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Man Utd: Ruben Amorim to ask Alejandro Garnacho about substitution reaction in win over Ipswich Man Utd: Ruben Amorim to ask Alejandro Garnacho about substitution reaction in win over Ipswich This has been a tough week at United, with news that more ordinary staff members will be losing their jobs. United’s victory therefore will come as little comfort to those directly affected, no matter how entertaining this game proved to be. A mid-season home win against opposition who look destined for a swift return to the Championship is not going to live long in the memory. However, the manner of the success, fighting back from the concession of a shambolic early opening goal and rallying again after a red card and another avoidable goal, was greeted with enthusiasm from the stands at the final whistle. “The fans’ support was amazing,” said Amorim. “I have felt that since day one. “They want to see the team fight to the end, no matter what the situation. We did that today. All the things in the game were against us, but we fought through that. You feel the connection. It was a good win for us.” Privately, United officials accept this has been a traumatic week and that chief executive Omar Berrada did not find it easy on Monday to stand before staff and tell them the bad news that up to 200 jobs could go in the next four months. It is perfectly believable when some currently working at the club say morale among the rank and file is at its lowest ebb. But the conviction among those running United is absolute that the changes needed to be made. Their problem is an understanding that off-field decisions are assessed through the prism of results at first-team level. And the results have terrible. Early in this contest, with Ipswich leading through the atrocious mix-up that offered Jaden Philogene a fourth-minute tap-in, the visiting fans offered their own pretty blunt assessment of United. The words were somewhat more industrial but effectively: “You’re really not very good.” That’s fair enough when assessing opponents who are supposed to be challenging for major honours but started this game 15th in the table. Yet those responsible for making key decisions are adamant faith in Amorim remains high. They feel what is currently being endured amounts to teething problems with a coach trying to implement a new system. Another change, it is argued, will merely repeat past mistakes. The club have been in a malaise for years, it could be said, and the cycle has to be broken. However, there is also an acceptance this will not be straightforward. Amorim noted that this success – like the robust rearguard action that brought an FA Cup victory with 10 men at Arsenal and a defiant goalless draw against champions-elect Liverpool – was not achieved in the manner he wants his side to play. “We need to survive, but it is hard for me to play like we play in the second half because I feel the players are more comfortable defending the low block,” Amorim said. Amazingly, United have now matched their best form under Amorim by going two Premier League games without defeat. They are up to 14th but are nine points off the top half of the table and a distant 13 away from a Champions League place, even if the Premier League gets five places as expected. No-one at Old Trafford expects Amorim’s side to go on a huge winning run to the end of the season. However, there is a feeling that they can improve – and results in the FA Cup fifth round tie with Fulham on Sunday and the Europa League last-16 tie with Real Sociedad are crucial in maintaining hopes of European qualification. Dorgu will miss the Fulham game through suspension. Amorim has learned already that the price of being associated with United is that any action of significance will be amplified. The glare of publicity is fierce. This applies on and off the pitch. Plenty at the club noted within the reaction to this week’s staff news at United that not many employers offer staff the free lunches that are being taken away. Other companies have made far more people redundant. But the allure of United drives interest and therefore commercial revenues far beyond any comparable-sized business. Debate surrounding this game will not be about the result but about that ridiculous opening goal. “When everybody watched that ball, they thought ‘here we go again’,” said Amorim. And there was much to discuss about Dorgu’s red card. Amorim stressed he saw no malice, explaining: “He doesn’t want to harm anyone. Sometimes you overdo it.” So, Amorim’s fourth home Premier League win as United head coach had plenty of drama about it. But it will take far more than this to sweep away the dark clouds currently hanging over Old Trafford. Source link #Man #Utd #Ruben #Amorim #Alejandro #Garnacho #substitution #reaction #win #Ipswich Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The Alienware X16 R2 gaming laptop with RTX 4090 is $900 off The Alienware X16 R2 gaming laptop with RTX 4090 is $900 off Are you searching for the most powerful device that you can get from the available gaming laptop deals today? You should set your sights on the Alienware x16 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, which is on ***** from Dell with a $900 discount. It’s down to $2,700 from $3,600 originally, which is still pretty expensive, but it’s actually a steal at that price. You need to act fast if you don’t want to miss out on huge savings of nearly $1,000 for this top-of-the-line machine though, as the offer may expire at any moment. Why you should buy the Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop The Alienware x16 R2 is the successor to the Alienware x16 that updates the gaming laptop‘s components. In addition to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, this configuration runs on the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and 32GB of RAM that’s recommended for high-end gamers by our guide on how much RAM do you need. With these specifications, you won’t have any issues in playing the best PC games at their most demanding settings. The Alienware x16 R2’s 16-inch screen with Full HD+ resolution and a 480Hz refresh rate will give justice to the gaming laptop’s capabilities, and its 2TB SSD with Windows 11 Home out of the box will provide enough space for several AAA titles. In our comparison of Alienware’s 16-inch gaming laptops — the Alienware x16 R2 versus Alienware m16 R2 — we recommend the Alienware x16 R2 for gamers who have a larger budget because of its higher-tier configurations and more premium design. The savings from Dell’s offer makes it a stronger choice. The Alienware x16 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card is one of the most powerful gaming laptops that you can buy right now, and it’s on ***** from Dell’s Alienware deals at $900 off for a lowered price of $2,700 from $3,600. That’s an excellent price for a machine of this caliber, but you’re going to have to hurry if that’s what you want to pay for this device. Proceed with your transaction for the Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop immediately, as tomorrow may already be too late to pocket the savings. Source link #Alienware #X16 #gaming #laptop #RTX Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Deeper government cuts may include 65% reduction at EPA, Trump says Deeper government cuts may include 65% reduction at EPA, Trump says Deeper government cuts may include 65% reduction at EPA, Trump says – CBS News Watch CBS News Surrounded by his cabinet, President Trump warned far deeper cuts are coming than the ones imposed so far, including potentially a 65% budget cut at the Environmental Protection Agency, which safeguards the nation’s air and water. Nancy Cordes has the latest. Be the first to know Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Not Now Turn On Source link #Deeper #government #cuts #include #reduction #EPA #Trump Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

WA Election 2025: Libby Mettam invokes JFK over plan to build women’s and babies hospital in Nedlands WA Election 2025: Libby Mettam invokes JFK over plan to build women’s and babies hospital in Nedlands Libby Mettam has made an emotional plea for her plans to shift the Women’s and Babies Hospital by showing the case of a newborn who doctors claimed would have died en route to Labor’s proposed site in Murdoch. Source link #Election #Libby #Mettam #invokes #JFK #plan #build #womens #babies #hospital #Nedlands Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The best Nintendo launch games, ranked The best Nintendo launch games, ranked Table of Contents Table of Contents 9. Nintendogs + Cats – 3DS 8. Luigi’s Mansion 7. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed 6. Super Mario Bros. 5. Super Mario World 4. Wii Sports 3. Tetris 2. Super Mario 64 1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild The lines between console generations have become more blurred than ever thanks to tons of cross-generation games, remakes, and remasters. However, a system’s launch lineup is still very important for giving early adopters a peak at what the power of that new system can do. Nintendo consoles more than any other have provided some of the best launch games to the point that most of the best NES games, best N64 games, and best Switch games are all launch titles. Typically, launch games are overshadowed by games that come later in the generation but which ones have stood the test of time best? These are the best launch games on all Nintendo platforms, ranked. 9. Nintendogs + Cats – 3DS Nintendo The Nintendo 3DS had one of the largest launch lineups of any Nintendo system, yet was easily the weakest of them all. Nintendo didn’t have its major franchises here to push its new 3D system and instead relied on games like Pilot Wings Resort, Steel Diver, and Nintendogs + Cats to hold things down until more impressive games were ready. Of that list, Nintendogs + Cats at least appeals to a select audience in a big way. This is yet another **** simulator game that took off on the original DS, only now with 3D and AR compatibility, but offered little new in terms of gameplay. While not bad, it was certainly a weak title to show off the 3DS and give people a reason to upgrade from the DS. 8. Luigi’s Mansion Nintendo The GameCube was the first Nintendo home console to not launch with a new Mario game. That would’ve caused a stir on its own, but the fact that we were getting a Luigi game at launch instead caused quite an uproar at the time. Once we got our hands on it, though, Luigi’s Mansion turned out to be a great game. It wasn’t a platformer, and a lot of people probably waited until Sunshine came out to get the system, but a worthy experiment for Nintendo. This was the beginning of Luigi’s rise to fame as a character in his own right, with two sequels that only improved on the ghost-catching gameplay. Taken for what it is, Luigi’s Mansion is a great, but brief, experiment that only Nintendo would take. 7. Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed ***** The WiiU launch was packed with ports that were mostly inferior to their Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts. Nintendo tried to recapture the magic of Wii Sports with Nintendo Land which had a lot of promise but ultimately felt more like a series of demos than a full package. In a twist that would make Nintendo fans during the console wars raise their pitchforks, it was a Sonic game that made the console worth buying. Typically, Mario Kart games are considered the undisputed kings of the kart racing genre, but Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed made it a tight race for first, at least until Mario Kart 8 came out. It nails the tight controls a kart racer needs, balances power-ups well, and offers dynamic courses where players’ karts transformed between cars, boats, and planes. It had an uphill battle to find its audience since it featured Sonic characters rather than Mario ones, but those who got behind the wheel were not disappointed. 6. Super Mario Bros. Nintendo We’d been introduced to Mario before in the arcades, but Nintendo wisely chose to flesh out their new mascot with Super Mario Bros. on the NES. At this point, hundreds of discussions and dissections of this game have been made as setting the template for all 2D platformers that followed. It is hard to see in retrospect, but there was nothing else like this game at the time. The creativity in the worlds, the tight movement, the secrets, power-ups, and level design all feel so modern despite releasing decades ago. It also played no small part in reviving the entire video game industry after the ****** in the ’80s. The importance of this game cannot be overstated, and it is still just as playable today as it was all those years ago, but it does show its age. 5. Super Mario World Nintendo The SNES launch lineup in America only had two standout titles, but there’s no denying that Super Mario World outclasses F-Zero. No offense to that game, which is an amazing racing game, but this 16-bit platformer is still considered one of the best platformers ever made. Not only is it visually beautiful, but it introduced tons of new classic power-ups, secret worlds, a classic soundtrack, and even Yoshi. Every 2D Mario since has been compared to World, and it isn’t likely that will ever change. 4. Wii Sports Nintendo The Wii was a big swing for Nintendo, pun intended. The Game Cube was a great system but didn’t sell as well as the competition. Rather than follow suit and enter into the more expensive HD era, Nintendo took a gamble on motion-controlled gaming with the Wii and needed a game to show that it wasn’t just a gimmick. Wii Sports was bundled in with every Wii, so it is cheating just a little bit to call it a launch game. However, this was a cultural phenomenon that saw kids, adults, and the elderly all getting into gaming for the first time. It single-handedly made the Wii one of the most difficult-to-buy systems for years, and most people used it as just a Wii Sports machine. If that isn’t the sign of a powerful launch title, we don’t know what is. 3. Tetris Nintendo It takes a game as perfect as Tetris to beat out a Mario game, yet no one can deny that this puzzle game was the perfect fit for the Game Boy. This simple idea broke down all barriers and appealed to gamers and non-gamers alike with its mesmerizing gameplay that has largely been left untouched over the decades. Tetris is one of the most important games ever created so there’s really no competition for a better launch game. 2. Super Mario 64 Nintendo The jump to 3D was a tough one for all developers. Well, every developer except Nintentendo, apparently, who managed to once again set the bar for 3D platformers with its first attempt. The only slight issue is the camera control, but Super Mario 64 is otherwise such a tight and complete package that it still blows our minds. Mario’s movement feels natural and responsive as you explore the rich and cheery levels. To this day people claim it is the best 3D platformer and it is home to a strong speedrunning community who push it to its limits. It would take the competition almost the entire generation to figure out what Nintendo had with its first shot at 3D game design. 1. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Breath of the Wild had a ton of hype built up since it was originally just going to be a WiiU game before also getting announced for the Switch at launch. This had happened before with Twilight Princess, but the promise of this new open-world Zelda was something else. People were so excited about this game that people purchased copies of it even before they could get a Switch. Once we got our hands on it, it somehow exceeded all our expectations. Again, Nintendo proved here that it has some arcane ability to step into a new genre (at least for this franchise) and put a new spin on it that completely changes the way we look at it. In this case, Breath of the Wild’s open world broke the mold of what we expected by encouraging more natural exploration. We loved getting lost wandering around Hyrule, following our curiosity, and being rewarded for it. Yes, weapon durability was inconvenient, but the near-perfect scores are all you need to see to know this is the best launch title Nintendo has ever produced. Source link #Nintendo #launch #games #ranked Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

7-11 parent’s shares plunge over 12% as management buyout falls through 7-11 parent’s shares plunge over 12% as management buyout falls through Seven & i private branded cooked meals at a 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & i Holdings Co., in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shares of Japan’s Seven & i Holdings plunged as much as 12.44% Thursday after the company said the founding family had failed to secure the financing needed to buyout the convenience store operator. Earlier on Thursday, Yomuiri newspaper reported that Seven & i had abandoned the management buyout plan, stated to be worth over 8 trillion yen ($53.69 billion). Stock Chart IconStock chart icon “They [the founding family] have been unable to secure the financing required to submit a definitive proposal to acquire 7&i. As a result, there is no actionable proposal from Mr. Junro Ito and Ito-Kogyo for 7&i to consider at this time,” the company said in a filing. Junro Ito is Seven & i’s vice president and the son of late Masatoshi Ito, founder of Seven & i. Ito-Kogyo is a company affiliated with the vice president, and is Seven & i’s second-largest stakeholder with an 8.2% stake. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that trading house Itochu had decided not to participate in the buyout. Itochu had considered investing 1 trillion yen in the deal but back out as there were few synergies between its food and beverage business and Seven & i, Nikkei reported. Stock Chart IconStock chart icon Local media in November reported that the founding family was teaming up with “three Japanese megabanks and major American financial institutions,” to launch the buyout. Seven & i in 2024 rejected two buyout bids from ********* convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard. Couche-Tard had initially made an offer of $14.86 per share to take over Seven & i in August last year. The offer was rejected, with Seven & i saying it “grossly undervalues” the company. The company then reportedly raised its offer in October by over 22% to $18.19 per share, valuing Seven & i at 7 trillion Japanese yen, or about $47 billion. The company said that it “remains committed to exploring all opportunities to unlock value for shareholders and continues to assess a full range of strategic alternatives, including the proposal from Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc.” Source link #parents #shares #plunge #management #buyout #falls Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This Samsung OLED gaming monitor is $415 off, and you’ll get a free 4K monitor This Samsung OLED gaming monitor is $415 off, and you’ll get a free 4K monitor Gamers who are on the hunt for monitor deals won’t want to miss this amazing offer from Samsung. The 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, originally priced at $1,200, is on ***** for only $785 following a $415 discount, and you’ll also get a free 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor worth $400. That’s $815 in savings on a pair of displays! You’re going to have to be quick in completing your purchase if you’re interested though, as we don’t expect this bargain to stay available for long. Why you should buy the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor The Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor received a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars in our review, where we described it as “worth the premium.” Its 34-inch display, which features QD-OLED technology and Ultra-WQHD resolution, delivers exceptional color and HDR for a great look at the modern graphics of the best PC games. You’ll also enjoy smooth and lag-free animations with its 175Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time, and no screen tearing nor stuttering with its support for AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia’s G-Sync. The gaming monitor also reduces distractions with its glare-free screen, and keeps you comfortable even when you play for hours with its ergonomic stand. The 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor is free with your purchase of the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, but it’s definitely not just a throw-in. It’s the perfect screen for work and school activities with 4K Ultra HD resolution for sharp details; a range of ports including USBA, USB-C, and DisplayPort for wider compatibility; and an ergonomic stand to set it at the most comfortable position for you. If your gaming monitor needs an upgrade, you should take advantage of Samsung’s $415 discount for the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, which drops its price from $1,200 to $785. The best part is you’ll get another monitor for free — the 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor, which is usually sold for $400. You’ll enjoy savings of $815 with this purchase, but only if you act fast because there’s no telling how much time is remaining before this offer for the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor expires. Source link #Samsung #OLED #gaming #monitor #youll #free #monitor Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

This Samsung OLED gaming monitor is $415 off, and you’ll get a free 4K monitor This Samsung OLED gaming monitor is $415 off, and you’ll get a free 4K monitor Gamers who are on the hunt for monitor deals won’t want to miss this amazing offer from Samsung. The 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, originally priced at $1,200, is on ***** for only $785 following a $415 discount, and you’ll also get a free 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor worth $400. That’s $815 in savings on a pair of displays! You’re going to have to be quick in completing your purchase if you’re interested though, as we don’t expect this bargain to stay available for long. Why you should buy the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor The Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor received a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars in our review, where we described it as “worth the premium.” Its 34-inch display, which features QD-OLED technology and Ultra-WQHD resolution, delivers exceptional color and HDR for a great look at the modern graphics of the best PC games. You’ll also enjoy smooth and lag-free animations with its 175Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time, and no screen tearing nor stuttering with its support for AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia’s G-Sync. The gaming monitor also reduces distractions with its glare-free screen, and keeps you comfortable even when you play for hours with its ergonomic stand. The 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor is free with your purchase of the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, but it’s definitely not just a throw-in. It’s the perfect screen for work and school activities with 4K Ultra HD resolution for sharp details; a range of ports including USBA, USB-C, and DisplayPort for wider compatibility; and an ergonomic stand to set it at the most comfortable position for you. If your gaming monitor needs an upgrade, you should take advantage of Samsung’s $415 discount for the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor, which drops its price from $1,200 to $785. The best part is you’ll get another monitor for free — the 27-inch Samsung ViewFinity S8 4K monitor, which is usually sold for $400. You’ll enjoy savings of $815 with this purchase, but only if you act fast because there’s no telling how much time is remaining before this offer for the 34-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 gaming monitor expires. Source link #Samsung #OLED #gaming #monitor #youll #free #monitor Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Mike Johnson eyes solo approach to avoid government shutdown – Axios Mike Johnson eyes solo approach to avoid government shutdown – Axios Mike Johnson eyes solo approach to avoid government shutdown AxiosRepublicans dig in heels against restricting Trump powers in shutdown talks The Hill Source link #Mike #Johnson #eyes #solo #approach #avoid #government #shutdown #Axios Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Earliest iron use found in India? Tamil Nadu digs spark debate Earliest iron use found in India? Tamil Nadu digs spark debate Department of Archaeology/Tamil Nadu An aerial view of Iron Age graves in Mayiladumparai in Tamil Nadu For over 20 years, archaeologists in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu have been unearthing clues to the region’s ancient past. Their digs have uncovered early scripts that rewrite literacy timelines, mapped maritime trade routes connecting India to the world and revealed advanced urban settlements – reinforcing the state’s role as a cradle of early civilisation and global commerce. Now they’ve also uncovered something even older – evidence of what could be the earliest making and use of iron. Present-day Turkey is one of the earliest known regions where iron was mined, extracted and forged on a significant scale around the 13th Century BC. Archaeologists have discovered iron objects at six sites in Tamil Nadu, dating back to 2,953–3,345 BCE, or between 5,000 to 5,400 years old. This suggests that the process of extracting, smelting, forging and shaping iron to create tools, weapons and other objects may have developed independently in the Indian subcontinent. “The discovery is of such a great importance that it will take some more time before its implications sink in,” says Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, a professor of South Asian archaeology at Cambridge University. Department of Archaeology/Tamil Nadu A host of iron objects dating back to more than 5,000 years have been found in Tamil Nadu The latest findings from Adichchanallur, Sivagalai, Mayiladumparai, Kilnamandi, Mangadu and Thelunganur sites have made local headlines such as “Did the Iron Age Begin in Tamil Nadu?” The age marks a ******* when societies began using and producing iron widely, making tools, weapons and infrastructure. Parth R Chauhan, a professor of archaeology at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (ISSER), urges caution before drawing broad conclusions. He believes that iron technology likely emerged “independently in multiple regions”. Also, the “earliest evidence remains uncertain because many regions of the world have not been properly researched or archaeological evidence is known but has not been dated properly”. If the Tamil Nadu discovery is further validated through rigorous academic study, “it would certainly rank amongst the world’s earliest records”, Mr Chauhan says. Oishi Roy, an archaeologist at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), adds that the find “suggests parallel developments [in iron production] across different parts of the world”. Department of Archaeology/Tamil Nadu Remains of an iron smelting furnace at the Kodumanal site Early iron came in two forms – meteoritic and smelted. Smelted iron, extracted from ore, marked the true beginning of iron technology with mass production. The earliest known iron artefacts – nine tubular beads – were made from meteoritic iron, which comes from fallen meteorites. Identifying iron-bearing rocks is the first challenge. Once located, these ores must be smelted in a furnace at extremely high temperatures to extract the metal. Without this process, raw iron remains locked within the rock. After extraction, skilled ironsmiths shape the metal into tools and implements, marking a crucial step in early ironworking. Most sites in Tamil Nadu where iron has been found are ancient habitation areas near present-day villages. Archaeologists K Rajan and R Sivanantham say that excavators have so far explored a fraction of over 3,000 identified Iron Age graves containing sarcophagi (stone coffins) and a wealth of iron artefacts. In the process, they uncovered hoe-spades, spears, knives, arrowheads, chisels, axes and swords made of iron. At burials excavated at one site, over 85 iron objects – knives, arrowhead, rings, chisels, axes and swords – were found inside and outside burial urns. More than 20 key samples were robustly dated in five labs worldwide, confirming their antiquity. Some finds are particularly striking. Historian Osmund Bopearachchi of the Paris-based French National Centre for Scientific Research highlights a key discovery – an iron sword from a burial site, made of ultra-high-carbon steel and dating to 13th–15th Century BC. This advanced steel, a direct evolution of Iron Age metallurgy, required sophisticated knowledge and precise high-temperature processes. “We know that the first signs of real steel production date back to the 13th Century BC in present-day Turkey. The radiometric dates seem to prove that the Tamil Nadu samples are earlier,” he said. Ms Roy adds that the early steel in Tamil Nadu indicates the people there “were iron makers, not just users – a technologically advanced community evolving over time”. Department of Archaeology/Tamil Nadu An Iron Age grave found at the Kilnamandi excavation site Also, in a site called Kodumanal, excavators found a furnace, pointing to an advanced iron-making community. The furnace area stood out with its white discolouration, likely from extreme heat. Nearby, excavators found iron slag – some of it fused to the furnace wall – hinting at advanced metalworking techniques. Clearly the people at the site were not just using iron, but actively producing and processing it. To be sure, the Tamil Nadu excavations are not the first in India to uncover iron. At least 27 sites across eight states have revealed evidence of early iron use, some dating back 4,200 years. The latest Tamil Nadu digs pushes back the antiquity of Indian iron by another 400 years,” archaeologist Rajan, who has co-authored a paper on the subject, told me. “The Iron Age is a technological shift, not a single-origin event – it develops in multiple places independently,” says Ms Roy, noting earlier discoveries in eastern, western and northern India. “What’s clear now,” she adds, “is that indigenous iron technology developed early in the Indian subcontinent.” Getty Images Archaeologists excavating an Iron Age site in Turkey – the region where this transformative era began Experts say the excavations in Tamil Nadu are significant and could reshape our understanding of the Iron Age and iron smelting in the Indian subcontinent. Also, “what these digs testify is to the existence of a distinctly sophisticated style of civilisation,” notes Nirmala Lakshman, author of The Tamils – A Portrait of a Community. However, archaeologists caution that there is still a lack of excavations needed to collect fresh data from all over India. As one expert put it, “Indian archaeology is in silent mode outside Tamil Nadu.” Katragadda Paddayya, a leading Indian archaeologist, said this was “just the starting point”. “We need to delve deeper into the origins of iron technology – these findings mark the beginning, not the conclusion. The key is to use this as a premise, trace the process backward and identify the sites where iron production truly began.” Source link #Earliest #iron #India #Tamil #Nadu #digs #spark #debate Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

The ship keeping the continent connected The ship keeping the continent connected Daniel Dadzie BBC News, Accra BBC A ship the size of a football field, crewed by more than 50 engineers and technicians, cruises the oceans around Africa to keep the continent online. It provides a vital service, as last year’s internet blackout showed when internet cables buried deep under the sea were damaged. Millions from Lagos to Nairobi were plunged into digital darkness: messaging apps crashed and banking transactions failed. It left businesses and individuals struggling. It was the Léon Thévenin which fixed the multiple cable failures. The ship, where a BBC team recently spent a week on board off the coast of Ghana, has been doing this specialised repair work for the last 13 years “Because of me, countries stay connected,” Shuru Arendse, a cable jointer from South Africa who has been working on the ship for more than a decade, tells the BBC. “IT people at home have work because I bring the main feed in,” he says. “You have heroes that save lives – I’m a hero because I save communication.” His pride and passion reflect the sentiment of the skilled crew on the Léon Thévenin, which stands eight floors high and carries an assortment of equipment. The internet is a network of computers servers – to read this article it is likely that at least one of 600 fibre optic cables across the world collected the data to present it on your screen. Most of these servers are in data centres outside of Africa and the fibre optic cables run along the ocean floor linking them to coastal cities on the continent. Data travels through hair-thin fibreglass wires, often grouped in pairs and protected by different layers of plastic and copper depending on how close the cables are to the shore. “As long as the servers aren’t in the country, you need a connection. A cable runs from one country to the next, linking users to servers that store their data – whether it’s accessing Facebook or any other online service,” says Benjamin Smith, the Léon Thévenin’s deputy chief of mission. The Léon Thévenin has been cruising the seas around Africa for the last 13 years tending to undersea cables Undersea fibre optic cables are designed to work for 25 years with minimal maintenance, but when they are damaged, it is usually due to human activity. “The cable generally doesn’t break on its own unless you’re in an area where there are pretty high currents and very sharp rocks,” says Charles Heald, who is in charge of the ship’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV). “But most of the time it’s people anchoring where they shouldn’t and fishing trawlers sometimes scrape along the seabed, so typically we would see scars from trawling.” Mr Smith also says natural disasters cause damage to cables, especially in parts of the continent with extreme weather conditions. He gives an example of the seas off the coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the Congo River empties into the Atlantic. “In the Congo Canyon, where they have a lot of rainfall and low tide, it could create currents that damage the cable,” he says. Deliberate sabotage is difficult to identify – but the Léon Thévenin crew say they not seen any obvious evidence of this themselves. A year ago, three critical cables in the Red Sea – Seacom, AAE-1 and EIG – were severed, reportedly by a ship’s anchor, disrupting connectivity for millions across East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. Just a month later, in March 2024, a separate set of breaks in the Wacs, Ace, Sat-3, and MainOne cables off the coast of West Africa caused severe internet blackouts across Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia. Anything that required the internet to function felt the strain as repairs stretched on for weeks. Then in May, yet another setback: the Seacom and Eassy cables suffered damage off the coast of South Africa, hitting connectivity in multiple East African nations once again. Such faults are detected by testing electricity and signal strength transmitted through cables. “There may be 3,000 volts in a cable and suddenly it drops to 50 volts, this means there’s a problem,” explains Loic Wallerand, the ship’s chief of mission. The inside of a internet cable contains several fibreglass wires There are local teams with the capacity to deal with faults in shallow waters, but if they are detected beyond a depth of 50m (164ft), the ship is called into action. Its crew can fix cables deeper than 5,000m below sea level. The repair witnessed by the BBC off Ghana took over a week to deal with, but most internet users did not notice as traffic was redirected to another cable. The nature of every repair depends on the part of the cable that is damaged. If the fibreglass at the core breaks, it means the data cannot travel along the network and needs to be sent to another cable. But some African countries have only one cable serving them. This means a cable damaged this way leaves the affected area without the internet. At other times, the protective layers of the fibre could be damaged, meaning data transmission still occurs, but with a lower efficiency. In both cases, the crew must find the exact location of the damage. In the case of broken fibreglass, a light signal is sent through the cable and through its point of reflection, the crew can determine where the break is. When the problem is with the cable’s insulation – known as a “shunt fault” – it becomes more complicated and an electrical signal has to be sent along the cable to physically track where it is lost. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is lowered down to the seabed to find a faulty section of cable After narrowing down the possible area for the fault, the operation moves to the ROV team. Built like a bulldozer, the ROV, weighing 9.5 tonnes, is lowered under water from the ship where it is guided down to the ocean floor. About five crew members work with a crane operator to deploy it – once it is released from its harness, called the umbilical cord, it floats gracefully. “It doesn’t sink,” says Mr Heald, explaining how it uses four horizontal and vertical thrusters to move in any direction. The ROV’s three cameras allow the team onboard to look for the precise location of faults as it moves to the ocean bed. Once found, the ROV cuts the affected part using its two arms, then ties it to a rope that is dragged back to the ship. Here the faulty section is isolated and replaced by splicing and joining it to a new cable – a process that looks like welding and which took 24 hours in the case of the operation witnessed by the BBC. Afterwards the cable was carefully lowered back to the ocean bed and then the ROV made one final journey to inspect that it was well placed and take coordinates so maps could be updated. It took 24 hours for the tech team to fix the faulty cable off Ghana When an alert is received about a damaged cable, the Léon Thévenin crew is ready to sail within 24 hours. However, their response time depends on several factors: the ship’s location, the availability of spare cables and bureaucratic challenges. “Permits can take weeks. Sometimes we sail to the affected country and wait offshore until the paperwork is sorted,” Mr Wallerand says. On the average, the crew spends more than six months at sea every year. “It’s part of the job,” says Captain Thomas Quehec. But talking to the crew members between tasks, it is hard to ignore their personal sacrifices. They are drawn from different backgrounds and nationalities: French, South African, *********, Malagasy and more. Adrian Morgan, the ship’s chief steward from South Africa, has missed five consecutive wedding anniversaries. “I wanted to quit. It was difficult to stay away from my family, but my wife encouraged me. I do it for them,” he says. Another South African, maintenance fitter Noel Goeieman, is worried he may miss his son’s wedding in a few weeks if the ship is called out to another mission. “I’ve heard we might go to Durban [in South Africa]. My son is going to be very sad because he doesn’t have a mum,” says Mr Goeieman, who lost his wife three years ago. “But I’m retiring in six months,” he adds with a smile. Despite the emotional toll, there is camaraderie onboard. When off-duty, crew members are either playing video games in the lounge or sharing meals in the ship’s mess hall. Their entry into the profession is as diverse as their background. While Mr Goeieman followed his father’s footsteps, chief cook, South African Remario Smith, went to sea to escape a life of crime. “I was involved in gangs when I was younger,” Mr Smith says, “My child was born when I turned 25, and I knew I had to change my life.” Like the others onboard he is appreciative of the role the ship plays on the continent. “We are the link between Africa and the world,” says chief engineer Ferron Hartzenberg. Additional reporting by Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah. You may also be interested in:Getty Images/BBC Source link #ship #keeping #continent #connected Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Thousands who have been freed are now stuck in camps Thousands who have been freed are now stuck in camps Jonathan Head, Lulu Luo and Thanyarat DoksoneReporting fromMae Sot, Thai-Myanmar borderGetty Images Former workers and victims of scam centres are now stuck in makeshift camps, uncertain what happens next “I swear to God I need help,” said the man quietly on the other end of the line. The Ethiopian, who calls himself Mike, said he is being held with 450 others in a building inside Myanmar, along the country’s border with Thailand. They are among the thousands of people who have been freed from the notorious scam compounds that have thrived on the border for years, in what appears to be the toughest action so far against the industry along the Thai-Myanmar border. But many of them are now stranded in Myanmar in makeshift camps because the process of assessing them and arranging flights back to their own countries is so slow. The armed militia groups who are holding them have a very limited capacity to support so many people – more than 7,000. One of them has said they have stopped freeing people from the compounds because they are not being moved to Thailand fast enough. The BBC understands that conditions in the camps are unsanitary, food barely sufficient, and many of the freed workers, like Mike, are in poor health. He is suffering from panic attacks, after working for a year in a scam centre where he was routinely beaten. He told us they got two very basic meals a day, there were only two toilets for 450 people, who he said were now relieving themselves wherever they could. Mike described being invited a year ago to take up what he was promised would be a good job, in Thailand, requiring only good English language and typing skills. Instead he found himself subjected to a brutal regime, forced to work long hours every day to meet the target for defrauding people online set by his ******** bosses. “It was the worst experience of my life. Of course I was beaten. But believe me I have seen a lot worse done to other people.” Getty Images Those being held in the camps have complained of cramped and unsanitary conditions Mike is one of an estimated 100,000 people who are believed to have been lured to work in the scam operations along the Thai-Myanmar border, most of them run by ******** fraud and gambling operatives who have taken advantage of the lawlessness in this part of Myanmar. Despite horrifying accounts of abuse from those who escaped in the past, thousands still come from parts of the world where good jobs are scarce, enticed by promises of good money. China, where many of the scam victims come from, has acted to shut down scam operations along its own border with Myanmar, but until this year neither China nor Thailand had done much about the Thai-Myanmar border. Ariyan, a young man from Bangladesh, has come back to Thailand to try to help 17 friends who are still there. He said he made a promise to himself to do this after his own gruelling escape from one of the most notorious scam centres last October. He showed us a brief, shaky video of the compound, still under construction in a remote, forested valley, where he was held, and remembers the terrible treatment he and his friends suffered at the hands of their ******** boss. “They gave us a target every week, $5,000. If not, they gave us two electric shocks. Or they put us in a dark room, with no windows. But if we earned a lot of money, they were very happy with us.” Ariyan had to approach men in the Middle East and lure them into transferring funds to fictitious investments. Using AI, the scammers made him appear on the screen to be an attractive young woman, altering his voice as well. He says he hated doing it. He remembers one man who was willing to sell his wife’s jewellery to fund the fraudulent investment, and wishing he could warn him. But he said the bosses monitored all their calls. BBC/ Lulu Luo Ariyan has returned to help 17 friends who are still in Myanmar The release of the scam workers started more than two weeks ago after Thailand, under pressure from China and some of its own politicians, cut power and telecommunications links to the compounds on the border. It limited banking access to the scam bosses and issued arrest warrants for some of the militia leaders who had been protecting the business. That hit the business, but it also hit the ordinary Karen people who live nearby even harder, putting pressure on the militia commanders to show willingness in ending the abuses in the scam centres. They began helping those trying to escape, and completely evacuating some compounds. The camp Mike is housed in is now being guarded by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, DKBA, a breakaway insurgent faction of the ethnic Karen community. Until recently, it was protecting the many scam compounds which have sprung up in its territory. You can see them easily as you drive along the Moei River which divides the two countries – unlikely expanses of new buildings over in war-torn Karen State contrasting with the rural landscape on the Thai side of the border. Thailand insists it is moving as fast as it can to process the former scam workers and get them home. A group of 260 freed workers were brought over the Moei River on a raft earlier this month. And around 621 ******** nationals were flown straight back to China with a police ******* on chartered planes. Otherwise, the movement of freed workers to Thailand seems to have stalled. BBC/ Lulu Luo and Jonathan Head Several scam compounds in Myanmar are visible from the Thai border The problem is that they are from many different countries, some of which are doing little to help get their people home. Around 130 of the first 260 who came over are from Ethiopia, which does not have an embassy in Bangkok. The BBC has been told that some other African countries will only fly their people home if someone else pays. Most of the freed workers have nothing; even their passports were withheld by the compound bosses. Thailand fears bringing over thousands of people it will then have to look after indefinitely. It also wants to screen them to find out which are genuine victims of human trafficking and which may have committed criminal acts, but does not have the capacity to do this with such a large group of people. Different ministries and agencies, including the army, are involved in managing this problem, and have to agree who does what. It does not help that several senior police and immigration officers have been transferred over their alleged involvement in the scam business. “If this issue is not resolved, then we will not stop working on it – we must work seriously,” said Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Tuesday in Bangkok. But she was referring to the wider problem of the scam business, not the growing humanitarian crisis among the freed workers. BBC/Lulu Luo Judah Tana helps victims who are trafficked into the scam centres “Unfortunately, it seems we’re in a bit of a standstill,” says Judah Tana, an *********** who runs an NGO which has for years been helping the victims of trafficking in the scam centres. “We are hearing distressing information about the lack of sanitation and toilets. Many of the 260 who already came were screened for TB and tested positive. We are hearing from those who are still inside that people are coughing up blood. They are very happy that they have been liberated from the scam compounds, but our worry is that we’re not engaging fast enough.” Thailand now seems ready to bring over one group of 94 Indonesians, as their embassy has been pushing for their release for several days and has booked flights to Indonesia for them. But that still leaves more than 7,000 still inside Myanmar, unsure what will now happen to them. Mike told me he and many others with him feared that if they are not allowed to cross into Thailand soon, the DKBA may hand them back to the scam bosses, where they could face punishment for trying to leave. On Wednesday night his panic attacks and breathing were so bad, he said, they took him to hospital. “I just want to go home,” he said over the phone. “I just want to go back to my country. That is all I am asking.” Source link #Thousands #freed #stuck #camps Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

CEO believes series can last another 50 years CEO believes series can last another 50 years Mariko Oi and Mel Ramsay BBC News The Pokemon Company Pik-a-boo: Pokémon is one of the world’s most valuable media franchise The boss of The Pokémon Company believes the series can last for at least another 50 years if it continues to innovate. First launched on Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1996, the video game has expanded into films, TV and toys to become one of the world’s highest-grossing media franchise. Most recently, the trading card game based on the cute creatures at the centre of its universe has seen a surge in popularity – but it has also brought scalpers and frauds to the hobby. CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, who has been in charge of the company since 1998, spoke to BBC News ahead of its yearly update about the secret of its success, tackling challenges, and the series’ future. Pokémon Day announcements Pokémon Day is an annual showcase of upcoming releases, upgrades and events. Fans are hoping for news on upcoming Nintendo Switch title Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and info on the popular trading card game. Mr Ishihara wasn’t giving away too much ahead of the event but says the long-term goal is to “enrich both the real world and the virtual world”. Pokémon GO – the company’s successful mobile phone app that works with a device’s GPS to place monsters in the real world – is an example of this. “This is what I think is the biggest strength of Pokémon, and it’s important for us to come up with this kind of idea,” he says. “So that’s how I think of what we want to achieve next.” Pokémon scalpers, fakes and PalworldPocketpair The Pokémon Company has sued the makers of Palworld (pictured) – accusing them of patent infringement One of the hottest topics among long-term Pokémon fans today is scalpers. The resurgence of the collectible card game has caught the attention of resellers who buy up new packs in the hope of landing rare, valuable cards. YouTuber Logan Paul switched a lot of people on to the potential profits of the hobby when he paid $5.3m (£3.9m) for the most expensive Pokémon card ever. Gaming companies have long had an issue with the second-hand market, and Mr Ishihara says it “prevents new products from being sold”. “When the second hand market becomes more valuable because of rarity, that is problematic because our business is affected.” Fans have suggested The Pokémon Company could produce a greater volume of hard-to-find or limited-run items but Mr Ishihara says it cannot do much to control the resale market. “Those items are seen to be valuable because they’re rare or seen as vintage – and it’s not our place to say that they’re not,” he says. On the topic of counterfeit products Mr Ishihara is more direct, and says the company’s legal teams have fought “rigorously” against clones and fakes since the beginning. It recently won a long legal battle against the ******** company behind a copycat mobile app. And earlier this year it joined Nintendo to sue the makers of Palworld – an online multiplayer survival game described as “Pokémon with guns”. It alleges developer Pocketpair infringed patents, which it has denied. The secret of Pokémon’s successGetty Images The Pokémon International Championships include trading card, video game and mobile app events Pokémon has continued to bring new fans to the franchise by expanding into anime, card games, movies and toys alongside its video game titles. Mr Ishihara says fans now “span several generations” and believes “the biggest reason behind their success is the fact that Pokémon became a tool of communication”. Last weekend, about 13,000 Pokémon fans headed to the European leg of the International Championships at London’s Excel Centre. It demonstrates Mr Ishihara’s point that people have found their way into the series through various means. Fans Justin, 25, and Marina, 28, who turned up to the event in Team Rocket costumes, tell BBC News they got into Pokémon by watching the animated TV show as children. “I just loved all the designs, all the different characters,” says Justin. “They were just really really cute.” Marina says in-person events have become a chance for her to meet fellow fans. “I always used to want to go to conventions and these sorts of events. “So being able to be here and network and make friends has been such a blessing,” she says. We have one focus… PokémonGetty Images Tsunekazu Ishihara has been in charge of The Pokémon Company since 1998 The Pokémon Company is unusual because it is a private company. Other well-known Japanese brands, such as Nintendo and Hello Kitty maker Sanrio, are publicly traded and answerable to shareholders. Mr Ishihara believes this allows his company to keep a single-minded focus on one thing. “Pokémon is the only thing we do at the Pokémon Company,” he says. “So whatever profit we make from Pokémon gets reinvested in Pokémon.” He adds that this means the company doesn’t have to field questions about expanding or creating new characters from shareholders. “Our answer will be: ‘We’ll go bust when Pokémon is no longer popular’. “I don’t think they will like that.” Where are Ash and Pikachu now?Getty Images Caught ’em all: Ash and Pikachu left the animated series in 2023 At the end of 2023, longtime hero Ash Ketchum and his best pal Pikachu bowed out of the animated Pokémon series. The series has continued without the well-loved duo, but one of the “hardest questions” Mr Ishihara gets asked is what they’re up to now. “Even though the TV camera may not be following them, Ash’s journey is continuing and his partner Pikachu is right next to him.” With the franchise set to mark its 30th anniversary next year, rumours are already beginning to swirl about special plans for the occasion. Remakes or re-releases of the original Game Boy games are high on many fans’ wishlists. Mr Ishihara doesn’t have much to say on that at the moment, but wants to maintain a focus on “connecting the real and virtual worlds”. “If we continue focusing on our mission, Pokémon can probably continue to its 50th or 100th anniversary,” he says. “But if we become complacent and go with the flow, that’s when Pokémon will go downhill.” Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays – or listen back here. Source link #CEO #believes #series #years Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Leaked recordings challenge Greek account of deadly shipwreck Leaked recordings challenge Greek account of deadly shipwreck Leaked audio instructions by Greek rescue co-ordinators have cast further doubt on Greece’s official version of events in the hours before a migrant boat sank along with up to 650 people onboard. The Adriana went down in the early hours of 14 June 2023 in international waters – but within Greece’s rescue zone – after leaving Libya days earlier. Survivors later told the BBC that coastguards had caused their overcrowded fishing boat to capsize in a botched attempt to tow it and then forced witnesses to stay silent. The Greek coastguard denied these claims and maintains it did not try to rescue those onboard because they were not in danger and said they had voluntarily wanted to reach Italy, not Greece. But in a phone call that’s now emerged an unnamed man speaking from inside a Greek rescue coordination centre is heard instructing the captain of the migrant boat to tell an approaching ship that those onboard do not want to reach Greece. The coastguard has not commented on the audio but said it had handed over all available evidence to a Naval Court which is investigating the disaster. The sinking was one of the worst-ever disasters known to have happened in the Mediterranean Sea. It is estimated the boat was carrying up to 750 migrants when it set off from the port of Tobruk in Libya nearly a week earlier. Eighty-two bodies were recovered, but the United Nations believes an additional 500 people – including 100 women and children who were in the hold of the boat – may have died. Audio recordings obtained by Greek website News247.gr reveal phone calls involving the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) at the port of Piraeus, near the capital Athens. In the first call, at 18:50 local time (15:50 GMT) on 13 June, an officer is heard explaining to the man piloting the migrant boat that a large red vessel will soon be approaching to give supplies and that he should explain that the migrants do not want to reach Greece. Officer 1: The boat proceeding to you in order to give you fuel, water and food. And in one hour we send you a second boat, OK?Tell captain to big red ship “We don’t want to go Greece”. OK? The replies of the man captaining the migrant boat are not heard. In a second call, 90 minutes later, at 22:10, a seemingly different officer from the same coordination centre, speaks to the captain of the Lucky Sailor (the “big red ship”). Officer 2: Ok, captain, sorry before I couldn’t hear you. I couldn’t understand what did you say to me. You told me you gave them food, water and they told you that they don’t want to stay in Greece and they want to go to Italy, they don’t want anything else? Lucky Sailor captain: Yes because I asked them by megaphone “Greece or Italia?” and everybody there screaming Italia. Officer 2: Aah, ok, ok everybody screaming that they don’t want Greece and they want Italy? Lucky Sailor captain: Yes, yes, yes. Officer 2: Ok Lucky Sailor captain: They are all like crowded people, very crowded, full deck. Officer 2: Ok, captain. So you have finished with the supplies? Lucky Sailor captain: Yes, sir, yes. Officer 2: Captain, I want this, I want this to write it in your logbook. The bridge logbook. Lucky Sailor captain: Yes ok, we will write it. Officer 2: Ok? Lucky Sailor captain: Yes Officer 2: I want you to write it about that they don’t want to stay in Greece and they want to go to Italy. They want nothing from Greece and they want to go to Italy. Lucky Sailor captain: Ok, yes, yes. Another vessel, the Faithful Warrior, also gave some supplies to the migrant boat but no further conversations between its captain and the Greek authorities have emerged. The Greek coastguard did not comment on the contents of the conversations but told the BBC it had submitted “all the material it had in its possession, including the audio recordings and the diaries of events” to the Maritime Court Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating. It said it had rescued more than a quarter of a million migrants in danger at sea in the last decade and arrested more than a thousand smugglers, and that its humanitarian work had been recognised internationally. Our BBC investigation in the immediate days after the sinking challenged the Greek authorities’ explanation for the disaster. Analysis of the movement of other ships in the area suggests the overcrowded fishing vessel was not moving for at least seven hours before it capsized. The coastguard has always insisted that during these hours the boat was on a course to Italy and not in need of rescue. Last year, a Greek court threw out charges against nine Egyptian men who were accused of causing the shipwreck. The judges in the southern port city of Kalamata ruled they did not have jurisdiction to hear the case, on the grounds the vessel sank in international waters. The indictment had showed that the defendants were being prosecuted on evidence that had already been contradicted by at least six survivors, who told the BBC the coastguard had caused their boat to capsize and then pressured them to frame the Egyptians. Human rights lawyer, Dimitris Choulis, who represented some of the accused Egyptians said he was not surprised by what these recordings. “We know about the coastguard’s tactics of either pushing back or not rescuing people.” He claimed there had been “an attempted cover up from day one.” “They [Greek authorities] told the story ‘they did not want to be rescued’ and so have insulted the memory of so many dead people,” he told the BBC. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have said they have strong reservations about the integrity of the Greek investigation and have called for an international investigation. The Greek Ombudsman – an independent authority removed from the government – has been looking at the allegations. The disaster is also being examined by the Greek Naval Court. Source link #Leaked #recordings #challenge #Greek #account #deadly #shipwreck Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Water system ‘urgently needs fixing’ says minister Water system ‘urgently needs fixing’ says minister The water sector in England and Wales “urgently needs fixing”, environment secretary Steve Reed has said. The public, environment groups and investors have been asked for their views about how the water sector can be changed by a body set up by the *** government. The head of a new independent commission will invite ideas on how to fix England and Wales’ troubled water industry. Sir John Cunliffe, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England will launch his call for evidence in Manchester on Thursday morning. There has been growing public anger about water company performance amid massive sewage leaks and soaring bills. The commission, chaired by former deputy Bank of England governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, is looking for views on reform. Reed has ruled out nationalisation, saying it would cost up to £100bn, and that waterways would continue to be polluted while private ownership structures were unpicked. Instead, the government wants private investment to upgrade the sewerage system and reservoirs. To get that, regulator Ofwat has allowed the water industry to raise bills, which will go up by an average of £123 a year from April. There were 3.6 million hours of sewage spills into England’s lakes, rivers and seas by water companies in 2023, which is more than double the amount of the previous year. Reed said there are “serious” and “interlocking concerns” with the sector which need “ambitious changes”, and acknowledged that “trust in the system” had “broken down on all sides”. He said there had been “poor decisions and poor performance by companies, regulatory gaps, policy instability and a history of ad-hoc changes that have left an increasingly complex system that is no longer working well for anyone”. But he said these problems were not the “inevitable” consequence of privatisation. The government established the independent water commission promising the biggest shake up of the sector since privatisation 35 years ago. Sir Jon is expected to recognise the widespread dissatisfaction at multiple failings and will seek submissions from regulators, investors, industry leaders and the public on potential reforms. He will acknowledge the tensions between different regulators, the increasing demands place on the system by climate and population growth, and making the sector attractive to private investors. His review comes as six companies are appealing against decisions by Ofwat to limit bill increases over the next five years. The commission’s report, expected in June, will not affect that process. To try to make companies more accountable, the government has brought in a law which gives regulators the power to ban bonuses for water company bosses. In addition, executives who fail to cooperate or obstruct investigators could face prison sentences of up to two years. Source link #Water #system #urgently #fixing #minister Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

FDA cancels meeting to update next season’s flu vaccines FDA cancels meeting to update next season’s flu vaccines The Food and Drug Administration unexpectedly canceled an annual meeting of its advisers to update next season’s influenza vaccines, an adviser on the panel and multiple officials confirm to CBS News, potentially upending the process to start manufacturing next winter’s flu shots. “We’re all left trying to understand what is going on. Why was this meeting canceled? It’s an important meeting. What’s the plan for flu vaccines this year,” Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA advisory committee and director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CBS News. Offit said he received the notification that the meeting was canceled shortly after 4 p.m. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee was supposed to meet on March 13 to discuss how to update the shots for the next flu season, Offit said. One former and one current federal health official also confirmed that the committee’s upcoming meeting had been canceled without explanation. An FDA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The companies that manufacture influenza vaccines rely on the FDA each year to pick out the strains to use in shots made for the American market. The specific strains are chosen each year based on predictions of what flu variants will be circulating in the coming winter. That selection is usually done by the committee in early March, drawing in large part on findings from a meeting of the World Health Organization’s advisers reviewing data on influenza from across the Northern Hemisphere. “Because the vaccine is grown in eggs, for the most part, it requires six months to produce. So March is six months before September, which is when these vaccines roll out,” said Offit. Last year, the FDA asked the committee to meet on March 5 to decide on how to update the influenza shots for the 2024 to 2025 season. The agency usually announces these meeting dates around a month in advance. Next month’s meeting had not yet been publicly disclosed. Even if the meeting is eventually scheduled for later this year, a delay could affect availability of shots at the beginning of flu season. “This delay will really put manufacturers behind. It takes time to optimize updated vaccine virus strain production. They need as much time as possible before the upcoming fall vaccine season,” a former federal health official told CBS News. Which strains are picked to be targeted by the vaccines can have a significant impact on how effective the shots are. Early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s testing suggests that this past season’s vaccine may have been a poor match for one of the common strains of the virus. More data on the effectiveness of the vaccine is expected to be released Thursday. The cancellation is just the latest federal vaccine meeting to be disrupted. A quarterly meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was unexpectedly postponed earlier this month, citing the need “to accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.” More Alexander Tin Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers federal public health agencies. Source link #FDA #cancels #meeting #update #seasons #flu #vaccines Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Toyota, Holden, Subaru thefts rise massively in this *********** state Toyota, Holden, Subaru thefts rise massively in this *********** state Victoria Police has detailed the grim reality of the state’s car theft crisis, with thieves targeting vehicles from some of Australia’s most popular brands. In the 12 months prior to September 2024, 25,773 vehicles were stolen in Victoria – a significant increase of 6408 vehicles (or 33 per cent) over the previous 12 months, and an unwanted record for the state. According to Victoria Police, vehicles made by Subaru, Holden and Toyota have seen the sharpest increase in thefts, increasing by as much as 108 per cent to January 2025 compared to the 12 months prior. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert Victoria Police noted the changing habits of car thieves, with data showing one in five vehicles are stolen without their keys. Instead, thieves are using an OBD-reading tool intended for mechanics and locksmiths to disable a car’s alarm, delete the original keys paired to the car and then pair a new set of keys, with the only physical requirements for criminals being hacking into the front bumper, disabling the ***** and unlocking a door. This method has been extensively reported on by CarExpert, particularly relating to the sharp increase in thefts of VF Commodores. While some stolen Commodores are being used to joyride, others are being rebirthed, in which certain identifying features from multiple cars – such as its Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) and chassis numbers – are being transferred to pass them off as another vehicle. Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert In a media statement, Victoria Police urged owners of these targeted vehicles to install preventative measures such as an OBD port lock. As previously reported, temporary deterrents to theft include mechanical devices such as Club Locks and Cop Locks, while a PIN-coded immobiliser and relocated ***** could also help reduce the likelihood of your car being stolen. Victoria Police has also advised owners to park their vehicles off the street and ensure their vehicles are locked. Worryingly, Victoria Police warned that “without technological remedies or target hardening measures, such as the installation of on board diagnostic port locks, it’s anticipated the number of car thefts will continue to increase locally”. Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert “Modern day cars are akin to computers on wheels and while this comes with plenty of benefits, it also creates opportunity for offenders,” said Detective Inspector Julie MacDonald of the Victoria Police Vehicle Crime Squad. “Vehicle immobilisers were a technology facilitated solution at the turn of the century – the emergence of key programming devices are proving to be a technology facilitated problem. “It was considered impossible to steal a car this way as little as two years ago. However, offenders are now using these devices like a modern-day screwdriver to steal cars. “We strongly encourage owners of impacted cars to consider all possible methods to improve their vehicle’s security – there are a range of auto shops and websites that stock these anti-theft products, and staff can assist with advising you on what will best suit your vehicle. Camera IconSupplied Credit: CarExpert “Vehicle owners can also speak with manufacturers or their insurance agents for further advice.” Last month, CarExpert contacted former Holden parent company General Motors regarding the usage of the OBD tool to steal Commodores. “GMANZ is aware of reports of vehicle thefts where offenders are misusing an aftermarket locksmith’s tool sold for general vehicle use,” a General Motors spokesperson told CarExpert. “The purchase of this tool is currently unregulated.” You can watch and read more of our coverage below. MORE: Car thefts reach record high in *********** stateMORE: Holden parent ‘aware’ of Commodore theft crisis, solution no closerMORE: Massive number of Holden and HSV cars being stolen using cheap eBay toolMORE: Stolen Holdens seized amid theft crisisMORE: Stolen Holdens recovered in Victorian crackdown on ‘rebirthing’ Source link #Toyota #Holden #Subaru #thefts #rise #massively #*********** #state Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

‘It’s high time governments held [them] to account’ ‘It’s high time governments held [them] to account’ Although gas and oil prices dropped last year, the giant companies behind these fossil fuels continue to rake in billions of dollars. But instead of putting that money toward repairing some of the planetary damage they’ve caused, one oil conglomerate has decided — again — to instead stuff its investors’ pockets. What’s happening? Shell, the world’s eighth-largest oil company by production, recorded $23.7 billion in profits in 2024, the Guardian reports. That number, although staggeringly large, was slightly lower than the $24 billion analysts predicted, and considerably lower than the $28.3 billion and nearly $40 billion Shell gained in 2023 and 2022, respectively. The company opted to pay $22.5 billion of those profits back to its own investors, resisting calls to put more money toward renewable energy or other eco-friendly projects. In fact, Shell has now given investor buybacks of at least $3 billion for 13 consecutive quarters, according to the Guardian. Why does this matter? A popular trend among high-polluting companies is greenwashing — attempting to push a public image that the company is actually environmentally friendly, no matter how much damage it actually does to the planet. If you visit Shell’s website, for example, there’s a prominent section devoted to sustainability. But, as is the case with many oil companies, that information doesn’t necessarily paint a complete picture. In its 2024 earnings report, Shell touts that it spent over $2.5 billion on renewable energy solutions. But that’s a fraction of the $18.3 billion it spent on its traditional, fossil fuel-led business. And Reuters reported the company has scaled back some of its goals to reduce carbon emissions and entirely scrapped other goals. Watch now: Giant snails invading New York City?What’s being done about oil greenwashing? In 2023, a Shell ad campaign was banned in the United Kingdom for greenwashing. The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the ads, which focused on Shell’s renewable-energy efforts, did not properly disclose that the company primarily deals in fossil fuels. But as oil companies continue to pollute Earth and heavily contribute to climate change, activists want them to get hit where it matters most — their wallets. “It’s high time governments held oil giants like Shell to account,” Alice Harrison, head of fossil fuel campaigns at Global Witness, told the Guardian. “Rather than propping up the climate-wrecking fossil fuel industry, we need governments to make polluters pay for the damage they have already caused, and steer us towards a cleaner, greener future.” Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Source link #high #time #governments #held #account Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Goldman Sachs adds Waldron to board, lining up potential CEO succession Goldman Sachs adds Waldron to board, lining up potential CEO succession John Waldron, president and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs, speaks during the Goldman Sachs Investor Day at Goldman Sachs Headquarters in New York City, U.S., Feb. 28, 2023. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Goldman Sachs added its president and chief operating officer John Waldron to its board of directors a month after he was given a retention bonus, cementing his position as a potential successor to CEO David Solomon. Waldron, 55, joins Solomon, 63, as the second member of the management committee to have a seat on the board. “It does appear that firmer succession planning is underway,” said Stephen Biggar, a banking analyst at Argus Research. The bonuses, which vest in five years, were awarded to Solomon and Waldron in an effort by Goldman’s board to retain top leaders, the bank said last month. Waldron, who has been president and chief operating officer since October 2018, oversees the leaders of the bank’s three main divisions. He previously served as co-head of investment banking, a role he assumed in 2014 after joining Goldman in 2000. Gary Cohn, a former president of the firm, previously served as a director alongside Solomon’s predecessor, Lloyd Blankfein. Cohn left Goldman in late 2016 to join President Donald Trump’s first administration as an economic adviser and lead the White House National Economic Council. The bank also announced on Wednesday it added Accenture’s Chief Financial Officer KC McClure as an independent director of the board. Goldman Sachs earned its biggest quarterly profit in more than three years as its investment bankers brought in more deal fees, while its traders benefited from active markets, the company said in January. Source link #Goldman #Sachs #adds #Waldron #board #lining #potential #CEO #succession Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

****** hands over to Red Cross 4 dead hostages from Gaza, as Palestinians leave Israeli prison – The Associated Press ****** hands over to Red Cross 4 dead hostages from Gaza, as Palestinians leave Israeli prison – The Associated Press ****** hands over to Red Cross 4 dead hostages from Gaza, as Palestinians leave Israeli prison The Associated PressIsrael receives four coffins said to contain bodies of hostages CNNAt ******** for Shiri Bibas and Children, an Israeli Outpouring of Grief The New York TimesPalestinian prisoners arrive in Ramallah; ****** hands over four bodies Al Jazeera EnglishSlain hostages’ remains taken to be identified after Red Cross transfers them to Israel The Times of Israel Source link #****** #hands #Red #Cross #dead #hostages #Gaza #Palestinians #leave #Israeli #prison #Press Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Gatwick Airport second runway decision expected Gatwick Airport second runway decision expected Sean Dilley, Molly Stazicker and Esme Stallard BBC Transport and BBC Climate & Science PA A second runway would be fully operational by the end of the decade if plans are approved, Gatwick says A decision is expected later on whether Gatwick airport can expand to two simultaneously functioning runways. The airport wants to move its northern runway, which is currently only used for taxiing or as a back up, and make it operational by the turn of the decade. Gatwick is Europe’s busiest single runway airport, with more than 40 million passengers using it last year. If permission is granted, work would start almost immediately, but MPs, local authorities and residents are strongly opposed. The Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, will announce her decision in a written ministerial statement to Parliament later. On Tuesday she told industry leaders she had “no intention of clipping anyone’s wings,” and said aviation was good for growth. “I am not some sort of flight-shaming eco warrior. I love flying – I always have,” she said during a speech at the annual dinner of trade body Airlines *** in London. Gatwick managers say that with 55 take-offs and landings in a busy hour, the airport is “full”. Being able to use both runways could increase the number of departures by 50,000 a year by the end of the 2030s, according to Gatwick. It says some 30,000 of those flights are planned to depart from the north runway which will only be used for departures and not landings. BBC News Gatwick’s Bronwen Jones shows the BBC’s Sean Dilley the grass verge where the northern runway would be expanded under the airport’s proposals Bronwen Jones, development director at Gatwick, believes a second runway would be “a win for everyone”. “We are going to deliver 14,000 additional jobs and generate £1bn a year additional revenue across the nation,” she told the BBC. She said the expansion would create more flight slots across both runways. “That allows us to offer new routes, new airlines, more frequencies on existing routes, so that passengers have more choice.” A key part of the planning application is for permission to move the second runway 12m (39ft) to the north. This would make it compliant with international safety standards of 210m between the centrelines of the two runways. The work would be funded by £2.2bn of private investment. ‘Bucket and spade’ airportBBC News Noise is one of the primary concerns Sally Pavey and other residents surrounding Gatwick have about the expansion Sally Pavey, chair of Communities Against Gatwick Noise Emissions (CAGNE), is worried about “uncontrollable noise, ramifications on the roads, decline in air quality… and climate change.” “We can’t keep ignoring climate change and it would be wrong to allow a new ‘bucket and spade’ runway, as we put it, at the expense of residents and the economy,” she said. Gatwick is largely considered an airport for short-haul holiday destinations with far fewer business and long-haul flights than Heathrow. The group would take legal action through a judicial review if the expansion goes ahead, she added. Gatwick says it has committed to reducing noise levels to below those of 2019 – which CAGNE says was one of the worst years for noise. PA Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed her support for the expansion of Heathrow Airport last month Last month, Chancellor Rachel Reeves backed a controversial third runway at Heathrow, insisting it would not compromise decarbonisation targets and would be good for economic growth. On Wednesday the government’s independent advisers, the *** climate change committee (UKCCC), recommended that to meet the country’s climate goals the amount of planet-warming gases released by the country’s aviation sector needed to fall by 17% compared to 2003 levels. Some of the pollution from flying, it said, could be reduced by switching planes to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and by capturing the planet-warming gases released. But experts think it could be challenging to obtain the feedstock, like corn grain or food waste, needed to make SAF. The UKCCC said the best way to reduce the industry’s impact on climate change would be to significantly slow the demand for flying. At current levels demand is expected to grow by 53% by 2040, while the UKCCC says this should be closer to 16%. Last year it recommended the government should “stop airport expansion” until it had an approach for managing changes in capacity of airports across the ***. But it has now changed its advice as it believes technology development will allow aviation to be decarbonised more than previously thought. Now it recommends developing contingencies, including limiting airport expansion, if those technologies don’t emerge. Alex Chapman from the left of centre think tank the New Economics Foundation questioned the government’s argument that Gatwick’s second runway would boost economic growth for the whole of the ***. “This is principally an investment that will support the economy, potentially, of the region around the airport and in London and the South East, but at the cost of others,” he said. “Does it make sense to be blowing the carbon budget on this sort of luxury good while other areas of the economy struggle?” Source link #Gatwick #Airport #runway #decision #expected Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content] For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Major council makes homeless camping on public land ******** Major council makes homeless camping on public land ******** A major council has backtracked on a local law and made it a criminal offence for homeless people to camp on public land. Source link #Major #council #homeless #camping #public #land #******** Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Traders Expect a Big Nvidia Stock Move After Earnings—Here’s How Much Traders Expect a Big Nvidia Stock Move After Earnings—Here’s How Much An Rong Xu / Bloomberg via Getty Images Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Nvidia (NVDA) stock was rising on Wednesday ahead of the AI chip giant’s hotly anticipated fourth-quarter earnings report. Nvidia shares pared earlier gains but were still up more than 2% in late afternoon trading on Wednesday. The stock has shed more than 10% of its value since closing at an all-time high in early January but remains up more than 60% over the past year. Nvidia holds the record for both the largest one-day increase and decrease in market value, and options traders on Wednesday were positioning themselves for another sizable move in the stock. Nvidia options pricing on Wednesday afternoon suggested traders expect shares to move roughly $10, or about 8%, in either direction during the two days after Wednesday’s earnings. That would be the stock’s largest post-earnings move since May when shares gained more than 12% in the two days after Nvidia blew past earnings expectations. Nvidia stock has retreated after each of its two most recent reports. Shares lost more than 4% in the days after its August report and almost 3% after its November earnings. The company’s results exceeded expectations in both of those instances, but disappointed investors who may have been looking for even larger beats. Nvidia’s earnings come during a difficult stretch for stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gave up early gains on Wednesday, and were flirting with closing lower for a fifth consecutive day. The Magnificent Seven stocks, which have accounted for a large share of the stock market’s gains over the last two years, were trading in correction territory on Wednesday. Big tech stocks have been weighed down by substantial political and economic uncertainty of late. ******** start-up DeepSeek prompted a reckoning with Silicon Valley’s AI strategy late last month, and tech stocks have struggled to shake off concerns about overspending. At the same time, the economic outlook has been muddled in the last month by signs of stubborn inflation and the Trump administration’s ever-changing tariff plans. Read the original article on Investopedia Source link #Traders #Expect #Big #Nvidia #Stock #Move #EarningsHeres Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

Nvidia CEO Huang says next-generation AI will need more compute Nvidia CEO Huang says next-generation AI will need more compute Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., during a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. Annabelle Chih | Bloomberg | Getty Images Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said next-generation AI will need 100 times more compute than older models as a result of new reasoning approaches that think “about how best to answer” questions step by step. “The amount of computation necessary to do that reasoning process is 100 times more than what we used to do,” Huang told CNBC’s Jon Fortt in an interview on Wednesday following the chipmaker’s fourth-quarter earnings report. He cited models including DeepSeek’s R1, OpenAI’s GPT-4 and xAI’s Grok 3 as models that use a reasoning process. Nvidia reported results that topped analysts’ estimates across the board, with revenue jumping 78% from a year earlier to $39.33 billion. Data center revenue, which includes Nvidia’s market-leading graphics processing units, or GPUs, for artificial intelligence workloads, soared 93% to $35.6 billion, now accounting for over 90% of total revenue. The company’s stock still hasn’t recovered after losing 17% of its value on Jan. 27, its worst drop since 2020. That drop came due to concerns sparked by ******** AI lab DeepSeek that companies could potentially get greater performance in AI on far lower infrastructure costs. Huang pushed back on that idea in the interview on Wednesday, saying DeepSeek popularized reasoning models that will need more chips. “DeepSeek was fantastic,” Huang said. “It was fantastic because it open sourced a reasoning model that’s absolutely world class.” Nvidia has been restricted from doing business in China due to export controls that were increased at the end of the Biden administration. Huang said that company’s percentage of revenue in China has fallen by about half due to the export restrictions, adding that there are other competitive pressures in the country, including from Huawei. Developers will likely search for ways around export controls through software, whether it be for a supercomputer, a personal computer, a phone or a game console, Huang said. “Ultimately, software finds a way,” he said. “You ultimately make that software work on whatever system that you’re targeting, and you create great software.” Nvidia counts on billions of dollars of infrastructure spend annually from the largest tech companies in the world for an outsized amount of its revenue. The company has been the biggest beneficiary of the AI *****, with revenue more than doubling in five straight quarters through mid-2024 before growth decelerated slightly. WATCH: Susquehanna’s Chris Rolland on Nvidia Q4 results Source link #Nvidia #CEO #Huang #nextgeneration #compute Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]

USDA details new plan to tackle bird flu and lower egg prices – CNN USDA details new plan to tackle bird flu and lower egg prices – CNN USDA details new plan to tackle bird flu and lower egg prices CNNU.S. lays out $1 billion plan to combat bird flu egg shortages The Washington PostEgg prices estimated to rise by 41.1% in 2025 as bird flu intensifies, USDA says Axios Source link #USDA #details #plan #tackle #bird #flu #egg #prices #CNN Pelican News View the full article at [Hidden Content]