Ace final fantasy XIV‘s Patch 6.2 draws near, producer Naoki Yoshida (aka Yoshi-P) has been doing the rounds on Japanese game sites to talk about it. Fans on the FFXIV subreddit have been madly translating these pieces in the hunt for new Island Sanctuary information, and they’ve come up with the goods. Here’s what we know from the tidbits dropped so far.
In an interview with Famitsu, Yoshi-P stated that each player will have their own instanced island. These locations will be a social affair with players being able to invite friends over to visit, although mission content found on each island is designed to be casual content that can be completed alone. The degree to which guests can interact with the island is unknown.
Players will be able to queue for the Duty Finder while they are on the Sanctuary. One thing was made very clear: Island Sanctuary is not a replacement for housing, and housing items will not be usable on the island. It will also have its own currency and will be separate from the rest of the game. All that said, there have been hints that a degree of interaction will be created at the end of the Island Sanctuary content once it is fully explored.
Minions will be allowed to roam freely on the island. We don’t currently know exactly how many will be allowed to roam at once, but we do know that mounts will not be part of it. Yoshi-P has not ruled out changing this in the future, but for now, it’s just the minions. It will be possible to earn mounts by exploring the island, but that’s all he had to say on the topic.
Also confirmed: Island Sanctuary will have no story, just a string of quests that lead to unlocking the island. Certain things, like growing crops, will be on a weekly timer. It’s possible that they may use the challenge log, or something similar, for this. The weather will change on the island but there will be no snow. Rather it seems it will be a more tropical climate. Players will be able to craft without having a Disciple of the Land or a Disciple of the Hand, FFXIV‘s gathering and crafting classes, available.
There’s an upcoming live letter happening on Saturday, so it’s possible that we’ll learn more then.
the next #FFXIV NA Community live show Duty Commenced is set! 📅 Friday, Aug. 12 at 3:00 pm / 22:00 (GMT)
📝 Letter from the Producer Recap 🎙️ Special Community Guests 🎨 Community Commendations 🎁 Giveaways
North Melbourne champion Wayne Carey has broken his silence after a fresh stoush with Anthony Stevens reportedly renewed the pair’s feud.
The pair reportedly stunned teammates with a heated bust-up at the Kangaroo’s 1996 premiership reunion on Saturday.
However, two-time premiership star Carey was quick to cool the incident, denying claims the argument became physical, and they needed to be separated.
“There was a firm conversation,” he said on Triple M.
“Altercation is, I think, too firm to say that that occurred—firm conversation.
“I think everyone knows that Stevo and I aren’t best mates. That’s not a puzzle. Why this keeps coming up, I don’t know.”
Carey said the conversation was about him expressing concerns about Stevens and that while it got tense, they had “a couple of beers together” and “did not come to blows” before they left the Yarraville Railway Hotel in Melbourne.
“It sounds like we’ve had this massive blow-up and an altercation … which was factually incorrect,” he said.
“I wanted to have a conversation about Stevo. I was worried about him. I said, ‘I’m worried about you,’ and he obviously took a bit of umbrage to me, saying I was worried about him.
Wayne Carey and Craig Sholl chat during the 2022 AFL Round 21 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium on August 7, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. Credit: michael willson/AFL Pictures
“I said I want him to look after himself, just like people want me to look after myself.”
Stevens missed the club’s motorcade around Marvel Stadium ahead of the North Melbourne and Swans clash the next day.
The pair’s history dates back to 2002, when Carey and Steven’s wife were caught in the bathroom together at a party.
It resulted in then captain Carey sitting out the season and ultimately leaving the club for Adelaide.
A young woman with a shocking driving record has been sentenced over a bus crash in brisbanes south-west that left more than a dozen people injured.
Kirsty Batson pleaded guilty to driving without due care causing grievous bodily harm and one count of not meeting the conditions of her license.
The 24-year-old was behind the wheel of a Mazda sedan when she crossed double lines on Mundoolun Road in Mundoolun, Logan, slamming head-on into a minibus in August last year.
A young woman with a shocking driving record has been sentenced over a bus crash in Brisbane’s south-west that left dozens injured. (9News)
The court heard Batson was driving on little sleep. The night before the crash she was at a Surfers Paradise nightclub with friends, seen leaving on CCTV cameras at 1:30am.
She then started her shift with a local horse trainer at 4:30am and when she finished at 9am jumped straight in the car to drive to her mum’s at Cedar Vale, but she didn’t make it.
Twenty-two people were on board the minibus when it was hit, they were returning from a hot air balloon trip in the Scenic Rim.
Seventeen of the passengers were injured, including children, and driver William Green was trapped for over an hour before he was airlifted to hospital with critical injuries.
The court heard how he feared he would die.
Out the front of the Beaudesert Magistrates Court after the sentence he told 9News: “memories of the incident still come back to me, obviously it was quite horrendous.”
“Still seeing all the medical professionals, doctors, and they’re looking after me very very well.”
Twenty-two people were on board the minibus when it was hit, they were returning from a hot air balloon trip in the Scenic Rim. (9News)
Batson also had to be cut from her car and airlifted to hospital. She spent 39 days at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, 12 of those in a coma.
Magistrate Tracy Mossop told Batson she was the author of her own tragedy, handing her an 18-month suspended sentence and disqualifying her from driving for 15 months. She was ordered to pay her victim $4000 in compensation.
Batson told 9News she is suffering and continually getting help.
“I do apologize for those that are injured, I don’t know what happened but obviously based on the evidence I did fatigue and I do apologize for that and I live with that drama every day.”
In court, the 24-year-old’s shocking driving history was also laid bare. In 2016, she was caught speeding more than a dozen times, 11 of those in one five-day period.
“It’s going to take 60 days to get all of these animals out, and working with our shelter and rescue partners across the country, working with them to get these dogs into eventually into ever-loving home,” said Kitty Block, president and chief executive of the US Humane Society.
Shelters from South Elgin, Illinois to Pittsburgh have begun receiving the dogs, which will get medical exams, vaccinations and other treatments before becoming available for adoption.
In May, the US Department of Justice sued Envigo RMS LLC alleging Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility in Cumberland, Virginia. In June, parent company Inotiv Inc. said it would close the facility. In July, Envigo settled with the government, without paying any ends.
Inotiv did not respond to a request for comment.
Government inspectors found beagles there were being killed instead of receiving care for easily treated conditions; nursing mother beagles were denied food; the food they received contained maggots, mold and feces; and over an eight-week period, 25 beagle puppies died from cold exposure, the Humane Society said in a statement. Some were injured when attacked by other dogs in overcrowded conditions, it was added.
The beagle rescue effort began much earlier, according to Bill Stanley, a Republican state senator for Virginia. “I tried to shut them down in 2019, but was not successful. But over the years, we never stopped fighting.”
San Francisco: Google has launched a new campaign to put pressure on Apple to adopt RCS (rich communication services) and improve texting between Android and iOS users.
RCS is a next generation SMS protocol that upgrades text messaging across Android and iMessages.
“It’s time for Apple to fix texting. It’s not about the color of the bubbles. It’s the blurry videos, broken group chats, missing read receipts and typing indicators, no texting over Wi-Fi and more,” said the Google campaign.
“These problems exist because Apple refuses to adopt modern texting standards when people with iPhones and Android phones text each other,” it added.
The tech giant is asking Apple to fix these issues by supporting RCS.
“Messaging should bring people together — not pull them apart,” Google said.
“The Android team’s goal is to make texting a more secure, modern and enjoyable experience for everyone, regardless of the phone they’re using. Because it shouldn’t matter what phone they have � things should just work,” the company added.
According to Google, Apple turns texts between iPhones and Android phones into SMS and MMS which are out-of-date technologies.
“But Apple can adopt RCS — the modern industry standard — for these threads instead. Solving the problem without changing your iPhone to iPhone conversations and making messaging better for everyone,” said Google.
Apple was yet to react to the new Google RCS campaign.
Just when you think you’ve seen it all in the sporting landscape, another moment comes along.
On Wednesday that latest moment arrived thanks to American baseball star for the Pittsburgh Pirates Rodolfo Castro.
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The Pirates infielder was left-faced during the middle of his team’s contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks as he slid into third base during the fourth inning.
Castro raced toward third base as a throw from the outfield came in, as he hit the ground and slid towards the base – the impact of his move launched his phone out of his back pocket and into the dirt.
Third-base umpire Adam Hamari immediately spotted the mobile phone that was resting against the base.
Castro, 23, immediately picked it up and handed it to Pirates third-base coach Mike Rebelo who looked bemused by what was being given to him.
The phone starts to creep out. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesThere it is resting against the base. Norm Hall/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Professional sports tend to have strict codes surrounding electronic devices and mobile phones. Major League Baseball doesn’t allow players or coaches to have their mobile phones on them while they’re in the dugout.
An embarrassed Castro spoke about the incident to the media after the game which the Pirates lost 6-4.
“I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone,” Castro told media members through an interpreter. “It’s horrible it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional.”
Castro explained his sliding glove is generally placed in his back pocket and he believed this was all he had on him.
“My first day back, if I was to be the center of attention, I would want it to be helping the team win, but never in this way,” Castro said. “This is definitely something that was an accident, a mistake, something I’m going to learn from. But definitely something I didn’t mean to happen.”
The never before seen moment sent social media into a spin with Castro trending on Twitter as the footage circulated.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalist Mike Persak wrote: “I straight up can’t believe this happened what the hell.”
Bay Area radio producer Kyle Madson wrote: “Given this sport’s problems with cheating via electronics over the last decade or so this seems like the kind of thing that shouldn’t be allowed.”
Castro’s phone may be lighting up on Wednesday if the MLB opts to investigate and hand down a penalty.
China’s ambassador to Australia has warned Beijing is prepared to use “all necessary means” to prevent Taiwan from being independent, saying there can be “no compromise” on the “one China” policy.
Xiao Qian on Wednesday repeatedly blamed the US for the recent escalation in tensions. China’s decision to launch ballistic missiles in live-fire exercises in response to speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was “legitimate and justified”, he told the National Press Club in Canberra.
Xiao said after a “good start” with the newly elected Albanese government, “there is an opportunity for a possible reset of relationship” between China and Australia.
He said China was ready to solve trade disputes through the World Trade Organization or “if the new government in this country is ready, to discuss it bilaterally”.
The comments made an olive branch from Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, suggesting that a “compromise situation” or “alternative way” might emerge in trade talks between the two countries.
Since Labor’s election in May, the defense minister, Richard Marles, and the foreign minister, Penny Wong, have both met their Chinese counterparts, the beginning of a thaw in relations that soured over nine years of Coalition government.
But in recent days, Wong has expressed deep concern about China’s launch of ballistic missiles into waters around Taiwan’s coastline, prompting a rebuke from China that Australia had “condemned the victim along with the perpetrators”.
On Wednesday, Ambassador Xiao said it was “the US side that should and must take full responsibility for the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait”.
The drills reflected “a determination to show that on the question of Taiwan, there’s no room for compromise”.
“It’s not something, like, economic development or trade relations or issues in some other areas. On the question of Taiwan, it’s an issue relating to sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
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Xiao rejected the language of a possible “invasion” of Taiwan by noting China’s policy reflected in “UN resolutions [and] bilateral documents between China and Australia” was that Taiwan was not an “independent state” but rather a province of China.
“It’s an issue of reunification, complete reunification, and … of Taiwan coming back to the motherland.” Use of force was the last thing China wanted, as it was “waiting for a peaceful reunification”, he said.
“But we cannot, we can never rule out the option to use other means, so when necessary, when compelled, we are ready to use all necessary means.
“As to what does it mean, ‘all necessary means’? You can use your imagination, but… [the] Chinese people are absolutely determined to protect our sovereignty, territorial integrity, we will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China.”
Asked about China’s ambassador to France suggesting the Taiwanese people could be “re-educated”, Xiao said he was not aware of an “official policy” but his “personal understanding” was “there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China about the motherland”.
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Xiao described an incident in which China performed what Australia described as a “dangerous manoeuvre” against a maritime surveillance flight in international airspace in the South China Sea region as “very unfortunate”.
But he said the incident occurred in a “location that is within the territorial space of an island that belongs to China” – which Australia rejects – likening the incident to someone “carrying a gun and trying to peep into your windows to see what you’ re doing”.
Xiao said China wanted a “a friendly cooperative relationship between Australia and China… free from interference from a third party” – suggesting the US had turned Australia against China.
After “political difficulties” there would be “a process for us to reset and gradually improve our relationship”, he said.
Asked about trade disputes and the possible release of Australian citizen Cheng Lei, Xiao noted there had been “top-level communications” between Australia and China but the two countries had “not yet come to the stage to discuss how to solve those specific issues, either political issues or trade issues or some other individual cases”.
“We’re ready to compare notes with the new government and to get engaged in the process.”
Prof Rory Medcalf argued the comments amounted to an “admission” trade disputes and the detention of Australians were “leverage tactics”.
Fascinating implication of Chinese Ambassador’s line in @PressClubAust remarks just now – in right circumstances, Chinese govt will be willing to discuss differences including trade measures and ‘personal cases’ (ie. detained Australians). An admission these are leverage tactics
Xiao claimed the “couple of Australian citizens in China that are under custody according to Chinese rules and laws” have had “their basic rights well protected”.
However, I have granted Australian prisoners did not have consular access due to Covid and trials involving national security, like Cheng Lei’s, were secret.
Xiao claimed there was “no intention for China to set up the so-called military base in Solomon Islands”, despite the two countries signing an agreement that would allow it. He noted the Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, had similarly ruled it out.
Earlier, Marles told reporters in Canberra that while the Australian government had changed, “our national interest hasn’t”.
Federal investigators searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday bearing a warrant that broadly sought presidential and classified records that the justice department believed the former president unlawfully retained, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The criminal nature of the search warrant executed by FBI agents, as described by the sources, suggested the investigation surrounding Trump is firmly a criminal inquiry that comes with potentially far-reaching political and legal ramifications for the former president.
And the extraordinary search, the sources said, came after the justice department grew concerned – as a result of discussions with Trump’s lawyers in recent weeks – that presidential and classified materials were being unlawfully and improperly kept at the Mar-a-Lago resort.
Meanwhile, Republican and rightwing groups have swiftly used the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago to raise money from their supporters by bombarding them with fundraising emails and appeals for donations.
couldthe Mar-a-Lago raid benefit Trump politically? Trump is widely believed to be pursuing a presidential run in 2024. Some suggested that it would fuel his supporters’ suspicion of federal law enforcement officials, whom Trump and his allies have long fired as corrupt and biased.
Why didn’t the FBI just use a subpoena? The fact that the FBI sought a search warrant rather than a subpoena implies it did not trust Trump to hand over or preserve official documents in his possession.
What else has the FBI done? Federal investigators seized the cellphone of the Republican congressman Scott Perry on Tuesday, his office said. Perry is a close ally of Trump.
Biden administration ends Trump-era ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy
A US border patrol looks on as people wait to have their identities checked and taken to a processing center in Yuma, Arizona, in June. Photograph: Etienne Laurent/EPA
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that it had ended a Trump-era policy requiring asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in US immigration court, hours after a judge lifted an order, in effect since December, that the so-called Remain in Mexico rule will be reinstated.
The timing had been in doubt since the US supreme court ruled on June 30 that the Biden administration could end the policy.
Homeland security officials had been largely silent, saying they had to wait for the court to certify the ruling and for a Trump-appointed judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, in Amarillo, Texas, to then lift his injunction.
The supreme court certified its ruling last week and critics of the policy had been increasingly outspoken about the Biden administration’s reticence on Remain in Mexico, calling for an immediate end to it.
What will happen now? The program now will be unwound in a “quick, and orderly manner”, DHS said in a statement. No more people are being enrolled and those who appear in court will not be returned to Mexico when they appear in the US for their next hearings.
Why did the Biden administration decide to end the policy? The policy “has endemic flaws, imposes unjustifiable human costs, and pulls resources and personnel away from other priority efforts to secure our border”, the department said.
‘This is about striking fear’: China’s Taiwan drills the new normal, analysts say
Chinese People’s Liberation Army warplanes conduct what it describes as a combat training exercise around Taiwan on Sunday. Photograph: Wang Xinchao/AP
China’s military drills targeting Taiwan have set a new normal, and are likely to “regularise” similar armed exercises off the coast or even more aggressive action much closer to the island, analysts have said.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been conducting live-fire exercises and other drills in the seas around Taiwan’s main island for almost a week, in a purported response to the controversial visit to Taipei by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Beijing claims Taiwan as a province. It has not ruled out taking it by force and objects to any and all foreign shows of support for its sovereignty. Taiwan has accused Beijing of using Pelosi’s visit as an excuse to prepare for an invasion.
While some drills are continuing, the big show put on last week has ended, and observers are now trying to assess how the dynamics of the region have changed, and what the future holds for cross-strait relations.
What does Taiwan think? Taiwan’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said yesterday there was concern the PLA would “routinize” crossing the median line. He urged the international community to push back, saying Beijing clearly aimed to control the strait.
In other news…
In an article for Vogue, Serena Williams explained her intention to further expand her family was one of the main reasons she was retiring. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time and a 23-time grand slam singles champion, has announced that she is retiring from professional tennis, indicating she could step away after the upcoming US Open. Here’s how Serena Williams became a rare legend.
Elon Musk has sold $6.9bn (£5.7bn) worth of shares in Tesla after admitting that he could need the funds if he is forced to buy the social media platform. The Tesla chief executive walked away from a $44bn deal to buy Twitter in July but the company has launched a lawsuit demanding that he complete the deal.
China is racing to stamp out Covid-19 outbreaks in the tourist hubs of Tibet and Hainan, with the authorities launching more rounds of mass testing and closing venues to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant as Beijing presses ahead with its Covid zero strategy.
A former Twitter employee has been found guilty of spying on Saudi dissidents using the social media platform and passing their personal information to a close aid of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A jury found Ahmad Abouammo had acted as an unregistered agent of the Saudi government.
Don’t miss this: A rebel fighter who risked his life for love was murdered, and part of me died too
Naxalite fighters in the forests of Chhattisgarh in 2007: Korsa Joga had been a member of the revolutionary group for many years. Photograph: Mustafa Quraishi/AP
“As a journalist in a conflict zone I was used to cover deaths. But then a young insurgent who had laid down his weapons and became a friend was killed,” writes Ashutosh Bhardwaj. “I was sent photographs on WhatsApp, of his body lying on a road in a puddle of blood. In that moment a man deep inside me, who loves, who years for love, a part of that man was also murdered. A journalist often lives in bewildering haste, in a frenzied endeavor to locate news in every element around… Imperceptibly, but profoundly, reporting begins to mutate your being. You find yourself ineligible for writing on topics that don’t involve blood or sorrow.”
Climate check: Can citizen scientists turn the tide against America’s toxic algal blooms?
An aerial view of red tide off Florida’s south-west coast. Photograph: Mote Marine Laboratory’s Manatee Research Program
As climate change heats the oceans, predictions of a dangerous phenomenon known as “red tides” are on the rise. Red tides occur a type of rust-colored alga known as Karenia brevis grows, which produces toxic compounds that are harmful to humans as well as dolphins, manatees and other sea life. In an effort to address the threat, the Red Tide Respiratory Forecast was launched. It’s an online map that shows the presence and severity of red tide at select locations, which community of citizen science volunteers contribute to.
Last Thing: The transatlantic battle over a 7ft Frankenstein figure
Schoolchildren get up close with Frankenstein’s monster. Photograph: Getty
Measuring almost 7ft tall, a Frankenstein’s monster mannequin and costume is one of the largest – and strangest – costumes owned by the V&A museum in London. The only problem? The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHM) thinks it owns it too. The NHM said it was given the monster, and the costume, by Universal Studios in 1935. It in turn slowed it down to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, where it was reported as being destroyed in 1967. So the NHM was a bit surprised when it showed up in London.
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Hyundai always says its N cars are made (and warrantied) for the track, and the updated N Track Maps software launching this week suggests it practices what it preaches.
In some ways it brings a Gran Turismo racing sim to life.
Track Maps uses the satellite navigation system to work out when you’re approaching a given track in your i20 N, i30 Sedan N, or Kona N, and subsequently displays the circuit layout.
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Functions include an automated lap timer triggered each time you cross the start line, in place of a lap timer button. This “frees up brain capacity for hitting each apex”, reckons Hyundai.
Moreover, the position of the vehicle on the track is also shown in the display, along with live lap timing and a log of previous lap times. Lap timing is also displayed in the driver’s digital cluster.
There’s also data-logging including an onboard acceleration timer; g force meter; and power, torque and turbocharger boost gauges.
Track Maps debuted in the Kona N and is now available in the i20 N and i30 Sedan N. Unfortunately the i30 Hatch N uses different infotainment hardware and misses out.
The feature initially covered Sydney Motorsport Park, but now includes many of Australia’s pre-eminent tracks.
The latest Track Maps software is available at update.hyundai.com, so there’s no need to visit a dealer. This and subsequent software updates can be downloaded onto a USB and uploaded by the user into a compatible Hyundai N model’s navigation/multimedia system.
The process only takes a few minutes and the updates come without cost, Hyundai added.
“Every Hyundai N model has an innate sense of fun and driver involvement engineered into it,” claims Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO Ted Lee.
“Now, that’s complemented by the Track Maps software that can recognize and automatically record lap times around a host of Australian racing circuits, to prompt the driver when the opportunity for driving fun arises,” he said.
Hyundai i20N Credit: CarExpertHyundai i30 Sedan N Credit: CarExpertHyundai Kona N Credit: CarExpert
Tennis legend Serena Williams mentioned the Duchess in a new video in which she broke down her most famous 22 looks. One of the outfits the 23-time Grand Slams champion commented on was the pink ensemble she donned on May 19 2018 to attend the wedding of Meghan and Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Speaking about her style for the day in a video for Vogue, the tennis star called the Duchess her “friend.”
She said: “I love this image, this is at the Royal Wedding, when my friend Meghan married Harry.
“Again another Versace look, and my jewels were from Bulgari, which were just stunning, and I have a fascinator on.
“But what’s so iconic about this is that I was like ‘Royal Wedding? I am definitely wearing braids’.
“So all night, it was two or three girls braiding my hair and I was so tired, I was like I am going to sleep.
“So I lied down and they just kept braiding until the morning, and they finally finished.
“It was a very long process but it was so worth it.”
Sharing this clip on Twitter, Writer Chris Spargo wrote: “Serena Williams confirms she is in fact friends with Meghan Markle.”
READ MORE: Meghan Markle’s close friend shares update on Archie and Lilibet
In a second tweet, he added: “Multiple sources told me back in 2017 that Meghan Markle asked her famous friends to downplay their friendship in interviews, which would explain Serena Williams’ response to Vanity Fair.
“Williams would later host Markle’s baby shower, so there is no denying the two were close.”
Mr Spargo’s tweets appear to be referring to claims appeared in Tom Bower’s latest book, titled Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, regarding the real bond between Williams and the Duchess.
Mr Bower reported in his blistering biography of Meghan how Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner interviewed the Duchess for the magazine’s September issue in 2017.
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After speaking with the writer in her house in Toronto, Meghan, Mr Bower claimed, gave him a list of her friends to contact for his piece, which included the tennis star.
However, Mr Bower claimed, upon being contacted by Mr Kashner Williams denied she was a friend of the Duchess.
Mr Bower wrote in his book: “Over the next few days he called those who Meghan had recommended as her friends.
“Serena Williams denied she was Meghan’s friend but just an acquaintance.
“She gave him an enigmatic quote: ‘You’ve got to be who you are, Meghan. You can’t hide’.”
However, Williams had publicly called Meghan a “friend” prior to 2017.
In a tweet dating back to August 23 2014, the tennis star shared a link to The Tig – Meghan’s now-defunct lifestyle blog – adding: “Check out my article with my friend @meghanmarkle.”
Retweeting this message, Twitter user @kaindeb replied to Mr Spargo’s tweet adding: “Serena Williams was tweeting about her friend Meghan in 2014 before she met Harry.”
On August 8 2015, the tennis star also tweeted a video, now unavailable, adding: “@meghanmarkle so proud of you.”
Williams, who is believed to have co-hosted Meghan’s baby shower in New York in February 2019, also tweeted about the Duchess in a positive light after the Royal Wedding.
Upon the release supported by Meghan of the cookbook Together, which raised more than £500,000 for the Hubb Community Kitchen, Williams tweeted: “I used to call you Meghan (and I still do) but dear Duchess of Sussex your first project ‘Together’ a cookbook bringing women of all cultures together.
“I could not be more excited about it and proud of you.
“It’s beautiful – diversity, inclusivity, coming together in grief or joy.”
