Month: August 2022

Categories
Australia

Crime scene declared as north Queensland house fire leaves couple hospitalized with burns

A police officer and fire fighter stand outside a burnt-out home surrounded by police tape

Two people are fighting for their lives and a crime scene has been declared after a house fire in Queensland’s north.

A 47-year-old woman and 65-year-old man suffered severe burns in the blaze, which gutted the home in the rural town of Ayr early this morning.

They were flown to a Townsville hospital in a critical condition and are receiving treatment.

Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson said police officers and paramedics had attended the property only hours before the fire to respond to mental health concerns.

“Police received a call in relation to some comments that were made at the residence, so they went and attended and spoke to both residents that were there at the time,” he said.

A burnt-out house surrounded by police tape with an officer sitting under a tent
Police attended the Ayr home only hours before the fire began.(ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)

Neighbors raised the alarm about three hours later just after 5:30am when they spotted flames coming from the house.

“Queensland Police Service and Queensland Ambulance Service responded to two people who were very severely burned, so there’s obviously graphic scenes around that,” Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said.

A man in his 20s who tried to help was taken to hospital in a stable condition suffering from smoke inhalation.

Couple known to police

Acting Chief Superintendent Lawson said a crime scene had been established and investigations were underway.

“We haven’t established the actual cause of the fire at this point, so until we can actually sign up exactly what’s occurred, then we’re not going to speculate as to how the fire started,” he said.

“We’re in constant contact with Queensland Health in relation to the condition of both parties, so as soon as we’re able to, we’ll speak to both parties.”

A house blackened and gutted by fire
The Ayr home was gutted in the blaze. (ABC North Qld: Baz Ruddick)

Police said the man and woman were in a relationship.

“It’s not the first time the police have had dealings with this couple,” he said.

Queensland Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner Matthew Green said it was a confronting incident for first responders.

“[It’s] a fairly tragic situation as far as I’m concerned and at the moment we’re just looking after the welfare of our staff that have had to attend that event,” he said.

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Categories
US

Trump didn’t want ‘wounded’ soldiers in military parade spectacle: ‘Doesn’t look good for me’

Trump didn't want 'wounded' soldiers in military parade spectacle: 'Doesn't look good for me'

Former president Donald Trump once ordered US military officials to exclude combat-wounded soldiers from the Soviet-style military parade he wanted held during his term in the White House, according to a new book by two veteran Washington reporters.

In an excerpt from their forthcoming chronicle of Mr Trump’s presidency, The Divider, Journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser reveal that Mr Trump got the idea for a military parade when he witnessed Bastille Day festivities during a 2017 visit to France.

The authors reported that Pentagon officials were not enthused with the idea, which one general said was more akin to the dictatorship he fled as a child than the government he had spent a lifetime serving as an adult.

But Mr Trump pressed on with the idea to replicate France’s annual parade, save for one feature he disliked.

According to Mr Baker and Ms Glasser, Mr Trump told US defense officials: “Look, I don’t want any wounded guys in the parade — this doesn’t look good for me”.

(AFP via Getty Images)

His then-chief of staff, retired Marine General John Kelly, tried telling him that wounded veterans were “the heroes.”

“In our society, there’s only one group of people who are more heroic than they are — and they are buried over in Arlington,” said Mr Kelly, whose own son was among those buried across the river at the country’s most hallowed military cemetery.

But Mr Trump was not moved.

“I don’t want them. It doesn’t look good for me,” he said.

Categories
Business

AusSuper thinks about stake in retirement living group GemLife

AusSuper thinks about stake in retirement living group GemLife

Aware Super was another big superannuation player understood to have had an early look, while Macquarie Asset Management and Brookfield were among a long list of parties said to have been targeted.

GemLife was pitched with a portfolio of more than 11,000 land lease homes across 43 locations across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, which makes it about twice as big as the $1.86 billion ASX-listed Lifestyle Communities Ltd.

Sources said the Puljich family, from Queensland, were looking at offering a “material stake” to large Australian listed real estate groups and others circling over-50s estate owners, to realize some of their investment and help with succession planning.

The process wasn’t everyone’s liking. The big property managers like special treatment, and some noses were put out of joint by the structure.

The Puljichs’ play started in 1982 with Peter Puljich and one site owned by his family company, Living Gems. It increased its footprint steadily in Queensland, before the family set up GemLife in 2016 alongside Thakral Capital, a financial investor and subsidiary of Singapore’s Thakral Corporation.

Living Gems and GemLife agreed to a deal to merge over summer, and continue under the GemLife name. The combined group has sites along Australia’s east coast, including on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and at Lennox Head, and is run by two of Peter Puljich’s sons: Adrian Puljich (CEO) and Vlad Puljich (COO).

Categories
Technology

ASX Tech Stocks: International holographic teleportation, and Megaport says cloud adoption is critical

ASX Tech Stocks: International holographic teleportation, and Megaport says cloud adoption is critical

  • The Western Institute for Space Exploration has conducted the first international holoport
  • Megaport chairman says cloud adoption critical to grow and scale businesses
  • Accounting software player Reckon plans to invest in and launch new cloud products

Like something straight out of Space Trek, researchers at the University of Western Ontario recently completed the world’s first-ever international holographic teleportation.

A combination of hologram and teleport, the technology is called holoport and allows you to instantly beam the hologram of a person to a far-off location.

Microsoft has been working on its HoloLens for a while now to bring in mixed reality for business and gaming applications and Aexa Aerospace provides the software that enables a special camera to create holographic images of the subject and their environment, which can be seen using the HoloLens .

last year, NASA holoported flight surgeon Dr Josef Schmid using Aexa Aerospace technology and now researchers at the Western Institute for Space Exploration have successfully conducted the first international holographic teleportation from Alabama to London, Ontario.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if you’re on a three-month deployment to the Space Station, and you could come down and sit in the room (at home) for a family dinner,” Western Space faculty member Dr Adam Sirek said .

The team is now working on the medical applications of the technology to facilitate medical examinations in remote areas and believes this could be a game-changer for rural healthcare.

Who’s got tech news out today?

MEGAPORT (ASX:MP1)

The Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) player says its monthly recurring revenue is up 43% of the year – at $10.7m at 30 June 2022 compared to $7.5m at 30 June 2021.

Ace Stockhead’s eddy sunarto explained recently, some experts say MRR is the most important measure of a company’s success as it reflects money already in the bag.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) is also a vital metric to keep an eye on and Megaport has plenty of that too, with ARR also up 43% at $128.3m as of 30 June 2022.

Chairman and executive director Bevan Slattery says it all comes down to cloud adoption as a critical means of growing and scaling businesses.

“With the continued migration of enterprise workloads from siloed, on-premise infrastructure to hybrid and multicloud architectures, cloud is now an undeniable force in almost everything we do,” he said.

“The question of whether a business will adopt cloud is no longer up for debate; it’s now a question of how many clouds they will adopt.

“This massive growth in cloud adoption is fueling an ever-increasing dependence on critical communications infrastructure as data traverses between end users and public and private cloud locations.

“Megaport was built to solve this problem and founded at the junction where network infrastructure and operations meets next generation software and automation.

“Our industry leading Network as a Service platform was built for scalability – with global multi-terabit capacity that reaches 25 countries.”

RECKON (ASX:RKN)

Accounting software company Reckon has reported bottom line normalized Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of $6m, up 5% on the previous corresponding period (pcp).

Annual recurring revenues (ARR) of $36m, marked a 5% increase on the pcp and the fully franked interim dividend was 3c per share.

“Operational highlights for the first half 2022 were led by the $100m all-cash sale of the Accountants Group division, along with consistently strong results from the group’s continuous operations,” CEO Sam Allert said.

“With an established market footprint for our Small Business payroll solutions and Practice Management platform for legal services, Reckon has built a platform for sustainable growth underpinned by a strong balance street and subscription-based revenue model.”

The plan is to invest in and launch new cloud products and other cross-selling opportunities.

DXN (ASX:DXN)

The infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) player has launched its $2.125 million placement to fund its working capital position until it wraps up the Flow2Edge Australia transition.

The company is selling all its business assets and subsidiaries to Flow2Edge Australia – a digital infrastructure provider – for A$26m.

The transaction is subject to approval by both the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and shareholders.

MP1, RKN and DXN share prices today:


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Categories
Entertainment

Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk: ‘Without CPR I’d have been dead in minutes’ | Better Call Saul

The actor Bob Odenkirk has spoken about his collapse on the set of Better Call Saul, saying that if his colleagues had not performed CPR on him he would have been “dead in a few minutes”.

Odenkirk, 59, was shooting the final season of the Breaking Bad prequel in New Mexico when he collapsed due to a heart attack last year. Crew members called an ambulance, which took him to hospital for emergency surgery to clean out the artery that the actor called “the widowmaker.”

“I went down on one knee, and then I went all the way down. I guess I said, ‘I don’t feel very good,’” Odenkirk said in an interview with the Radio Times.

He said castmates Rhea Seehorn, who plays Kim Wexler, and Patrick Fabian, who portrays Howard Hamlin, grabbed his head and hand and “started yelling at [him] to stay on Earth”. I added: “I wasn’t breathing. I mean, if nobody had been there, if they didn’t do that CPR, I’d have been dead in a few minutes.”

The cast and crew had been shooting all day and were changing shots when Odenkirk headed to the exercise bike he used between scenes. He started to watch a Chicago Cubs baseball game on TV and then collapsed.

The show’s health officer had a defibrillator in the boot of her car and, while she ran to retrieve it, a trained crew administered CPR before three defibrillator shocks were given. Odenkirk said he had no memory of the immediate aftermath of his collapse of her.

Better Call Saul comes to a close next week after six seasons on Netflix. Odenkirk plays the titular character Saul Goodman, a dodgy Albuquerque lawyer who becomes increasingly corrupt.

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“I’ve been doing it for so long and it’s such a part of my life that I don’t think I’ve fully accepted that it’s over,” he said. “It’s been 12 years of my life. But when I finish watching this season with everyone else, that’s when it’ll hit me: that’s done.”

This season, Breaking Bad’s two main characters, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) made cameos after years of anticipation. In Breaking Bad, Odenkirk’s character became entangled with the high school chemistry teacher turned methamphetamine kingpin White and his hapless sidekick Pinkman.

Odenkirk said it was “the greatest joy ever” to reunite with his former castmates. “The first episode I did on Breaking Bad was a big scene with those guys in the desert, at 2am, in a sandstorm. So to revisit the relationship now … I can’t say more than that. Because it’s a mindblower, man!”

The actor, who has been nominated for five Emmys for his role in Better Call Saul, is now working on Straight Man, a comedy drama based on a novel in which he plays a small-town east coast university academic having a midlife crisis.

Categories
Sports

Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video, PGA Tour

Golf news: Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman join LIV Golf Series, report, Cameron Percy, video, PGA Tour

Cameron Percy has lifted the lid on Cameron Smith’s intentions, revealing the Open champion is “gone” and will join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series.

Smith, 28, was irate when he was asked about his future in the moments following his extraordinary one-shot victory at St Andrew’s last month.

“I just won the British Open and you’re asking about that? I think that’s pretty- not that good,” Smith said.

Pressed on the matter, the Australian was coy.

“I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff, I’m here to win golf tournaments,” he said.

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But Percy, a top-10 finisher at the Wyndham Championship, said his Australian compatriots Smith and Marc Leishman were “gone” and had signed with the financially lucrative LIV Golf Series.

“Unfortunately, yeah, they’re gone,” Percy told RSN radio.

The extraordinary revelation comes ahead of this week’s FedEx Cup playoff opener, which is expected to see Smith take to the tee amid a court’s hearing into whether three LIV golfers should be permitted to play after defecting to the rebel league.

Percy said the PGA Tour had known for years that a rebel tour was being formed.

“I had a long conversation with (2013 Masters champion) Adam Scott and he was very interesting talking to about it, just where it is,” he said.

“He said he met with these guys (LIV) in 2017 (and) they were ready (to) do all this. So, the tour has known for a long time that this stuff’s in the works.”

Scott has previously been on the record speaking about LIV Golf, saying in April “the schedule that they’re proposing is very appealing to probably most golfers” and he would “consider” making a move too.

Percy, meanwhile, delivered a not-so-subtle dig at those taking the money and defecting, raising the ethical questions around where the money is coming from.

“The more and more you look into it, some people don’t care, some people have got a conscience and do care,’ he said.

“It really comes down to, you know, ‘they just executed 80 people this week, just chopped their heads off’. They’re not the nicest people in the world.

“Do you just look past that and go, ‘Oh well, I’m rich I don’t really care’. It’s a tough one, it really is.”

Smith, the world No.2, was reportedly offered more than $100 million to join the LIV Golf Series.

Should he indeed accept the offer, he will be the highest ranked player to defect.

Former major winner Ian Baker-Finch last month to ignore the offers and create a legacy in the game by staying in the PGA Tour – something currently he would struggle to achieve in LIV Golf, where tournaments are 54 holes and don’t contain the player strength nor history.

“I know that they are talking to him and many others,” Baker-Finch, who won the Claret Jug in 1991, told SEN radio.

“I hope he doesn’t because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.

“I don’t think I need the money. I don’t think it is going to be something that he should do.

“He will be a $100m guy or more now. Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money? I am hoping he stays and leaves a great legacy like a Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy … which he could do. I think Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors, and want to leave a legacy, they’re the guys I would be following.”

Originally published as ‘They’re gone’: Bombshell revelation as Aussie golfer says Smith, Leishman have joined LIV

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Categories
Australia

Tony Fitzgerald hands down review into Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission

Alan Wilson, Shannon Fentiman, Tony Fitzgerald and Annastacia Palaszczuk with report into Crime and Corruption Commission

Queensland’s corruption watchdog needs to consult with the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) before laying charges to avoid “unwarranted impact” of its investigations and rebuild public confidence, a new report has recommended.

It is one of a string of recommendations from a Commission of Inquiry relating to the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC).

The inquiry’s report, handed to the Queensland government today, also recommends the CCC reduce its reliance on police officers as staff.

It identifies “two key risks” associated with the employment of seconded police in the CCC.

The inquiry was co-chaired by retired Supreme Court justice Alan Wilson QC and Tony Fitzgerald, who is best known for heading the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which uncovered systemic corruption in Queensland 35 years ago.

It was announced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in January.

The inquiry was commissioned as a result of a recommendation from a Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee report into the CCC’s investigation and decision to charge eight Logan City councilors with fraud in 2019.

The charges were dropped in court due to a lack of evidence and today’s report found those events adversely affected Queenslanders’ perceptions of the CCC.

Headshot of smiling Tony Fitzgerald
Mr Fitzgerald’s extensive and distinguished legal career dates back to the 1970s.

The original Fitzgerald Inquiry’s recommendations led to the creation of the Criminal Justice Commission, the precursor of the CCC.

The new inquiry made 32 recommendations about the CCC’s structure and operation “that must be implemented collectively” to bolster public confidence.

Upon receiving the report, Ms Palaszczuk said the recommendations were “very sensitive”.

“On the face of them, there is nothing here that I cannot see our government implementing,” she said.

What has been recommended?

The inquiry heard 87 submissions from stakeholders and members of the public including from the former chair of the CCC Alan MacSporran.

Its recommendations focus on refining the CCC’s process of laying charges and reducing its reliance on police staff.

They highlight risks of “institutional capture” by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) – in which the interests of the QPS are prioritized over the interests of the public – and a risk that corruption investigations might place an “undue emphasis on law enforcement”.

The report makes clear the use of seconded police officers by the CCC is appropriate and should continue, but recommends the watchdog predominantly employs people outside of the police and armed services.

It also recommends creating a Corruption Strategy and Prevention Unit within the CCC, as well as a dedicated training and development officer.

Queensland Police Service officer in South Bank
The inquiry urges the CCC to employ more investigators from outside the police service.(ABC News: Patrick Williams)

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman has focused on another recommendation — amending the Crime and Corruption Act to make the CCC consult with the DPP before laying charges to ensure the charges can be properly brought to court.

“I think that is a really key recommendation, particularly as this commission of inquiry arose from the PCCC’s inquiry into what happened in Logan City Council,” Ms Fentiman said.

She said the specialist team would be created within the DPP.

“That will review all of the evidence collated by the CCC and make a recommendation to the CCC.

“It then goes back to the CCC once the matter then comes to be prosecuted a different team of prosecutors will looks at it.

“We’ll take advice from the DPP about the kind of resources they need in order to do this work.”

Queensland Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman speaks at a press conference
Shannon Fentiman says DPP consultation is a key recommendation of the report. (AAP: Jono Searle)

What about the Logan councillors?

The inquiry’s report said it would not revisit or re-litigate the investigation of the Logan council.

Ms Palaszczuk did not comment on whether Logan City Council would be issued an apology.

“No-one would like to see what happened to those particular councilors happen again,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“That report is very clear about a path forward … so we would probably not see the likes of that happening again – that would be my expectation.”

The report also raises additional issues outside its scope, including the potential of delaying the suspension or sacking of councilors until they have pleaded guilty or are committed to trial.

Ms Fentiman said the government would also consider those issues.

The report will be considered by cabinet on Monday.

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Categories
US

Taiwanese foreign minister says China drills part of a game-plan for invasion

Taiwanese foreign minister says China drills part of a game-plan for invasion

TAIPEI, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s foreign minister said on Tuesday that China was using the military drills it launched in protest against US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit as a game-plan to prepare for an invasion of the self-ruled island.

Joseph Wu, speaking at a press conference in Taipei, offered no time-table for a possible invasion of Taiwan, which is claimed by China as its own.

He said Taiwan would not be intimidated even as the drills continued with China often breaching the unofficial median line down the Taiwan Strait.

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“China has used the drills in its military play-book to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” Wu said.

“It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation, and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.

“After the drills conclude, China may try to routinize its action in an attempt to wreck the long-term status quo across the Taiwan Strait,” Wu said.

Such moves threatened regional security and provided “a clear image of China’s geostrategic ambitions beyond Taiwan”, Wu said, urging greater international support to stop China effectively controlling the strait.

A Pentagon official said on Monday that Washington was sticking to its assessment that China would not try to invade Taiwan for the next two years. read more

Wu spoke as military tensions simmer after the scheduled end on Sunday of four days of the largest-ever Chinese exercises surrounding the island – drills that included ballistic missile launches and simulated sea and air attacks in the skies and seas surrounding Taiwan.

China’s Eastern Theater Command announced on Monday that it would conduct fresh joint drills focusing on anti-submarine and sea assault operations – confirming the fears of some security analysts and diplomats that Beijing would keep up the pressure on Taiwan’s defences.

A person familiar with security planning in the areas around Taiwan described to Reuters on Tuesday a continuing “standoff” around the median line involving about 10 warships each from China and Taiwan.

“China continued to try to press in to the median line,” the person said. “Taiwan forces there have been trying to keep the international waterways open.”

As Pelosi left the region last Friday, China also ditched some lines of communication with the United States, including theater level military talks and discussions on climate change.

Taiwan started its own long-scheduled drills on Tuesday, firing howitzer artillery out to sea in the southern county of Pingtung.

US President Joe Biden, in his first public comments on the issue since Pelosi’s visit, said on Monday he was concerned about China’s actions in the region but he was not worried about Taiwan. read more

“I’m concerned they are moving as much as they are,” Biden told reporters in Delaware, referring to China. “But I don’t think they’re going to do anything more than they are.”

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl also said the US military would continue to carry out voyages through the Taiwan Strait in the coming weeks.

China has never ruled out taking Taiwan by force and on Monday Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that China was conducting normal military exercises “in our waters” in an open, transparent and professional way, adding Taiwan was part of China.

Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the Taiwanese people can decide the island’s future.

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Reporting by Sarah Wu and Yimou Lee in Taipei; Writing by Greg Torode, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Categories
Business

2023 Ford Ranger Raptor prototype test drive

2023 Ford Ranger Raptor prototype test drive

Joshua Dowling

Weeks ahead of the first showroom arrivals of the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor, we can finally share prototype test drives from earlier this year that have remained under wraps – until now.

  • Powerful twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 petrol
  • Permanent all-wheel drive
  • Epic off-road ability
  • High fuel consumption, lack of long-range tank
  • high price
  • Poor wet-weather grip of BFGoodrich K02 tires

the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor is one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year and now it’s finally here. Well, almost.

As the first dozen examples of the new Ford Ranger Raptor arrive in Australia ahead of media reviews in a few weeks, we can now bring you our first impressions based on prototype test drives that happened in April 2022.

We haven’t been able to share our insights from behind the wheel until now, because Ford had a media blackout until closer to showroom arrivals – which have slid from August to September 2022 amid shipping bottlenecks.

The frustration on social media – with buyers waiting for first-drive reviews – is matched by our eagerness to share our experience.

Ford’s new Ranger Raptor moves up in terms of performance and price, now from $85,490 plus on-road costs, which has so far generally translated to drive-away prices between $91,000 and $92,000 depending on variations in stamp duty and dealer delivery fees.

(The Raptor completes a comprehensive Ranger line-up. Click here for full 2023 Ford Ranger price and specs.)

The media preview drive of prototype examples of the new Ranger Raptor was hosted by Ford at Loveday 4×4 Adventure Park, which is a two-hour drive east of Adelaide and two hours west of Mildura. It’s a privately owned 8000-acre property with kilometer after kilometer of demanding off-road obstacles. And jumps.

But before we get to the fun part, a quick recap for those playing catch-up.

The original Ford Ranger Raptor arrived in 2018 with Fox shocks, a coil-spring rear end, BFGoodrich K02 tires, pumped bodywork, sports seats – and a twin-turbo 2.0-liter diesel four-cylinder engine.

For all its macho looks, the original Ford Ranger Raptor was slower than a Ford Ranger Wildtrak because it was roughly 200kg heavier, thanks to the trick suspension and other heavy-duty upgrades.

2023 Ford Ranger Raptor
seats Five
Length 5360mm
Width 2208mm
Height 1926mm
wheel base 3270mm
track 1710mm
ground clearance 272mm
wading depth 850mm
Approach/departure/rampover 32 / 27 / 24 degrees

Fast-forward to the new model, and Ford has well and truly got the message.

We now have a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 petrol engine backed by a 10-speed car and permanent all-wheel drive (rather than the predecessor’s selectable heavy-duty four-wheel drive and only rear-drive capability on sealed roads).

Interested in this car? Provide your details and we’ll connect you to a member of the Drive team.

The power upgrade is significant. The output of 292kW and 583Nm is almost double the power – and 16 per cent more torque – than the original Ford Ranger Raptor.

While it’s a lot of performance for a ute, physics still comes into play. For all the extra grunt, there remains the matter of moving 2.4 tonnes of truck.

We weren’t able to run VBox 0–100km/h times on the test vehicles, but Ford engineers claim the new Raptor is somewhere in the 5.5 to 6.0-second mark.

The original Ford Ranger Raptor with the twin-turbo 2.0-liter diesel four-cylinder took about 10 to 11 seconds to reach the speed limit based on our previous testing.

A sub-6.0-second time for the new Ford Ranger Raptor would make it not much slower than a Holden Commodore SS ute, HSV Maloo, or a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo.

Or, in today’s terms, a touch quicker from 0–100km/h than a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

A side note: while the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 (borrowed from the Ford Explorer ST in the US) can run on regular 91-octane petrol, Ford recommends 95- or 98-octane premium unleaded – and notes the outputs claimed in the brochure is based on top-grade fuel.

In addition to its acceleration and epic off-road ability, the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor can leap into the air like a Stadium Truck or Baja desert racer, land in one piece, and keep going.

I swore so much during my test drive on the high-speed closed-course loop, we had to bleep most of the video footage.

In grown-up terms, one was quite astounded by the acceleration, the noise, the grip, and the phenomenal ability of the suspension to soak up even ground with ease.

At this point in the exercise, Ford asked us to make it clear the prototype test drive was conducted inside a controlled testing environment, there were medics on stand by, as well as people in hi-vis vests.

Afterwards, Ford also had media guests drive slowly over a series of carefully selected obstacles. In news that surprised no-one, the Ford Ranger Raptor crawled over the hand-picked course without raising a sweat.

We will reserve judgment on this element of the Ford Ranger Raptor’s capability until we test it in our own environment on our own terms.

2023 Ford Ranger Raptor
ANCAP rating untested

The glacial pace of the off-road test gave us time to reflect a little more on the whole package.

There’s a lot of hype around the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor but, of course, no vehicle is perfect. Our list of dislikes might seem picky, but if we don’t point them out, fans (haters?) on Facebook will, so here goes.

There are no gas struts for the bonnet, even though the previous model had them.

There is no space in the engine bay for an extra battery (because the air box for the high-performance V6 fills the void).

No long-range tank is currently available as an accessory for petrol variants of the new Ford Ranger (due to the different material required for diesel versus petrol fuel bladders), even though the Raptor will have less range than diesel models

Towing capacity remains capped at 2500kg – rather than 3500kg on the bulk of the Ranger line-up – because of the Raptor’s trick coil ring rear end and high-performance Fox shocks that have been tuned for rock-jumping and off-road articulation rather than hauling heavy loads.

at a glance 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor
Warranty Five years, unlimited km
Service intervals 12 months or 15,000km
Servicing costs $987 (3 years), $1316 (4 years)

The dual exhaust system (the mufflers for which fill the void where rear fender steps are located on other Ranger variants) could be louder in our opinion. We suspect the exhaust note has been mutated to meet international noise emissions standards.

For reasons of cost, Ford (and other carmakers) engineer and develop one package that meets global standards.

So even though the Ford Ranger Raptor exhaust could be a touch louder without breaking any noise limits in Australia, the system was tuned to meet the most stringent standards globally.

The BFGoodrich K02 tires are epic off-road and surprisingly grippy on dry tarmac, but we know from previous experience they are dicey on wet sealed roads.

The new permanent all-wheel-drive system is a step in the right direction, but we reckon 2.4 tonnes of ute on knobbly tires will still require a lot of caution in the wet, especially in roundabouts.

And, a final bugbear, Ford ditched the extendable sun visors, which were convenient for blocking side glare.

Ford says it was penny-pinching like this that enabled the company to spend money on other parts of the vehicle.

Fuel Usage Fuel Stats
fuel cons. (claimed) 11.5L/100km
fuel cons. (untested) Not recorded
Fuel type 91-octane unleaded (95/98 recommended)
Fuel tank size 80L

As you can see from our photos, the prototype vehicles tested were a bit dusty inside the cabin. But that’s not a reflection of the dust-sealing on the vehicle.

The examples tested were a mix of early hand-built prototypes (the camouflaged cars with roll bars and race seats) and late assembly-line prototypes (the red and black vehicles shown).

The primary purpose of these vehicles is to test the chassis and engine tune, so they end up with holes poked in them.

Some of the interior finishes were hard to judge based on shiny prototype parts, but it nevertheless gave us a glimpse of what to expect when showroom versions arrive.

The 12.4-inch widescreen instrument cluster is a welcome inclusion (it’s not available on other Ranger model grades as yet), the sports seats are snug but not too tight, and the large metal gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel feel solid.

The strip of red leather at the top dead center of the steering wheels is a node to markings used on rally car steering wheels. The steering wheel itself feels like something out of a hot hatch.

Of course, the new Ford Ranger Raptor is not as nimble as a hot hatch – because it is almost twice the weight, and the vehicle itself casts a much larger shadow.

But as far as double-cab utes are concerned, the Ford Ranger Raptor is in a different league.

Key details 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor
Engine Twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 petrol
Power 292kW@5650rpm
torque 583Nm @ 3500rpm
drive type Permanent all-wheel drive
Transmission 10-speed torque converter automatic
Power-to-weight ratio 121kW/t
Weight 2413kg
Spare tire type full size
tow-rating 2500kg braked
750kg unbraked
turning circle 13.0m

While this early preview drive was only a brief taste of what’s to come, it helped crystallise just how unique the Ford Ranger Raptor is in the double-cab ute world.

Few owners will ever get to experience or exploit its full potential. Most people will probably buy it for the tough-truck looks.

But it is remarkable a car company as risk-averse as Ford had the courage to develop a vehicle with such incredible engineering capability.

Sending a 2.4-tonne truck into the air and being able to make it land safely – and intact – time after time, still come with a warranty, and pass all of Ford’s durability tests is, quite frankly, nothing short of an epic achievement.

In the same way few Porsche 911 GT3 drivers get to discover the capabilities of their car on a racetrack, the tragedy of the new Ford Ranger Raptor is they will likely spend most of their time in traffic, fitness center car parks, and towing jet skis .

And only a handful of people will be lucky enough to experience its true capabilities.

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Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, spending most of that time working for The Sydney Morning Herald (as motoring editor and one of the early members of the Drive team) and News Corp Australia. I have joined CarAdvice / Drive in 2018, and have been a World Car of the Year judge for more than 10 years.

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Final Fantasy 14’s director Naoki Yoshida talks newest patch 6.2, Buried Memories

Final Fantasy 14's director Naoki Yoshida talks newest patch 6.2, Buried Memories

Smash hit MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 is getting a new patch soon with 6.2, named Buried Memories.

In 6.2, players will be able to challenge the next tier of Pandemonium bosses, experience new challenging four-player content in Variant Dungeons, and enjoy a life-sim game mode called Island Sanctuary.

A ton of details were talked about in the latest interview Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida conducted with Japanese gaming publication Famitsu. In the piece, Yoshida goes into deep detail about the major changes we can see coming to the game.

First up is the continuation of the raid storyline “Pandemonium.” Yoshida promises that the story will start to make sense with this tier, with players finally realizing what the dungeons were meant to hold. Yoshida goes on to state that the fights will be “quite challenging” even on normal difficulty.

Savage will unlock one week after the launch of 6.2, instead of the usual two-week delay.

Yoshida explains that there is some impact related to this change — item level, specifically, will be a factor in progressing through the tier.

The example given was that players will not be able to stockpile 900 Allagan Tomestones to purchase a stronger piece of gear before raid unlocks. That factored into their decision when it came time to adjust and readjust the difficulty level. The development team expects that there will be some complaints about the new “optimal” route to obtain gear, but they will look at all feedback when developing future patches.

Some Job adjustments will be coming, but they will be detailed later. Major renovations for Dragoon and Astrologians have been put off, with the originally intended changes to be related to the card mechanics (as always) for Astrologians.

They received a lot of complaints about gameplay being “influenced by luck”, so they are taking those comments into consideration.

Variant Dungeons are launching, and with it, a type of challenge similar in scale to Savage raids, but intended for small parties of four. The new dungeons will have branching paths, which is something that disappeared from level design in Final Fantasy XIV.

The reasoning behind this is that “veteran players will only take the optimal route,” but with the new dungeons Yoshida believes that groups can find value in taking suboptimal routes for the purposes of exploration or challenge.

Finally, Island Sanctuary gets mentioned. The development team wanted to avoid attaching a story to the Island because they felt that if they wrote a story for the side quest, it would force players to do it.

There are simply breadcrumb quests that will lead players around the tutorial areas, but afterwards, they will be on their own. The Island will expand with every patch, and the development team believes they have created the largest player-owned area in any MMORPG. The Island lacks any real connection to the events in Eorzea proper, and the Island is not intended to be a replacement for current housing options.

Yoshida states that he feels 6.2 is the most “omnidirectional” patch ever, such that all players can find something to enjoy in it. The size and scale of the development team continue to grow, and he hopes that you will enjoy everything 6.2 has to offer.

Patch 6.2 launches for all platforms later this month. If you’re curious as to what type of game has players renting real billboards to advertise in-game events, you can try a very lengthy free trial for the game.

Written by Junior Miyai on behalf of GLHF

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