attached to the car, chocks are put in front of the wheels (good practice, but it would have to be one hell of a hound to drag the car over the cliff) and then the rescuers start getting harnessed up. Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/unstoppable-4x4s-uk-mountain-rescue

Music Title: The Weeknd - How Do I Make You Love Me? (Official Music Video) Signer: The Weeknd Release Date: 22 July 2022 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): Good

Hello @axelxcapo, thanks for asking and being interested! Well according to the past Journalists project, it was a very good thing to spend the time on. But time is going on and on, and by its time is getting bored. So I would suggest games on the project. I would contribute many things that they were in the past, like there were ts3 activities, many more activities. As I said in the request, being Open minded and working in team is the best for people, duos better than solo. Solving a problem between two people is pretty easy. You have a talk with them in the same channel if we talking in discord or any social messenger. You listen to their problems if they argued. Now this part is the most important part, because the whole focus is in this part. You think very well, of who is right and who is wrong. And on you treat them fairly, make them being in the same height of friendship. As for this, we can clearly see that the community needs games that are on trend now, so that people by the game can be lead to the forum. I would also suggest bringing back the devil coins and the badges like they were in the future, because they were pretty fun back in the times, and I am pretty sure they will be fun at this time also. And the games of the project GoG, they were minigames that made VIP of 1 month as a reward of the minigames. Im pretty sure @axelxcapo you remember these things. I hope I have answered the questions you were looking for. Regards by Agent.

Nick: @Agent47 Real name: Nuredin How old are you?: 21 Which Games you play? and for how long?(each of them): None right now Where are you from?(country and city): Skopje/Macedonia Describe yourself(at least 50 words): As everyone on this community already knows me, i have been loyal to this community, if i had made bad things about others, i apologize to them. Im friendly, want to help others. I was moderator once, but i did a big fault off that grade, which shouldnt be done by others. I might not have a good activity at the moment, but Im a man of a word, and i promise im recovering as much as i can, and hoply everyday be able to make activity as a member on this community. Note some of your qualities: Loyalty, Open Minded. Tell us some of your defects: Impatient sometimes. Had you before any kind of responsabilities(describe it): I had of being moderator for more than a year, but then i did a mistake that got that grade off of me. On which category/categories have you been active lately?(describe your activity): Devil's Club Which category/project you want to care off?: Journalists / Devil harmony in the future How well you speak english?(and other languages): 10/10 English & Albanian 10/10 Do you use TS3? Do you have an active microphone?: I do use ts3 and have an active microphone i can use For how long can you be active after you get accepted?(days, weeks, months, years): Many months, and why not years. Contact methods: Snapchat, Forum Last request:

A fair few of the cars that BMW’s M division has produced over the years have a particularly special way of worming their way into our testers’ hearts. Here are some of our best M memories. Back at the end of the 1970s, when the BMW M1 was new and still being made at Lamborghini, I borrowed an early production version for a first drive story. With a photographer, I collected it from BMW’s famous Four-Cylinder building on the Munich ring road on a Friday afternoon and headed up-country in search of scenery and great driving roads. My cameraman had spotted a town called Rottenburg on our map and thought it might be a wheeze to go to such a place. (We were young, remember.) What we hadn’t taken into account was that this was the beginning of Germany’s Ascension Day long weekend: everyone with a car and an address in the country was heading out of town, just like us. In our powerful, expensive and rare car, I drove through the dense traffic at a careful 160km/h (100mph) and my abiding memory is of being passed by dozens of hero-drivers in Volkswagen Golf GTIs, who slowed from their habitual 200km/h (125mph) to stare in puzzlement at the two idiots dawdling in a supercar that could go 90mph faster. My memory is of the M1’s magnificent straight six and consequent very brisk performance. We never hit the official 192mph but we did see 180mph a few times, at which the car was nice and stable. Most of all, it was that car’s all-round capability that made it special. In an era of crudely built Italian supercars, this one had efficient door seals, wipers that worked, decent ventilation, good visibility and enough ground clearance. Such things may sound pedestrian, but it’s amazing how important they become when you don’t have them. Thus, first and foremost, for me the M1 will always be the place where modern supercars truly began. Audi and Mercedes-Benz have the fast Labrador market sewn up with their booted RS and AMG models. But for one glorious period in the late 2000s, BMW joined the fray with its E60 M5 Touring, whose manic, naturally aspirated V10 engine could rev to 8250rpm and produce 507bhp. It was a car that defied logic and it gave me a reason to do something equally illogical: the office needed a new coffee machine, so why not drive to Italy to pick one up? And I don’t even drink the stuff. Still, with a boot filled by a shiny Brasilia coffee machine and a nose pointed towards an Alpine pass, who needs sensibilities? I never really got on with the E60 until that trip, but over those passes, it was monstrous. With the gearchange speed dialled up to maximum and the suspension left in Comfort,it scythed across those valleys and mountains, the F1-derived V10 (yes, honestly: the block was forged in the same foundry as BMW’s racing unit) screaming like a banshee compared with the deep-throated AMGs and RSs. There are all sorts of recent horror stories about the reliability of the V10 M5, but in the summer of 2008, the car was new, the weather was good and the roads were amazing: 2000 miles for a coffee that never got drunk has never seemed more sensible. Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/autocar-writers-their-best-moments-bmw-m-cars

Thousands of firefighters are continuing to battle wildfires in Portugal, Spain and France, as a heatwave shows no sign of easing. In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border. The Portuguese authorities say at least 238 people have died from the heat over the past week. Christophe Nader and his son-in-law spoke to the BBC at a shelter near Teste-de-Buch, having been forced to abandoned their house in the village of Cazaux with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing. He told the BBC he was hoping to get back there to rescue their cat. Hundreds of people from the danger zone are at the temporary shelter, which has provided beds. Animal rescues are being organised from there, but it is a slow process, the BBC's Jessica Parker reports. "Everything went so fast - the fire too, was big, big, big," Manon Jacquart, 27, told the BBC. She was evacuated from the campsite she works at early on Wednesday morning, and has been sleeping at a shelter near La Teste-de-Buch, on France's west coast. "I'm just worried, I'm afraid… I'm trying to be as strong as I can but I'm not ok… I want to forget this week," she said. Meanwhile in the Alps climbers are being urged to postpone their trips to Mont Blanc due to the risk of rock falls caused by "exceptional climatic conditions". Since Tuesday, temperatures have soared to 47C in Portugal and above 40C in Spain, leaving the countryside bone dry and fuelling the fires. Portuguese weather forecasters say temperatures will continue hovering above 40C before dropping next week. Fires are ravaging areas of France's south-western Gironde region, where over 12,000 people have been evacuated. Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to carbon emissions. The French weather service has forecast temperatures of up to 41 degrees in parts of the country's south on Sunday and new heat records are predicted for Monday. Late on Saturday the country placed 22 more regional departments mostly along its Atlantic coast on high orange alert. One resident in south-west France described the forest fires as feeling "post-apocalyptic" - "I've never seen this before," Karyn, who lives near Teste-de-Buch, told news agency AFP. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said fires had so far burned 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land and praised firefighters' "remarkable courage". The Portuguese pilot who died was flying solo in a Fire Boss amphibious plane. Portugal's fire hotspots are in the north - east of the city of Porto. Fires have destroyed 30,000 hectares (75,000 acres) of land this year - the largest area since the summer of 2017, when Portugal suffered devastating fires in which some 100 people died. Gemma Suarez, a Spanish farmer evacuated from Casas de Miravete, sobbed as she told Reuters news agency: "What a night. We haven't slept all night. "A social worker came to see me to go pick up my elderly uncle. We spent the night in Navalmoral but we didn't sleep at all. I have never seen such a big fire." In southern Spain, holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze. Ashley Baker, a Briton who lives in Mijas, told the BBC that the fire appeared more threatening on Friday, but since then the wind had blown it away from his area. Planes have been a dropping fire retardant substance, as helicopters shuttle to and from the coast, collecting seawater to douse the flames. "There are about 40 houses in our area, everyone was really nervous and standing outside or on balconies watching it," Mr Baker said. "Even now there are fires at the top of the mountains. It moved away from here, I'm very relieved. When you live in the hills, it's very scary - all the road signs are giving you updates all the time about extreme fire risks." Other parts of the Mediterranean are affected too. In Italy, the government has declared a state of emergency in the desiccated Po Valley - the country's longest river is no more than a trickle in some places. In Greece, firefighters are tackling blazes in the Feriza area, about 50km (31 miles) south-east of Athens, and near Rethymno, on the north coast of Crete. Seven villages have been evacuated near Rethymno. In northern Morocco, several villages had to be evacuated as fires swept through the Larache, Ouezzane, Taza and Tetouan provinces. One village was totally destroyed in the Ksar El Kebir area and at least one person died in a blaze. Link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62189272

Music Title: Calvin Harris - Stay With Me ft Justin Timberlake, Halsey & Pharrell (Official Video) Signer: Calvin Harris & Justin Timberlake & Halsey & Pharrell Release Date: 15 July 2022 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): mehh

Aston Martin is weighing up potential ties with Lucid, Rimac and Mercedes-Benz architecture for its first electric sports car, due in 2025. The firm has today announced a huge, £653 million investment plan aimed at paying back debts, ramping up production volumes and boosting profits - but the package will also be instrumental in the fruition of Aston's electrification strategy. The Gaydon firm's first plug-in hybrid – expected to be based on the Aston Martin DBX SUV – will be launched in 2024, before a pure-electric model arrives in 2025 on the way to a "fully electrified GT/sport and SUV portfolio" in 2030. Both an electric sports car and SUV have previously been mooted for a 2025 launch, with executive chairman Lawrence Stroll saying: “We’re literally defining now the products we want to launch with and expect to have an answer early next year.” Details of the first electric car are unclear, but Stroll conceded that a halo supercar or hypercar car was among those being considered. The firm has previously pledged to build it in Britain and agreed to work with Blyth-based outfit Britishvolt on a new "high-performance" battery that aims to offer "new standards of repeatable on-track performance, charging time and range”. As a direct shareholder that already has many of its systems integrated into the firm's cars, Mercedes-Benz offers the most direct route for Aston Martin into electrification. Today, it holds a 9.7% stake in the British firm, to be boosted by a further investment in the autumn. Aston already uses Mercedes-AMG V8s and Mercedes-based infotainment in its current cars and is considering the prospect of a similar supply arrangement for its electric models. A natural fit for an Aston Martin EV would be the upcoming AMG.EA architecture that Mercedes' performance division is currently developing for use in dedicated electric sports cars - as previewed by the radical Vision AMG concept earlier this year, which will evolve into a production car in 2025. This platform is expected to feature a cell-to-chassis design that integrates the battery pack into the structure itself to lower the centre of gravity, and accommodates motors developed by British firm YASA - based in Oxford, intriguingly just 35 miles from Aston's Gaydon HQ. However, Mercedes' stake in Aston now comes second to that of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), which will acquire a 16.7% share of the British firm for £78 million. The PIF also heavily contributed to a huge £550 million investment package in McLaren earlier this year, and notably in 2019 became the main backer of American EV firm Lucid, with an investment worth more than $1 billion (£840m). Stroll conceded that its involvement, which has been under discussion for “months”, could offer an alternative avenue for Aston’s electrification plans. Lucid currently has just one car on sale, the Air luxury saloon, and is developing an SUV under the codename Project Gravity, to sit atop the same 900V platform. The American EV firm does not supply its architecture to any other car makers currently but has previously supplied batteries for the Formula E championship. It builds cars at a new $700m (£590m) facility it calls AMP-1 in Casa Grande, Arizona and plans to significantly ramp up its output with a new facility in Saudi Arabia that's capable of producing 150,000 cars per year. Intriguingly, Stroll highlighted Croation hypercar outfit Rimac as a potential partner on a press call following the investment announcement. While he did not elaborate, his confirmation that a halo car is part of the product plan and Rimac’s track record of producing low-volume hypercars raises the prospect of the firms partnering for a low-volume, fast-turnaround project that could be in line with Aston’s 2025 launch plans. Stroll also highlighted that Aston plans to continue to build up electrification competency within the firm, adding: “Electrification isn’t just about batteries or motors. There’s so much more to it, and as our development investment transitions to electrification, then we plan to build up our own capabilities, too." Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/aston-martin-considers-mercedes-lucid-and-rimac-ev-platforms

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as acting president as the country reels from an economic crisis and unrest. He replaces Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled to Singapore after unprecedented mass protests which saw demonstrators overrun the presidential palace. Protesters defied a curfew to celebrate his resignation during the night. Sri Lanka is experiencing economic chaos as it faces an acute shortage of food, fuel and other basic supplies. The process of parliament electing a new president will begin on Saturday, with MPs likely to take a vote in a week's time. Given the governing party has a majority, MPs are thought likely to back Mr Wickremesinghe, who has close links with the Rajapaksa family. But whether Sri Lanka's public would accept this is another matter, because Mr Wickremesinghe's resignation as PM was a key demand of protestors. Earlier this week, crowds stormed the former prime minister's compound, clashing with security forces. A demonstrator. Manuri Pabasari, told the BBC at the time that a protest rally against Ranil Wickremesinghe was expected in the coming days. "He has no people's mandate [and] is a well known Rajapaksa supporter," she added. "I mean the new president and the new prime minister should be not a Rajapaksa supporter." The governor of Sri Lanka's central bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe, has warned the country may shut down if no stable government is formed soon. There was a "lot of uncertainty" over whether enough foreign exchange can be found to pay for essential petroleum, he told the BBC's Newsnight programme, and progress on getting an international bailout package depended on having a stable administration. Can Sri Lanka's acting president restore order? How Sri Lanka's war heroes became villains Why is Sri Lanka in crisis? Meanwhile, Singapore says the ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not ask for political asylum when he arrived there. The former president, who arrived with his wife and two bodyguards, no longer has legal immunity as a head of state and his position is now more precarious as he tries to find a safe country to shelter in. He is expected to stay in Singapore for some time before possibly moving to the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lankan security sources told AFP news agency. Sri Lanka: The basics Sri Lanka is an island nation off southern India: It won independence from British rule in 1948. Three ethnic groups - Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim - make up 99% of the country's 22 million po[CENSORED]tion. One family of brothers has dominated for years: Mahinda Rajapaksa became a hero among the majority Sinhalese in 2009 when his government defeated Tamil separatist rebels after years of bitter and bloody civil war. His brother Gotabaya, who was defence secretary at the time and later became president, fled the country after mass unrest. Presidential powers: The president is the head of state, government and the military in Sri Lanka, but does share a lot of executive responsibilities with the prime minister, who heads up the ruling party in parliament. Now an economic crisis has led to fury on the streets: Soaring inflation has meant some foods, medication and fuel are in short supply, there are rolling blackouts and ordinary people have taken to the streets in anger, with many blaming the Rajapaksa family and their government for the situation. Link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62176758

For me, the best colorfulness is v3, my vote is v3

Pagani has no plans to make electric cars after conducting a four-year study into whether they would be suitable for the brand. Company boss Horacio Pagani thinks that EVs are too heavy and lack emotion, and that most of the energy they use is not sustainably produced. He also believes that the climate impact of supercars is so small that their use of an internal combustion engine, however big, is in a broad context largely irrelevant. “In 2018, I created a team working on fully electric cars,” he told Autocar at the recent Milan Monza motor show. This team’s primary responsibility was looking at global homologation for Pagani to create such cars, particularly for the US, and for safety, both of which could be delivered. However, “in four years, we never found interest in the supercar market” for an EV, said Pagani. He added: “At the moment, 90% of energy is produced without renewables. It’s silly to think that only a few supercars [in the world] with ICEs can have a negative impact on the climate when 90% of energy is produced in a bad way.” Pagani’s studies also showed that it would need to use a 600kg battery in an EV, which is more than half the Huayra R’s total weight (1070kg). However, Pagani also believes that the performance of electric cars is excessive. “I own a Tesla to understand EVs, and it’s not necessary to have such high performance in them,” he said. “The challenge is to make an EV that gives good emotion like a normal ICE. Pagani isn’t going to do something just with good performance, as you can do this [now], but to give emotion to the driver. “The idea should be to make a lightweight car, but this is the biggest challenge. The dream would be a 1300kg EV, but this isn’t possible.” Mercedes-Benz provides the marque with its V12 engine and other key systems, and Pagani said his firm has access to this technology if it needs it. He believes that Mercedes continues to be an ideal partner and enjoys working with the German giant. “Mercedes is a big company, but you can still sit in front of a few people who decide, speak to them and be listened to,” said Pagani. He added that the style and visual drama of his cars remains hugely significant – as does making them approachable to drive. “If you work only on the dynamics, all the cars end up the same,” he said. “Spend time on the fashion and the style and you get something wonderful. “Our target is to make the cars easy to drive. Gentlemen drivers are able to drive the Huayra R very easily.” Other philosophies include providing exceptional customer service, enabling buyers to take their car on track and ensuring that it remains accessible on the road – something Pagani believes Ferrari does best of all. Also important is making Pagani cars easy to live with, exemplified by the 10,000km service intervals on the engine, despite it being a V12 revving all the way to 9000rpm. “We don’t want extreme cars,” said Pagani. “We want easy cars that aren’t nerveracking for gentlemen drivers.” Pagani is also proud of the residual values of his cars, the company having built 450 or so examples of the Zonda and Huayra over the past two decades. “Some Zondas are now 10 times the initial price,” he said. “The Cinque is now 20 times.” The firm's waiting list has for the past decade remained at around three years, and it has already found buyers for the first 100 examples of the new Pagani C10, which it will unveil in September. “These have all been sold even before it has been revealed,” said Pagani. He added, however, that he never gets complacent about demand and remains respectful of market conditions that could affect his company, because many of its customers work in financial services. “We’re a success, but a lot can happen suddenly,” he said. “There’s a difference between success at the moment and foresight of the future.” To that end, he invests a huge amount in R&D, typically around 20% of revenue. “We’re one of the top companies that invests in the future. We usually invest 20%. Last year, it was 14%,” said Pagani. “It’s like a race: you can stop, but when it restarts, you’re at the back. Even if you have no new car, you’re investing.” Pagani currently builds around one car per week, up from around one car per month a decade ago. Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/pagani-continue-releasing-v12-hypercars-after-scrapping-ev-plan

Talks aimed at resuming Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia in the Black Sea have produced a deal, Turkey said. It raises hopes for an end to the standoff, which left millions at increased risk of starvation. Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, said both sides had agreed on ways to ensure the safety of shipping routes for grain ships. He said the agreement would be signed next week, when more talks are set to be held in Turkey. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Wednesday's progress a "critical step forward". He said more work was needed to finalise the deal, which would require "a lot of goodwill and commitments by all parties". Ukraine has been able to send some of its grain by road and rail, and a new naval route is opening up through the Danube estuary. But only 2.5 million tonnes were exported last month, much less than the eight million-tonne average before the war, and millions more are waiting in the Ukrainian port of Odesa. Russia's Black Sea fleet is said to be stopping any shipments getting in or out, and the BBC has documented mounting evidence that Moscow's forces have stolen and exported Ukrainian grain. Other routes have been heavily mined. Ukraine optimistic on deal to reopen Black Sea But speaking from Kyiv during his nightly address on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to strike an optimistic tone. "The Ukrainian delegation has reported to me that there is progress. In the coming days, we will agree on the details with the UN secretary-general," he said. Before progress was announced, diplomats said negotiations included plans for Ukrainian vessels to guide grain ships in and out of mined port waters. It was also suggested that Russia would be urged to respect a truce while shipments move and that Turkey - supported by the UN - would offer to inspect ships to allay Russian fears of weapons smuggling. Russia and Ukraine produce 30% of the world's wheat supply. Before the war, Ukraine was seen as the world's bread basket, exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce a month through its ports. And while Ukraine has managed to get some exports through other channels, they have only partly compensated for the closure of the Black Sea, with export volumes down to about 30% of their pre-war totals. In May, Mr Guterres warned that the Russian blockade threatened "to tip tens of millions of people over the edge into food insecurity followed by malnutrition, mass hunger and famine". "There is enough food in our world now if we act together. But unless we solve this problem today, we face the spectre of global food shortage in the coming months," he added. And in June, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to hold the world to "ransom" with the blockade. "It is absolutely unconscionable," he said. "That supply could help people around the world, it could help some of the poorest countries in the world." Despite the news of progress in grain talks, Russian shelling of several major Ukrainian cities has renewed overnight. In the eastern Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian officials said there had been sustained Russian shelling across the province, which Moscow aims to capture to complete its seizure of the industrialised Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Last month, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Mr Putin that his forces had completed the first stage of that plan by capturing Luhansk province. Meanwhile, near the southern city of Kherson. Russian state media reported that Ukrainian forces have renewed their offensive in the region by firing several missiles at the city of Nova Khakova. Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russia in the early stages of the invasion. In recent weeks, Kyiv's forces have been slowly advancing on its outskirts. Link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62159804

What is it? The pure-electric Kia e-Niro, now rebranded the Kia Niro EV, was always the strongest of Kia’s po[CENSORED]r mid-sized crossover range. The best to drive, and the most recommendable version of the Niro, itself a strong contender in an overwhelming kaleidoscope of sports-hatch-cross-utility things in this circa £30k-£40k price range. Has any of that changed with this new pure-electric Niro? In short, no. Despite this being a new platform, and comprehensively updated inside and out, the Niro EV still feels evolutionary rather than revolutionary. No bad thing, given that the e-Niro was one of the best-selling EVs in the UK right up until it was withdrawn from sale earlier this year. The powertrain has been carried over, so you get the same 64.8kWh lithium ion battery and 201bhp electric motor that drives the front wheels, although torque has actually been wound down (from 291lb ft in the outgoing e-Niro) to 188lb ft, to iron out the traction issues that it was prone to. Charging still peaks at 76kW, meaning that you’ll get a 10-80% charge in around 40 minutes if you plug into a CCS-compatible rapid charger offering rates of 100kW or more. A full charge from a standard 7kW home charger will take under 10 hours. We sampled the Niro EV on a route around Frankfurt, in mid-spec 3 trim and on its standard 17in wheels, which is the wheel size of choice given that – together with well-damped suspension – they do a good job of sponging over scruffy town roads. Sure, there’s a fair amount of body roll in faster corners or direction changes, but it’s progressive and never jarring, and the front end still turns in with enough incisiveness if you want it to. The steering is virtually devoid of a sense of connection or feedback and feels rather sterile generally, but it is light and predictable, which makes it ideal for wheeling about town or navigating awkward car parks. Ultimately, the Niro EV is not an involving or notably fun car to drive, even in Sport mode, which weights up the steering but does nothing to resolve how disconnected it feels. It does, however, hit a very happy middle ground between comfort, response, refinement and confidence, which will be exactly what any Niro EV buyer is after. The rest of the Niro EV package is similarly on point for its target audience. Practicality has improved over the predecessor, so you now get more generous rear passenger leg and head room – enough to easily accommodate two lanky adults in the back. The boot in the EV is the best in the Niro range, at 475 litres, and is big enough even for a chunky double buggy. It’s still a way off the luggage space that you get in the bigger Skoda Enyaq iV, but it’ll be more than enough for the average family motorist, and there’s also now a cubby in the nose of the car that’s ideal for storing charging cables. Up front, the Niro now gets an EV6-inspired dashboard, complete with twin 12.3in screens on mid-spec 3 models and up. (Lower-spec cars get an 8.0in central touchscreen). Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, although it’s mildly annoying that you don’t get the wireless connection that many rivals offer. Otherwise, it’s one of the best systems for graphic clarity and logical menu layouts. Sure, we find the rotary and touchscreen control combination of the BMW i3 more convenient, but the Kia’s is still one of the best interfaces. Given that even the base Niro 2 gets adaptive cruise, climate control, a reversing camera and alloy wheels, it’s safe to say that the Niro is well equipped. It’ll be mid-spec 3 and up that most buyers go for, though, because this brings the bigger touchscreen and alloy wheels, heated seats, front parking sensors, upgraded upholstery and the option of a heat pump – a £900 option that’s worth going for if you value a decent real-world touring range in winter conditions. Top-spec 4 brings a sunroof, leatherette upholstery and more. There’s a big ‘but’ coming here, though: the Niro has crept up in price and is now perilously close to £40k if you want a Niro EV 3 with heat pump, which is likely to be one of the most po[CENSORED]r trims. Even PCP monthly payments are expected to range from £500-£600, depending on trim, and assuming a 10% deposit. That means that you can save over £5000 by settling for a top-spec MG ZS EV, or you could sacrifice a bit of equipment and go for the longer-range Skoda Enyaq iV, or even a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Overall, then, the Niro EV is a great blend of compact size, decent driving range (we’d expect to get over 250 miles to a charge in summer pottering, or more like 200 miles in winter with a bit of motorway mileage), comfy road manners, and a smart, tech-filled, spacious interior. There’s not a shadow of doubt, then, that the Niro EV is one of the best and most recommendable EVs out there, especially in its more affordable 2 and 3 trims. Yet prices and competition have changed. Great as it is, the Kia is no longer the default answer to the decent value, long-range family EV question. Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/kia/niro/first-drives/kia-niro-ev-2022-review

Ukraine plans a "million-strong army" equipped with Nato weapons to retake the south of the country from occupying Russians, the defence minister says. Retaking the areas around the Black Sea coast was vital to the country's economy, Oleksii Reznikov said. However, the comments are more of a rallying cry than a concrete plan, says the BBC's Joe Inwood in Kyiv. The defence minister's remarks come as Russia makes progress in taking territory in the eastern Donbas region. An attack on a block of flats on Sunday killed at least 18 people - with more than 20 feared buried under the rubble. Rescuers are still looking for survivors at the site of the five-storey building in Chasiv Yar, near the city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region which has been the focus of a Russian push. In his interview with The Times newspaper, Mr Reznikov praised the UK for being "key" in the transition from providing Ukraine with Soviet-era weapons to Nato-standard air defence systems and ammunition. He said weapons deliveries needed to be sped up. "We need more, quickly, to save the lives of our soldiers. Each day we're waiting for howitzers, we can lose a hundred soldiers," he said. "We have approximately 700,000 in the armed forces and when you add the national guard, police, border guard, we are around a million-strong," the defence minister said. However, Dr Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, cautioned against the figure. "It's not a million-strong force that will be conducting a counter-attack," Mr Watling told the BBC. "Normally you would want operational surprise when you launch a counter-attack, so announcing it publicly is partly about forcing the Russians to have to commit resources more widely to guard against this threat." The comments come as three people were killed and 28 wounded after residential areas in the eastern city of Kharkiv were struck by Russian shells, the regional governor said. Link : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62118953