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New Pokemon Games Sword And Shield Revealed For Nintendo Switch

During a special Nintendo Direct for Pokemon Day, Nintendo has finally revealed its upcoming Pokemon games for Nintendo Switch, which seem to represent Generation 8. Named Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, the games will be released in "late 2019." You can see the game in action in the trailer below.
The games are set in a new region named Galar, which looks to be similar in appearance to Britain. The three starter creatures were shown off in Nintendo's Pokemon Direct presentation; they are a grass monkey named Grookey, a fire bunny named Scorbunny, and a sad water lizard, Sobble. Gameplay was shown in the Direct but was not detailed extensively, though it seems like this will bring back random encounters, among other things. We've rounded up the big takeaways from what we've seen so far to help you get a handle on what to expect.


Sword and Shield are directed by Shigeru Ohmori, who previously directed Sun and Moon and has worked on the series since 2002's Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. Following Sword and Shield's trailer, which you can watch below, The Pokemon Company teased it was working on more in the Pokemon franchise besides these new titles. No more details were confirmed.

The Pokemon Company first announced it was working on new Pokemon games at E3 2017. Since then, the publisher said little else about the upcoming titles--only that they are "core RPG Pokemon titles" and that they would launch in the latter half of 2019.
The "core RPG" description is in contrast to the most recent Pokemon games, Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eevee, which were released for Nintendo Switch in November 2018 as remakes of sorts of Pokemon Yellow. They incorporated some elements of the mobile phenomenon Pokemon Goin an attempt to ease newer players into the mainline series.
February 27 is Pokemon Day, The Pokemon Company's yearly celebration of its huge pocket monster franchise. Pokemon Go is holding a special event, with generation one creatures spawning more frequently along with shiny versions of Pidgey and Rattata.
References: gamespot

HP computer stranded in space

Two HP servers sent up to the International Space Station in August 2017 as an experiment have still not come back to Earth, three months after their intended return.
Together, they make up the Spaceborne Computer, which operates on the open-source Linux system and has supercomputer processing power.
They were sent up to see how durable they would be in space with minimum specialist treatment.
After 530 days, they are still working.
Their return flight was postponed indefinitely, after a Russian rocket fail in October 2018.
And HP senior content architect Adrian Kasbergen said they may return in June 2019 if there was space on a flight “but right now they haven’t got a ticket”.
HP is working with Nasa and Elon Musk’s Space X to be “computer-ready” for the first Mars flight, estimated to take place in about 2030.

Cooler air

Currently the 20-year-old ISS on-board machines return data to Earth for processing but it can take 30 minutes for the data to travel each way – and it is unlikely to be possible to send data “home” for processing from Mars, which is 34 million miles away.
The three original computers on board the ISS had cost $8bn each and taken 10 years to build, Mr Kasbergen told BBC News.
“Our servers cost thousands, rather than millions of dollars,” he added, speaking at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC), in Barcelona, where HP is displaying a replica model of the ISS Destiny Module.
The Spaceborne Computer was currently embedded in the ceiling of the real thing, Mr Kasbergen said.
The servers had needed some bespoke modification - the air cooling system would not work in space.
And, Mr Kasbergen said, there had been unforeseen problems with their power supply as well as the solid-state drive that supports the main hard drive.
But the devices would need to be investigated back on Earth to find out what had gone wrong.

References:  BBC

M&S and Ocado in £750m home delivery deal

Marks & Spencer and Ocado have confirmed a deal which will give the High Street retailer a home delivery service for the first time.
M&S will buy a 50% share of Ocado's retail business for £750m.
The joint venture will be called Ocado and will deliver M&S products from September 2020 at the latest, when Ocado's deal with Waitrose expires.
Under the deal Ocado will also supply its own label products and big name branded goods.
"We think we've paid a fair price. This is something that will scale our business and frankly it's the only way we could have gone online within an immediately scalable, profitable and sustainable business," said Steve Rowe, M&S chief executive.
He said one third of M&S business would be online in the future.
Ocado founder and chief executive Tim Steiner told the BBC of the 50,000 products it currently sold, about 4,500 were Waitrose branded.
When the new joint venture is up and running these would be replaced by more than 4,500 M&S products, he added.
M&S will fund the deal by selling £600m of shares and by cutting its dividend payout to shareholders by 40%.
Ocado said the end of its 19-year deal with Waitrose would mean it no longer had to pay more than £15m in sourcing fees.
Commenting on the deal, Waitrose managing director Rob Collins said the supermarket chain had strengthened its own online business "significantly" and that it planned to double Waitrose.com within five years.

References:  BBC

Sarri : Kepa incident a misunderstanding



Kepa Arrizabalaga incident a misunderstanding, says Maurizio Sarri

Maurizio Sarri played down goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s apparent defiance of the Chelsea manager as a "misunderstanding" after the Carabao Cup final defeat by Manchester City.

As the game approached a penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw, Chelsea attempted to bring on substitute goalkeeper Willy Caballero for Arrizabalaga, who appeared injured moments before.
Arrizabalaga refused to come off, indicating he was fine to play on, prompting a stand-off which resulted in Sarri reacting angrily and walking down the tunnel before returning.
But Sarri was calm after the game which Chelsea lost 4-3 on penalties, saying he wanted Caballero on the pitch because Arrizabalaga looked to have cramp - not for the Argentine's penalty-saving ability - insisting it was all a misunderstanding. He added that after the medical staff informed him it was not cramp, the matter was cleared up.

He told Sky Sports: "It was a big misunderstanding. I understood the goalkeeper had cramp, and was unable to go to the pens, but the problem was not cramp, so he was able to go to the penalties.

"As I say to the goalkeeper, he understood that I asked for a change for his physical problem, he said, 'I haven't a physical problem' and so he was right I think.

"I realised after when the doc arrived to the bench, the goalkeeper with a little problem, I wanted Caballero ready."

Asked if he would be talking to Arrizabalaga about his reaction, Sarri added: "No, I have to talk with him but only to clarify because now I have understood very well the situation." Although in the post-match press conference he did admit the Spanish goalkeeper's conduct was incorrect.

"It was only a big misunderstanding, Kepa was right, but in the wrong way I think, in the wrong way in the way he behaved and conducted himself, but mentally he was right, he was able to go to penalties.

"He needs to understand that for misunderstanding we can get in trouble, especially with you [media]! I only have to explain exactly the situation with Kepa without any other problems.

"I wanted Caballero on the pitch because I was afraid he had cramp. So with the cramp I think you are unable to go to pens, but the doctor explained to me it wasn't cramp, so he was able."

Just a fortnight after City's 6-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League, Sarri's side improved drastically, something the Italian believes proves the players are with him and that there is no dissent in the squad.

Asked if he was sure the players believe in him, Sarri told Sky Sports: "After this match I have to say that I am sure, because they played exactly what I asked, today I am proud of my players.

"You have to ask the club. Here I am really very happy, I think we are improving, we have improved a lot [last three matches]. Today we showed to everyone we could become a very solid team, because we conceded nothing to our opponents, and against Man City that is not easy.

"I am really very happy and proud of my players. The performance was really very good against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe."

He then said in his post-match press conference: "I think that if you saw the match, you can understand very well that today the players played exactly the match that we prepared yesterday.

"So I think I am fully comfortable of the situation. So now I'd like to speak about something else, about our way of football today, because it was a little bit different from other matches."

References: skysports

Rami Malek Adorably Tells Lucy Boynton She’s ‘Captured His Heart’ During Oscars 2019 Acceptance Speech

Somebody to love! Rami Malek passionately kissed his girlfriend, Lucy Boyntonafter he won Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 2019 Oscarson Sunday, February 24.

The Bohemian Rhapsody costars did not hold back with sharing their PDA before Malek, 37, took to the stage to accept the trophy for his role as Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic.

“My mom is in here somewhere. Oh, I love you. I love you, lady. My family, thank you for all of this. You know, my dad didn’t get to see me do any of this. But I think he’s looking down on me right now,” Malek began. “Thank you, Queen. Thank you … for allowing me to be the tiniest part of your phenomenal, extraordinary legacy. I am forever in your debt. My crew and my cast, I love you. You are my equals, my betters. I could have never been here without you.”


The actor also thanked Boynton, who portrayed Mercury’s partner Mary Austin in the film.
“Lucy, you’re the heart of this film,” Malek said. “You are beyond immensely talented. You have captured my heart. Thank you so much.”
Us Weekly broke the news in April 2018 that Malek and Boynton 25, began dating while filming Bohemian Rhapsody in London. “He is so into her,” a source told Us at the time. “He goes and visits her in London all the time.”
Malek confirmed the pair’s relationship at the 30th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Film Awards Gala last month.
“Thank you, Lucy Boynton,” he said during his acceptance speech for Breakthrough Artist Award on January 3. “You have been my ally, my confidant, my love. Thank you so much.”
Days later, the Mr. Robot alum gushed about the actress exclusively to Us, calling Boynton “extraordinary.”
“She’s such a wildly talented human being and an inspiration,” Malek told Us on January 9. “I have to say that goes for the entire cast.”
Bohemian Rhapsody also won Best Sound Missing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing and was nominated for Best Picture on Sunday night.
References: usmagazine

Another The Division 2 Beta Now Live On PC


Another The Division 2 Beta Now Live On PC

Select players can hop into Ubisoft's shooter again ahead of next week's open beta.

Ahead of its upcoming open beta next month, Ubisoft is holding another private technical test for The Division 2. The test is now live for select players, but unlike the previous private beta, this one is only available on PC, and it will run from February 21-22.
According to Ubisoft, the purpose of this technical test is to "assess a certain amount of fixes [it has] implemented based on your feedback following the Private Beta." Only players who have received an invitation via email will be eligible to participate in this test.
If you're one of the players who've been selected, you'll be able to try out all of the content that was available in Ubisoft's previous Division 2 beta, with the exception of Conflict, Endgame, and Photo Mode. Participants also won't be able to invite friends to join during this test. You can read more details on The Division 2 website.
Even if you don't make it into this week's test, everyone will soon have a chance to sample the upcoming shooter. Ubisoft is hosting an open beta for The Division 2 next week, from March 1-4. That test will be available to all players on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The Division 2 launches on March 15. Ubisoft has already said it has a surprise planned for the title's endgame, as well as free DLC in the pipeline. You can read more about the game in our roundup of everything we know about The Division 2 and our favorite new features.

References: gamespot

BMW and Daimler invest €1bn in new car venture

BMW and Daimler have unveiled a joint venture covering new-generation services such as driverless vehicles, ride-hailing, and pay-per-use cars.
Normally fierce rivals, the firms are investing €1bn (£880m) in the project, which will also help drivers find parking and electric charge points.
It comes as carmakers face competition from mobility services providers such as Uber and other technology firms.
The two German firms said they were open to buying tech start-ups.
Established ride-hailing firms have been expanding. China's Didi Chuxing aims to expand its business in Latin America and Uber is growing rapidly in the US market.
"Further co-operation with other providers, including stakes in start-ups and established players, are also a possible option," Daimler's chief executive Dieter Zetsche said.
Both companies have been working to develop autonomous car technology. Many analysts have argued that to survive against the tech giants, traditional car manufacturers must develop services based on usage rather than sales.
Daimler's Car2Go car-sharing brand will be combined with BMW's DriveNow, ParkNow and ChargeNow businesses, with both carmakers holding a 50% stake in the venture.
The new joint venture has five strands:
  • Reach Now: a smartphone-based route management and booking service
  • Charge Now: expanding electric car charging
  • Free Now: for taxi ride-hailing
  • Park Now: dedicated to offering parking services
  • Share Now: for car-sharing.
Harald Krüger, chairman of BMW's management board, said: "These five services will merge ever more closely to form a single mobility service portfolio with an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously,"
The venture would be "a key cornerstone in our strategy as a mobility provider," he said, adding: "The co-operation is the perfect way for us to maximize our chances in a growing market, while sharing the investments."

Analysis: Theo Leggett, business correspondent
The car industry is changing rapidly. BMW and Daimler have concluded that for them, there's safety in numbers.
As cities become more congested, and efforts to contain pollution are stepped up, their inhabitants are going to come under more pressure to give up their cars for alternative forms of transport. Owning your own set of wheels in town may one day be seen as terribly 20th Century.
At the same time technology is developing at a breakneck pace. As both Daimler and BMW have admitted, it's likely that cars in cities will eventually be shared-use electric machines that drive themselves and can be summoned at the touch of a smartphone.
Old-fashioned carmakers that fail to adapt risk being driven out of business - as car sales fall, and the tech industry upstarts move in.
The deal between the big German brands should help them cement their stake in this brave new world where car companies give way to "mobility providers".
The amount of shared investment isn't huge - a mere €1bn, and the initial focus on fairly mundane offerings such as car sharing, ride hailing and parking.
But the big question is, where it could lead?

References:  BBC

Microsoft staff: Do not use HoloLens for war

At least 50 Microsoft employees have demanded the company back out of a deal with the US military to provide augmented reality technology.
In particular, the group has said the firm’s headset, HoloLens, must not be used to “help people kill”.
In November, Microsoft agreed a $479m (£367m) deal to develop a platform that would involve soldiers using about 100,000 headsets.
"We always appreciate feedback from employees and have many avenues for employee voices to be heard," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
A letter sent around Microsoft on Friday and seen by the BBC has been backed by employees across multiple departments.
“Microsoft must stop in its activities to empower the US Army’s ability to cause harm and violence,” it reads.
“We did not sign up to develop weapons, and we demand a say in how our work is used.”
  • Video: How augmented reality could change work
HoloLens, first released to developers in March 2016, allows the wearer to see digital images laid over the real world. Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella is expected to announced HoloLens 2 at an event in Barcelona on Sunday, ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show.

Military concern

The letter demands Microsoft cancel the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) contract, stop developing “any and all” weapons technologies, and draft a public policy statement on the matter.
It also calls for an “independent, external ethics review board” that would oversee compliance with that policy.

It is not the first time that Microsoft employees have spoken out against the firm's work with government entities.
In June, with the Trump administration mired in controversy over family separations on the US-Mexico border, staff demanded the firm cease providing services to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).
Mr Nadella eventually denounced the White House’s actions and said Microsoft’s technology was only being used for standard office-related tasks.

‘War profiteers'

With this latest employee rebellion, Microsoft will not have such an easy defence. According to the contract, the goal is to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy”.
Microsoft is understood to have outbid rival augmented reality developers, such as Magic Leap.
Microsoft’s president and top lawyer Brad Smith has said employees who are not happy with the nature of the firm’s military work would be allowed to work in other departments. However, in the latest letter, employees said that suggestion was flawed.
“Microsoft fails to inform its engineers on the intent of the software they are building.
"There are many engineers who contributed to HoloLens before this contract even existed, believing it would be used to help architects and engineers build buildings and cars, to help teach people how to perform surgery or play the piano, to push the boundaries of gaming, and to connect with the Mars Rover (RIP).
"These engineers have now lost their ability to make decisions about what they work on, instead finding themselves implicated as war profiteers.”
  • Could HoloLens tech help save babies' lives?
Microsoft is not the only company to face internal anger over military work. Last year, Google did not renew a contract to work with the US on Project Maven, an artificial intelligence program in development with the Pentagon.
However, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos said his firm would enthusiastically work with the military.
"This is a great country - it needs to be defended,” he said during an on-stage interview.

References:  BBC

Dumbo Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailers



Dumbo Trailer #1 (2019) | Movieclips Trailers

Initial release March 29, 2019 (America)
Genre Adventure, Family
Starring : Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Finley Hobbins, Danny DeVito
Production Company : Walt Disney Pictures, Tim Burton Productions
Directed By : Tim Burton
Writers Helen Aberson (novel), Ehren Kruger (screenplay)
Distributor Walt Disney Studios; Film
Synopsis : A flock of storks delivers babies while circus animals are being transported by train from their "Winter Quarters".Mrs. Jumbo, one of the elephants, receives her baby, who is soon made fun of by the other elephants because of his large ears, and they nickname him "Dumbo". After locking the elephants, Mrs. Jumbo starts to cuddle Dumbo.
When a storm comes, the elephants have to help set up the circus tents. Afterwards, they have a parade through town. However, Dumbo ends up in a muddy puddle, so Mrs. Jumbo has to wash him. When a group of boys torment Dumbo, Mrs. Jumbo responds by attacking one of the boys and, losing her temper in the confusion. Mrs. Jumbo is deemed mad and tossed into a cage. Dumbo is shunned by the other elephants, and with no parent to care for him, he is now alone. Timothy Q. Mouse, who feels sympathy for Dumbo and becomes determined to help regain his spirits, appoints himself as Dumbo's mentor and protector.

Chelsea must sell another winger to keep Hudson-Odoi, says Sarri

The Blues manager insists the club will need to sell one of their existing wingers if they are to keep the Englishman at the club beyond this summer
Maurizio Sarri has stated Chelsea will need to sell a winger if they are to keep Callum Hudson-Odoi at the club beyond this season.
The Blues cruised to a 3-0 Europa League victory over Malmo on Thursday night, with Hudson-Odoi bagging the third and final goal to secure the win.
It was another impressive performance from the winger, and Sarri stated he played “very well” after the match.
The Englishman now has three goals in 14 appearances for the Blues this season, and is slowly pushing for a permanent starting spot in the team.
However, Sarri remains still reluctant to use him in the Premier League with the 18-year-old yet to start a fixture in the league.
Speculation also continues regarding his long-term future at the Stamford Bridge club following on from Bayern Munich’s failed bids in January.
When asked what Hudson-Odoi needs to do to start in the Premier League, Sarri said: “You need to understand that, in the same position, we have Pedro, Willian and Hazard, so it's not easy for a young player to play with the consistency with his team-mates. 
“I want to remind you that Callum, with this one, played 14 matches. There isn't in England another 18-year-old player with 14 matches in the first-team. So I think that we are using him in the right way at the moment. 
“Of course, the 20 matches this season will be 30 matches in the next, and 40 in two years. Also, I think that the club has to decide. 
“If I am at the club and I want Callum on the club consistently, I have to sell another winger. Otherwise the manager is in trouble.”
Chelsea’s next fixture is against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday at Wembley.
The two sides played out a repeat fixture on February 10 in the league, with Pep Guardiola’s side romping to an easy 6-0 victory at the Etihad.
Sarri’s men will be keen to gain revenge on the reigning Premier League champions this weekend in their quest to lift the first silverware of the season.

Valve Is Removing Steam's Video Section; Retiring Non-Gaming Content


Valve has announced it's retiring the Video section from the Steam store. You'll keep any videos you've already purchased from Steam, though, so you don't have to worry about losing anything you've bought.
"In reviewing what Steam users actually watch, it became clear we should focus our effort on offering content that is either directly related to gaming or, is accessory content for games or software sold on Steam," Valve wrote in a blog post. "As part of this refocus, we have retired the Video section of the Steam Store menu with an expectation that video content is discovered via the associated game or software store page, or through search, user tags, recommendations, etc."
As part of the company's renewed focus on gaming, in the next few weeks, Valve will be retiring "a number of non-gaming videos" which "will no longer be available for purchase." As stated above, you'll still have access to these videos provided you've bought them already. Otherwise, they'll be gone from the Steam Store for good.
Steam's domination of the PC gaming marketplace has been challenged by the arrival of the Epic Games Store. Epic--creator of the popular battle royale game Fortnite--has managed to carve out a chunk of the PC gaming landscape by offering developers a larger cut of their profits in comparison to Steam. Already, Epic has managed to secure the exclusive distribution for the PC versions of several indie games, like Ashen and Journey, as well as some notable triple-A titles, such as Metro Exodus and The Division 2. Exodus, specifically, caused quite a bit of controversy, as its movement from Steam to Epic angered both Valve and fans of the Metro franchise.
Metro Exodus launched to several positive reviews, including ours--Michael Higham gave it an 8/10. If you prefer consoles, the game is also available on Xbox One and PS4

Barclays profits amid UK economic 'uncertainty' in UK

Barclays has reported a profit of £3.5bn for 2018, unchanged on the previous year.
The bank also announced a provision of £150m for "anticipated economic uncertainty" related to Brexit.
If the economy suffers after the UK's departure from the EU, the extra allowance will help Barclays cover costs such as rising bad debts.
The bank's chief executive, Jes Staley, said 2018 had been a "very significant" year, with several issues resolved.
Last year, it took charges of £2.2bn to cover legal issues and fines, including a large settlement with US regulators and, in the UK, compensation over PPI.
Barclays confirmed that it will pay a dividend of 6.5p this year.
  • Barclays on the radar of activist investor
  • Lloyds sets aside further £750m for PPI
  • RBS warns of Brexit harm as profits double
The company's management is under pressure from US-based financier Edward Bramson to raise its performance.
Mr Bramson owns a 5.5% stake and wants to take a seat on the board. In particular, he thinks Barclays should scale back its investment bank.
Last year, the investment bank reported a 15% increase in profits to £2.6bn.
In a statement accompanying the latest results, Mr Staley said his plans would be good for shareholders.
He said the bank planned to return a greater proportion of its earnings to shareholders, including buying back shares in the company, a move which traditionally supports the share price.

Brexit concerns

Barclays is not the only bank to warn about the possible negative impact of Brexit on the economy.
Last week, RBS chief Ross McEwan said the UK economy faced "a heightened level of uncertainty related to ongoing Brexit negotiations".
He told the BBC: "Larger corporations are pausing on their investments. And this cannot be good for the economy long-term, because those large corporations then employ smaller businesses and individuals."
At the end of last year HSBC also raised its provision for economic uncertainty in the UK by £165m to £410m.
Commenting on the provision made by Barclays, Laith Khalaf, from stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown said: "As with all the UK banks, Brexit casts a shadow over valuations, despite improving fundamentals.
"Indeed Brexit uncertainty has prompted Barclays to put aside £150 million in case of deteriorating economic conditions in the UK. That could prove to be insufficient or over-cautious, depending on proceedings in Westminster and Brussels. Therein lies the puzzle of the UK banking sector which explains lowly share prices; like Schrödinger's cat, no-one's quite sure what state it's in."