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According to Søren Smed Østergaard, Vice President, Digital Health of Novo Nordisk, the most significant innovations in the diabetes space centered around hardware, artificial intelligence (AI) and data. He believes that having access to more accurate data on individual behavior and medication usage could positively impact people living with diabetes. "We know there is a huge discrepancy between how people should use medication and how they're using it," said Østergaard. "In 2003, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said improving medication adherence will have a more significant impact on the po[CENSORED]tion's health than improvements to specific medical treatments. "Healthcare data today is often incomplete and too sparse to use for effective decision-making; we need to solve that first, but with this comes a plethora of ethical implications," said Østergaard. "People must have confidence that their data is being kept secure and used responsibly. Data sharing – creating a complete picture using data from different parties and devices – has the potential to revolutionize healthcare and outcomes, but robust data privacy policies must underpin it.

I sat down (virtually) with Forethought's co-founder and CEO Deon Nicholas to learn what it takes to start and grow a successful enterprise software startup. Deon provides valuable insights, advice and encouragement to minority founders and entrepreneurs. Taking on the challenge of creating customer service chatbots that learn and continually improve the quality of responses instead of providing rote, canned remarks is ideal for AI and machine learning. However, chatbots have not scaled well to keep up with the increasing complexity and contextual intelligence that customers need to get their problems solved. It's a perplexing, multifaceted problem to solve, requiring AI and machine learning algorithms that continually work to improve customer experiences. It's exactly the complex challenge motivating Black entrepreneur and CEO Deon Nicholas to excel as an enterprise software startup founder. Before starting Forethought, Deon built products and infrastructure at Facebook, Palantir, Dropbox and Pure Storage. He has machine learning publications and infrastructure patents, was a World Finalist at the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest and was named Forbes 30 under 30 alongside, Head of Engineering Sami Ghoche. Deon's many accomplishments reflect his strong growth mindset– and why that value is a cornerstone of Forethought. "I'm constantly learning and growing up. I learned math, computers and physics.. Any time I saw a problem, I tried to solve it through what I knew, even if I didn't know how to solve it," Deon says. Forethought's Agatha is an AI-based customer service platform that solves, triages, assists and presents discovery on customer interactions. Agatha is an AI-powered customer support agent using machine learning and natural language understanding to immediately respond to customers to resolve simpler issues, automate repetitive routing and provide real-time assistance. Notable customers include Instacart, MasterClass, Gusto and Carta. Deon: The first thing I did, I actually applied to Y Combinator. But, the idea wasn't fully formed. I mean, it's exactly Forethought, all the things we're doing, but still very much in its infancy. We got rejected for Y Combinator. There was definitely a period of time where we were still learning, still growing, still figuring it out. I was still figuring out what it meant to be an entrepreneur, converging on what exactly the iteration of this product is going to be, the market we're going to attack. And then after that, a three to six months period emerged from that with clarity on which direction we wanted to go. Obviously we continue to iterate over time and improve, but, in late 2017, when we actually incorporated and started running with it, was when I would say all of the stars fully aligned. Louis: To your point, what are your lessons learned that you want to pass on to minority entrepreneurs — starting from Y Combinator? Deon: The very first lesson learned is, you really do have to bet on yourself. Like building things, just having that mindset. It's so hard to describe, but despite the story you've heard of me basically doing entrepreneurship since I was young, it was not in my vocabulary that I could be a CEO, that I could be an entrepreneur. CEOs were these other people. They looked a certain way, right? They came from certain backgrounds. They went to a certain school, all of these things. And it was just not something that I knew would be me. So, as I started building things and part of the reason why I actually applied to YC, was I had met a partner from Y Combinator. And she was like, "Oh, you have a great background. You should consider applying to YC." Obviously we didn't get in, but it was like, even just hearing that was surprising to me. When somebody would look at me and say, "Hey, you worked at Facebook and these companies, maybe you should consider getting funding. Maybe you should consider being a CEO. Maybe you should consider going to Y Combinator." It's so weird to say, but that actually clicked something for me, in that prior to that, I didn't even know it was something that was allowed. Louis: What kept you going and continuing to bet on yourself? Deon: I would ask these same people, "Are you sure? What do you mean raise funding, be a CEO? Isn't that somebody else? You're talking about the same guy here?" So the first hurdle was getting over that mindset. It's hard to be what you can't see, right? In my case, there aren't that many Black CEOs. When you think of enterprise companies, you might think of Marc Benioff or Bill Gates. When you think of consumer companies, you might think of Mark Zuckerberg. But, it seems so different, such a different realm of reality. Whereas, I'm starting to come to terms with this, but depending on where you are from,there are plenty of people who just assume, "Yeah, of course, I'm going to go be a CEO." Whether or not they're going to be good at it. And so you end up having this, starting point bias, so to speak. Louis: As you've been a CEO, what are the lessons that you learned that you never thought you were going to learn, starting with the fundraising process? Deon: There are a lot of introspective lessons.The overwhelming majority of investors pattern match. Some would say things to me like, "Deon, you're an engineer, you're not going to be good at sales or recruiting. Why start an enterprise company?" Or, "Why don't you bring in someone to be CEO?" You got some of that as well. I got a lot of investors just telling me that, basically the equivalent of like, "Eh, you're great." All these things, all these signals, but you don't get the benefit of the doubt on the things that are risks for any entrepreneur." But I did get really great investors that I think I like to say self-select. The ones who think about things from first principles end up investing. I actually tell this to minority entrepreneurs, anyone that I'm advising:, bias happens in the benefit of the doubt.If you take any company, it's going to have a bunch of risks and there's going to be some doubts. Depending on whether you fit a certain pattern in the investor's subconscious, they're going to say, "Well, I've seen a person who looks like X, Y and Z overcome this kind of risk before. Therefore they're probably going to do it." If they haven't, they're going to say, "Well, I've never seen this kind of person overcome this kind of risk." Louis: What's been the most valuable lesson learned from being the CEO of an enterprise software startup? Deon: The biggest job of a CEO is storytelling. Whether you're pitching your story to investors, a new recruit, or a customer. That, in and of itself, is a skill that you can learn, that you can practice, that you can grow and become great at. And at the end of the day, that's probably the only thing you can't outsource as a CEO. That's the only thing you can't hire for: the vision and the storytelling. In the early days, you have to kind of do everything. But, over time, it becomes the most important thing to tell that story. Like envisioning the video game, the RPG world before it's been built and then going and creating it. Louis: It seems like exceptional challenges motivate you and you say to yourself, "This looks really hard, I want to really excel at this". You remind me of one of my favorite books I re-read every year, Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. Deon: I think you really hit the nail on the head. Actually,one of our values at Forethought is The Growth Mindset. And as you talk about that, I realize that maybe that's part of the way I was wired. I started programming at an early age and I was just super curious. I wanted so badly to go to the University of Waterloo. No one else in my family had gone to college or anything like that. I didn't really know what that meant or how you would go and apply to college. And that [challenge] awoke something in me. It's exactly as you described it.I was like, "This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm going to go keep doing it." And that was the thread. For somebody who learned to code so early on in life, when I started doing algorithmic programming competitions and math competitions, I was pretty bad. The University of Waterloo's name was all over the competitions, so I was like, "I really want to go there to this school. If they're challenging me this much as a teenager, I'm certain it's going to be amazing as when I go to college." I went there, started on the programming team, did the ICPC kind of Olympics.. And, it was really that. Every time I kept getting beat down, especially in competitive programming, I kept going. I spent four years of my university career reading, re-reading the textbooks, to the point where I had completed my third and fourth year algorithm textbooks in my first year. All because, I just wanted to get better at it. Long story short, the final year at the International Collegiate Programming Contest, myself and my two teammates, we were 13th in the world out of every single university of 2,000 plus universities. Now that we're talking about it, it felt like a recipe. I've repeated the same pattern as an entrepreneur where you go after really, really, really hard problems. The recipe for quote-unquote success is finding something really hard, teaming up with really great people and then just obsessing over it. Knowing you're going to fail and then repeating. Louis: Did you want to build video games and did you have an entrepreneurial dream then? What was that dream that kept you going? Deon: Yep. Absolutely. I think this is a fun walk down memory lane. The first game I ever made, I was maybe seven years old. I was just learning how to program, at the time it was really drag and drops. I wouldn't even say it's coding, but I build video games. I was super interested in Pokemon and Digimon, so the first game I ever made was called Dojimon. So, I would tell these stories that I was interested in and then build video games out of them. And that was really what I really wanted to learn about. So that one was about little creatures. My big vision for when I actually learned to code when I was actually trying to build a really big video game, was this game called Doji World. I kept the name Doji, it was my symbol for me coding. And it was going to be this massive multiplayer online MMO RPG, that's equivalent to maybe a Fortnite or something now. That was my big vision when I was a teenager. Surprising. Yeah. And so I had stuff like that. That was the first really big one that I ever built. And then the second thing that I built was actually the textbook reader for myself to study history class. So it was really things like that, that jump started the entrepreneurial vision I had. In the end, I ended up showing it to some folks at a local software tech company. And my second job after being in customer service,they actually ended up hiring me as a high school student to be a software tester software engineer. So in my junior and senior year of high school, I had already started kind of working as a full-time software engineer...and Doji World still hasn't been finished. Maybe I'll finish it one day. Louis: As you thought about the concept for Forethought and you met your co-founders, were you so focused on the pain of customer support and the scale for that, that you thought, true AI is the way to go about solving this? Deon: I think it's the combination of figuring out where the efficiencies are, where problems can be solved and where you should be generating your energy. Then you work as hard as you humanly can to attack the problem. And that's in some ways how I converge on this. It was a combination of things that led to this. So one, the AI background. And obviously I'd been thinking about true AI for a long time, because I was super fascinated with this idea of an artificial general intelligence coming from the world of the textbook question and answer generation. The second, yes, as a customer service person myself, or at least a former one, realizing that there was a huge market and huge opportunity and huge pain here. I would say there were multiple different angles and multiple different intuitions that were pointing me to like, "Hey, there is something here that needs to be solved." The first few months of my journey was actually exploration. This was 2017 now and right around this time I was like, "Okay, I think I'm going to go be an entrepreneur."

Earlier this week, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said that even though its Massive studio is now developing a new open-world Star Wars game, it will also continue to work on its other open-world shooter series, The Division. "The Massive studio is a large studio, and they are also collaborating with lots of studios all over the world," he told analysts in a quarterly financial call. "You're going to see more on The Division in this year and the year after." Today the studio officially committed to that promise, saying in a message on Twitter that the recently-released title update 12 for The Division 2 was intended to be the game's final major update, "but thanks to your continued support, we are now in the early stages of development for fresh content to release later in 2021." "While it is still too early to go into more details today, you won't have to wait too long, as we will share more as soon as we can," the message says. "In the meantime, we again want to send a heartfelt thank you for your continued support through The Division 2 post-launch period. We cannot stress enough how much this means to us." Today, we are thrilled to confirm that were will be additional content for The Division 2 released later this year! pic.twitter.com/LRlTwVZEtpFebruary 12, 2021 Title update 12 went live in December and kicked off the fourth season of The Division 2, pointedly entitled End of Watch. In case that's not quite sufficiently on the nose, the season is built around the return of Faye Lau, an NPC in The Division who goes bad and joins Black Tusk in The Division 2. I haven't played it myself but reading the wiki, it sounds very much a "closing the loop" sort of thing—a good way to wrap things up, in other words. The Division 2 team may not be ready to share details on what it has in mind for new content, but Guillemot's statement that there's more on the way "this year and the year after" suggests that it won't be a simple one-and-done. The studio also said that it's currently investigating what sounds like a pretty serious crash bug, and is also close to having a fix for missing volumetric fog and screen space reflections on the PlayStation 5.

Hot in the heels of the 3 Series Gran Limousine, BMW is now gearing up for the launch of its M340i M Performance in India on March 10. It is going to be the first M Performance model to be assembled locally in the country and will also come out as the most powerful 3 Series in the line-up. At the heart of the BMW M340i M Performance will sit a 3.0-litre, in-line six-cylinder, twin-turbo petrol engine churning out 374hp and 500Nm of torque. The transmission opinion will include an 8-speed automatic gearbox sending power across all four wheels with the help of BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system. For the record, internationally, the car is also available in a rear-wheel-drive layout. Apart from a more powerful engine, the car also benefits from a number of performance-oriented updates over the regular model. These updates include M-specific suspension technology, M Sport brakes, M Sport differential, and an M Sport exhaust system. These M Performance parts have been aimed at improving the overall driving dynamics of the car. On the inside, it will sport the same features found on the standard 3 Series such as three-zone automatic climate control, extended storage, ambient lighting, and an automatically dimming rear-view mirror as a standard fitment. Other bits on its standard equipment list will include Park Distance Control, Remote Services, Concierge Services, BMW Live Cockpit Plus complete with navigation system and an 8.8-inch Control Display and more.

If there was any debate on whether Tom Brady was the greatest player in NFL history, that appears to have been settled. No player in the 101-year history of the National Football League has as many championships as Brady -- who holds the record with seven. Brady also has five Super Bowl MVPs -- the most in NFL history -- in addition to owning numerous league records, cementing himself as the greatest of all time. Brady has entered a stratosphere of elite athletes, well beyond the NFL. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the Super Bowl elevated Brady into the conversation of the greatest winners ever, (we're just going with the four major North American sports here) joining the likes of Michael Jordan (NBA), Yogi Berra (MLB), and Bill Russell (NBA). Where does Brady rank among the GOATs in the other major North American sports? We'll rank winning championships and individual MVP honors as the two main factors toward success. Nicknamed "Mr Hockey," Howe had all the NHL scoring records before Gretzky showed up. He led the league in goals five times, assists three times, and points six times. His 801 goals are the second-most in NHL history and his 1,850 points are fourth.

For Black History Month, moms Gabrielle Union, Tia Mowry, and Vanessa Williams sat down with Elle to talk about the evolution of Black beauty. The stars shared the way Eurocentric beauty standards were imposed on them as girls, what Black beauty meant to them in the past, and what it means to them now as mothers of daughters. For Union, her journey to self-love didn’t begin until recently, especially when it came to her hair. “I wore relaxers starting from the time I was 8 and didn’t stop until my thirties,” she said. “I didn’t even wear braids professionally, which might’ve been the first time ever really — until Almost Christmas, which was five or six years ago.” Once Union turned 40, she said something changed. “Something happened around my 40s, where I just fell in love with myself,” she said. “I emptied my basket of [CENSORED]s. And that’s the attitude I hope to pass onto my daughters — shameless self-love.” “When we were younger, it was wonderful being able to wear our natural hair,” she said, but as she and her twin sister Tamera grew up, they started to face discrimination around those same natural hairstyles. Mowry said she was often directed to conform to the whitewashed beauty standards of pin-straight hair during auditions, and was asked to pull her natural hair back because it was seen as a “distraction.” “When I straightened my hair, it damaged my hair and it damaged my natural curls,” she said. “But I thank God that my mom told us, ‘Do not allow this business to define you. Do not allow this business to define your happiness. Do not allow this business to define your value.’ I believe that’s what saved us from falling into the pit of childhood stardom.” “When we were younger, it was wonderful being able to wear our natural hair,” she said, but as she and her twin sister Tamera grew up, they started to face discrimination around those same natural hairstyles. Mowry said she was often directed to conform to the whitewashed beauty standards of pin-straight hair during auditions, and was asked to pull her natural hair back because it was seen as a “distraction.” “When I straightened my hair, it damaged my hair and it damaged my natural curls,” she said. “But I thank God that my mom told us, ‘Do not allow this business to define you. Do not allow this business to define your happiness. Do not allow this business to define your value.’ I believe that’s what saved us from falling into the pit of childhood stardom.”

Di two oil-rich communities for Niger Delta region fit sue Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS) and dia Nigerian branch, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), di UK Supreme Court rule on Friday 12 February, 2021. King of Bille Kingdom Igbiki-ngeri Ngowari Herbert call di ruling a welcome development. "Now wey we don pass over di first hurdle, we don sabi say for here [Nigeria] dem for cari truth troway, we now know say truth go prevail." King Herbert, di Amayanabo of Bille Kingdom inside Rivers State Southern Nigeria tell BBC Pidgin. Di King of Bille Kingdom add say dis one dey important because, "we want make justice dey done, and we no want any kain bias for behind corners." Dis Supreme Court ruling dey come two weeks afta di Dutch Court of Appeal ruling against di RDS for case wey four Nigerian farmers and Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) bring come wey say RDS dey responsible for di pollution for di region and make den improve dia pipeline network. Di villagers wey be Ogale and Bille communities don dey complain say dem dey suffer from di oil pollution of Shell operations for Nigeria for years and e don even pollute dia drinking water. But Shell dey tok say no be RDS dey legally responsible for wetin happun to di communities and dem no suppose hear di cases for England. Wetin dis new ruling don do na say dem go fit hear di cases of dis two communities for English courts, sometin wey di communities don dey fight for di past five years. Dis na as dem claim say dem no go get di justice dem dey find for Nigeria. Di Supreme Court say di way RDS arrange Shell Group make dem liable for any harm wey dia subsidiaries for dion cause for di Ogale and Bille communities. Leigh Day partner Daniel Leader wey dey represent di communities tok say dis fit give real hope to di pipo of Ogale and Bille communities wey don dey ask Shell to clean up dia oil for years. Dis ruling go mean say di against RDS for di cleaning and compensation Ogale and Bille communities for dia oil operations for di region go now return to High Court so dem go hear am. Shell statement tok say: "Di oil spills for dis mata bin happun inside communities wey dey heavily affected by oil tiff-tiff, illegal oil refining, and di breaking alias sabotage of pipelines." Di company say, even though na di cause of di pollution, dia sister company divisions don work hard to both clean up and prevent spills. Dis Bille and Oghale mata na di latest from a list of international and domestic court cases alias law suits on top Shell oil drilling iniside Nigeria. In 2015 Shell accept say na dem cause two oil spills and agree to pay £55m ($76M) to Bodo community wey be one big village inside Ogoniland for Niger Delta and assist in diclean-up. In 2006 one Nigerian court order di company and partners to pay $1.5bn to Ijaw pipo of Bayelsa State for environmental katakata inside di area. Inside one oda ongoing civil case, women wey husbands die alias widows of four environmental activists wey Nigeria military goment bin hand for 1995 dey drag Shell for court ontop accuse say na dem provide support to di military. Shell deny di claims. A Dutch appeals court rule for January 2021 say di Nigerian branch of oil giant Shell na im dey responsible for leaks for di Niger Delta. Di court order make Shell Nigeria pay compensation to Nigerian farmers, while im subsidiary and im Anglo-Dutch parent company go install equipment wey go prevent future damage. Four Nigerian farmers who alleged widespread of pollution on dia land na dem launch di case in 2008. Shell Nigeria fit appeal di ruling. Di court say dem go determine di amount of compensation ''at a later stage''

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Intel just spilled the beans on an Intel Core i9-10900KS CPU that could be coming soon. An Intel Software Advantage Program qualifying list shows the SKU, leaving us wondering what it may offer over the standard Intel Core i9-10900K. The document also states that buying the Core i9-10900KS or one of the (many) other qualifying CPUs will net you a free copy of Crysis Remastered. However, the 10900KS isn't out yet. In fact, this is the first time we've heard of the CPU. This is not Intel's first rodeo with special edition SKUs. Processors such as the Core i7-8086K and Core i9-9900KS were both limited/special edition products that offered the highest binned Intel silicon you could buy, as well as the highest stock core frequencies possible at the time. For instance, the Core i9-9900KS features a beefy all-core turbo of 5 GHz flat on all 8 CPU cores, even under AVX workloads. The vanilla i9-9900K could boost to 5 GHz but only on a few cores. As you loaded up more cores, the boost frequency would gradually drop, until you hit the CPUs all-core turbo of 4.7 GHz, (unless you enabled multi-core enhancement which would auto-overclock all cores to 5 GHz flat). The 10900KS could end up being a similar offering, though it seems difficult to fathom a 5.0 or 5.1GHz all-core-turbo frequency on 10 14nm cores without encountering serious power and heat issues. Also possibility is a higher all-core turbo clock, with Intel continuing to use a turbo core hierarchy, where some cores boost higher than others. Again though, this is purely speculation. This is the first we've heard of the 10900KS so we have no idea when it will come out or what it will offer in attempts to compete with the best gaming CPUs. But with Intel's past two generations of Core microarchitectures featuring a "Special Edition" SKU, it seems reasonable that Intel would continue the tradition with Comet Lake-S.

Filing taxes on your own can be cheaper than hiring an accountant, but the costs of online tax filing software can still add up. The best programs cost up to $170 for federal filing, plus $50 per state. And if you want to add advice and a review from a tax expert, the cost can be an additional $35 to $55, plus the per-state fees. Thankfully, many credit card issuers are offering discounts on po[CENSORED]r tax software programs that can save you $5 to $20 when you pay with an eligible card. The current discounts are nearly all for TurboTax, however two issuers are offering TaxAct. These discounts are a great way to reduce the cost of filing taxes, especially if you wind up owing tax money. Keep in mind that some of these offers are targeted to individual customers, so you may not receive access to every promotion. And in order to benefit, you’ll need to use your eligible card to pay for the tax software. Here’s a roundup of tax software discounts available on major credit cards. Consumer Amex card members can activate an Amex Offer that allows you to get $5 back after you spend $50 or more with TurboTax. This offer is available for all consumer card members who haven’t previously spent with Intuit and is valid through April 16, 2021. Small business and consumer card members can also save on TurboTax’s paid plans: $10 off Deluxe or Live Deluxe $15 off Premier or Live Premier $20 off Self-Employed or Live Self-Employed To benefit, sign up for TurboTax with this unique link through April 16, 2021. Consumer card members can take advantage of both the Amex Offer and direct link offer. Additionally, consumer and small business card members can activate an Amex Offer to get 30% back on purchases at TaxAct, up to $60 in savings. This offer is valid through June 30, 2021. Bank of America Bank of America offers targeted discounts on tax software for customers who are enrolled in the BankAmeriDeals program. Cardholders can receive a $5 cash back offer on a purchase of TurboTax directly from Intuit, after activating the BankAmeriDeal and using the promotional link in the offer. You can also receive instant discounts on one of the following TurboTax products: $5 off TurboTax Deluxe (online, live and CD/download) $10 off TurboTax Premier (online, live and CD/download) $15 off TurboTax Self-Employed (Online and live) $15 off TurboTax Home and Business and TurboTax Business (CD/download) To receive an instant discount, you must use a promotional link to purchase the TurboTax plan. Check your inbox for an email containing the link or look online or in the Bank of America mobile app. Offers expire April 15, 2021. Capital One Capital One isn’t running any promotions at this time. Chase The Chase Offers program is offering eligible cardholders the opportunity to save on TurboTax purchases. After activating the offer, you can earn 10% back on your TurboTax purchase, with an $8 back maximum. Plus you can get up to $15 in additional instant savings at checkout on TurboTax federal products when you purchase from the unique Chase Offers link that’s accessible when you activate the offer. Here are the discounts: $5 off Deluxe or Live Deluxe $10 off Premier or Live Premier $15 off Self-Employed or Live Self-Employed Offer expires April 15, 2021. Citi Citi ThankYou rewards card holders can save up to $20 on tax software with TurboTax. Here’s the break down: $10 off Deluxe or Live Deluxe $15 off Premier or Live Premier $20 off Self-Employed or Live Self-Employed To take advantage of this offer, access the promotional link through April 15, 2021. Discover Discover isn’t running any promotions at this time. Wells Fargo The Wells Fargo Deals program allows cardholders to earn cash back in the form of a statement credit. Currently there are two offers: Earn $7 cash back on a TaxAct software purchase through February 15, 2021. Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card holders can earn 30% cash back (up to $60) when using their Propel card to make a purchase online at TaxAct.com through April 15, 2021. Outside of My Wells Fargo Deals, consumer Wells Fargo cardholders with Go Far Rewards can earn a bonus 6% cash back / 6X points on purchases made at TaxAct.com through the Earn More Mall. This offer is valid through March 31, 2021.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of the best-selling video games in US history, according to NPD Group analyst Mat Piscatella. The stat that made my jaw drop this month was seeing Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War make it into the top 20 best-selling games in U.S. history. Absolutely incredible.February 12, 2021 Black Ops Cold War broke the top 20 best-selling games in US history (based on when US game sales tracking began) in January 2021, just a few months after its November 2020 release. It currently sits in 20th place, although the entire top 20 has yet to be released by NPD. These are pretty staggering statistics, especially considering Black Ops Cold War has only been out for a few months. According to Piscatella, it even took the crown for best-selling game of 2020 with only two months of sales underneath its gun belt - although it must be noted that the company did not factor Animal Crossing: New Horizons digital sales into the mix, which could very likely push the Nintendo title into the top spot. It's important to note that the NPD statistics are based on dollar sales, so it's unclear how inflation factors into rankings. The po[CENSORED]rity of Black Ops Cold War could be tied to the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone. The two games were integrated in December 2020, with multiplayer maps and cosmetics shared between the two, so many may have picked up Black Ops Cold War to bolster their Warzone content. We know that the new Call of Duty game 2021 will happen at some point this year, so let's see if that will be able to pull in as impressive sales numbers as Black Ops Cold War. Considering Activision reports that Call of Duty has "the largest player community it has ever had to start a year" in 2021, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some record-breaking sales numbers yet again. Even the Call of Duty: Warzone invisibility glitch can't stop the sales.

Wer beim größten Auto-Exporteur der USA noch immer an Autobauer wie Ford, General Motors oder Chevrolet denkt, hat sich offenbar schon lange nicht mit aktuellen Entwicklungen beschäftigt: Gemessen am Fahrzeug-Wert steht die deutsche BMW Group seit inzwischen 7 Jahren an der Spitze des Export-Rankings und zählt damit je nach Betrachtungsweise und Lesart tatsächlich zu den wichtigsten Autobauern der USA. Verantwortlich dafür ist das BMW Werk Spartanburg, dessen Produkte längst nicht alle auf dem US-Markt bleiben: Allein 2020 wurden Fahrzeuge im Wert von 8,9 Milliarden US-Dollar exportiert und sind heute auf den Straßen anderer Länder unterwegs. Insgesamt handelte es sich dabei im letzten Jahr um 218.820 in South Carolina gebaute SUV-Modelle, von denen mit über 189.000 Einheiten der weitaus größte Teil über den Hafen von Charleston in alle Welt verschifft wurde. 23,3 Prozent der 2020 in Spartanburg gebauten BMW sind heute in China unterwegs, 12,9 Prozent sind im eigentlichen Heimatmarkt Deutschland angekommen. Auf den weiteren Plätzen der wichtigsten Export-Märkte folgen Südkorea (7,8 Prozent), Kanada (6,0 Prozent) und Russland (5,3 Prozent). Der große Rest landet in zahlreichen kleineren Märkten, wobei über den Hafen von Charleston insgesamt 125 Länder erreicht werden. Das Jahr 2020 war dabei auch für das BMW Werk Spartanburg außergewöhnlich: Ab Anfang April ruhte die Produktion aufgrund der Corona-Pandemie für fünf Wochen komplett, bevor sie langsam und unter verschärften Hygiene-Auflagen wieder aufgenommen werden konnte. Das zweite Halbjahr wurde dann allerdings mit Vollgas zu Ende gebracht: Nie zuvor wurden in Spartanburg innerhalb von sechs Monaten so viele Autos gebaut wie zum Abschluss des Jahres 2020. Insgesamt liefen in den zweiten sechs Monaten fast 218.000 neue BMW vom Band, für das Gesamtjahr ergibt sich ein Wert von 361.365 Einheiten. Neue Bestwerte stellten dabei die Plug-in-Hybride auf: Der auch in Deutschland sehr gefragte BMW X5 xDrive45e wurde mit 24.248 Einheiten häufiger gebaut als je zuvor, auch die 22.964 Einheiten des X3 xDrive30e sind ein klarer Indikator für die weltweit wachsende PHEV-Nachfrage. Insgesamt wurden 13 Prozent der 2020 im Werk Spartanburg gebauten Modelle mit Plug-in-Hybrid-Antrieb ausgerüstet.

Eddie Hearn on Deontay Wilder: "I certainly wouldn't be looking to put him in with Dillian Whyte straight off the bat." Alexander Povetkin vs Dillian Whyte 2 is on March 6, live on Sky Sports Box Office Deontay Wilder has a "lot of unrest" in his team, but a showdown with Dillian Whyte remains "one of the biggest fights in boxing", says promoter Eddie Hearn. The American heavyweight's career has stalled due to an ongoing dispute over a third fight with Tyson Fury, who stopped Wilder to claim the WBC title in Las Vegas last February. With Fury set to face Anthony Joshua in an undisputed world title clash, Wilder's future remains uncertain, and former trainer Mark Breland has created fresh turmoil with a scathing assessment of the Alabama man. "I think there's a lot of unrest in that team," Hearn told Sky Sports. "Obviously Mark Breland and Jay Deas and Shelly Finkel and Al Haymon, the old saying, 'Too many cooks spoil the broth'. "Sometimes a massive team of people that actually aren't all on the same boat can be a disaster. I think in that team now, it's so disjointed and fragmented, that I don't know what they're going to do. "I'll let them sort out their problems. Hope to see Wilder in the ring. Good fighter, great for the sport of boxing, so let's see these fights." Whyte is preparing for a rematch against Alexander Povetkin on March 6, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and Hearn believes victory for the Brixton man could set up a massive showdown with Wilder. "First things first is March 6 for Dillian Whyte," Hearn told Sky Sports. "If he loses that, then he can forget fighting Deontay Wilder, and he can forget fighting for a world championship, so he must win that fight. "For me, outside of AJ against Fury, Whyte-Wilder remains one of the biggest fights in boxing. I would love to make that fight. "I think Deontay Wilder needs to get back in the ring. I certainly wouldn't be looking to put him in with Dillian Whyte straight off the bat. "He needs a fight in my opinion. Presumably he's going to be working with a new team of trainers."

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all of us differently. Between the great toilet paper hoarding disaster of 2020, local businesses shutting down, forgetting how to socialize, working from home (or not working at all), and canceled travel plans; life as we knew it came to a screeching halt with seemingly no sign of normality on the horizon. Among those that have been deeply impacted by this global disaster are children. Not only have they been robbed of a fundamental year of their lives, but they've been asked to start learning outside the classroom — something many have struggled with. Parents and kids alike have been forced to adapt during these trying times, which is what inspired mom and writer, Christine Derengowski, to take to Facebook to flesh out her concerns over remote learning. She began by explaining that her seven-year-old son, who's been enrolled in online schooling, had been feeling the pressure of completing assignments under such unconventional learning conditions. "I’ve lost a year with my kids battling over school and I’m done," Derengowski wrote. "My seven-year-old and I were in the midst of our usual asynchronous day battle. I had his writing homework in my hand from school. He’d written several full, well-thought-out sentences. But he won’t do the same for me, at least not without a fight. "I told him he didn’t have to write about his best day like his teacher asked, he could write about his worst. He could write about whatever he wanted as long as he wrote a few sentences," she continued. "He said he’d get in trouble. He said he was doing a bad job in first grade. He was on the brink of tears but didn’t know why. And it hit me. Instead of getting frustrated and pushing the assignment, I sat down with him at his desk in his superhero bedroom."

CHICAGO (WREX) — You can now see the demographics of those who have received the coronavirus vaccine in Illinois. The Illinois Department of Public Health has begun publicly reporting demographic data on vaccine administration including race and ethnicity. Since moving from Phase 1A to 1B this data has shifted to more closely reflect the overall demographics of the state, but work remains to ensure communities of color are fully represented. The data, which is updated daily, is based on statewide numbers with age demographics available on the county level. IDPH receives demographic data directly from vaccination centers across the state including local health departments, FQHCs, and pharmacies. State health officials and Governor Pritzker's office also announced an expanded partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) across the state to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. The partnership will direct vaccine from the state’s allocation to select FQHCs beginning in March. This builds on a federal program that will begin with 25 FQHCs in certain states and ultimately expand to hundreds of FQHCs across the nation to administer vaccines to underserved po[CENSORED]tions including the homeless, migrant workers, public housing residents, and those with limited English proficiency. To ensure that communities hardest hit by the virus have access to the vaccine, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Illinois will begin directly receiving vaccine from the federal government. Illinois has been working with local health departments across the state to provide vaccine to 26 FQHCs and this new federal program will further expand those administering the vaccine. FQHCs often serve individuals who are living at or below the federal poverty level, as well as racial and/or ethnic communities. Beginning the second week of March, the state will begin allocating vaccines directly to FQHCs. Initially, the state will expand its partnership to FQHCs in counties where vaccine administration is lowest, before partnering with additional FQHCs statewide. By allocating vaccines directly to the centers, residents in underserved areas will have the ability to receive vaccines more quickly from trusted providers, and counties will hopefully experience a decrease in the disparity between which po[CENSORED]tions are vaccinated. This partnership with FQHCs builds on deliberate efforts by the administration to ensure equity is at the center of the Vaccine Administration Plan. When the federal government recommended vaccine coverage for only those 75 and older, the state announced it would allow those 65 and older to be vaccinated. This follows data that shows that while the average white person in Illinois who died of COVID-19 passes away at age 81, the average age at which Black Illinoisans die of COVID is 72, and for Latino Illinoisans it’s 68. Ultimately, the CDC agreed with Illinois and changed its federal guidelines to match ours.

It seems like Intel’s cutting prices across the board for its 10th generation processors, hitting AMD hard while the company deals with low Ryzen 5000 series stock and capacity competition at TSMC that's exacerbated by a shortage of chip packaging materials. Normally, Intel’s processors tend to cost more than AMD’s, but according to the latest listings for the company’s 10th generation CPUs, that trend appears to have reversed for now. Take the excellent Intel Core i7-10700F processor, which is currently $229 at Amazon. On January 30th, less than a month ago, the price was $315, and it’s been steadily falling since. Joining it in this trend is the more modest but still powerful Core i5-10400F, which is just $159 at Amazon right now and an even lower $142 at Staples. And these two impressive cuts aren't the only Intel processor deals you'll find right now. The Intel 10th generation series (or Comet Lake as it’s known more unofficially) is still Intel’s best desktop CPU line despite being older than Ryzen 5000 (or Zen 3) by several months. And even if the chips are a touch more outdated, Intel has its own factories that help assure they've got plenty of availability right now, while it's still hard to buy Ryzen 5000 series chips. That makes these deals especially tasty, even if Intel’s Rocket Lake chips will probably push 10th gen out of the limelight by the end of the quarter. And given that Rocket Lake chips will still be made with a 14nm process, we’re still not sure how much they will improve over their predecessors. Despite being older, Intel’s 10th generation of chips also still performs well when compared to Zen 3. The discounted Core i7-10700F matched the $299 Ryzen 5 5600X, which tops our list of the best CPUs, in our testing, while the Core i9-10900KF beat the Ryzen 7 5800X. The Core i9-10900KF is also on sale on Amazon right now, down to $450, which is the same price as the 5800X. Even with a new CPU generation approaching, it’s unlikely that these stores could sell so many chips at such a high discount without at least some support from Intel. And it makes sense why Intel would want to offer that support. Not only is this a rare opportunity that the brand to capitalize on being the cheaper option, but for many buyers, it’s also the only option that’s available right now without resorting to buying from scalpers. In fact, Intel recently clawed back market share from AMD for the first time in three and a half years by focusing on lower-priced chips that sell in high volume. AMD has its fans, but if you can get an Intel chip that performs better or just as well without needing to wait for more stock to come in, it becomes tempting to jump ship.

Six Days in Fallujah, the controversial shooter set during the Iraq War, is finally coming out, nearly 12 years after it was first announced. According to a news release from the game’s publisher, the tactical game will be based on true stories gathered from members of the military as well as Iraqi civilians who lived through the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004. Developing the title is Highwire Games, a company created by Jaime Griesemer, game designer for the Halo and Infamous franchises. He’s joined by Marty O’Donnell, audio director and composer on Halo and Destiny, as well as by Bungie’s former design director, character, vehicle, and weapon artists. The team also includes Jared Noftle, co-founder of Airtight Games (Murdered: Soul Suspect, Dark Void). Victura, a company founded by former Bungie vice president Peter Tamte, will publish the game. Tamte was also involved in the original version of Six Days in Fallujah. Six Days in Fallujah was originally announced in 2009. At the time, it was in development as a third-person shooter at Atomic Games for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC, and Konami planned to publish it. Shortly after the game’s original announcement, however, multiple groups came forward to criticize the concept of the game. That backlash, which made the rounds of international media, eventually led to publisher Konami dropping out. “After seeing the reaction to the video game in the United States and hearing opinions sent through phone calls and e-mail, we decided several days ago not to sell it,” a Konami spokesperson told Japanese newspaper Asahi at the time. Atomic Games shuttered in 2011, after releasing the game Breach. Highwire Games’ version of Six Days in Fallujah is coming to unspecified console and PC platforms in 2021. It will be a tactical first-person military shooter. The city of Fallujah was originally taken and held by the United States military during the early weeks of the 2003 Iraq War. In 2004 the city became a hot spot, drawing in fighters from around the country and beyond. Fighting there cost countless civilians and insurgents their lives. The fractious state eventually led to the death of several private military contractors from Blackwater USA, their bodies mutilated and dragged through the streets. The image of their corpses hung from a bridge were widely shared by the international press, helping to make the city a focal point of the occupation. A siege of the city in April 2004, known as the First Battle of Fallujah, proved inconclusive. Coalition forces — which included U.S., British, and Iraqi units — redoubled their efforts in November of that year with Operation Phantom Fury. Also known as the Second Battle of Fallujah, official records indicate more than 13,000 ground troops faced off against approximately 4,000 dug-in insurgents. Thousands more civilians were trapped in between. The result was some of the fiercest urban fighting for Western forces since the 1968 Battle of Huế in Vietnam — and an estimated 800 civilian deaths, according to the International Red Cross. The engagement is mired in conflict, not the least of which is the contested legality of the Iraq War itself. Firsthand accounts indicate that Coalition forces prevented military-aged males from leaving the city ahead of the Second Battle of Fallujah, thereby contributing to civilian deaths. Others maintain that white phosphorus munitions were used as offensive weapons in combination with high explosives, which could put Western forces at odds with the modern rules of war. “Sometimes the only way to understand what’s true is to experience reality for yourself,” said former Marine Sergeant Eddie Garcia, who was quoted in Thursday’s news release. Garcia originally proposed the idea for Six Days in Fallujah in 2005. Not only did he participate in the battle, but was wounded during the fighting. “War is filled with uncertainty and tough choices that can’t be understood by watching someone on a TV or movie screen make these choices for you,” Garcia continued. “Video games can help all of us understand real-world events in ways other media can’t.” In a nod to Six Days in Fallujah’s past controversies, developers issued the following statement in addition to their news release. Throughout history, we’ve tried to understand our world through stories of events that happened to somebody else. Six Days in Fallujah asks that you solve real-life challenges from one of this century’s toughest battles for yourself. We believe that trying to do something for ourselves can help us understand not just what happened, but why it happened the way it did. Video games can create insight and empathy in ways other media cannot. More than 100 Marines, Soldiers, and Iraqi civilians have shared their stories with us, so you can participate in them through this unique, interactive medium. We hope that experiencing their extraordinary “moments of truth” will give each of us a new perspective into a conflict that has shaped so much of our century, as well as the people who have sacrificed so much because of it.

Voted

As reported by CNN, Demian Flowers, an automotive analyst at Commerzbank, says that Apple is more likely to attain a relationship with a smaller automaker than a large one with its Apple Car project. The analyst says that any automaker who does partner with Apple on an electric vehicle will most likely not benefit from the company's software advancements. "Apple will not help the company that ends up doing this ... Apple will not share anything. The only benefit you'll get from Apple is the volumes." Flowers also cast doubt on the idea of a potential partnership with Volkswagon, noting that VW is already on a path to creating its own operating system for its electric vehicle ambitions. "Volkswagen wants to develop their own autonomous driving software, they want to create their own operating system. They want control over their own data. They want to compete with the tech guys, the Teslas of this world and anybody else who comes along ... Then you ask them, 'Will you, Volkswagen, be the contract manufacturer to a tech guy?' I just don't think they're going to agree." Jürgen Pieper, an analyst at the German bank Metzler, says that smaller automakers who do not have the resources to develop their own self-driving technology might be a better fit for Apple. While Hyundai recently said its talks with Apple have ended, Pieper floated Honda, Nissan, Stellantis, and BMW as four other possibilites. "Maybe BMW sees it a bit differently, saying, 'OK, at some point we have to accept that Apple is entering the auto business, and if that is happening, we want to be the partner instead of anybody else,' " said Pieper. The rumors continue to swirl around who might become Apple's partner in manufacturing its electric, autonomous vehicle. Just today, JP Morgan pointed to Renault as a potential partner to the company. Microsoft has announced that widgets are now live for Microsoft To Do on the iPhone. The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary is just around the corner. What would be a better way to celebrate it than Nintendo porting some of our favorites in the franchise onto the Nintendo Switch? A new bill introduced in North Dakota could see Apple forced to allow other App Stores and payment methods on its iOS devices, something the company says would destroy the iPhone as we know it. Stop trying to stuff a big bulky iPhone case into your jeans pocket! Slim cases can provide protection and convenience with an easy-to-manage profile and lightweight design. Check out our picks for the best thin cases for the iPhone 12.

NEWARK, N.Y. (WROC) — The Section V Athletic Council has announced the dates for the sectional tournament for high-risk sports. In January, New York state updated its COVID-19 guidelines to let local county health departments determine if higher-risk youth sports can be played, effective February 1, 2021. Shortly after, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza signed off on the idea. High-risk winter sports began their season this week. Boys and girls basketball, and ice hockey will have a closed sectional tournament in which only the top eight teams in each classification will make their sectional tournament. Wrestling will hold class sectional tournaments starting on March 12, 2021. The “Fall II” sports season — which includes boys volleyball, competitive cheerleading, football, and girls volleyball — will begin on March 1 and the regular season will end on April 23. Sectionals must be completed by May 2. The start date for the spring sports season — which includes baseball, boys golf, boys lacrosse, boys tennis, girls lacrosse, softball, and track & field — is April 19. “We will continue to be sensitive to spring sports that already missed a complete season and sectional/state championships last year due to the pandemic.” Indoor Track & Field is now looking to host a sectional tournament starting on Thursday, March 4.

“Mama, is Valentine’s Day cancelled this year?” My daughter’s innocent question is like an arrow to my heart. I’ve been separated from my husband for six months, and the hurt is still fresh, so there’s a big part of me that wishes it was. “No, sweetheart,” I say, kneeling down in front of her and giving her a hug. “Why would you think that?” “Well, if I don’t go back to school, how will I give my cards out to my friends?” Good question. 2020 may be over, but the pandemic isn't. Not by a long shot. She's supposed to return to in-class learning before Feb. 14, but it seems highly unlikely given the way our COVID-19 numbers are looking. ALSO SEE: Gigi Hadid gets candid about home birth: 'I was an animal woman' Since this is also my first Valentine’s Day as a single mom, I’ve decided to rebrand it in my mind and make it all about me and my daughter. I want to start a new tradition and celebrate our strong bond, and how we’ve grown closer during the time she spends at my house, which is about half the week. “We’re going to have our own Valentine’s party at home!” I finally answer her. “It’s going to be so much fun!” She looks at me, baffled. “But how? Who’s going to come?” My smile is a little wobbly, but I soldier on. “We’re going to create our own kind of celebration this year. Since it’ll just be me and you, I thought we could do something new. Valentine’s Day doesn’t just have to be about flowers and fancy dinners for grown-ups. That’s what Papa and I used to do, but this year I want to do something extra-special with my favourite girl—you!” “OK,” she says slowly. “So, what are we going to do?” “Lots of cool things, like a Valentine’s treasure hunt,” I tell her, not wanting to give too much away. “But you’re going to have to wait for the rest. It’s a surprise."

All schools in the St. John's area will close Thursday for at least two weeks, amid an explosive outbreak of COVID-19 in the metro region. The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District announced Wednesday afternoon that it is suspending in-class instruction and extracurricular activities for all schools in the St. John's metro area, as well as those in Bell Island, Mobile and Witless Bay. The board said its decision comes on the advice of public health officials. Students will remain at home from Feb. 11 to Feb. 26. Teachers are required to report to schools and begin online instruction, beginning Thursday for high school students, Friday for intermediate students and Monday for primary students. Almost 100 people have been confirmed positive in the region since Monday, many of them under 20 years old. On Wednesday, shortly after the school board announced its decision, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced 53 cases, a one-day record for the province. The province's French school district said classes at École des Grands Vents and École Rocher-du-Nord are suspended until March 1. There is no mention in the statement that students in those schools will switch to online learning. Late Wednesday afternoon, College of the North Atlantic said it was closing its three St. John's-area campuses: Seal Cove, Ridge Road, and Prince Philip Drive (including the Anna Templeton Centre and Topsail Road Office). The child care centre at the Prince Philip Drive campus will stay open. Programs will move online starting Feb. 15 and will stay online until March 8. Students can collect their personal items on Thursday, Feb. 11 only. Dean Ingram, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, says he's pleased the decision has been made to close schools, but would have liked to have seen the decision made earlier. "Students and staff don't live their lives in a school bubble. Our metro area schools are so interconnected, that's a reality that has to be considered in our response and any decision-making around this situation," he said. Ingram's comments come after days of the union asking why elementary and middle schools in the region remained one of the few areas untouched by the measures. More than 7,100 students were already out of class for two days, ahead of Wednesday's announcement. Two private schools in St. John's had also cancelled their classes for the rest of the week and moved online. Ingram pointed to Fitzgerald's comments encouraging those who can work from home to do so, and said that government has bought laptops and other equipment that would allow teachers to do that. "Teachers teach students. If students aren't physically present in the classroom, and those same teachers are fully equipped to work from home, I'm at a loss as to think about why government wouldn't want to seize the opportunity to limit the number of people who are moving around and interacting," he said. When asked in Wednesday's briefing why teachers could not conduct classes from home, Furey did not provide a specific answer. "This is an evolving situation.… I'm sure there will be flexibility," he said. Another union echoed the NLTA sentiment. Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees president Jerry Earle said in an interview that many union members who could work from home — not just teachers — were required to report to their workplaces on Wednesday morning. "Every worker has to be considered now, in this metro area, to get this under control," Earle said. "These people are not asking to stop working. They're asking to work remotely." School district CEO Tony Stack says moving classes online now is "the right thing to do," and teachers and schools are ready to make the switch. "We totally support Dr. Fitzgerald and her team and the decision here, the recommendation to us, we adhered to it," he said. "We planned for this, we provided training to our teachers, all schools have developed their own-site specific plans for virtual learning. We hoped we'd never have to use them, but here we are." Stack said the move away from in-person instruction won't be without some glitches and will be a big adjustment for teachers, students and families, but he said it is very possible for students to learn online. Stack said schools have already distributed computers and other equipment to families who need it and are ready to address issues for other families, but he doesn't expect problems with internet access to be as significant in the St. John's area as in some rural regions. He said it was always part of the provincial plan to have teachers in schools if classes moved online, especially because there will still be a very small number of students who will still have to be in school, but he is confident that the vast majority of children will still learn well online. "We have every confidence and trust in our school administrators who have planned this, who've prepared for this. Their leadership has been exemplary," he said. "And the teachers, the brilliant teachers, that we know are totally focused on doing the very best they can for students, we have every confidence and faith that that will occur and while it won't replicate face-to-face instruction, we can still have some pretty good learning happening." Students have also spoken out since community transmission was confirmed in the St. John's area, detailing their worries and anxieties about a potential return to the classroom. The entire scenario has a sense of déjà vu, with numbers of active cases and single-day counts paralleling the spring of 2020's initial COVID-19 outbreak. In the face of that, one psychologist said people should take heart from the knowledge gained last year. "We have been through it, and we know so much more than we did last April," said Dr. Janine Hubbard, adding that testing, personal protective equipment and sanitization protocols are now well established. For anyone feeling overwhelmed, she said, it could help to take deep breaths, stop "doomscrolling" — the practice of surfing or scrolling through troubling or depressing news online — and chart through lessons learned from last spring. "Reflect on what went well, what didn't go so well for me. What are the things that, had I known then, I would've done differently?" she said. Hubbard advised parents to talk to their teenagers candidly to fully understand their movements, their contacts and their fears. "Listen, support, validate, don't judge," she said. "What they may be really worried about might not be something you think is of major consequence, but for them, it's a big deal."

India exported military hardware and equipment worth over Rs 34,000 crore in the last five years, according to details provided by the government in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Replying to a question, Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said the total exports by both private and defence public sector undertakings were worth Rs 2059.18 crore in 2015-16 while the number came down to Rs 1521.91 crore in 2016-17. However, the exports of military hardware went up to Rs 4682.36 crore in 2017-18 and further jumped to Rs 10745.77 crore in 2018-19. The amount for 2019-20 was 9115.55 crore while it was Rs 6288.26 crore in the current fiscal till January 31, according to Naik. Naik said export authorisation has been granted for torpedo loading mechanism, night vision monocular and binocular, light weight torpedo and fire control systems, armoured protection vehicle, weapons locating radar and coastal surveillance radar among others. To a separate question, he said FDI inflows of over Rs 4,191 crore have been reported by various companies operating in the defence and aerospace sector. "Further, FDI inflows of over Rs 2871 crores have been reported in defence and aerospace sector after 2014," he said. Responding to another query, Naik said a total of 124 Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun Mark-1 have been inducted into the Indian Army since 2008 and two armoured regiments are fully operational with these tanks. "The DRDO has further developed upgraded MBT Arjun Mark-1A tank. This upgraded MBT Arjun Mark-1A tank has cleared validation trials in December, 2018," he added. The minister said out of a total of 191 defence capital acquisition deals in the last three years, 118 contracts have been placed with the Indian industry. "Further, 58 per cent of total expenditure on capital acquisition in the last three years has been made on indigenous procurement," he said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)