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England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson is a surprise target for Major League Cricket. BBC Sport understands senior figures with at least one MLC team have had their interest pricked by Anderson's comments last month about a return to white-ball cricket. The unnamed franchise are now set to explore whether the 42-year-old would be interested in participating in the third edition of the T20 tournament in the United States next year. Anderson could earn about £135,000 from a short stint in MLC, which lured some stellar names from the game for the 2024 edition. The most high profile of those was Australia captain Pat Cummins, who has a lucrative contract with the San Francisco Unicorns until 2027. Fellow Australians Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head were all part of the star-studded Washington Freedom team, coached by Ricky Ponting, which won this year's tournament. Anderson, who finished with 704 Test wickets, retired from international cricket following the first Test against West Indies at Lord's in July. He immediately joined the England backroom team and remains on a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) until the end of September. Anderson said last week he would continue in his role as a fast-bowling mentor for England's Test series against Pakistan in October and was planning to join the side for their tour of New Zealand in December. Anderson's last competitive T20 match was in 2014, when he played in the Blast for Lancashire. His decision to dedicate the last 10 years of his career to red-ball cricket means he has never played franchise cricket overseas but he believes he is "fit enough" and "good enough" to play the format. The league, which has influential backers including Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella, has expressed a desire to lure some of England's top players to the competition. England World Cup winners Liam Plunkett and Jason Roy have both taken part in the past two versions of MLC. In May 2023, Roy gave up his ECB white-ball contract worth up to £70,000 to sign a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Knight Riders worth £300,000. MLC launched in 2023 with a 19-game season but will expand to 34 games in 2025. The tournament was granted official List A status in May. https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/cm2nlynl95mo

Health at every size (or HAES) is a lifestyle counselling approach that promotes mindful eating and lifestyle behaviours to pursue health and wellness, without focusing on weight loss. Weight loss is seen as a beneficial side effect, rather than a goal. The Association for Size Diversity and Health first developed the approach in 2003 and revised it in 2013 and 2024. Its current core principles promote: minimising weight discrimination encouraging body acceptance intuitive eating enjoyable physical activities. It also aims to address stigma and discrimination that people in larger bodies may experience when seeking medical care. Internationally, a range of health professionals have incorporated the HAES approach into their treatment and services. Some organisations, such as Obesity Canada, have included HAES in their guidelines for obesity treatment. How does it compare with weight-focused treatments? We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all the research studies published until November 2022 that had used HAES-based programs. Across 19 scientific papers, we compared the outcomes of people living in larger bodies who used HAES-based programs with: conventional weight loss programs (six studies) people on waiting lists receiving no treatment at all (six studies) groups where people received weekly social support in groups (four studies). We evaluated the program’s impact on appetite, weight, physical health measurements including cholesterol and blood pressure, and also wellbeing and mental health. Our analysis found HAES interventions were beneficial in reducing susceptibility to hunger more than other approaches, meaning people had less subjective perceptions of hunger or eating in response to emotions. However, compared to control interventions, HAES did not show superior results for improving any other physical health outcome – weight loss, blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure – or wellbeing or mental health outcomes. Given the results to date, the choice about whether to use a HAES-based approach (or not) will depend on each person’s preference, needs and goals. Don’t get your health advice from influencers While HAES has been used in clinical practice for many years, some United States and Canadian anti-diet practitioner’s motives have been scrutinised because of their links with processed food companies. The spotlight was put on the very small number of dietitian “influencers” (roughly 20 from a membership of more than 80,000 dietitians in the US and Canada) promoting “eat what you feel like” and discouraging people from making weight loss attempts, under the banner of HAES. They failed to mention they were being paid to promote products sold by food, beverage or supplement companies. US author and dietitian Carrie Dennet urges people to not look to influencers for health advice. Instead, seek non-judgemental health care from your GP. What might treatment look like? When improving your health is a treatment goal, a good place to start your journey is to have a health check-up with your doctor, as well as to assess your relationship with food. A healthy relationship with food means being able to eat appropriate amounts and variety of foods to meet your nutritional, health and wellbeing goals. This might include strategies such as: keeping a food mood diary reflecting on factors that influence your eating practising mindful eating learning about nutrient needs focusing on food enjoyment and the pleasure that comes from preparing, sharing and eating with others. If you need more help to develop this, ask your doctor to refer you to a health practitioner who can assist. What if your goal is weight loss? When it comes to medical nutrition therapy to treat weight-related health conditions, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, the approach will depend on individual needs and expectations. Broadly, there are three graded energy intake target levels: a reduced-energy diet where the goal is to lower energy intake by 2,000 to 4,000 kilojoules (kJ) per day by identifying food substitutions, like swapping soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened drinks for zero or diet versions or water. a low-energy diet, which uses an energy intake goal in the range of 4,200-5,000 kJ, up to 7,000 kJ per day depending on an individual’s energy expenditure. the most restricted regime is a very low-energy diet, has an energy intake target less than 2,500 kJ/day, achieved using formulated meal replacement products. The aim of a very low-energy diet is to facilitate rapid weight loss when this is essential to improve health acutely such as poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Such a diet should be used under supervision by your doctor and dietitian. When selecting an initial strategy, seek a balance between energy intake goals and your ability to stick to it. Your approach may change over time as your health needs change. If you need personalised nutrition advice, ask for a referral to an accredited practising dietitian. The register of service providers though Dietitians Australia allows you to view their expertise and location. Regardless of whether your practitioner uses a HAES approach or not, your health providers should always treat you with respect and address your personal health and wellbeing. https://theconversation.com/what-is-health-at-every-size-lifestyle-counselling-how-does-it-compare-with-weight-focused-treatments-234376

The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, which made history when its crew conducted the first-ever commercial spacewalk, has concluded with a splashdown off the coast of Florida in the United States. The Dragon spacecraft plunged into the ocean at 3:37am (07:37 GMT) on Sunday, a webcast of the arrival showed, with a recovery team deploying in the predawn darkness to retrieve the capsule and crew. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn makes history with first private spacewalk list 2 of 4 SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn astronauts complete spacewalk: How it happened list 3 of 4 SpaceX Polaris Dawn spacewalk: Is the US breaking a 50-year-old space law? list 4 of 4 Boeing’s Starliner returns to Earth – leaving crew behind end of list The capsule was lifted from the water and onto the recovery vessel half an hour later. After brief medical checks, a smiling and waving SpaceX engineer Anna Menon was the first of the crew to exit, followed by engineer Sarah Gillis, former United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott Poteet, and commander and fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman. “Happy, healthy, home,” the Polaris Program wrote on X. “A new era of commercial spaceflight dawns, with much more to come.”The four-member team led by Isaacman was launched on Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center, quickly journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in the past half century as they ventured into the dangerous Van Allen radiation belt. They hit a peak altitude of 1,400km (870 miles) – more than three times higher than the International Space Station and the furthest humans had ever travelled from Earth since NASA’s 1968-1972 Apollo missions to the moon. On Thursday, as Isaacman, 41, opened the hatch and stepped up to transmit the first view of the planet from outside, the SpaceX crew on Earth erupted into cheers. “Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do. But from here, it sure looks like a perfect world,” Isaacman said as the capsule soared above the South Pacific. Cameras on board caught his silhouette, waist high at the hatch, with the blue Earth beneath. Isaacman was replaced by Gillis, 30, who went through similar motions, turning side to side and flexing her limbs to see how a new spacesuit, designed to protect the crew from the harsh vacuum, would hold up. The other two crew members, 50-year-old Poteet and 38-year-old Menon, stayed inside the Dragon capsule but were exposed to the vacuum and had their own mobility and transmission tasks to perform, along with supporting the other two members. None of the crew experienced severe symptoms related to space travel, which can include acute motion sickness that can prove fatal in extreme cases due to pressure differences. The crew also conducted dozens of experiments, including inter-satellite laser communication between the spacecraft and Space X’s Starlink satellite constellation by sending back to ground control a high-resolution video of Gillis playing Rey’s Theme by Star Wars composer John Williams on the violin. Isaacman, CEO and founder of the Shift4 credit card-processing company, is only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965. SpaceX’s Gillis is the 265th. More and more wealthy passengers are plunking down huge sums for rides aboard private rockets to experience a few minutes of weightlessness. Others have spent tens of millions to stay in space for days or even weeks. Space experts and risk analysts say it is inevitable that some will seek the thrill of spacewalking, deemed one of the most dangerous parts of spaceflight after launch and reentry but also the most soul-stirring. Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris Program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX. Isaacman, however, has declined to disclose how much he invested in the flight. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/15/spacexs-polaris-dawn-returns-to-earth-after-first-private-spacewalkhttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/15/spacexs-polaris-dawn-returns-to-earth-after-first-private-spacewalk

Adobe Express, the content creation platform, was expanded in eight Indian languages on Friday. The company said this move will empower more native language speakers in the content creation process. The platform also offers generative artificial intelligence (AI) features, which users can take advantage of. Notably, the language expansion is available across the desktop, Android, and iOS apps as well as the web client. With this update, users will be able to access the Adobe Express platform in Hindi as well as other regional languages. Adobe Express Now Available in Eight Indian Languages In a press release, the software giant highlighted that the Adobe Express platform will now be available in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu languages. The company said that this will help users from students to content creators in India to leverage Adobe Firefly tools. With Adobe Firefly, users can access AI tools, templates, productivity tools and relevant features in regional Indian languages to easily create images and videos. Alongside, the company is also releasing several AI-powered features in the country. Adobe Will Soon Let You Generate AI Videos From Text and Image Prompts Among them is Auto-Translation, a premium feature, that allows users to translate templates in Indian languages. They can also customise them post-translation. A new localised user interface is also being added in Hindi, Tamil, and Bengali. Users will also be able to access features such as text-element translation and multi-page translation. All of these tools are aimed at reducing the friction of regional language speakers in using the tool in just English. Adobe Express also offers other AI tools such as Generative Fill, Remove Background, Remove Objects, Generate Image, Generate template, Animate from Audio, Caption Video and more. The platform also allows users to access thousands of templates, Adobe Stock photos, videos, music, and others. Adobe Illustrator Can Now Use AI to Generate Patterns and Artwork Adobe Sued by US Government for Hiding Termination Fees in Subscription Plan Adobe claims that the Firefly-powered tools follow the guidelines of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), an open-source technology to label AI-generated content. Notably, when Adobe Express was launched as a mobile platform, it was available for free for a limited period. However, now, the premium subscription to the platform is priced at Rs. 480. The membership gives access to all the Firefly AI-powered features as well as all the abovementioned tools. Additionally, users will also get 100GB of cloud storage to store their creations. https://www.gadgets360.com/ai/news/adobe-express-8-indian-languages-new-ai-features-update-content-creation-6558598

U.S. News & World Report More 25 March 2024, Switzerland, Zermatt: The Swiss ski resort of Zermatt with the backdrop of the Matterhorn. Photo: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa (Photo by Bernd Weißbrod/picture alliance via Getty Images) Bernd Weissbrod|Picture Alliance|Getty Images The Zermatt ski resort is framed by the Matterhorn mountain in Zermatt, Switzerland, on March 25. For the third year in a row, Switzerland has placed No. 1. in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Countries rankings. Like clockwork, the country known for its timepieces, cheese and chocolate has yet again taken the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Countries rankings, marking the third year in a row and the seventh time overall Switzerland has placed No. 1. The central European nation is followed by Japan (No. 2), the United States (No. 3), Canada (No. 4) and Australia (No. 5) in the latest edition of the analysis, released Tuesday. The 25 Best Countries in the World The Flag draped entrance to the United Nations Building in Geneva Switzerland. View All 29 Slides European countries made up the majority of the top 25, holding 15 spots in the 2024 rankings. Two Middle Eastern countries made that cut – the United Arab Emirates and Qatar – while Asia was represented by Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. These Are the 10 Best Countries in the World, According to U.S. News & World Report: 1. Switzerland 2. Japan 3. United States 4. Canada 5. Australia 6. Sweden 7. Germany 8. United Kingdom 9. New Zealand 10. Denmark The Best Countries rankings and analysis from U.S. News are formed in partnership with global marketing and communications services company WPP and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The project is based on a global survey in which nearly 17,000 people across 36 nations associated various countries with specific attributes, ranging from “dynamic,” “safe” and “a leader” to “cares about human rights,” “economically stable” and “committed to social justice.” The survey this year contained 73 unique attributes in total and encompassed 89 countries. Kuwait and Iceland were included in the rankings for the first time in the project’s history after meeting benchmark criteria. The Top 3 Switzerland has ranked No. 1 nearly every year since 2017. This year, it was bolstered by notable performances in three of the heaviest-weighted subrankings: quality of life (No. 3), entrepreneurship (No. 5) and social purpose (No. 7). Switzerland also rated highly in the open for business subranking (No. 2) and for cultural influence (No. 8). In the heaviest-weighted movers subranking, it landed at No. 19 among the 89 countries ranked, though that marked a jump of four spots from 2023. Its lowest ranking was No. 29, in heritage. Japan climbed four spots to reach No. 2 overall – a spot it last held in 2021. Similar to Switzerland, the country performed well in heavily weighted subrankings such as entrepreneurship (No. 3) and movers (No. 8). At the attribute level, the home of companies like Toyota and Sony ranked No. 1 for a number of characteristics, including for being innovative, modern and educated and for having technological expertise. The U.S. climbed two spots in the rankings from No. 5 in 2023 to No. 3 this year, landing in the top trio for the first time in the project’s nine-year history. Ahead of a small drop last year, the country steadily climbed from No. 8 to No. 4 between 2019 and 2022. The United States was at or near the top in several subrankings, coming in at No. 1 for power and agility, No. 2 for entrepreneurship and No. 3 for cultural influence. Climbs and Falls Historically, top-performing nations in the Best Countries rankings have tended to see less volatility year over year, while nations farther down the list are more likely to see double-digit changes. Among the top 25, Finland (-6 spots) and Belgium (-5 spots) saw the largest drops in the rankings since 2023, while China and Japan saw the largest increases, both up four spots year over year. With the exceptions of Finland (-6), Belgium (-5), Israel (-10) and South Africa (+6), the remaining countries in the top 50 stayed within four spots of their 2023 rankings. No. 22 Iceland was new to the list this year, meaning it was not ranked in 2023. Conflict in the Middle East Along with assessing countries in relation to various attributes, respondents to the Best Countries survey also were shown statements gauging their opinions on key world issues. For example, more than 80% of respondents agreed to some extent with the statement, “I fear conflicts in the Middle East will lead to a broader global conflict.” Notably, the survey was first fielded in late March, approximately five months after fighters from the terror group Hamas crossed the border into Israel and killed around 1,200 people while taking hundreds of others hostage. Aiming to eradicate Hamas, Israel’s retaliatory attacks have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, sparking intense international criticism and continued calls for a cease-fire. In the Best Countries rankings, Israel fell 10 spots year over year to reach No. 46 in 2024, marking its lowest ranking since the project’s inception in 2016. Though annual shifts should be interpreted with caution – given changes in weights used within the rankings and that one country’s poor performance in a particular area could cause another to rise without doing anything, or vice versa – Israel worsened in perceptions tied to multiple attributes, including adaptable (-17), politically stable (-16) and cares about human rights (-10). “Israel’s standing on the world stage will be drastically affected by this conflict, but I hesitate to say it will be entirely negative,” says Clionadh Raleigh, CEO and president of Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a nonprofit that operates a site tracking political violence and protest activity worldwide. “The reason being is that other rising powers and regional power-brokers are far less critical about how Israel has gone about this conflict and (I think) will seek to resuscitate their new, stronger relationship as soon as time allows.” Israel’s double-digit fall was the third-largest in the rankings, topped only by Bahrain – which fell 11 spots year over year to No. 69, and has faced a delicate balance in light of the war in Gaza and its ties to Israel – and Ukraine, which saw a decline of 12 spots. Russia vs. Ukraine Ukraine’s year-over-year fall to No. 80 from No. 68 marked the largest decrease of any country between 2023 and 2024. The Eastern European nation was invaded by Russia in early 2022, after which it saw its ranking climb nine spots. But since then it, too, has fallen to its lowest ranking in project history. At the same time, since 2022, the share of global survey respondents agreeing to some extent with the statement, “My country should be supportive of Ukraine in their defense against Russia” has declined as well, from 72% two years ago to roughly 66% now. For its part, Russia fell 12 spots to No. 36 after the 2022 invasion, hitting its own lowest mark in the project up to that point. But its ranking has held relatively steady in that range since, even as around 70% of survey respondents agreed to some extent with the statement that “Russia is a threat to the world,” after 72% agreement was seen in 2023. It’s worth noting the survey has not been fielded in Russia since the invasion, meaning Russian respondents have not had a chance to shape perceptions of their country or its ranking in recent editions. U.S. Elections, AI, Immigration Other notable findings from the opinion statements presented to survey respondents include: More than 85% agree to some extent that elections in the U.S. impact the rest of the world, and close to half of respondents – 48.5% – said Donald Trump would have a negative impact on the world as the next U.S. president, compared with about 34% who said he would have a positive impact. (The survey was fielded while President Joe Biden was still the Democratic nominee: 36% said Biden would have a negative impact, while 38% said he would have a positive impact.) Optimism about artificial intelligence varies between Western and Eastern countries. More than 80% of survey respondents in China, Thailand and Vietnam agreed to some extent that the benefits of AI outweigh the threats, while various Western nations were more cynical, with agreement at 51% in Canada and at 50% in Australia, for instance. Global support for immigration appears to be slipping slowly downward, with roughly 57% of respondents in 2024 agreeing to some extent that their country “should be more open to immigration.” That share stood at 61% in 2022. These Are the 10 Lowest-Ranked Countries in the World, According to U.S. News & World Report: 80. Ukraine 81. Azerbaijan 82. Iran 83. Kazakhstan 84. Honduras 85. Cameroon 86. Algeria 87. Lebanon 88. Serbia 89. Belarus https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/us-news-unveils-best-countries-rankings

I adored The Batman but, whether it was its near-three-hour runtime, the fact that the legendary vigilante received another big-screen reboot, or some other reason, I can understand why some people didn't. Still, as my review of The Batman and its high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes suggest, it had many great things, including numerous scene-stealing turns from Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb/The Penguin, going for it. When The Penguin, a TV spin-off centered on Farrell's morally complicated and mani[CENSORED]tive antagonist, was announced, then, I was excited albeit apprehensive. Crowd-pleasing as Cobb was in The Batman, aka one of the best Batman movies, his total screen time was a miserly eight minutes. Could this unhinged yet charismatic lowlife really make the step up from minor villain to full-blown protagonist and hold down an eight-part miniseries? The answer is yes. Admittedly, I've only seen The Penguin's first two episodes but, if the other six are as absorbingly chaotic as its initial entries, HBO has another unmissable TV hit on its hands. eginning one week after The Batman's ending, which saw much of Gotham flooded as part of The Riddler's seawall-destroying plan to expose the city's level of corruption, The Penguin finds its lawless underworld in disarray. The death of crime kingpin Carmine Falcone has created a power vacuum in Gotham's underbelly and a full-blown gang war between the city's various crime syndicates is inevitable. For the weaselly and calculating Cobb (Farrell), the demise of the Falcone family's patriarch is particularly advantageous. Not only does it present him with the opportunity to worm his way up the career ladder – he was one of the Falcone family's most loyal servants until Carmine's death, after all – but, once near the summit, potentially assume control and become Gotham's new, undisputed crime boss. Doing so won't be easy, however, especially with Carmine's children – the alcohol-dependent, impetuous Alberto (Michael Zegen) and cold-blooded, psychotic Sofia (Cristin Milioti) – expected to replace their father. The vindictive Cobb, then, will have to employ every ounce of his cunning to achieve his goal as he embarks on the criminal warpath. And, thanks to Farrell's scintillating return as Cobb, scheming and revenge-fuelled he most certainly is. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say Farrell delivers one of the finest TV performances of the year as Cobb, either. The Irish actor's powerhouse display builds on his all-too-brief showing in The Batman to anchor The Penguin with an Emmy-worthy, character-driven act.The emotional intensity that Farrell imbues Cobb with is nothing short of terrific. Indeed, the unpredictability that Farrell weaves through his take on the famous Batman villain means you don't know which version of Cobb you're going to get. Farrell's ability to switch between Cobb's brutish, brooding, callous, darkly comedic, and wily personas from scene to scene – and even within the same scene – with immeasurable ease speaks to the Oscar-nominated star's natural talents and full commitment to a role that, as he told me during a chat about The Penguin's story beats and runtime, he was "excited" to sink his teeth into.Speaking of "natural talents", Cobb has an intrinsic ability to talk anyone's ear off. Sure, there are rare occasions where The Penguin's lead character sits pensively to plot his next move, or stews in anger over a recent development, such as the bombshell revelation that his 'drophead' drugs operation is being shut down. A serial talker by trade, though, Cobb regularly floods the air with wisecracks, bizarre rants, and rhetorical conversational beats that provide a riveting insight into the inner workings of this tragic villain.Such a skill helps, of course, when you're trying to play Gotham's two biggest crime syndicates – the aforementioned Falcones and their arch-rivals in the Maroni crime cartel – against one another. It's a perilous plan, not least because of his contrasting loyalties to each family, and when his plans are hindered by unforeseen events or fail entirely, the metaphorical noose slowly and continually tightens around Cobb's neck with each passing moment. But, ever the quick-thinking, clever, and crafty guy, he performs a Houdini-like escape that allows him to fight another day. I feel like The Penguin's first pair of episodes have only scratched the surface of this multidimensional individual, and I can't wait to learn more about him. However, it's the twisty-turny nature of Cobb and Sofia's dynamic that drives The Penguin's melodramatic and blood-soaked story. Initially, given her understated introduction midway through its premiere, I expected Milioti's Sofia to lurk in the shadows for a while before taking on a greater role as the plot progressed. I'm glad that wasn't the case. From the moment she takes Cobb out to dinner for a seemingly innocent catch-up, Milioti's Sofia is an unsettling presence whose mild-mannered exterior conceals her animalistic and ultraviolent tendencies. The discomforting and ice-cold aura she exudes, coupled with her mental instability, makes Sofia an incredibly dangerous individual that even Cobb has to walk on eggshells around. Indeed, sequences built around the pair play out with nail-biting brilliance that gives the untamed dynamic of The Penguin's Machiavellian-inspired leads plenty of room to shine amid the criminal underworld's wider power struggle, and their own inter- and intrapersonal issues. Sofia Falcone pulls Oz Cobb close to her as she whispers in his left ear in The Penguin Sofia Falcone and Oz Cobb's relationship tos and fros throughout The Penguin (Image credit: Max) The most absorbing aspect I noticed about this relationship is how much it shifted in the two episodes I've seen. From close associates to adversaries, and then frenemies with a common goal when Sofia is effectively displaced within the male-dominated Falcone crime family, there's a real Killing Eve and True Detective season 1 tonality to their bond. I fully expect the paradigm to change time and again, too, but it's nonetheless intriguing to see the duo ally themselves with the other – and likely use each other for their own nefarious means – as they aspire to become Gotham's new crime lord. Fresh, yet faithful Oz Cobb sits at a dining table in a low-light setting in The Penguin Colin Farrell's transformation into Oz Cobb is nothing short of spectacular (Image credit: HBO) Shocking no one, there's also a clear synergistic energy between The Penguin's gritty, downtrodden-flavored aesthetic and vibe and that of The Batman. Considering both projects exist in Matt Reeves' Bat-Verse – now known as The Batman Epic Crime Saga – that's to be expected, as is the big-budget, cinematic, prestige television feel that many HBO shows carry these days. Oh, and there's the odd intriguing reference to wider Batman lore that long-time fans of the Dark Knight should keep their eyes out for because, trust me, there are a couple mentioned in The Penguin that may set up some tantalizing things to come in The Batman Part II and beyond. The Penguin is another crime epic home run for HBO What I wasn't anticipating was how hard The Penguin goes in the violence stakes. The Batman wasn't a wholly family-friendly flick, in fact – the Tim Burton-directed Batman movies aside (read more about them in our Batman movies in order guide) – I'd argue The Batman is the iconic DC superhero's least kid-friendly movie due to its adult-leaning material, and stark commentary of societal oppression and marginalization. Even so, it toed the line of what passes for a PG-13 film, so I was pleased to see that The Penguin didn't overlook the more vicious elements of the Batman universe alongside its bleak overtures. If I had one complaint about this TV spin-off – and it's an incredibly minor one – it's that The Penguin's first two episodes feel a little long. Yes, it's an HBO drama production, so episodic runtimes exceeding 50 minutes are par for the course. But, while I'm not asking for the bizarrely inconsistent nature of Marvel TV shows that air on Disney Plus, there were a couple of instances where I thought it was unnecessary for certain subplots to b Bound by its morally complicated and love-to-hate characters, engaging and thematically dense plot, and equally fresh and faithful take on the Batman franchise, The Penguin is another crime epic home run for HBO. Its engrossing deconstruction of what it means to be a villain – one viewed through the prism of the seduction of power and opportunism – means, even just two episodes in, I already believe that it deserves to sit alongside The Sopranos, True Detective, The Wire, and more in the studio's crime drama pantheon. I picked out The Penguin as one of 14 shows I'm excited for in late 2024 and, after seeing what it has to offer, I feel justified in doing so. With many powderkeg revelations to come amid its overarching cat-and-mouse narrative that's sure to contain reams of interfamilial discord, I simply can't wait to immerse myself in the rest of Oz Cobb's story. It'll have plenty of competition on the TV front around its launch date – Marvel's Agatha All Along and Netflix's Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story to name just two – but don't be surprised if The Penguin is eventually labeled one of the best Max shows of all-time. https://techradar.com/streaming/hbo-max/the-penguin-opinion-piece-max

We spoke at length with AMD's Jack Huynh, senior vice president and general manager of the Computing and Graphics Business Group, at IFA 2024. Along with deprioritizing flagship gaming GPUs and announcing the intent to create a unified UDNA GPU architecture to take on Nvidia's CUDA, the final major topic that he talked about is FSR4, FidelityFX Super Resolution 4.0. What's particularly interesting is that FSR4 will move to being fully AI-based, and it has already been in development for nearly a year. The comments came as Huynh was talking about handheld gaming and battery life, but based on AMD's history of open-source, architecture-agnostic algorithms, FSR4 should be for more than just handhelds. We've edited and cleaned up the text from our recording, and here's what was said. Jack Huynh: On the handheld side, my number one priority is battery life. If you look at the ASUS ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion Go, it’s just that the battery life is not there. I need multiple hours. I need to play a Wukong for three hours, not 60 minutes. This is where frame generation and interpolation [come in], so this is the FSR4 that we're adding. Because FSR2 and FSR3 were analytical based generation. It was filter based. Now, we did that because we wanted something with a very fast time to market. What I told the team was, "Guys, that's not where the future is going." So we completely pivoted the team about 9-12 months ago to go AI based. So now we're going AI-based frame generation, frame interpolation, and the idea is increased efficiency to maximize battery life. And then we could lock the frames per second, maybe it's 30 frames per second, or 35. My number one goal right now is to maximize battery life. I think that's the biggest complaint. I read the returns too from the retailer, where people want to be able to play these games. [End quote] It's interesting that the initial context for FSR4 seems to completely ignore how it might be used on non-handheld devices. And even then, it's about battery life rather than performance. Does that mean FSR4 will specifically need some of the features like the NPU on the latest Strix Point processors? We don't know, and we've reached out to AMD for clarification. But we suspect that's not the case. As noted above, AMD's history with FSR is to support a wide range of GPU solutions. Going AI-based doesn't inherently preclude the use of GPUs either, as any recent GPU from the past six years at least can run both FP16 and DP4a (INT8) instructions that overlap with things like tensor cores and NPU instructions. Intel has already taken a similar approach with XeSS, where it can run in XMX mode on Arc GPUs that have the Xe Matrix eXtensions. And for GPUs that don't have XMX support — like everything from AMD and Nvidia, as well as older Intel graphics solutions plus the integrated Arc Graphics in Meteor Lake processors — XeSS can use DP4a instructions to do similar work. The total compute available tends to be lower with DP4a, so it's not the exact same model being used, but more recent versions like XeSS 1.3 have focused on improving the quality and performance of the DP4a code path. Plenty of questions remain with FSR4, like when it will even become available. If it's already been in development for 9–12 months, it could be very nearly ready for release. But as we've seen with past upscaling solutions, including DLSS and XeSs alongside FSR 1/2/3, releasing the API merely represents the first step. Getting games to support the new API takes longer. AMD also just updated its Fluid Motion Frames 2 (AFMF 2) technology, which provides a driver-level solution for frame generation. That's probably the near-term solution for handheld gaming devices looking to boost performance, though as with all framegen solutions that rely on interpolation, we note that it's more frame smoothing than a true performance boosting feature. Will that be enough, and will FSR4 usher in a truly competitive alternative to DLSS and XeSS that finally leverages AI? We'll find out when AMD releases it to the public. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/amd-plans-for-fsr4-to-be-fully-ai-based-designed-to-improve-quality-and-maximize-power-efficiency

An outbreak of African Swine Fever has seen 60,000 pigs destroyed in Italy with at least 24 separate outbreaks and hundreds of farms affected. Italian farmers have warned that the outbreak could have huge ramifications for the nation’s prosciutto, sausage and pork industries which are worth a combined total of €8.2billion. On August 29, the government of Georgia Meloni appointed a Director General of Animal Health, veterinarian Giovanni Filippini, to deal with the worst outbreak of swine fever in Italy since the 1960s. Mr Filippini said: “Here are 18 swine fever hotspots in Lombardy, five in Piedmont, and one in Emilia Romagna. “Not a day goes by without a new outbreak being discovered. When a sick pig is found on a farm, the law requires that all animals be culled.” Italy is home to nearly nine million pigs and the pork industry is estimated to employ around 50,000 people. Italian soldiers have been deployed in order to contain the outbreak, using drones and thermal imaging to help track the movements of animals. Rudy Milani, president of Confagricoltura Swine Producers said: “There is only one word that can describe the mood of the farmers now: terrified. “We are in a big sea with a strong wind, that is for sure. We have to survive the storm.” The virus is harmless to humans but can be deadly to pigs and boars. https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1946953/Italy-pig-African-swine-fever

DIR: The district administration arranged an event at the Dir Sports Complex on Thursday in collaboration with the District Sports Office.Deputy Commissioner Naveed Akbar inaugurated the ceremony organized for the first time for the orphans. He thanked the role of District Sports Officer Siddiqullah for the activity. The official said orphans from different areas were included in the event to provide them with some happy moments. He promised more such sports events for orphans in the future.District Sports Officer Siddiqueullah said the event was aimed at making children happy through sports. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1229842-sports-event-arranged-for-orphans-in-dir

Type 2 diabetes risk has been associated with late chronotype, or a tendency to go to sleep later. Previously it was assumed this was due to poorer habits of people with late chronotype, but new data presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes has suggested this risk is independent of lifestyle factors. Late chronotype is associated with higher adiposity, which could be linked to a higher type 2 diabetes risk, but the reasons for this are unclear and could be due to a range of factors, according to researchers. ‘Night owls’ are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as higher adiposity, data presented at a conference has shown. Previous research has shown the link between having a late chronotype, where you feel a need to go to bed later than usual, and type 2 diabetes. This latest research has shown that this link is independent of lifestyle factors, authors argue. Previously, peer-reviewed research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that late chronotype was associated with poorer lifestyle factors, including being more likely to smoke and being less active. This latest, non peer-reviewed research presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain, held 9-13 September 2024, suggests that the link exists independent of lifestyle factors. Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands presented their abstract to attendees, showing the independent link between chronotype and type 2 diabetes. Higher amounts of body fat in late sleepers The researchers analyzed data from 4,999 participants without type 2 diabetes from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, of whom 54% were women. They determined the participants’ chronotypes based on the information they had given about when they went to sleep and when they got up and calculated using the midpoint of their sleep. Twenty percent of the cohort were identified as having a late chronotype. They showed that the later the midpoint of sleep, the higher a person’s waist measurement was, as well as having higher amounts of fat on their waist and liver. Analysis showed that the people they identified as having a late chronotype were not only at a 55% increased risk of type 2 diabetes over a 6-year follow-up, but they also had a higher average BMI, a larger waist, and higher visceral and liver fat, than people with an intermediate chronotype. The researchers adjusted these results for age, sex, education, total body fat, physical activity, diet quality, alcohol intake, smoking, and sleep quality and duration, showing that the relationship between type 2 diabetes and obesity was independent of these. Interestingly the team found different results from expected when they chose to look at the risk for people who had early chronotypes, “From the literature, we expected early chronotypes to have a similar risk of developing type 2 diabetes as intermediate chronotypes,” says lead researcher Jeroen van der Velde, PhD, of Leiden University Medical Centre. “Our results showed a slightly higher risk but this was not statistically significant.” The influence of chronotype on health Van der Velde told Medical News Today that he had investigated the relationship between chronotype and type 2 diabetes as he and others did not believe that lifestyle could solely account for the differences in risk seen. The study had shown a more significant effect than expected. “However, given the observational nature of our study, residual confounding may still have occurred. This means that despite our efforts to control for lifestyle variables such as diet and exercise, these factors may still impact the observed risk difference,” he said. The influence of chronotype on health Van der Velde told Medical News Today that he had investigated the relationship between chronotype and type 2 diabetes as he and others did not believe that lifestyle could solely account for the differences in risk seen. The study had shown a more significant effect than expected. “However, given the observational nature of our study, residual confounding may still have occurred. This means that despite our efforts to control for lifestyle variables such as diet and exercise, these factors may still impact the observed risk difference,” he said. The study did not examine why later chronotype had resulted in this increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but the authors think that the circadian cycle may play a role. “We believe that, in part, our result may be explained by circadian misalignment that may occur in people with a late chronotype. From other studies, we know that circadian misalignment may lead to metabolic disturbances. Our society’s current work- or social environment is more tailored toward people with an early or intermediate chronotype,” Van der Velde said. “Another explanation may be that people with late chronotype also will eat until later in the evening. Some studies have shown that time-restricted eating, for instance, no more food intake after 6 PM may help to improve metabolic health. Also, the quality of food that is eaten later in the evening may be less healthy (e.g. snacks). We did adjust for overall diet quality in our study, but unfortunately, we did not measure timing of food intake,” he explained. Circadian rhythm and social timings Our circadian rhythm describes the natural oscillation that occurs over a 24-hour period in our bodies. Our internal clock tells us when to get up in the morning, when we might feel hungry, when we feel at our most energetic and when we need to go to sleep. There is natural variation between people that has been observed for generations, hence the concept of ‘night owls’ and ‘early birds’. Despite this there are certain timings that society adheres to, for example starting work at a certain time in the morning. This can be difficult for people with late chronotype to adapt to, as naturally, they would still be asleep then. Maria Knobel, MD, and medical director of Medical Cert UK, who was not involved in the research, told Medical News Today: “Our society is built around the rhythms of early chronotypes, leaving late chronotypes at a disadvantage. Early chronotypes naturally fit into the conventional work and school schedules, resulting in more consistent patterns for sleep, meals, and physical activity, all of which are beneficial for metabolic health.” “On the other hand, late chronotypes are forced to wake up earlier than their bodies would prefer, leading to a cascade of negative health effects. This societal misalignment might be the root cause of what is perceived as dysregulation in late chronotypes,” she said. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/night-owls-sleep-higher-diabetes-risk-lifestyle-factors#Circadian-rhythm-and-social-timings Type 2 diabetes risk has been associated with late chronotype, or a tendency to go to sleep later. Previously it was assumed this was due to poorer habits of people with late chronotype, but new data presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes has suggested this risk is independent of lifestyle factors. Late chronotype is associated with higher adiposity, which could be linked to a higher type 2 diabetes risk, but the reasons for this are unclear and could be due to a range of factors, according to researchers. ‘Night owls’ are at increased risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as higher adiposity, data presented at a conference has shown. Previous research has shown the link between having a late chronotype, where you feel a need to go to bed later than usual, and type 2 diabetes. This latest research has shown that this link is independent of lifestyle factors, authors argue. Previously, peer-reviewed research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that late chronotype was associated with poorer lifestyle factors, including being more likely to smoke and being less active. This latest, non peer-reviewed research presented at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Madrid, Spain, held 9-13 September 2024, suggests that the link exists independent of lifestyle factors. Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands presented their abstract to attendees, showing the independent link between chronotype and type 2 diabetes. Higher amounts of body fat in late sleepers The researchers analyzed data from 4,999 participants without type 2 diabetes from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, of whom 54% were women. They determined the participants’ chronotypes based on the information they had given about when they went to sleep and when they got up and calculated using the midpoint of their sleep. Twenty percent of the cohort were identified as having a late chronotype. They showed that the later the midpoint of sleep, the higher a person’s waist measurement was, as well as having higher amounts of fat on their waist and liver. Analysis showed that the people they identified as having a late chronotype were not only at a 55% increased risk of type 2 diabetes over a 6-year follow-up, but they also had a higher average BMI, a larger waist, and higher visceral and liver fat, than people with an intermediate chronotype. The researchers adjusted these results for age, sex, education, total body fat, physical activity, diet quality, alcohol intake, smoking, and sleep quality and duration, showing that the relationship between type 2 diabetes and obesity was independent of these. Interestingly the team found different results from expected when they chose to look at the risk for people who had early chronotypes, “From the literature, we expected early chronotypes to have a similar risk of developing type 2 diabetes as intermediate chronotypes,” says lead researcher Jeroen van der Velde, PhD, of Leiden University Medical Centre. “Our results showed a slightly higher risk but this was not statistically significant.” Share on Pinterest

Valve’s new MOBA blends the futuristic with the tried and true, brilliantly sailing the genre into uncharted waters. Last-hitting is so mind-numbingly boring in most MOBAs. The first fifteen minutes of the match are wasted on this little dance picking off lane creeps right before they die to ensure you get the gold from their death. Games like Heroes of the Storm or Gigantic have done away with last-hitting, or even creeps entirely, but they lose that satisfying sense of progression you get from slowly racking up cash to spend on powerful items. I admit it’s part of why these games work, but frankly, I’ve been sick of it for a long time. With thousands of matches between League of Legends, Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, and Smite, I was sure I was over this whole MOBA thing. If I have to kill one more lane creep, I thought, I might just lose my mind. When I saw Deadlock’s multicolored lanes and waves of creeps, I was worried it’d be banal—late to a party Valve itself helped start some 15 years ago. But I quickly realized Deadlock is not Dota, nor is it Overwatch or Valorant; it’s something completely novel which flips the MOBA on its head, not by stripping anything away, but by expanding on it and implementing a full decade of lessons learned. My favorite example of this is last-hitting. Dota used to have the genre’s most interactive take on last-hitting because you can also deny enemies last hits by killing friendly creeps before they can. The problem is denying is not intuitive; new players struggle to last-hit in the first place, let alone last-hit their own wave to properly manage a lane. In Deadlock, last-hitting is two-fold: you need to kill the creep to get half its cash, and then shoot the soul orb that floats out of it to get the rest. But if your opponent shoots the soul orb first, they get it. Immediately, laning is a part of the video game I signed up for rather than a dull prologue. Trades with your opponent are the emphasis; from the second you both arrive in lane, it’s a head-to-head game of Duck Hunt where the quicker draw always wins. And while this mechanic has some fine print, it all adds richness. Because income is shared with nearby teammates, support characters can join in on the gold farming other games reserve for item-dependent carries. Because melee last-hits cinch a full payout without releasing a soul orb, short-range tanks like Abrams aren’t compromised against characters with long-range harassment. Deadlock is an iteration on the MOBA, but it’s not an incremental one. While so many games have come and gone angling to “reinvent” the genre by shifting the camera angle or tweaking a few mechanics, this game is so stuffed with new ideas it’s difficult to appraise just how much depth it all lends.Have ult, will travel Take the map, for instance. PC Gamer staff writer Harvey Randall had plenty of astute things to say about Deadlock's lanes, and that geometric genius extends to the whole Cursed Apple. Other MOBAs have a jungle, the space between lanes where players farm gold by killing hordes of NPCs. Deadlock has a concrete jungle of its own, but that over-the-shoulder camera allows for some devious design.For one, the map is highly vertical, with skyscrapers and dangling ropes allowing for dastardly escapes across the Z-axis. Building interiors are filled with dead ends, stairways, tight corridors, and distracting apparitions; running away has never been more fun in a MOBA than right here, and it’s owed in part to the excellent map.It’s also owed to Deadlock's advanced movement, which is more reminiscent of modern shooters than the RTS mods making up most of Deadlock’s DNA. There’s a universal melee bind as well as parry mechanics and a stamina gauge. Air dashes, extended rolls, dodges in each direction; it all adds a rock-paper-scissors tactical richness to every encounter. If I want to engage I might roll in and use an ability, risking a melee counter-attack; but if I react in time, I can parry and practically guarantee a kill, or opt for a more cautious dodge roll and save my cooldowns.Ganks for the memories This might all sound like it invalidates gunplay, and it kind of does, relatively speaking. For instance, two of my favorite heroes, the duo Mo & Krill, have a piddly gun that’s only there to poke and secure kills. The real meat of the character is in their ability to tunnel beneath enemies and knock them all into the air, disarming them and locking one down with an extended stun. Headshots and long bombs do play a role, but they’re always second to securing the economic lead, using powerful abilities to win teamfights, and effective rotation around the map. Each lane comes equipped with zip lines, Deadlock's method of fast travel between spawn and lanes. Other MOBAs offer limited teleportation, a speed boost when leaving base, out-of-combat mounts and so on. But Deadlock’s solution is to let players zip around at lightning speed from spawn to each of its lanes—so long as they don’t get shot off of it and stunned for an easy kill. Each team controls the length of their zip lines by pushing toward objectives in each lane, so rather than trivialize all the fighting happening below, that precious mobility becomes yet another resource to fight over. The more lane you control, the faster you can get there. There’s a ton to be excited about with Deadlock, but most prominently, I am excited that this MOBA pushes the genre into genuinely new space. It might look from the outset like just another hero shooter or even just another MOBA, but Deadlock takes a format that seemed to crystallize and stagnate with Dota 2’s success and upheaves the status quo. It’s not “like League of Legends, but with guns” or “if Dota had a different camera angle;” it’s a properly new thing altogether, and I feel like I’ve barely charted the depth on offer here. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/moba/deadlock-gives-me-the-same-feeling-dota-2-and-team-fortress-2-did-before-they-consumed-my-life/

Vivo T3 Ultra was unveiled in India on Thursday as the latest T series smartphone from the Chinese tech brand. The new handset boasts a curved AMOLED display with 1.5K resolution and carries a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 main rear camera. The Vivo T3 Ultra has a MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ chipset under the hood. It packs a 5,500mAh battery with 80W fast charging support. The same rear camera, battery and chipset are also available on the premium Vivo V40 Pro. Vivo T3 Ultra Price in India The Vivo T3 Ultra is priced at Rs. 31,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB model. The 8GB RAM + 256GB model and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage models have a price tag of Rs. 33,999 and Rs. 35,999, respectively. It is available in Frost Green and Lunar Gray colourways. The handset will go on sale starting September 19 at 7:00pm through Flipkart, Vivo's e-store, and retail outlets. Vivo is providing a flat discount of Rs. 3,000 for purchases made using HDFC bank cards. This will bring down the effective price tag to Rs. 28,999 for the base variant. Vivo T3 Ultra Specifications Vivo T3 Ultra runs on Funtouch OS 14 based on Android 14 and features a 6.78-inch 1.5K(1,260x2,800 pixels) curved AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, 4,500nits peak brightness, and 452ppi pixels density. It is equipped with an octa-core 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ processor with up to 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The same chipset powers the Vivo V40 Pro. For optics, the Vivo T3 Ultra has a dual rear camera setup with Aura Light flash. The camera unit includes a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 primary sensor with autofocus and OIS support and an 8-megapixel wide-angle camera. On the front, it boasts a 50-megapixel selfie shooter with autofocus. The phone has a 4,200mm square VC cooling system for thermal management. Connectivity options on the Vivo T3 Ultra include Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, GPS, FM radio, GPS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC, GNSS, Wi-Fi, and USB Type-C port. Sensors onboard include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, e-compass, gyroscope and proximity sensor. It has an in-display fingerprint scanner for authentication. The handset has an IP68-rated build for dust and water resistance.Vivo has packed a 5,500mAh battery on the T3 Ultra with 80W wired fast charging support. The battery is advertised to provide more than 65 hours of music playback time on a single charge. The phone measures 164.6x74.93x7.58mm and weighs 192 grams. https://www.gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/vivo-t3-ultra-price-in-india-launch-specifications-sale-flipkart-features-6547570

Were you waiting for the iPhone 16 announcement to decide between the new iPhones and last year’s best iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro? Well, you might be out of luck, as Apple has discontinued the iPhone 15 Pro and its bigger sibling, the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While this isn’t necessarily a shock, considering Apple discontinues its Pro model iPhones every year, it does handcuff new buyers wanting to use Apple Intelligence, Apple’s suite of AI tools. Until this week, the only iPhones capable of the upcoming Apple Intelligence features like proofreading, Genmoji, and Siri’s overhaul were the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, but now you can’t buy them from Apple anymore. Instead, Apple’s lineup of iPhones now includes the iPhone SE, iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Of these, only the 16 lineup can use the new AI technology.It’s worth noting that you’ll be able to pick up the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max for the same price as last year’s 15 Pro and Pro Max, although it would’ve been nice to see Apple include the old Pro devices to offer an extra option for those who don’t want the iPhone 16, but don’t want to fork out for the Pro. As it stands, you can still pick up the 15 Pro and Pro Max from carriers, but the offers on the older models might not last for long, with emphasis pushed towards Apple’s new shiny smartphones. In terms of Apple Intelligence capabilities, expect all but one of the same features on the new iPhones and last year’s offering. Visual Intelligence, Apple’s Google Lens competition, is activated from the new Camera Control side button, which is exclusive to the iPhone 16 line, so iPhone 15 Pro owners will miss out on that particular AI tool.If you’re unsure about whether to pick up an iPhone 15 Pro for Apple Intelligence or opt for the iPhone 16, check out our hands-on iPhone 16 review and our hands-on iPhone 16 Pro review to see how they fare with Apple Intelligence. https://techradar.com/phones/iphone/iphone-15-pro-discontinued-as-apple-pushes-users-to-buy-the-iphone-16-for-apple-intelligence

After several weeks of leaks and teasers of MSI’s upcoming X870 motherboards, the company officially announced its next-generation AM5 motherboards, which are compliant with the ATX 3.1 standard. MSI also highlighted the “Supplemental PCIe Power” feature, which appears to be a new power connector that delivers extra power to the motherboard. The standard 24-pin motherboard connector delivers power to everything, such as graphics cards, cooling fans, and RGB lighting. However, the connector is only rated for 168W. Graphics cards require more power, and some consumers use a multi-GPU setup for AI workloads. For example, Nvidia’s next-generation GeForce RTX 50-series (Blackwell) graphics cards are rumored to require at least 500W of power. Before the CEM 5.0 specification, the PCIe specification didn’t allow power excursions, preventing graphics cards from temporarily drawing more than 75W from the PCIe slot. However, the latest CEM 5.1 specification has enabled 2.5X power excursions on the PCIe slot up to 165W. Remember that excursions are spikes that typically last milliseconds, but that doesn’t mean the graphics card will indefinitely pull more power from the PCIe slot. To accommodate the CEM 5.1 specification, MSI has added a new power connector to the motherboard. This connector resembles an 8-pin PCIe or EPS power connector, but it’s neither because, as mentioned earlier, it has an entirely different pinout than the two connectors. According to MSI, the connector provides up to 252W of power. With the addition of the new connector, the motherboard’s total power jumps from 168W from a single 24-pin connector to 420W, a whopping 150% increase. The 420W capacity of MSI’s X870 boards might be excessive for some, but the increasing power requirements of some builds make this a great solution. MSI provided a theoretical example where a GeForce RTX 4090 draws 165W from the PCIe slot while the fan headers and RGB header pull 132W and 36W, respectively. The total amounts to 333W, more than one 24-pin power connector can provide. The extra 8-pin power connector makes sense in this case. But even with this massive power requirement, the MSI MAG X870’s supplemental PCIe power would give you some overhead for stability, allowing you to push your RTX 4090 GPU to its limits. Additionally, MSI said that this extra power should be enough for a secondary GPU, allowing your PC to remain stable even as you push its performance when running complex AI tasks. MSI says that the 24-pin power connector will still be the main power source of its X870 motherboards, handling everything from the PCIe interface to fans and RGB. However, the supplemental PCIe power delivered through the 8-pin connector will always be there, ready to kick in and provide any additional wattage your motherboard needs when pushing your GPU to the limits or when your fans are ramping up their speed for maximum cooling. The supplemental power connector lacks a name. However, MSI stated that the X870 motherboards are ATX 3.1 ready, so we assume that corresponding ATX 3.1 power supplies should have this power connector. MSI’s X870(E) motherboards for Ryzen 9000 processors will be available on September 26. The company didn’t reveal the pricing, though. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/msis-x870-boards-get-gpu-power-boost-for-pcie-slots-with-new-power-connector-atx-31-ready-motherboards-have-an-extra-connector-to-feed-power-hungry-gpus-and-multi-gpu-setups

A baseless claim that illegal immigrants from Haiti have been eating domestic pets in a small Ohio city has been repeated by Donald Trump. During ABC's presidential debate, Trump said: "In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there." But city officials have told BBC Verify there have been “no credible reports" that this has actually happened. The baseless claim had spread on social media, with Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance promoting it on X. As of Wednesday, the post has had more than 11 million views. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Vance's comments "dangerous" and a "conspiracy theory... based on an element of racism". Where did the claim come from? The claim appears to have come from a number of different sources which have been turned into a cohesive - though baseless - story by pro-Trump social media accounts. At a 27 August meeting of Springfield’s city commission, a local resident who describes himself as a social media influencer launched into a speech against Haitian immigrants. He gave a long list of grievances, including that they were slaughtering park ducks for food, and accused city officials of being paid to bring in immigrants, but provided no evidence for these claims. During the presidential debate on Tuesday, Trump also claimed to have seen “people on television [saying] ‘My dog was taken and used for food’”. BBC Verify has looked at archive video of every major US broadcaster, including Fox, CNN and CBS. We also used keywords to search for relevant video on social media, and have not identified any televised interview of this nature. A claim about a cat being killed by Haitian immigrants was made on a Facebook post focusing on crime in Springfield, and attributed by the poster to the friend of a neighbour’s daughter. The claims were also reflected in a photo posted on Reddit of a man carrying what appears to be a dead goose in Columbus, Ohio. Separately, a news report - as well as police bodycam footage - from late August about a woman arrested for killing and eating a cat has also been circulating online. Many right-wing commentators have referred to the woman as Haitian and pointed to the report as evidence for the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants have been engaged in similar activity. However, the incident took place in Canton, Ohio, about 170 miles (273km) away from Springfield. Canton Police told the BBC that the suspect was born in 1997 and that she was a US citizen. The department also told us "we have not dealt with any complaints of Haitian immigrants at all." In addition to Vance, Elon Musk has also posted memes referring to the baseless claims which have been viewed millions of times. Charlie Kirk, the CEO of conservative activist group Turning Point, said: “Residents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets”. And official Republican party social media channels, such as the Republican House Judiciary Committee X account, have also referred to the claims. The account posted an AI-generated image of former president Trump hugging a duck and a cat with the caption “Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!”. That post was seen nearly 70 million times. BBC Verify spoke to the Springfield City Commission about the claims. Officials told us: “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.” On Tuesday, Vance appeared to row back on his previous comment and said on X: "It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false."Haitian immigrants in Springfield Springfield, a rust belt city in south-west Ohio, is home to about 60,000 people and has seen thousands of immigrants arrive in recent years. Many are from Haiti, and city officials say up to 20,000 have made Springfield home in recent years, reversing a long decline that saw the city’s po[CENSORED]tion drop by more than 20,000 over the last 60 years. The new arrivals have revitalised local industrial companies but have also put a strain on public services. Vance, a senator representing Ohio who grew up about an hour away from Springfield, has repeatedly talked about the city on the campaign trail. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c77l28myezko

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has claimed to have allocated over 1000 million rupees in grants to various national sports federations. The PSB, which has faced criticism recently for inadequate funding and support, particularly towards the Pakistan Hockey Federation, has published its financial statements for the past five years on its website. The reports reveal that the PSB provided the lowest amount of funding during the tenure of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricket captain and sportsman. In the fiscal year 2019/2020, when Khan was in office, the PSB distributed only 25 million rupees in grants for setting up training camps and supporting participation in international and national events. In the following fiscal year 2020/21, this amount increased slightly to 42 million rupees. In contrast, the PSB has significantly increased its funding in the last two fiscal years, including 2023/24, with a total expenditure of approximately 920 million rupees allocated to federations.The Pakistan Amateur Athletics Federation, which earned praise for its performance at the Paris Olympics -- thanks to javelin thrower Nadeem Arshad's gold medal -- received over 100 million rupees in grants over the last five years. This amount includes over 70 million rupees granted this year, primarily for training and international event preparation for Arshad ahead of the Olympics. The Pakistan Hockey Federation, which has frequently complained about insufficient funding despite being the national sport, received a total of 103 million rupees over the past five years. The largest grant of 56 million rupees was provided to the PHF last year. Many national federations rely on PSB grants to sustain their operations, though some Olympic sports bodies also receive funds from the International Olympic Committee. Former hockey Olympian, Samiullah said that after going through the PSB financial statement it becomes clear why Pakistan does not do well in non cricket sports. "If you expect our hockey to grow and improve with a total of 100 rupees in five years which are not even properly audited or accounted for what can you expect, 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.) https://www.business-standard.com/sports/other-sports-news/allocated-over-1000-million-rupees-in-grants-to-various-nsfs-psb-124091101238_1.html

IC 814 actor Patralekhaa has opened up about husband Rajkummar Rao’s drive to be the best, in the pursuit of which he often spends sleepless nights. “There is a love and passion he has for his art — from the moment he wakes up till he goes to sleep. There are sleepless nights. He sometimes doesn’t sleep for 48 hours, no matter what I tell him. Don’t do it; it’s detrimental to health. But he doesn’t know any better,” Patralekhaa told Fever FM. Taking a cue, let’s understand what happens to the body when you don’t sleep for 48 hours. Dr Narendra Singhla, lead consultant, internal medicine, CK Birla Hospital (R), Delhi said going without sleep for 48 hours straight can have severe consequences on your physical and mental health. “Prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to impaired cognitive function, memory, and concentration; mood disturbances, irritability, and anxiety; increased risk of accidents and errors; weakened immune system, making you more susceptible to illnesses, and cardiovascular problems, including high blood pressure and heart rate,” said Dr Singhla. Additionally, one may experience digestive issues, such as nausea and stomach pain, coordination and balance problems, increasing the risk of falls, and hallucinations and disorientation in extreme cases, added Dr Singhla. “Moreover, prolonged sleep deprivation can lead to long-term effects like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease,” Dr Singhla continued. Due to the lack of sleep, the body produces more of the hormone ghrelin, which is known to increase one’s appetite. “One will feel hungry and may overeat. It is imperative to sleep well for at least 8-9 hours every day,” said Dr Manjusha Agarwal, senior consultant, internal medicine, Gleneagles Hospitals Parel Mumbai.It’s essential to prioritise sleep and maintain a consistent sleep schedule to ensure overall well-being. “If you’re experiencing sleep difficulties, consult a healthcare professional for guidance. Remember, sleep is not a luxury, but a necessity for a healthy life,” said Dr Singhla. Experts also urge deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and relaxation methods, which may also be helpful. Dr Munia Bhattacharya, senior consultant and psychologist at Marengo Asia Hospital in Gurugram, said maintaining relationships with family and friends and creating robust social support networks are crucial. “Participating in community events and maintaining an active physical lifestyle might help people feel less stressed and more supported. People can increase their resilience and sustain improved mental and physical health,” said Dr Bhattacharya. Experts also urge deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and relaxation methods, which may also be helpful. Dr Munia Bhattacharya, senior consultant and psychologist at Marengo Asia Hospital in Gurugram, said maintaining relationships with family and friends and creating robust social support networks are crucial. “Participating in community events and maintaining an active physical lifestyle might help people feel less stressed and more supported. People can increase their resilience and sustain improved mental and physical health,” said Dr Bhattacharya. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/patralekhaa-husband-rajkummar-rao-sometimes-does-not-sleep-for-48-hours-health-effects-risk-experts-9561762/

Australian Olympic breakdancer “Raygun” has been ridiculed, written off, and now crowned number one in the world, the sport’s governing body has confirmed. Rachael “Raygun” Gunn, 37, became something of a global laughingstock after her kangaroo-inspired routine failed to impress the judges at the Paris Olympics, where the sport of breaking made its debut. Her moves were parodied on late-night talk shows, her unfashionable tracksuit was lampooned online and breaking aficionados around the world questioned how she had made the team. But Raygun got her revenge and the last laugh when the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) named her the number one female breakdancer in the world. The rankings were based on the athlete’s four top performances within the past 12 months, the WDSF said on Wednesday. However, with few ranking events held between December 2023 and the Olympics, “many athletes have only one competition result contributing to their ranking,” a WDSF statement said. Gunn won the Oceania Continental Championship in that period, earning her 1,000 ranking points. Japanese B-girl Riko’s win at the Gold World Series in Hong Kong in December 2023 saw her also awarded 1,000 points, but the WDSF said Raygun’s event carried more weight, so awarded her the top ranking.Raygun’s reign at the top could be short-lived “The WDSF confirms that rankings will change after the 12-month points expire, and when the next WDSF Breaking for Gold World Series is held in Shanghai in October 2024,” the statement added. The WDSF said it remained “steadfast in its commitment to transparency and fairness” in the competitive ranking process. “As soon as I qualified, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what have I done?’ Because I knew that I was going to get beaten, and I knew that people were not going to understand my style and what I was going to do,” she said. “And I am very sorry for the backlash that the community has experienced, but I can’t control how people react.” Gunn had previously spoken out against the “pretty devastating” hatred unleashed after the Olympics. “I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all,” she said in a video message last month. While many ridiculed her performance on social media, Gunn won support from others, including her fellow Australian Olympians and Australia’s prime minister. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2024/9/11/rayguns-revenge-lampooned-aussie-breakdancer-tops-world-rankings

Realme Pad 2 Lite will be launched in India later this week, the company confirmed on Tuesday. With only a few days to go until the tablet is introduced in the country, Realme has revealed some of its key specifications, giving us an idea of what to expect from the device. It will be launched in India alongside the Realme P2 Pro, the company's upcoming smartphone that is confirmed to sport a curved display and offer support for 80W charging. Realme Pad 2 Lite India Launch Date Confirmed The upcoming Realme Pad 2 Lite will be launched in India on September 13 at an event that will take place at 12pm IST, according to the company. The Realme P2 Pro is also confirmed to launch at the same event. It will be available for purchase via Flipkart and Realme's online store. The announcement also shows the tablet in black and purple colourways, with a dual tone design on the rear panel. According to details posted by the company on a landing page for the device, the Realme Pad 2 Lite will be powered by a MediaTek Helio G99 chipset and will be equipped with up to 128GB of inbuilt storage. The firm says it will be equipped with up to 8GB of RAM.The Realme Pad 2 Lite will sport a flat display with a 2K resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, according to the company. It will also run on Realme UI 5, which is based on Android 14. The tablet will also feature four stereo speakers and pack an 8,300mAh battery. https://www.gadgets360.com/tablets/news/realme-pad-2-lite-india-launch-date-specifications-6534563

If you’re still using Windows 11 version 21H2 or 22H2, watch out: your device is due for a force update to Windows 11 23H2, the last major update to the operating system released in October 2023. Microsoft has released a 30-day reminder in the Windows message center to inform users of End of Service (EoS) for these Windows versions. If you don’t update your device to 23H2 on your own and you have automatic updates turned on (which is by default), an automatic update will prompt the installation of 23H2 on Patch Tuesday (October 8, 2024). Patch Tuesday is Microsoft’s monthly update to address bugs and vulnerabilities and sometimes to deliver new features and other OS changes. If you don't install this, your version of Windows 11 could become outdated and be left potentially vulnerable to new security threats. It’s crucial to make sure your device is protected, so it’s highly recommended that you update your device to 23H2 to ensure your device stays secure. Microsoft notes in the reminder message that the October patch “will be the last update available for these editions” and that after that date, “devices running these editions will no longer receive monthly security and preview updates containing protections from the latest security threats” - in other words, this ‘forced’ update is ultimately being done in the name of security. What happens when you update to Windows 11 23H2 Many Windows 11 users would probably agree that the OS has room for improvement, but Microsoft continues to make changes and adjustments to Windows 11. Most of these are generally to try and make using Windows 11 a better experience, though unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. As Neowin recently noted, “Recent performance testing has shown that even a seemingly good Windows 11 installation can lead to a lot of performance loss, even though nothing appears to be the issue.” We are also expecting the arrival of Windows 11 24H2, the next major update for the OS, any day now, and if you want the newest major improvements and features that Microsoft intends to add to the operating system. 23H2 is a more tested version, having been out for nearly a year and widely rolled out in July of this year. Ultimately, whether you choose to let your device be updated to 23H2 or 24H2, make sure your device is updated. While updates can be annoying, this is a big one and you don't want your device to be left vulnerable to external threats. https://techradar.com/computing/windows/times-up-for-windows-11-21h2-and-22h2-microsofts-final-call-before-its-next-patch-tuesday-mandatory-update-to-23h2

AMD is preparing a new Zen 5-based mobile CPU lineup to target the mainstream budget. ComputerBase reports that AMD's Krackan/Krackan Point mobile APUs will arrive in early 2025 in laptops, starting at $799. Until now, AMD's only Zen 5 mobile CPU — under the Ryzen AI 300 series (Strix Point) umbrella, has targeted high-end laptop solutions. The Ryzen AI 9 HX 375, HX 370, and Ryzen AI 9 365 are all high-performance-focused parts that have left the budget and mainstream markets without a Zen 5 solution or a Copilot+ CPU solution from AMD. ComputerBase confirmed in a conversation at IFA 2024 with AMD's Jack Huynh that Krackan is real and will arrive in early 2025. Official details or specs of the new Zen 5 chips were not disclosed, but these chips will inevitably fill the void Strix Point has left out, being cheaper solutions with lower specs. Numerous rumors and leaks have been published regarding Krackan Point. The new CPU design is a cut-down version of Strix Point and Strix Halo, with just eight CPU cores. For comparison, the outgoing flagship Strix Point chip (the Ryzen AI 9 HX 375) features 12 cores: eight Zen 5c cores, four Zen 5 cores, and an RDNA 3.5 iGPU with 16 CUs. On the other hand, Krackan Point will seemingly come with four Zen 5 cores and four Zen 5c cores and come with up to eight RDNA 3.5 CUs. AI performance is somewhat vague, but Krackan Point will, at the very minimum, have an XDNA-based NPU that meets Microsoft's 40 TOPS criteria to be considered a Copilot+ capable chip. Some rumors claim that Krackan Point could feature a new NPU called XDNA2, capable of an AI performance between 45 to 50 TOPS. Krackan Point will reportedly also support LPDDRX-8000 memory. AMD will face some very heated competition once Krackan Point arrives next year. These new processors will have to contend with Qualcomm's highly power-efficient Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips and Intel's brand new TSMC-powered Lunar Lake mobile CPUs, which promise to provide substantial gains in power efficiency over Intel's outgoing mobile CPUs based on Meteor Lake. https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amds-krackan-point-apus-land-in-early-2025-for-budget-notebooks-krackan-point-powered-copilot-laptops-may-start-at-dollar799

Officials from a zoo in north-east Nigeria have confirmed that some wild animals had escaped from captivity after flooding hit Borno state. Videos of some of the creatures on the streets of the state capital, Maiduguri, have been widely shared on social media. Ali Donbest, who runs the Sanda Kyarimi Zoo, told the BBC that he does not know exactly how many animals are free but a hunt is on to locate them. One ostrich has been found but he advised residents to be careful. Local media are reporting that Maiduguri is experiencing flooding on a scale that has not been seen for three decades with many forced to leave their homes. Mr Donbest said that there had been some success in finding some of those that had escaped. “We’ve been able to recapture the ostrich seen on the street and we also got a call that a crocodile had been found in another location but we cannot get there due to the floods,” he said. He also said the cages where the lions and hyenas were kept had been submerged by floodwaters but cannot tell if they had escaped. The zoo boss explained that the flood had damaged some of its walls enabling the animals to roam free. However, not all the creatures spotted on the streets may be from the zoo. “We got a report that a hippo was seen somewhere and we don't have hippos in the zoo, so the waters might also disperse animals from other locations too,” he said. Maiduguri resident Ishaq Sani told the BBC his biggest fear at the moment is to come across a wild animal. He abandoned his home due to the floods and is now staying with a friend in another location. Up to now. there have not been any reports of animals attacking humans. This is the latest incident in a series of floods that have hit Nigeria recently. More than 170 people have died and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes across the country, Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency has said. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5dv26nz6vo

Pakistan former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and ace all-rounder Shoaib Malik are all set to grace the forthcoming the US Masters T10. According to details, Kamran Akmal, Umaid Asif, Sohail Khan, Mukhtar Ahmed, Anwar Ali, and Hussain Talat will be in action in the second edition of the tournament. California Bolts had picked up Hussain Talat, whereas Mohammad Hafeez and Sohail Tanvir will be in action for the New York Warriors. For the Detroit Falcons, fast bowler Imran Khan junior will be in action. Sohail Khan and Umaid Asif will represent the New York Warriors. Veteran all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Irfan will look to put the Atlanta Riders on the winning side, whereas Montreal Unity has inducted Rumman Raees, Mukhtar Ahmed, and Anwar Ali. Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, and Aaron Finch, among other international stars, will be in action in the tournament. – Pakistani players in Zim Afro T10 2024 – Few days back, it was reported that Pakistan cricketers Sharjeel Khan, Asif Ali, and Shahnawaz Dahani are among the other Pakistan cricketers to feature in the forthcoming Zim Afro T10 2024. According to details, the power-hitter batter, Asif Ali will represent the New York Strikers in the Zim Afro T10 2024, slated to happen from September 21 to September 29 in Harare. Haider Ali and Shahnawaz Dahani will represent the Cape Town Samp Army , whereas Sharjeel Khan, Muhammad Irfan, and Yasir Shah had been picked up by the Durban Wolves. Apart from Pakistani cricketers, the Zim Afro T10 Cup will also be studded with international stars like Jimmy Neesham, David Willey, Colin Munro, and Dawid Malan, who recently retired from international cricket. https://www.samaa.tv/2087320576-mohammad-hafeez-shoaib-malik-among-other-international-stars-to-play-us-masters-t10

Maintaining good health is essential for a fulfilling and vibrant life. Here are ten simple signs that indicate you are on the right track to being a healthy individual: 1. Regular Exercise Routine: If you engage in regular physical activity, whether it's a daily walk, yoga, or hitting the gym, it's a positive sign that you are prioritizing your physical well-being. 2. Balanced Diet: Consuming a variety of nutritious foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, shows that you are fueling your body with the essential nutrients it needs to thrive. 3. Adequate Hydration: Drinking plenty of water throughout the day and staying hydrated is crucial for overall health and well-being. 4. Quality Sleep: Getting sufficient and restful sleep is a key indicator of good health. A well-rested body and mind are better equipped to handle the challenges of daily life. 5. Stress Management: Effectively managing stress through relaxation techniques, mindfulness, or hobbies shows that you are taking care of your mental health. 6. Regular Health Check-ups: Attending routine health check-ups and screenings demonstrates that you are proactive about monitoring your health and addressing any potential issues early on. 7. Maintaining a Healthy Weight: Striving for a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular exercise is a positive sign of overall health. 8. Positive Mental Attitude: Having a positive outlook on life, practicing gratitude, and cultivating healthy relationships contribute to mental well-being. 9. Good Energy Levels: Feeling energized and motivated throughout the day indicates that your body is functioning well and you are taking care of yourself. 10. Healthy Skin, Hair, and Nails: The condition of your skin, hair, and nails can reflect your overall health. Clear skin, shiny hair, and strong nails are often signs of good internal health. By incorporating these ten signs into your daily life, you are not only promoting your physical well-being but also nurturing your mental and emotional health. Remember, small lifestyle changes can have a significant impact on your overall health and quality of life. Keep up the good work, and continue to prioritize your health and well-being for a brighter and healthier future ahead'' https://zeenews.india.com/lifestyle/10-clear-signs-youre-leading-a-healthy-lifestyle-2791180.html