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https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/58805304 England all-rounder Sam Curran has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup with a back injury. Curran complained of back pain after playing in the Indian Premier League for Chennai Super Kings on Saturday and scans have shown a lower-back issue. The 23-year-old's brother Tom has been called into the squad as a replacement and is replaced on the reserve list by fast bowler Reece Topley. England's first World Cup match is on 23 October against West Indies. Full T20 World Cup squads T20 World Cup fixtures & groups Curran will fly back to the UK in the coming days where he will have further scans from England's medical team to assess the injury. It is hoped further assessment will indicate whether the Surrey player will be available for the Ashes series against Australia, scheduled to begin in December. Injury has already ruled England fast bowler Jofra Archer out of the World Cup, while all-rounder Ben Stokes is also absent as he continues to take an indefinite break from cricket to prioritise his mental health. The members of the England squad not playing in the IPL arrived in Oman on Monday, where the tournament is being held alongside the United Arab Emirates.

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/plasma-therapy-futile-as-treatment-for-critically-ill-covid-19-patients-study-7553651/lite/ Convalescent plasma therapy is “futile” as a treatment for most critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a study published on Tuesday. The findings, published in the journal JAMA, are the latest from REMAP-CAP trial, which has enrolled thousands of patients in hundreds of hospitals globally to quickly determine what COVID-19 treatments work best in which patients. ADVERTISEMENT ALSO READ |Plasma therapy not effective, likely to be dropped from clinical management guidelines on COVID-19 “There were biologically plausible reasons to turn to convalescent plasma early in the pandemic when hundreds of thousands of people were getting sick and treatments had yet to be discovered,” said study co-lead author Bryan McVerry, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC) in the US. “Unfortunately, it was either being administered outside of clinical trials or in trials that weren”t focused on critically ill patients, slowing our ability to see if it actually worked,” McVerry said. ADVERTISEMENT With these latest results, the researchers said using convalescent plasma should be stopped for treating sickest COVID-19 patients. Focus should be on treatments that are known to work, as well as developing and testing better ones, they said. ADVERTISEMENT In the convalescent plasma trial, REMAP-CAP enrolled 2,011 adults hospitalised with severe COVID-19. They were randomised to either receive two units of convalescent plasma or no plasma. The participants were followed to see if the likelihood of surviving at least three weeks without needing organ support, such as a ventilator, differed based on whether they were treated or not. The trial collected enough data to conclude with greater than 99 per cent certainty that convalescent plasma did not help critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to the researchers. However, the results followed a slightly different pattern for the 126 patients who were immunocompromised, the researchers said. This group appeared to do slightly better with the convalescent plasma treatment compared to the standard treatment, but the number of patients was too small to make a definitive statement, they said. ALSO READ |Plasma therapy: Milind Soman shares he ‘didn’t have enough antibodies’ for donation Lise Estcourt, an associate professor at the University of Oxford, UK noted that the reason could be that patients who are unable to mount an effective immune response could still benefit from the antibodies present in blood plasma from COVID-recovered patients, especially early on in the illness. “This is something that definitely warrants investigation,” said Estcourt, the corresponding author of the study. The researchers could not determine why convalescent plasma did not improve outcomes in most critically ill patients. “We speculate that it could be a combination of too few high-quality antibodies in the plasma and these patients being too far along in their illness with a run-away inflammatory immune response for those antibodies to turn the tide,” said study co-senior author Derek Angus from UPMC. “It is still possible that convalescent plasma helps people in earlier stages of illness, though it is likely not efficient to use given that monoclonal antibodies are such an effective treatment for early COVID-19,” Angus added.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/05/asia/china-taiwan-warplane-incursions-analysis-intl-hnk-ml/index.html belarus president alexander lukashenko exclusive chance dnt lead vpx_00001130 'Europe's last dictator': I have nothing to apologize for Outrage after VP Harris fails to correct smear of Israel Stunning display at first Russian royal wedding in over a century A picture shows visitors walking at the al-Wasl Plaza at the Dubai Expo 2020, on October 1, 2021. - Expo 2020 opened in Dubai, hoping to attract millions of visitors with its imaginative pavilions and technological advances. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images) Timeline: Dubai Expo 2020 opens to the world CNN's Larry Madowo speaks with award-winning architect and designer Sir David Adjaye about his plans to bring home the famous Benin Bronzes, which were taken by the British army in a raid on the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria, in 1897. Architect on plans to bring home famous artifacts looted by British Empire Ecuador Prison Rivers Pkg 2 Drug cartels going to war in Ecuador prisons LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Floral tributes and a poster saying 'She was only walking home' are placed in tribute to Sarah Everard on Clapham Common on March 15, 2021 in London, England. Hundreds of people turned out in Clapham Common on Saturday night to pay tribute to Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old London resident whose kidnapping and death - allegedly at the hands of an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer - prompted a wave of concern over women's safety. The same police force is being criticised for its response to the vigil, where they forcibly arrested several participants for violations of pandemic-era rules on public assembly. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) London police advice for women 'absolutely asinine' says activist Sadeed Family Gunshots at the airport and tents in Germany. Hear one family's journey out of Afghanistan Taiwan puts out propaganda video as China makes new record incursion into air zone CATHOLIC CHURCH Damning report reveals scope of Catholic church abuse in France Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to launch a new pharmaceutical substance large-scale production department at the Bratskkhimsintez plant of Russian drugmaker Pharmasyntez, via video link at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow on November 26, 2020. (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY / Sputnik / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) How Kremlin responded to Putin's links to Pandora Papers Candidate for the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Fumio Kishida, former foreign minister, speaks during a debate organized by Liberal Democratic Party, Youth Bureau, Women's Bureau at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on September 20, 2021. (Photo by Philip FONG / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Japanese parliament confirms new prime minister Afghan medical staff members stand at the entrance of a hospital as they wait to receive the victims of an explosion in Kabul on October 3, 2021. (Photo by Hoshang HASHIMI / AFP) (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images) What we know about the deadly blast in Kabul After being hit hard by Covid, Portugal now has highest vaccination rate south korea anti feminist hancocks pkg intl vpx_00002905.png South Korea seeing growth of anti-feminist movement belarus president alexander lukashenko exclusive chance dnt lead vpx_00001130 'Europe's last dictator': I have nothing to apologize for Outrage after VP Harris fails to correct smear of Israel Stunning display at first Russian royal wedding in over a century A picture shows visitors walking at the al-Wasl Plaza at the Dubai Expo 2020, on October 1, 2021. - Expo 2020 opened in Dubai, hoping to attract millions of visitors with its imaginative pavilions and technological advances. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images) Timeline: Dubai Expo 2020 opens to the world CNN's Larry Madowo speaks with award-winning architect and designer Sir David Adjaye about his plans to bring home the famous Benin Bronzes, which were taken by the British army in a raid on the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day Nigeria, in 1897. Architect on plans to bring home famous artifacts looted by British Empire Ecuador Prison Rivers Pkg 2 Drug cartels going to war in Ecuador prisons LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 15: Floral tributes and a poster saying 'She was only walking home' are placed in tribute to Sarah Everard on Clapham Common on March 15, 2021 in London, England. Hundreds of people turned out in Clapham Common on Saturday night to pay tribute to Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old London resident whose kidnapping and death - allegedly at the hands of an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer - prompted a wave of concern over women's safety. The same police force is being criticised for its response to the vigil, where they forcibly arrested several participants for violations of pandemic-era rules on public assembly. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) London police advice for women 'absolutely asinine' says activist Sadeed Family Gunshots at the airport and tents in Germany. Hear one family's journey out of Afghanistan Taiwan puts out propaganda video as China makes new record incursion into air zone CATHOLIC CHURCH Damning report reveals scope of Catholic church abuse in France Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a ceremony to launch a new pharmaceutical substance large-scale production department at the Bratskkhimsintez plant of Russian drugmaker Pharmasyntez, via video link at Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow on November 26, 2020. (Photo by Alexey NIKOLSKY / Sputnik / AFP) (Photo by ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) How Kremlin responded to Putin's links to Pandora Papers Candidate for the presidential election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Fumio Kishida, former foreign minister, speaks during a debate organized by Liberal Democratic Party, Youth Bureau, Women's Bureau at Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on September 20, 2021. (Photo by Philip FONG / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PHILIP FONG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Japanese parliament confirms new prime minister Afghan medical staff members stand at the entrance of a hospital as they wait to receive the victims of an explosion in Kabul on October 3, 2021. (Photo by Hoshang HASHIMI / AFP) (Photo by HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images) What we know about the deadly blast in Kabul After being hit hard by Covid, Portugal now has highest vaccination rate south korea anti feminist hancocks pkg intl vpx_00002905.png South Korea seeing growth of anti-feminist movement belarus president alexander lukashenko exclusive chance dnt lead vpx_00001130 'Europe's last dictator': I have nothing to apologize for Hong Kong (CNN)China's record number of incursions of warplanes into Taiwan's defense zone over the past four days plays to Beijing's military strengths while sending potent messages both at home and far beyond the self-governed island, Western analysts say. Decoding the China-Taiwan relationship Decoding the China-Taiwan relationship 02:24 A mix of nearly 150 People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter jets, nuclear-capable bombers, anti-submarine aircraft and airborne early warning and control planes have entered Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) since Friday, according to Taiwan's Defense Ministry. While the Chinese flights have not come close to what Taiwan considers its sovereign airspace -- 12 nautical miles from its coastlines -- they have entered an area, the ADIZ, where Taipei says it will respond to any incursion. This can be done via radio warnings, anti-aircraft missile tracking or fighter jet intercepts. On Monday, when the PLAAF sent the largest number of warplanes -- 56 -- into Taiwan's ADIZ since the island began publicly reporting such activities last year, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said radio warnings were issued and air defense missile systems were deployed to monitor the activity. At no time during the surge of Chinese flights has it been suggested that actual combat was imminent, but the Western analysts say China is able to make several points without firing a shot in anger. "This is a well-thought-out program from Beijing, meant to be carried out over months and years, with several interrelated goals," said Jacob Stokes, a fellow in the Indo-Pacific security program at the Center for a New American Security. "The first is political-military signaling to try to intimidate the government in Taiwan and exert China's claim to the self-governing island," Stokes said. "The second is getting PLA pilots and associated military support personnel experience conducting these types of operations under different conditions (such as at night), which will increase their capability to fight if called upon to do so," he said. "The third is to force Taiwan's military to scramble aircraft in response, which helps wear out Taiwan's smaller air force and pilots," Stokes said. Other analysts say the PLA is also showing friends of Taiwan -- specifically the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom -- it will not back down in the face of their support for Taipei. They also say extensive coverage of the flights in domestic Chinese media is designed to shore up support for Beijing's campaign to bring Taiwan under its control. Let's break those five points down in relation to the record surge in flights: What is Taiwan doing that angers China? Taiwan and mainland China have been governed separately since the end of a civil war more than seven decades ago, in which the defeated Nationalists fled to Taipei. However, Beijing views Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory -- even though the Chinese Communist Party has never governed the democratic island of about 24 million people. And Chinese President Xi Jinping has refused to rule out military force to capture Taiwan if necessary. According to Lionel Fatton, an Indo-Pacific affairs expert at Webster University in Switzerland, "China needs levers to deter Taiwan from taking undesirable courses of action, especially independence-leaning initiatives." Last Look: Taiwan's thriving democracy Last Look: Taiwan's thriving democracy 04:56 Fatton notes the surge in Chinese flights into Taiwan's ADIZ came after Taipei officially submitted an application to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free-trade pact. It's the kind of action Beijing will not countenance. "There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. With regard to the CPTPP, we firmly oppose Taiwan's accession to any agreement or organisation of official nature," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lijian Zhao said in a tweet on September 23. Fatton said the increase in PLA flights is Beijing telling Taipei it has the means and firepower to back up that hardline stance. It's a classic act of deterrence -- show strength before an opponent takes action that will result in an unacceptable cost, he said. Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command's Joint Intelligence Center, said Beijing is signaling to Taipei that it can strike anytime it wants. "That is a strong message; one accompanying and reinforcing China's threatening rhetoric," he said. And China will be relentless, Fatton said. "We can expect China to continue its pressure campaign to make sure its deterrent posture remains strong," he said. On Tuesday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen indicated the island is not about to buckle under pressure. "Amid almost daily intrusions by the People's Liberation Army, our position on cross-strait relations remains constant: Taiwan will not bend to pressure, but nor will it turn adventurist, even when it accumulates support from the international community," Tsai wrote in an op-ed for US magazine Foreign Affairs. How does this help China gain military experience? Should Beijing decide on a full military campaign against Taipei, the PLA will need detailed intelligence on what kind of response it will get from Taiwan's forces. Sending dozens of warplanes into Taiwan's ADIZ helps paint that picture for the PLA. "The PLA is testing and developing an assessment of Taiwan's ability to detect and willingness to respond to air threats. It is also recording Taiwan's response times, tactics and air intercept procedures," Schuster said. Dramatic videos show Chinese naval exercises amid rising tensions over Taiwan (April 2021) Dramatic videos show Chinese naval exercises amid rising tensions over Taiwan (April 2021) 04:04 The increasing number of PLA aircraft involved in the Taiwan ADIZ incursions also develops the PLA's ability to work with the large number of military assets that would likely be deployed in combat. "Coordinated air operations involving large numbers of aircraft at a large distance is more complicated than small unit operations close to home base," said Schuster. "The air controller's view of the battle space is less accurate at 100 nautical miles than it is at 10. Adding aircraft increases that complexity." Schuster said, to his knowledge, the latest PLA flights represent the largest concentration of Chinese military aircraft ever operating that far from their home bases. So it's possible the large-scale flights could continue. Essentially, the PLA needs the practice. "The US Air Force and Navy consider it (large-scale exercises) routine but still train for it at least annually. The PLA does not have that experience," Schuster said. What about Taiwan's military assets? Taipei doesn't have as many military aircraft as China does, and its fleet is older, too. If Taipei tries to match the PLA flight for flight, it will find itself in serious trouble, the analysts said. "Most of Taiwan's fighter force is nearly 30 years old. Every scramble stresses the air frame. As planes age, they develop fatigue cracks in their air frame structure," Schuster said. Taiwan's foreign minister: We need to prepare for potential conflict with China Taiwan's foreign minister: We need to prepare for potential conflict with China 03:20 "China probably is hoping that its incursions may lead Taiwan to choose between imposing maneuvering limits on its fighters or remove them from service for refurbishment," he said. But Taiwan may not be rising to the bait, said Peter Layton, a fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia. He notes that Taiwan's military doesn't use fresh photos of Chinese planes in its news releases on the PLA incursions -- it uses file images of Chinese aircraft. "Taiwan is, however, publishing detailed track data that includes PLAAF aircraft types. This means (Taiwan's military) can identity aircraft type by non-visual means, that is long-range electronic means," he said. What are the messages for Taiwan's friends? Past instances of larger incursions of PLA flights into Taiwan's ADIZ have come after nations that support Taipei have done something that angers Beijing. For instance, an incursion of 25 PLA planes in April came a day after the US secretary of state warned Beijing that Washington was committed to the defense of Taiwan. And a June incursion of 28 PLA warplanes came after the Group of Seven (G7) leaders issued a joint statement scolding China for a series of issues and underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. The past week's incursions came as the US, Japan, the UK, New Zealand and the Netherlands conducted multilateral naval exercises near Okinawa, just 730 kilometers (453 miles) from Taiwan, according to a statement from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force. The exercises involved two US and one British aircraft carrier. The large-scale Chinese flights, involving dozens of planes, probably had their genesis months ago, Layton said. "The PLA Air Force has a reputation for preferring well-planned, heavily choreographed activities," he said. US admiral sounds alarm on China's military ambitions in Asia US admiral sounds alarm on China's military ambitions in Asia 02:41 Months of planning "would allow the plan to be well-developed and practiced several times before this series of major events. Such timings would also ensure the required number of aircraft were serviceable and available," Layton said. And in the Chinese military-political hierarchy, mistakes don't look good, he said. "The (Communist) Party is risk averse and the party members located at each level of PLAAF command would want to ensure all went well with no problems," Layton said. As such, the surge of PLA flights was likely first envisioned "as a muscular display to accompany the anniversary" of China's founding on October 1, said Timothy Heath, senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corp. think tank in Washington. "However, for such a ceremonial event, one day of 'air parade' activity would have been sufficient," Heath said, adding that the naval exercises, the fact Britain recently sent a destroyer through the Taiwan Strait, and a new leadership in Japan considering its future Taiwan policy, all likely played a part in China expanding the flights. "The deployment of repeated waves of combat air formations is a flexible tool for sending a political signal and a warning to Taiwan and the Western countries," Heath said. How are the flights being covered in Chinese media? Heath said Chinese state media outlets had recently highlighted the October 1 National Day anniversary and "emphatic warnings and threats against Taiwan and warnings to the United States and the West" in both Chinese and English articles. A look at the website of state-run nationalist tabloid the Global Times on Tuesday shows the importance of the issue to Beijing. CNN traces Taiwan's military past as Beijing warns island to 'prepare for war' CNN traces Taiwan's military past as Beijing warns island to 'prepare for war' 04:18 A top-of-the-page story said the PLA flew "a whopping 56 warplanes" into Taiwan's ADIZ on Monday, adding the move came "a day after the US voiced 'concern' over the Chinese mainland's military activity near the island, claiming it was provocative." "The US statement sent a very wrong and irresponsible signal, and China will take all measures necessary to crush any 'Taiwan independence' attempts," the Global Times reported citing the Chinese Foreign Ministry. An accompanying Global Times editorial, also at the top of the page, said the flights were "a severe warning" to Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) against its "secessionist" policies.

operating system launch, there are some issues, so make sure you check out our how to fix common Windows 11 problems guide if you encounter any. Microsoft's latest OS showcases the Fluent design language and more. And, from what we’ve seen ourselves during our initial testing and Windows 11 review, it delivers not only an updated design but also better ways to find and download apps. There’s a huge redesign of the Microsoft Store, for one, allowing Android apps from the Amazon App Store to be used, so you can download TikTok and other apps if you wish. So far, it’s shaped up to be an incredible and promising operating system, even if there are still opportunities for deeper improvements. And, if you’re currently using Windows 10, you’ll be happy to know that you'll be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11, provided that your laptop or PC meets the strict minimum system requirements that Microsoft has put into place in the name of future security. Just bear in mind that there's still some confusion as to what these system requirements are due to a component called TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Right now, it looks like Microsoft isn't going to budge on its requirement that your device is equipped with a TPM 2.0 in order to run a fully supported version of the new OS. Ahead of its release on October 5, let’s take a quick look at what Windows 11 has on offer, from its new features to the benefits it has for users over Windows 10. Here's everything we know about the release date, the new features, and more for Windows 11. Windows 11: Cut to the chase What is it? Windows 11 is the successor to Windows 10 When is it out? October 5 How much does it cost? Free (if you already have Windows 10) Windows 11 release date Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 is launching on October 5 as a free upgrade, with eligible devices being notified from them on. Messages in previous press shots were stating how Windows was "turning it up to 11 in October!" Intel also recently made reference to Windows 11 being the 'October 2021' update, which now only reinforces the October 5 date. There's already laptops that are going to be launching with Windows 11, with vendors such as Huawei agreeing a deal with Microsoft to launch new laptops with the latest upgrade of Windows. The company also confirmed that its PC Health Check tool will be updated closer to the launch of Windows 11, so you can see whether your own device is eligible to upgrade. There is also going to be a yearly update of the new operating system, similar to Apple's efforts with macOS. While Microsoft released a tool that allowed you to see if your desktop PC or laptop will be able to run Windows 11, it was confirmed to be buggy, giving erroneous results for machines that would have no problem in running the update. However, another tool has been released which gives you much clearer detail for how eligible for PC is. Windows 11 hint of October release How to download Windows 11 Microsoft has been updating the Insider builds of Windows 11 on the developer channel since its announcement, so if you want to give it a try, we have a handy guide all about how to download Windows 11. The build is now widely available on the beta channel, showcasing more refinements across the board, including the Microsoft Store. Before you do though, the best point of call would be to make sure that your PC is enrolled for Microsoft's Insider Program first, as long as it meets the requirements. But do be aware, we advise to only run it on a PC that's not your main machine, as there are plenty of small issues for now. Windows 11 update showing as available In the meantime, vendors such as Lenovo have released some guidance to other users who have machines running Windows 7 and above, that it may be a free upgrade, but with a caveat. There's even an option to downgrade to Windows 10 if you are experiencing issues with Windows 11. This is available in the current Insider builds, but you can only do it within 10 days of upgrading your machine, otherwise a clean install has to be done in order to go to Windows 10. Windows 11 Recovery screen, showing the rollback to Windows 10 unavailable Windows 11 system requirements There's been a lot of discussion as to which devices are eligible for Windows 11. Regardless of the TPM requirement, others are simply wondering if they need to look to upgrade their PC or laptop soon. For now, Microsoft have published the requirements for the update, but they are subject to change as we near release and the company take feedback on board. This feedback looks to have made an effect, with Microsoft posting a support post in how to tell if your PC is enabled with TPM 2.0 so it can be eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11. Intel, AMD and others are already working on compatibility for Windows 11, making sure that processors and graphics cards are compatible as soon as the upgrade launches on October 5. Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with at least two cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or SoC RAM: 4GB Storage: 64GB System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable TPM: Trusted Platform Module 2.0 Graphics Card: DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver Display: 720p, 8-bit per color channel, at least 9-inch diagonal Internet Connection and Microsoft Account: Windows 11 Home requires an active internet connection and a Microsoft Account to complete initial, first-use setup of the operating system, or when switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S-mode. Windows 11 WhyNotWin11 app Windows 11 price Windows 11 is a free update for existing Windows users – you'll need to be online to download, install and activate Home versions, and you'll need to have a Microsoft account when installing it on or upgrading your PC or tablet. Windows 11 will also come pre-installed for free on new PCs and laptops as well, though you should check before you buy to make sure. In some cases, new laptops and PCs may still be sold with Windows 10, and you'll have to upgrade for free yourself. Windows 11 product keys for fresh installs will likely go on sale in 2022, but we don't know how much it'll cost. It could cost as much as Windows 10 licences originally sold for: Windows 10 Home cost £119.99/$139 and Windows 10 Pro sold for £219.99/$199.99, so we could see similar prices for Windows 11. So far Microsoft has released the hardware requirements for Windows 11, but there's confusion over TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and whether the company are pushing hard over the minimum threshold for which devices are eligible to be updated to the new version. While we've got a handy explainer for you that goes into TPM, hardware vendors can still offer new machines with Windows 11 that won't need this requirement, albeit with good reason to. Sonic Mania running on Windows11 Windows 11 features There are improvements across the board in Windows 11, with Microsoft promising that updates will be 40% smaller, and touting Windows 11 as "the most secure release yet". The taskbar is optimized for touch as well as mouse peripherals, and is now renamed the dock. New multitasking features are also on offer thanks to a feature called Snap Layouts, which enables you to arrange multiple windows across the screen, not just side by side, but in columns, sections and more. Windows 11 checker There's now a much-improved health check app found in Settings, where Windows 11 will recommend you to turn down the brightness for example, change the power saving mode of the battery and much more. Windows 11 Health Check Another feature is Snap Groups, where you can go back to previously snapped windows from the dock, so for example you can go to your email app, Edge browser windows or anything else without having to snap them back to the previous view again. There's also improved multi-monitor support, so when you reconnect an external monitor, Windows 11 remembers the previous positions of the windows that were on that monitor. There's even an estimated installation time for Windows Update, so you can see whether you need to hold off from updating your PC until later in the day. Teams is also integrated to the dock, so you can easily join in with meetings and family calls. This looks like the first inkling of Skype disappearing from Windows, especially with the Skype sounds being heard in the demo when a call was incoming. The Microsoft Store in Windows 11 showing Amazon Apps The Microsoft Store is finally seeing a redesign, with better-curated content, and a better options for managing your purchased shows, such as mirroring them to your television. Apps such as Disney+, Adobe Creative Cloud, Pinterest and more are already in this redesigned store for Windows 11, ready to go. WPA, EWP and Win32 apps are now all in the Microsoft Store, ready to go. If a developer has a commerce engine, they can keep 100% of the revenue brought from the Microsoft Store. Android apps are also ready for Windows 11, discoverable from the Microsoft Store, via the Amazon App Store, so you can download TikTok and more, ready to use on your PC or tablet. We suspect that the reason why Amazon are allowing their version of the store instead of Google, may be to do with the .APK filename being replaced from August. The new store opens up possibilities for other applications to arrive in Windows 11, even Apple's iMessage, which could follow iTunes and Safari. Windows 11 showing Edge extensions in the new Microsoft Store Windows 11 Home vs Windows 11 Pro Depending on what you currently use your system for, you may need to consider if you will be upgrading to standard Home version of Windows 11, or if you need to bump up to Windows 11 Pro, Microsoft's enterprise version of the operating system. Regardless of what your preference may be, both have the same minimum system requirements so you'll need to meet those standards regardless of what version you side with. There are numerous benefits to Windows 11 Pro, though mostly security related to protect businesses and organizations to keep data safe, with features like Windows Information Protection (abbreviated to WIP). Another difference you'll see between Windows 11 Home and Pro is when you’re setting it up for the first time, as with the Home version you'll need to set it up with an internet connection and a Microsoft account. Windows 11 doesn't have either of these restrictions, which may tempt some non-enterprise users into buying the Pro version of the operating system to avoid using a Microsoft account. Windows 11 Home PCs also can’t be joined to Active Directory, which are often used on business devices to control access to certain applications and resources. You can find a full list of the differences between Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro over on the official Microsoft comparison page. A new look for Windows 11 Fluent Design is the new name for the look of Windows 11. Across the board everything looks more modern and fresh, with rounded windows and apps such as Snipping Tool seeing huge improvements in years. One of the biggest changes users will notice is that the Start menu has been moved to the center of the screen – and it's now "cloud powered", so it dynamically changes depending on the time of day, and the content you're working with. If you're using the Insider Build, there's already ways of customizing the taskbar and the start menu, including moving the icons back to the left. Light Mode and Dark Mode are here too, with a unified design across the operating system, with colorful wallpapers to choose from as well. Windows 11 showing Microsoft Store (Image credit: Shutterstock - Gorodenkoff / Microsoft) Windows Widgets are back in Windows 11, accessible via the dock, with Microsoft touting AI-powered dynamic features that enable widgets, as with the Start menu, to change depending on the apps you're using and the time of day. On the touchscreen, you can slide from the left on the desktop to have widgets appear. There are plenty to choose from, such as the weather, Bing maps, news, and more. These will be available for third-parties as well, so you may see as many widgets available to pick as there are on Apple's iOS and iPadOS operating systems. Many apps are being redesigned for Windows 11, such as the Photos, Snipping Tool and Paint apps, bringing them in line with the Fluent Design language. Windows 11 widgets displayed on the new Microsoft operating system Gaming on Windows 11 Gaming will be a much bigger focus in Windows 11, with the sluggish and frustrating-to-use Windows 10 Xbox app replaced by a new Game Pass app that enables you to buy, manage and remove games, making it easier for you to access and download games, from Doom Eternal to – soon – Halo Infinite. HDR will also be supported on compatible machines, offering improved lighting and contrast for gaming and viewing media. Direct Storage is also here, with the main game assets able to be downloaded and installed, enabling you to play your games even faster than before. Streets of Rage 4 running on Windows 11 Windows 11 Touch improvements Tablet mode has been one of Windows' weaker points ever since Windows 8, and the new tablet features that Microsoft showed off for Windows 11 could be key to the operating system's fortunes, especially with future Surface products in the pipeline from Microsoft – to have a new, numbered operating system for its upcoming tablets could be a big selling point for new users. At the event, Microsoft touted bigger touch targets and easier ways to move windows around, and better rotate optimizations, for example in how windows are rearranged, so you don't lose track of the applications you were using. Gestures used with the trackpad of the Surface models are also coming to the touchscreen, bringing in some familiarity here. Haptics is also coming to Windows 11 when you use a stylus for better feedback when drawing or sketching. The touch keyboard has also been redesigned, with a smaller keyboard just for your thumb, and emojis ready to be used. Microsoft says dictation will also be improved, alongside voice commands, with 'delete that' options and more. add a personalized touch to Windows 11 Microsoft has certainly given Windows 11 a more modern look than what we saw in Windows 10, but there's always the risk that it might not be to your taste. No need to worry though, as it takes very little time and effort – and, pleasingly, no money! – to inject some personality into Windows 11, customizing the look of the operating system in various ways to make it your own. Perhaps the easiest way to completely change the look of Windows 11 is to apply a new theme, and there are a good handful of options already available for you to try out, but if the ones that come with the OS don't suit you, you can download more from the Microsoft Store. There are also familiar customizations such as setting a personal desktop background as either a static image or a slideshow, and you can tweak system color options – including dark mode. You can even make adjustments to the taskbar if you like, so your finalized Windows 11 doesn't need to look anything like the out-of-box version of the OS. Windows 11 Are there issues with Windows 11? No new operating system will have a completely flawless launch, so despite being in beta through the Windows Insider Program, a few issues have already popped up. Thankfully the ones discovered so far are nothing serious and some of them are only appearing for a few users so if you wanted to start downloading the OS on launch day, don't let this stop you. The biggest problem on Microsoft’s status page for Windows 11 listing known issues is compatibility problems with Intel Killer network drivers which is causing websites and video streams to be slow and sluggish. A memory leak issue has also been reported on Reddit, with at least some folks are finding that when they close an instance of File Explorer, it isn’t releasing the RAM it used. We have a run-through of most of the currently known issues with Windows 11 and we will be keeping this up to date as more reports come in with any new Windows 11 problems and how you can fix them, but nothing system-breaking has appeared so far.

That said two of the struggling GPUs are EVGA RTX 3090 FTW Ultra cards—one which had already been RMA'd but had received the wrong revision of the RTX 3090 in the process—while the other is a Gigabyte RTX 3080 Ti. We also have a report from one user about it potentially causing a fatal error with their RTX 3070-powered Alienware M17 R4 gaming laptop. A lot of the issues people seem to have been having surround the settings screen and the load the game puts the hardware under whenever something gets switched around in there. These errors are not necessarily always bricking the graphics cards in question, but there is a whole slew of folk on the New World forums trying to figure out ways to extend their playtime between crashes. Though at least there are reports from admins that the New World devs are aware of certain hardware related problems and are working on it.

*Back Into The Trenches* The World War II genre has been a staple to the video game industry for decades. After initially launching World War II- Battle Combat by Edkon Games GmbH on my Android device, I wasn’t expecting anything groundbreaking. With that said, this title offers quite a bit of content that can satisfy the most hardcore first-person shooter fans. Given that this title is played on an Android device, there are a few quirks that players will need to get accustomed to. The first thing that’s worth mentioning that there’s no story or campaign in this title. None whatsoever. This is strictly an online competitive shooter. So, if players want to have a few rounds, it’s essential that they have a solid internet connection to assure smooth gameplay. In my experience, my wifi connection dipped down a bar or two and it made the gameplay miserable. There was rubberbanding, lagging and teleportation happening all around me. Having a secure wireless connection in this day and age should be no problem for most players. However, sometimes things happen during matches and janky internet can be detrimental to enjoyment. *WWII-Battle Combat Trenches* That aside, when everything connects, it plays beautifully. Players will use their phones as a standard console controller. The left thumb moves the character and the right thumb is for executing an action. Any player that’s well-versed with the controls of Battlefield and Call of Duty will be able to jump into battle right away. Using a flat surface as a controller can feel alien in comparison to the practicality of console hardware. However, after a few rounds, I started getting the hang of it. Currently, this title offers Team Deathmatch, Capture Point, Deathmatch, Knives Only and Arms Race. Players will start off with a standard machine gun and after each round, XP gathers up rather heartily. It wasn’t long before I was unlocking new skins, rifles, consumables and grenades. Matches launch after only a few seconds and the fast-paced action can get the adrenaline pumping. The music in World War II – Battle Combat is nothing to write home about, but the gunfire is music in itself. It is loud, crisp, and accurate. Thus, there are a plethora of unlockables to obtain by the usage of in-game gold coins collected after each match. They can be a bit pricey, but they each offer stats that can really make a difference in combat. There are also loot boxes that come in daily variations and some even open just by watching advertisements. *WWII-Battle Combat Beach* *Spoils of War* The menu system in World War II- Battle Combat is dense. The menus will consist of customizing weapons and upgrading equipment using XP points that are very similar to Sniper Online. Plus, players can get new magazines, muzzles and stocks through the accumulation of the in-game currency. They can even unlock trinkets for their rifles that are akin to Apex Legends. There are only five maps available, but they’re all different in terms of flow and strategy. The bombed-out city map offers a verticality that makes handy sniping vantage points. Additionally, the beach map is a closed-in, intimate battle that has multiple paths and chokepoints. There’s also a burned-down city with trenches to have stand-offs with along with a warehouse that provides a claustrophobic situation with tightly knit gunfights. Every map gives off a unique sense of place with each round. Graphically, this title does a good job capturing the essence of the WWII first-person shooters of yesteryear. It’s nothing that I haven’t seen a hundred times before, but it’s still impressive for an Android title. There’s a variety to the design of the maps and all the weapons have a sense of weight. Players will be able to jump, crouch and aim with their weapons with ease. The configuration feels natural and I was getting mad K/D ratios with my initial playthroughs. Some of the rifles can feel a little overpowered. One example was that I was getting cheap kills using my upgraded garand with just one headshot from across the map. However, these are just nagging balancing issues that can be patched up if the developers wish and it is nothing really game-breaking. *WWII-Battle Combat Knife* *Some Things Never Die* World War II – Battle Combat offers the closest thing to a handheld Call of Duty or Battlefield clone I ever played. Sure, there may be some connection hindrances and it may be a fundamentally unoriginal concept, but the game’s still fun. Therefore, for anyone that is hankering for a bare-bones first-person WWII title, then this is something that’s in need of attention.

Characters already created on a full server can still queue to log in and play. AGS has been clear that a character transfer feature is coming to New World sooner rather than later, so is encouraging players to make characters on a low po[CENSORED]tion server and get playing now rather than wait in queues to play New World has been successful beyond anyone's expectations for the MMO, as buzz grew to a fever pitch in the last few weeks. The megacorporation's games division has even won praise from executive chairman Jeff Bezos' Twitter account, finally producing a success after several years of nothing. The studio itself admits that the runaway success was a huge surprise, and numbers grew very quickly very close to launch.

"I happily played World of Warcraft during 2007-2010," Buterin writes in his bio, "but one day Blizzard removed the damage component from my beloved warlock's Siphon Life spell. I cried myself to sleep, and on that day I realized what horrors centralized services can bring. I soon decided to quit." From there, Buterin got into Bitcoin, "started writing for a blog called Bitcoin Weekly initially at a meek wage of $1.5 per hour, and soon with Mihai Alisie cofounded Bitcoin Magazine." He dropped out of university to focus on crypto, coming up with the idea for Ethereum in 2013 and therefore being responsible for NFTs, the digital certificates of authenticity that, like everything powered by crypto's proof-of-work security systems, are wildly energy-inefficient. Many of us have been affected by a strategy we rely on being deemed OP and hit by a nerf. Very few of us subsequently cry ourselves to sleep, quit the game, and then dedicate the rest of our lives to a pyramid scheme for dorks that contributes to an environmental crisis, graphics card shortages, art theft, and ends up being banned in China. day's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was published in 2015, he edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and actually did play every Warhammer videogame.

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Things are great for lower-skill players right now, but realistically, Trials of Osiris is still slightly broken in Destiny 2. Luckily, Bungie is already on the case. Last week saw the relaunch of the Trials of Osiris in Destiny 2's Season of the Lost, which has been drastically improved by Bungie's recent changes to how it works. For years, even with some recent tweaks to make it more rewarding, Trials was an exclusionary mode that drove away lower-skill players because it was so dominated by higher-skill ones. If you wanted to play some sweaty multiplayer matches and get stomped for your trouble, you jumped into Trials--but that's not the case anymore. Still, the first weekend of the Trials of Osiris identified one glaring weakness in the mode that's antithetical to what it's supposed to be. Loathe as I am to suggest a tweak to Trials that will make it more difficult for average players like me to "go Flawless" and reach one of Destiny 2's highest peaks, it's something that makes Trials unfair. That weakness is the ability to see that the people who are matching into your game aren't on a team, but rather, queuing in solo, and it needs to change. Destiny 2 Players NEED To Play Trials of Osiris Since its inception back in Destiny 1, Trials was a top-tier competitive multiplayer event that was, essentially, the toughest PvP challenge you could take on. Up until now, you could only play the mode if you had a custom-made team that included two other people. The goal in Trials is to win seven matches of Destiny's Elimination mode--where you only get one life and your teammates have to revive you to keep you in the fight--without losing. Doing so is considered a "Flawless" run and earns you special guns and mods you can't get anywhere else in the game, to say nothing of the bragging rights that come with it. There's even a special social space, the Lighthouse, only available to Trials winners. With the relaunch of Trials in the Season of the Lost, however, Bungie has made some drastic changes, all of which invite more people to play the mode than ever before. New anti-cheat software is knocking out offenders who would make Trials into an incredibly frustrating slog, and a new rewards system provides tons of good loot just for participating in the mode. Trials now only tracks wins and ignores losses, so the mode doesn't penalize you for getting pummeled. And perhaps most importantly, you no longer need a full team of three players to access the Trials mode--it now supports matchmaking, so you can jump into Trials by yourself or with just one other player. The option to play Trials without scheduling a session with friends and still earn useful, powerful loot has made the mode way more fun, and seriously increased the number of people playing it in its first weekend back. That's a massive victory for Bungie, because Trials was previously a portion of the game most players ignored. With so many of the best players in the game wanting to prove themselves in Trials, making any progress in the mode was tough for average players, and many abandoned it. These new changes, and matchmaking especially, have reinvigorated Trials and broken down a lot of the barriers that kept players out. That's why it's so important that Bungie fix this one last issue (and great that it has already acknowledged that it will soon do so), because it again allows for better players to prey on weaker ones, and it could result in people once again deciding that Trials isn't worth the effort. Currently, as you're loading into matchmade activities like the Trials of Osiris, an on-screen counter shows how many people are in your match, displaying the game's progress in pairing you with opponents. By watching that counter, you can intuit when people who are not in a full group of three are matched with you. Smart squads--including my team, which went Flawless this weekend--immediately saw this as a way to game the Trials system. They'd cancel the matchmaking process when they saw they were facing a full, pre-made team of three, and instead opt into matches where at least one player had queued in alone. It's great that more people are able to go Flawless in the Trials of Osiris, but they shouldn't be able to do it by exploiting the foibles of matchmaking. The advantage you get as a pre-built team of three can be tremendous. If you're playing Trials as a team, you already know and trust your teammates and have a sense of how they play and how you should play with them. You're also most likely communicating with each other in a voice channel or something like a Discord server. That makes your chances of beating a group with solo players much higher, since they don't know each other and likely aren't communicating. Just the ability to tell each other where the enemy is and what they're doing helped us to win a whole lot of rounds during this first weekend, because we were able to share intelligence and change tactics. And while I appreciated this advantage to an enormous degree--I've been getting pummeled in Trials for years, and visiting the Lighthouse this weekend was huge for me as a long-time Destiny fan but a middling PvP player--I recognize that it's not fair. It's great that Bungie has added matchmaking to Trials because it opens it to more players, regardless of their skill level. But it's antithetical to how the Trials of Osiris is supposed to work, and the challenge it's supposed to impose, to allow teams to go on their quest for a Flawless run by hunting down solo players. I think Bungie has the right of it that you should still face solo players if you're a team of three, because any changes that make the Trials of Osiris field less homogeneous and the battles more fair are good. This weekend felt great because we had a variety of Trials experiences; sometimes we hit tough teams, sometimes we were rolled by a coordinated group, sometimes we were absolutely dominant, and sometimes even battling a squad of solos came down to the wire. Essentially, though, winning didn't feel impossible, and matchmaking was a big part of the equation that made that happen. Win or lose, Trials now respects the time you put in, and the opportunity for more than just the best of the best to go Flawless makes the mode more fun for everyone. But Trials has had a history of good players finding ways to exploit weaker ones, and that's what the solo queuing trick is: an exploit. It takes away from the spirit of the Trials of Osiris, and it makes playing the mode unfairly harder on those who opt-in without a full team. Elements like this one are why Trials struggled in the past to begin with--it made the mode unfun to play if you weren't already the best and if you didn't have a couple of PvP-fanatic friends to boot. The good news is that Bungie is already aware of the issue, and in its latest This Week at Bungie blog post, it mentioned that the counter will be invisible in future Trials sessions starting on September 24. Already we've glimpsed a Trials of Osiris that's more fun and more worth playing than it's ever been, and this change is in keeping with that. To keep a Trials that is both accessible to normal players and representative of a top-tier challenge, the ability to exploit matchmaking so that you only queue against solo players has to go. It'll be sad for us middle-of-the-road squads, but ultimately, it'll help make one of Destiny 2's most unique and exciting activities even better.

Nickname : Inmortal Tag your opponent : @#Mr.Devil Music genre : Trap Latin Number of votes ( max 10 ) : 8 Tag one leader to post your songs List: @Shyloo

• Your Nickname ( Must be same like teamspeak ) : Inmortal • Your Age :16 • Profile link : @Inmortal • How much you can stay active in both forum & teamspeak ? : I have problem with ts3 i can't use ts3 in forum I will try to stay as long as possible • How you could help us a Devil harmony member ? : attract people and my activity • How much you rate Devil harmony project from 1 - 10 ? : 8 • Other information about your request ? : I want to apologize to the members of devil harmony for my activity but I want to enter the project to show how loyal I am to him and that I really like this beautiful project • Last request link : -

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/29/politics/liz-cheney-2024/index.html Liz Cheney is going to New Hampshire. She's getting her political operation in order. And she's raising money like mad from icons of the Republican Party. The Wyoming congresswoman is clearly exploring her political options and power well beyond her congressional district, even if she's not talking openly about a run for president. "I've never had a conversation with her about 2024," said Eric Edelman, a former ambassador, Pentagon official and adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney. "If there was going to be a Never Trump candidate, I can't think of anyone better." Eight months after she voted to impeach Donald Trump, Cheney continues to be one of the party's most vocal critics of the former President and his hold on the Republican Party. The three-term House member has also said she would do "whatever it takes" to prevent Trump from becoming president again and has not closed the door on running for the White House herself. Cheney's immediate political goal, however, is to retain her House seat from Harriet Hageman, a Trump-backed primary challenger. To help, she is marshaling the forces of the pre-Trump GOP establishment. On October 18, former President George W. Bush will attend a fundraiser for Cheney in Dallas, co-hosted by former US Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and top Bush campaign aides Karl Rove and Karen Hughes. Former Republican House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan also raised money for Cheney earlier this year. And on top of that, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. Lindsey Graham and Mitt Romney have all donated to Cheney through their respective political action committees. Her fundraising hauls have been impressive for the standards of Wyoming's at-large district -- more than $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2021 and nearly $1.9 million in the second, by far her two best fundraising performances ever. Cheney's political schedule is also drawing attention. On November 9, she will travel to New Hampshire, the home of the first presidential primary, to speak at St. Anselm College's Institute of Politics. The event is sponsored by the Loeb School of Communications, whose president, Joe McQuaid, is also the conservative publisher of the Manchester newspaper, the New Hampshire Union Leader, and a gatekeeper for Republican White House hopefuls. All of this comes as Cheney continues to play a heightened role in the national conversation, despite her ouster from the House Republican leadership team earlier this year. She is the co-chair of the House select committee investigating the events of January 6, and is just one of two Republicans serving on the panel. In an interview with CBS News' "60 Minutes" this week, Cheney repeated her condemnations of Trump, calling his actions on January 6 "unforgivable." She also criticized Republicans, like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, for continuing to embrace Trump. "What he's done is embrace Donald Trump. And if I were doing what he's doing, I would be deeply ashamed of myself," Cheney said.

https://onekindplanet.org/top-10/top-10-worlds-smallest-animals/ 10. Pygmy Rabbit With a typical body length of 9.4–11.4 in (24–29 cm), the tiny Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is the smallest rabbit in the world. Adults weigh only 14 oz (400 g). Found in North America, they generally inhabit areas with deep soil where they can burrow into tall, dense sagebrush for cover and food. Extensive, well-used runways interlace sage thickets and provide travel and escape routes from predators. 9. Pygmy Marmoset The Pygmy Marmoset or Dwarf Monkey (Cebuella pygmaea) is the world’s smallest monkey. It is native to the rainforest canopies of Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. With a body length, not including the tail, of 5.5–6.3 in (14–16 cm), they really are tiny, and they weigh only 0.5 oz (15 g) at birth. Pygmy 8. Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur While the pygmy marmoset maybe the smallest monkey, the title of smallest known primate goes to the Madame Berthe’s Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae). Found in the Kirindy Mitea National Park in Western Madagascar, they have an average body length of 3.6 in (92 mm) and a weight of around 1 oz (30 g). 7. Etruscan Shrew The Etruscan shrew (Suncus etruscus), also known as the Etruscan Pygmy Shrew and the White-toothed Pygmy Shrew, weighs only 0.04–0.1 oz (1.2–2.7 g). That makes it the world’s smallest mammal when measured by weight, but, at 1.4–2 in (36–53 mm), it loses out to the bumblebee bat for smallest in length. Not everything about the Etruscan shrew is small though; its brain is the largest in ratio to its body weight of all animals, larger even than that of a human! 6. Speckled Padloper Tortoise The world’s smallest turtle is the Speckled Padloper Tortoise (Homopus signatus) from South Africa. Males measure 2.4–3.1 in (6–8 cm), while females, which are slightly bigger, measure up to almost 4 in (10 cm). The tiny turtles feed on small plants they forage from the rocky outcrops they call home, also using the tiny crevices as hiding places from predators. 5. Bee Hummingbird The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the smallest bird and the smallest warm-blooded vertebrate. It measures 2.2 in (5.7 cm) in length and weighs 0.06 oz (1.8 g). Its body size is not the only impressive thing about these birds though, as at only 0.8 in (2 cm) wide and 1.1 in (3 cm) deep, their nests are equally tiny! 4. Kitti's Hog-Nosed Bat The Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai) or Bumblebee Bat from Thailand and Burma is the smallest bat, measuring only 1.1–1.6 in (30–40 mm) in length and weighing only 0.05–0.07 oz (1.5–2 g). It is about the same size as a bumblebee and has a distinctive pig-like snout. It lives in limestone caves along rivers, with an average of 100 individuals living in a single cave. 3. Slender Blind Snakes Slender Blind Snakes or Thread Snakes (Leptotyphlopidae) are thought to be the world’s smallest snakes at about 4.3 in (11 cm) in length. Found in North and South America, Africa, and Asia, there are 87 different species of Slender Blind snakes. They are blind; nonvenomous snakes adapted to burrowing that feed on ants and termites. Most species suck out the contents of insect bodies and discard the skin. 2. Paedocypris Measuring only 0.3 in (7.9 mm) in length, Paedocypris (Paedocypris) is the smallest fish. Found in the peat swamp forests of Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, they can survive extreme drought due, in part, to their small size. 1. Paedophryne amauensis The smallest frog in the world is the Paedophryne amauensis. First discovered in New Guinea in 2009, it’s a relatively new species that doesn’t even have a common name yet! With an average body size of just 0.3 in (7.7 mm), they are the smallest vertebrate and well deserving of the top spot in this list!

https://hiconsumption.com/best-motorcycles/ First unveiled at EICMA in 2016, Yamaha’s Tenere 700 is another highly-anticipated model that after several years, has finally entered production and is available for purchase at local dealerships. The successor to the mighty XT660Z, the Tenere 700—or “T7”—is powered by a modified version of the Tuning Fork Company’s proven MT-07 DOHC parallel-twin, though it’s been tuned for more low-end grunt in order to better lend itself to off-road applications. On top of its engine architecture, the T7 is also heavily visually inspired by Yamaha’s Dakar Rally racers with the tall windscreen, navigation tower, and extended range fuel cells. Style: Adventure Bike Engine: Liquid-Cooled 689cc Parallel-Twin Power: 72.4hp / 50.2ft-lbs Weight: 452lbs (Wet) Origin: Japan

https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/58730638 Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao has announced his retirement from the sport to focus on his political career. The multi-division world champion, who is a senator in his native Philippines, has already announced his intention to run for president in the country's 2022 elections. The 42-year-old's final fight was a defeat by Cuba's Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas last month. "I just heard the final bell. Boxing is over," said Pacquiao. In a video posted on social media, Pacquiao described retiring as the "hardest decision" of his life, adding boxing had given him "the chance to fight my way out of poverty" and "the courage to change more lives". He also thanked his fans, friends and all those who supported him throughout his career, most notably long-time trainer Freddie Roach, who he described as "my family, a brother and a friend". "I will never forget what I have done and accomplished in my life," he said. After growing up in poverty in the south of the Philippines, Pacquiao moved to the capital Manila as a teenager to start a boxing career that would make him one of the world's most highly paid athletes. He won his first major title in 1998 at the age of 19, defeating Thailand's Chatchai Sasakul for the WBC flyweight title. Within three years he was fighting in Las Vegas, beating South Africa's Lehlohonolo Ledwaba for the IBF super bantamweight title at the MGM Grand, the venue for most of his fights in the following two decades. He is now regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time, winning 12 different titles across eight weight divisions and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades. In July 2019, Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 when he defeated Keith Thurman to win the WBA (Super) welterweight title, though he was stripped of the title in January 2021 because of inactivity. Speaking after his defeat to Ugas in August, Pacquiao said he was "60-40" in favour of quitting. He retires with a record of 62 wins, eight defeats and two draws. Pacquiao entered politics in 2010 when he won a seat in the lower house of the Philippines congress, before being elected for a six-year term in the upper chamber in 2016. He confirmed earlier this month his intention to run for president after he was nominated as a candidate by a faction of the ruling party, PDP-Laban.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/study-shows-free-play-may-help-infants-learn-develop-101632924597722-amp.html A new study by researchers at New York University has identified everyday inputs to infants' natural learning by examining free play outside the confines of lab settings and pre-selected toys. The findings of the study were published in the journal 'Child Development'. The benefits of object play (blocks, puzzles, cars, dolls and so on) for infant learning and development are well documented. However, nearly nothing is known about how natural play unfolds in the ecologically valid home environment (real-life settings). ALSO READ: World Heart Day: All you want to know about congenital heart disease in children Indeed, research on infant play is limited to structured tasks in child-friendly lab environments, where infants engage with predetermined objects for a fixed amount of time. Although structured observations illuminate how infants explore, interact, and learn with novel objects under controlled conditions, they reveal little about how infants spontaneously play in their everyday environments.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/29/asia/taliban-afghanistan-opium-drug-economy-cmd-intl/index.html When the khaki-colored landscapes of Afghanistan are transformed by a patchwork of pink, white and purple each spring, farmers rejoice. Their cash crop of poppies is ready for harvesting. Opium cultivation has long been a source of income for rural communities across the country, a land besieged by decades of war. But for the United States, those same colorful scenes symbolized the enemy. "When I see a poppy field, I see it turning into money and then into IEDs [improvised explosive devices], AKs [assault rifles], and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]," said Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. This narrative contributed to how the United States' war on drugs was fought -- and lost. Over 20 years, the US squandered nearly $9 billion on a counternarcotics policy that -- perversely -- helped to fill the Taliban's pockets and, in some regions, fueled support for the insurgents. Now in power, and with an interim government in place, the Taliban are navigating how to manage Afghanistan's entrenched drug economy -- the country's biggest cash crop -- as the whole nation teeters on economic collapse. A US Army convoy drives near Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province in April 2006. An explosives-packed car detonated near a US base there that month, injuring members of the US military and a team who were training leaders of the Afghan Eradication Force. A US Army convoy drives near Lashkar Gah in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province in April 2006. An explosives-packed car detonated near a US base there that month, injuring members of the US military and a team who were training leaders of the Afghan Eradication Force. Just two days after the fall of Kabul, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid pledged "full assurances to the world" that Afghanistan under Taliban rule would not be a narco-state. "Afghanistan will not be a place of cultivation of narcotics, so the international community should help us and we should have an alternative livelihood" for opium growers. But how the Taliban will do that remains uncertain. The opium economy Afghanistan produced an estimated 85% of the world's opium in 2020, according to the latest United Nations figures. In 2018, the UN estimated that opium economy accounts for up to 11% of Afghanistan's GDP. But it's unclear how much the Taliban have profited -- and will continue to do so -- from the opium economy, with estimates around these numbers varying widely. "Clearly drugs are a very important aspect of the Taliban's profits," Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told CNN. "But just like with many other insurgent groups, there is often way too much ... mystique afforded to the drug economies. What competent, even moderately competent insurgents and, frankly, criminal groups do, is to simply tax anything in the area, where they have enough influence to be able to enforce the collection of informal taxation," Felbab-Brown said, noting this can range from sheep stocks to meth production. While it's impossible to pinpoint just how profitable the opium economy is to the Taliban, over the last two decades, estimates have ranged from the tens of millions to low hundreds of millions. Beyond those figures it's really just "fantasy," she said. At the beginning of the US-led invasion in 2001, British coalition forces were tasked with developing a counternarcotics policy, but around 2004, the US muscled its way in, Felbab-Brown said, pushing for a more aggressive eradication effort. That included aerial crop spraying, a campaign from 2005 to 2008 that infuriated some Afghan communities and damaged relations between Kabul and Washington. The importance of the opium trade in financing the insurgency was "routinely cited as a primary reason" for the US' increased counternarcotics efforts, according to the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) 2018 report. But the data to support that claim was disputed, and American policy flip-flopped throughout administrations and departments during the 20-year war. Prior to 2004, the US strategy on drugs was viewed as an "uncoordinated effort [that was] ineffective and in need of significant changes," the SIGAR report said. "Everyone did their own thing, not thinking how it fit in with the larger effort. State was trying to eradicate, USAID was marginally trying to do livelihoods, and DEA was going after bad guys," one senior Department of Defense official was quoted as saying in the report. In 2004, however, poppy production spiked, leading to some officials calling for a stronger eradication campaign. Robert Charles, the then-assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, testified that spring that there are "no more urgent and fundamental issues than the drug situation, which if left unchecked, will become a cancer that spreads and undermines all we are otherwise achieving in the areas of democracy, stability, anti-terrorism and rule of law." "Opium is a source of literally billions of dollars to extremist and criminal groups worldwide," Charles said, adding that slashing the opium supply was "central to establishing a secure and stable democracy, as well as winning the global war on terrorism." An Afghan soldier walks through a field of poppies during an eradication campaign in Kandahar province's Maiwand district in 2005. An Afghan soldier walks through a field of poppies during an eradication campaign in Kandahar province's Maiwand district in 2005. The US Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) operating budget in Afghanistan under President George W. Bush's tenure more than quadrupled from $3.7 million in 2004 to $16.8 million in 2005, then reached $40.6 million in 2008, according to figures from a 2012 Congressional Research Service report. In 2009, however, the late US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke called the US eradication program "the least effective program ever." That same year, under the Obama administration, the US scaled back poppy eradication attempts. However, they struggled to effectively implement an "alternative livelihoods" approach -- a program that incentivized governors in poppy-free provinces and encouraged farmers to grow other crops, such as saffron. But in 2017, the US military once again revved up eradication, launching Operation Iron Tempest, a mission that used B-52 bombers, F-22 fighters and other high-precision warplanes to strike a network of drug labs the US claimed was helping to generate around $200 million annually for the Taliban. The mission was unsuccessful, with experts concluding they'd largely targeted empty compounds owned by local traders -- at the cost of numerous civilian casualties. An Afghan worker pours gasoline on a large pile of illegal drugs that were destroyed in September 2004 in Kabul. An Afghan worker pours gasoline on a large pile of illegal drugs that were destroyed in September 2004 in Kabul. Ultimately, US policy was dictated by the idea: "Destroy the crop and destroy the insurgency's primary source of funds," according to the SIGAR report. The basis of that claim, however, "was disputed," with "methodological problems with the data on which it was based," it added. "Drugs have always had a particularly strong political resonance in the United States and has often been seen as sort of the most damaging, lethal, illegal economies," Felbab-Brown said, adding: "Whether that's objectively true is a separate issue." Meanwhile, US eradication efforts and interdiction raids -- often hitting poor farmers the hardest -- "thrust" local po[CENSORED]tions into the hands of the Taliban, she said. Taliban taxation system? David Mansfield, who has studied the Afghan drug economy for more than 20 years, says that one of the fundamental issues that led to "erroneous statistics" is the idea that the Taliban run a taxation system based on price or value. The international community widely believes that the Taliban take 10% of the value of drugs, he said. But in practice, he says that's incredibly difficult to administer. "I don't see a rural insurgency, where people who have issues of literacy ... running a taxation system based on price or value-added tax," he said. But beyond that, he said it doesn't make sense economically. Mansfield said profit margins on a kilogram of heroin range from $80-120 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) and around $30-$50 for a kilogram of meth. If you start imposing a 10% tax on the final price at the point of export -- around $1,800 a kilogram for heroin in its base form -- considering all other costs, most will have gone out of business, Mansfield explained. "When people bandy these numbers around and said 10% of gross, they never factored in any of the costs of production or whether this was even economically feasible. And it's not." The last thing you want to do if you want to earn revenues on commodities is break the value chain, at which point production becomes unprofitable and there is nothing left to tax, Mansfield added. "So these figures don't make sense administratively or economically." Political poppies There are few strands of Afghan society that the drugs economy somehow does not touch. Last year, Afghan farmers grew poppies across approximately 224,000 hectares (the third highest level ever reported in the country), squeezing out the sticky gum from which heroin and other opiates are made from on a land area 37% bigger than in 2019, according to the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Poppy cultivation was estimated to provide up to "590,000 full-time equivalent jobs, more than the number of people employed by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces," in 2017 according to the SIGAR report. While it remains an important part of the Taliban's funding, Mansfield says that the Taliban are earning far less on drugs than they are on legal goods. He points to recent research conducted in southern Nimruz province, which borders Iran, that found that the Taliban collected an estimated $5.1 million on the drugs industry compared to $40.9 million levied on fuel and transit goods. Those poppies, and their production, also hold powerful political and cultural capital. An anti-drug mural is seen at a bus station in Kabul in October 2014. An anti-drug mural is seen at a bus station in Kabul in October 2014. For generations, Afghan farmers have grown opium and cannabis, an economy that long predates the war. Like other mountain nations, which often provide good climates for poppy growth, opium has been used medicinally and culturally in Afghanistan, according to Jonathan Goodhand, professor in conflict and development studies at SOAS, University of London. But multiple invasions of the country have fueled opium cultivation and production, he said. This began with the Soviet occupation in the 1980s when large flows of financial and military assistance to the regime and the mujahideen -- from the Soviet Union and the US, respectively -- provided the "start-up capital" for commanders to rev up production, processing and trafficking, according to a 2008 paper by Goodhand. When the Soviet Union dissolved and the Taliban emerged, taking over Kabul in 1996, opium became a "defacto legal commodity," said Goodhand. But in 2000, the Taliban changed tack, placing a ban on opium production that reduced production by 90% and virtually eradicated the crop in a year, cutting the world's supply by 65%, according to UN estimates. The then-Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, said growing opium was "un-Islamic," warning in July 2000 that anyone planting poppy seeds would be severely punished. Goodhand and other experts hypothesize that the move was likely used as a bargaining chip to gain international recognition -- and funding. But the ban backfired spectacularly, running the country into an unemployment crisis and damaging support from poppy farmers, once perhaps sympathetic to the Taliban, who were now in debt. The ban on poppy production was lifted in 2001, with the collapse of the group. A Taliban militiaman arrests and beats a man who was allegedly found in possession of half a kilogram of opium in Kabul in November 1996. A Taliban militiaman arrests and beats a man who was allegedly found in possession of half a kilogram of opium in Kabul in November 1996. Since then, poppy production has skyrocketed, with an estimated all-time high recorded in 2017 at roughly 9,900 tons, according to the UNODC, which estimated that its worth was around $1.4 billion at the time, equating to roughly 7% of the country's GDP. It's unlikely that the Taliban will take similar drastic action as in 2000 again, experts say, despite the Taliban's pledge after their takeover. While the announcement might signal a return to the previous Taliban eradication plan -- an attempt perhaps, to curry favor with Western donors -- the Taliban are also likely hoping to keep neighboring Iran and Russia at bay. The two nations, who have been warming to the group over the last few years, both want to eliminate the massive opium production at their borders. The Taliban have another external factor to weigh: The rise of synthetic opioids. If Afghanistan's heroin exports plunged as they did back in 2001, it's very likely that synthetic opioids, like fentanyl -- largely from China and India -- would quickly flood markets in Europe, Africa and Canada in place of Afghan opium and heroin, potentially pushing out Afghan opium for good. "The reality is that they also just can't do it, because the economy's tanking," Felbab-Brown said. An enforced ban could also create potential for violence, she added. Felbab-Brown said there are around 100,000 to 150,000 Afghan National Security Forces soldiers and police who are now unemployed, and for whom poppy production might provide some source of economic stability. "Take that away, then you have 150,000 men who were your enemies and who have nothing to eat," she said.

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It may have originally come out in 2018, but Among Us took 2020 by storm, and it's deserving of that spotlight. Innersloth has made the tense, multiplayer fun of in-person cloak and dagger games like Mafia and Werewolf work on PC, mobile, and consoles with a flourish. And the great times I've had slaying, lying, and sleuthing my way through its charming sci-fi world got me wondering why it took so long for this sort of game to catch on. There are still a few technical hitches to be worked out, just like the fussy engines on the Skeld, but that hasn't kept me from coming back to it again and again in my down time. The premise of Among Us is simple enough that just about anyone can pick it up quickly: eight crew members dash around a claustrophobic, cartoon spaceship to complete simple minigames and fill up a shared progress bar. But among them are two hidden impostors with the goal of secretly murdering everyone until they equal or outnumber the crew and claim victory. And yet, like so many excellent multiplayer games, it's very tricky to master because it’s about fooling real people, not gaming an AI. You can't even fall back on the same successful strategies too often or your opponents will catch on, so sometimes you have to mix things up and maybe even act illogically to keep them guessing. The art is whimsical, with your bulbous, quirky astronauts stumbling around engine bays and reactor decks that look like the doodles I used to do in the margins of my notes in school. This is effective for a couple of reasons. For one, it keeps the mood pretty light, which is important in a game where you're going to be lying to, and being lied to, by your friends every single round. It's hard to take getting ganked in the middle of a task for the fifth time too personally when the animation for your demise makes you laugh after you're done yelling. The art style also makes interacting with the various machines and doodads on the map intuitive and enjoyable. I was able to drop right into my first match and get a decent grasp of what was going on without needing much help. It's hard to take getting ganked in the middle of a task for the fifth time too personally when the animation for your demise makes you laugh. “ The tasks the crew will be rushing to complete present a good variety of tiny minigames, from finishing a simple maze to connecting colored wires. Most of them will test memory or hand-eye coordination in a way that requires you to keep your cool, which can be a challenge when you know there are murderers running around, out for your blood. The fact that most of the minigames cover up a significant portion of your screen is a really effective way to build tension, too. Even tasks like Download, which just makes you sit and watch a progress bar fill up, have me going, "Come on… come onnn!" Any movement at the edges of my monitor could mean impending death, and you know skilled impostors will use these blind spots to their advantage. See gallery Playing as the impostor is definitely the most fun for me, and it requires a variety of skills to do well. Isolating your target so no one witnesses the crime is the easiest way to get away with it, but if you do get caught by only one other person, being able to pin the kill on them by lying over in-game text chat or an external voice app like Discord can save you from being cast out. Impostors can also use the well-placed vents on each map to flee the scene, but you have to be careful not to be spotted in two disconnected rooms in a way that makes it clear you took a shortcut. But I enjoy being on the other side as well: As a crewmate, it's a thrilling detective game to try and keep track of where everyone is, who they were with, and poke holes in their alibis at each meeting in a way that will convince the other players to vote them off the ship. Much like in poker, you're playing the other players more than anything. “ It's delightfully satisfying to lead either the impostor or the crew team to victory, because much like in poker, you're playing the other players more than anything. If you group up with the same people often enough, you can pick up on their tells. Some of my friends will stay dead silent if they're impostors, while others will start yelling and trying to direct the blame on anyone else the second the first body is found. There's a lot of mental juggling that goes into sussing out a killer, because you have to remember when and where you saw everyone and, ideally, ask the right questions to catch them in a lie without making it too obvious that's what you're doing. Then, you need to make a compelling case. Because even if you know who the impostor is 100 percent, that won't matter if you can't convince the other voters. Some of my favorite impostor rounds have been those in which I coasted to victory in a public game by changing my handle to something unassuming, like "joey07", and acting like I'm a young kid who doesn't really understand the rules that well. Aside from how I type and what I do or do not choose to comment on, I can even make a big show of having a hard time getting around the ship or not understanding how crew tasks work. Knowing how to perform innocence, even to the point that you half believe you're innocent yourself, is a great skill to have. But it's a common enough strategy that if you overdo it, at this point, experienced players will catch on. So sometimes I have two cover identities: one that's way too obvious, and another that I want my opponents to figure out and think that's the final layer. But it's not. The mind games can get really deep, and they're my favorite part of Among Us. Some of my favorite imposter rounds have come from acting like I'm a young kid who doesn't understand the rules. “ It works so well in part because the default map, a spaceship called The Skeld, is very well balanced. There’s a clever, circular layout, a mix of bottlenecks and open spaces, and just enough room for impostors to maneuver unseen if you’re not watching for them at the right moment. The other two maps, Mira HQ and Polus, are a bit too fragmented and spread out, which can give the impostors a big advantage. That hasn’t been too big a problem for me, though, because the wide variety of game options allow you to tweak things in the crew or impostors' favor with toggles like anonymous voting and confirming someone's role when they're ejected. This also offers flexible difficulty when playing with a group of more or less experienced killers. There are some technical issues, still. Finding a match can be frustrating, since the clunky, dated browser only shows you a limited number of lobbies at a time. It can be tricky to find games that aren’t already full or are a long way from getting there. And the fact that there's no mechanic to punish players who rage-quit when they don't get to play as impostor, or are caught dead to rights in the middle of a murder; those can lead entire rounds to premature, unsatisfying endings. Adding a quick match button and some way to disincentivize quitters, like a time out before you can join another match if you quit too often, would both go a long way – not to mention built-in voice chat support. Verdict Among Us lives up to the hype created by its delayed explosion in po[CENSORED]rity, for the most part. It's a style of intense, refreshing multiplayer experience that simply didn't catch on digitally before recently. Its well-earned following speaks to just how enticing murdering and deceiving your friends can be, as well as Innersloth's endearing art, approachability, and clever minigame design. I don't have any sus that this will be the last game of its breed to make a splash, since we’re already seeing its influence on even mega-games like Fortnite. But it’s the breakout hit for the genre, and it's a great first impression.