Author: mangakiko

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Sports

Changes coming at Essendon amid “genuine tension” between key staffers

Changes coming at Essendon amid “genuine tension” between key staffers

There will be off-field changes at Essendon following the completion of the club’s internal review, reports Caroline Wilson.

Wilson says there will be movement beneath senior coach Ben Rutten, who’s position has been assured for 2023.

After making the finals last year, the 14th-placed Bombers have won just seven games this campaign, leading to the mid-season football department review.

“The review’s been done … there will be changes,” Wilson told Channel Nine’s Footy Classified.

“The coach is safe, Ben Rutten will remain, there will be movement beneath Ben Rutten.”

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According to Wilson, there’s “genuine tension” between football boss Josh Mahoney and list manager Adrian Dodoro.

“I’m told there are still real problems there,” the veteran AFL reporter said.

“We know that Xavier Campbell is still under the pump. There is some genuine tension between Adrian Dodoro, long-time recruiter and list manager, and the head of footy in Josh Mahoney.

“I’m not sure where Blake Caracella is going to be next year, but he also has a rock solid two years left on a highly paid contract.

“He will definitely be in a different role next year if he’s there.”

Essendon great Tim Watson believes there should be tension within an underperforming football club.

“I don’t know anything about that, but I hope there’s some tension there,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.

“There should be some tension at a football club when they’re underperforming between people.

“I think that’s healthy at a football club. There should always be some tension.”

The Bombers host Port Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.





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Categories
Australia

Former defense chief warns of continued ‘complacency’ in disaster recovery after Labor speech | Natural disasters

A former defense chief has warned the new government against complacency in natural disaster recovery planning, saying army troops cannot keep being deployed to fire or flood zones and raising concerns about a “huge gap” in the resources needed to combat increasingly extreme weather events.

Admiral Chris Barrie made the comments after the federal emergency management minister, Murray Watt, acknowledged in a National Press Club address that ADF troops were being stretched by constant domestic deployments, but downplayed previous suggestions about setting up a civilian disaster response agency.

“The time for action is now,” Barrie said. “There is a huge gap between what we have and what we need to do.”

In March, Labor’s then defense spokesperson, Brendan O’Connor, said in government Labor “would consider as a matter of urgency” proposals to set up a civilian disaster response agency, citing increased incidence of natural disasters that required ADF assistance.

The proposal had previously been floated by Barrie, who was chief of the Australian Defense Force from 1998 to 2002; his successor, Sir Peter Cosgrove, who held the position from 2002 to 2005; and other defense analysts.

On Tuesday, Watt praised the work of the ADFin disaster recovery, but said Labor was considering alternative disaster response arrangements.

“We think that there will always be a role for the Defense Force, but we do have concerns about how far they are being stretched… their core job is the defense of the nation,” he said.

Watt added that he “[doesn’t] really envisage us setting up” a separate federal agency akin to the State Emergency Service.

Barrie, an executive on the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group, has long-suggested a volunteer scheme for young Australians, where people who filled areas of national need could get tax breaks or have their university fees refunded. He said this could fill the non-military gaps the ADF is currently used to plug.

“We need to put our thinking caps on to make it attractive and prepare ourselves for a future that’s different from the one we’ve left,” Barrie said.

“We don’t have the workers to resource the lifestyles we have. We must find a better way to use the people we have.”

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He said deploying military was “the most expensive way to put people on the ground” in situations like disaster recovery or aged care, and called on the government to better engage local communities in disaster planning.

“Defence should focus on what defense is there for, defending the nation… they’re not the right people for this kind of work,” he said.

Watt’s comments, Barrie said, “appear to reflect that same kind of complacency we saw in the previous government”.

“I hope I am wrong and that the present government does not shy away from the demands of leadership to get our community involved in participation in the urgent climate-security risk assessment,” he said.

Cosgrove, who is also a former governor general, has suggested a national disaster force that would work with state agencies.

“While it is not one of the primarily role of any element of the defense force to participate in disaster relief, it will of course always remain available in an emergency if not deployed on important defense tasks at that time,” he said.

Greg Mullins, a former Fire & Rescue NSW commissioner and chair of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, said setting up a separate national disaster agency would result in duplication and waste. Instead, he called on the federal government to fund existing agencies to meet the current need, and intraining up local volunteers like the “tinnie army” in the Lismore floods.

“Those structures are funded for the threat environment of the 1990s, not the 2020s,” he said. “If you’re going to invest money, build up the SES so it has enough flood boats in Lismore, enough people trained up to use them.”

Categories
US

Gary Ramirez arrested for 1982 fatal stabbing of Karen Stitt

Gary Ramirez arrested for 1982 fatal stabbing of Karen Stitt

A Hawaii man has been arrested for a 1982 slaying of a teenager abducted from a bus stop in California, authorities announced Tuesday.

Police in Sunnyvale nabbed 75-year-old Gary Ramirez in Maui after they concluded his DNA matched the blood from the scene of 15-year-old Karen Stitt’s murder, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Gary Ramirez.
DNA technology was used to link Gary Ramirez to the blood from Karen Stitt’s leather jacket.
Maui Police Department

Stitt was waiting for a bus in Sunnyvale when she disappeared in the early morning hours of Sept. 3, 1982. A delivery truck driver found her unclothed dead body in bushes a football field away from the station, according to a Mercury News story published Tuesday.

Police said DNA technology was used to link Ramirez to the blood from Karen’s leather jacket and the 4-foot cinder block wall where the killer left her after stabbing her 59 times.

Sunnyvale police Detective Matt Hutchison revealed that while he arrested Ramirez — a retired bug exterminator and Air Force veteran with an injured hip — appeared so shocked he could only utter, “Oh my gosh.”

Ramirez, a Fresno native, had no criminal record, police said. His older brother, Rudy Ramirez, who also lives in Maui, said it was hard to conceive that his younger brother would carry out a grisly murder.

“I’ve never seen him violent or get angry ever,” Rudy Ramirez told the newspaper. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

In 2019, Hutchison partnered with a genealogist, who narrowed the DNA down to four brothers.

Hutchison then searched for one of Gary Ramirez’s children, and collected a DNA sample, which revealed there was a high likelihood that the suspect was their father, he said. Authorities then employed a search warrant to swab Gary Ramirez’s mouth for a DNA sample, which a crime lab confirmed matched the DNA found at the decades-old crime scene.

When he opened the email with the DNA match, “I wanted to scream, but I can’t because I didn’t want to wake up the hotel,” Hutchison said. “So I just took a moment to reflect.”

He opened up his laptop and clicked on the photo of Karen.

Karen Stitt.
Karen Stitt was waiting for a bus in Sunnyvale when she disappeared in the early morning hours of Sept. 3, 1982.
County of Santa Clara
Karen Stitt.
Karen Stitt’s unclothed and bloody body was found in some bushes not far from the bus station.
County of Santa Clara
Gary Ramirez.
Gary Ramirez allegedly stabbed Karen Stitt 59 times.
County of Santa Clara
Gary Ramirez.
“I’ve never seen him violent or get angry ever,” Gary Ramirez’s brother reacted.
County of Santa Clara

“I took a quick glance at her photo,” he said, “and I just told her, ‘We did it.’”

Ramirez is locked up in a Maui jail while waiting for a Wednesday extradition hearing in order to transport him to California.

With Post wires

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Categories
Technology

VALORANT Patch 5.03: Full notes and updates

VALORANT Patch 5.03: Full notes and updates

a new VALORANT patch is set to hit the live servers today. Patch 5.03 comes after a programmed delay of updates as the developers needed more time to update the game engine and work on balancing agents like Chamber, Neon, and Jett.

VALORANT‘s engine has been updated to Unreal Engine 4.26, which will “improve the tool set” available for the developers in “many ways.” This change will likely go unnoticed by most players, but Riot Games has warned beforehand that it is aware of some issues with the game’s UI. The devs are working on fixing it as quickly as possible, but players may experience some “funkiness” in the game and in the main menu.

As for agent changes, the most noticeable balance update is how Chamber will work moving forward. The French sentinel has been substantially nerfed because his strengths have started to overshadow his weaknesses, according to Riot. The developers most notably increased the base cooldown and recall cooldown of the Rendevouz ability, reduced the slow of the Trademark ability, reduced the slow of his Ultimate Tour De Force, and increased the Ultimate Points required to activate Tour de Force.

In addition to the Chamber nerfs, Riot has also tweaked the ultimates of Neon and Jett, while fixing bugs that were happening with Jett, Reyna, and Killjoy. As usual, the developers shipped some general qualify of life updates in this latest patch as well.

Here are the full notes for VALORANT Patch 5.03.

General updates

  • Engine update to Unreal Engine 4.26.
    • This update improves the toolset available to our developers in many ways, however, this change will likely go unnoticed by you, as the goal of any Engine update is to happen under the radar.
    • There are some known issues this time around though, mostly the UI is misbehaving. We’re fixing these as quickly as we can, but expect some funkiness in the game and in the Main Menu. If anything interrupts your gameplay, please submit a bug report.
  • Agent Browser visual design refresh
    • Just thought we should leverage some of the cool Agent art and lean more into our VALORANT style.

agent updates

Chamber

As players in both ranked and pro play have mastered Chamber, his strengths have started to overshadow his weaknesses, making the counterplay to Rendezvous and his arsenal not as effective as Riot hoped. Chamber’s overall strength from him has also felt outsized, and the devs believe that they can reduce the complete power of his kit while still keeping him competitive with the rest of the roster.

Rendezvous (E)

  • Base cooldown increased 20 seconds > 30 seconds
  • Recall cooldown increased 20 seconds > 30 seconds
  • Cooldown set to 45 seconds whenever a Rendezvous anchor is destroyed
  • Diameter size of the “ring” Chamber can stand that allows him to activate Rendezvous decreased 21m > 15m
    • Chamber’s Rendezvous is intended to be powerful at holding space, but the generous radius allowed him to take that space with more aggression than intended. This change should require Chamber to exert more effort to access off-angles.
    • We hope that a harsher punishment for destroyed Rendezvous anchors and the reduced radius will demand Chamber mains to be more careful in their use. This change also brings the counterplay of Chamber’s destructible objects more in line with the behavior of other destructible objects in the game.

Trademark (C)

  • Slow Duration decreased 9.5 > six seconds

Tour de Force (X)

  • Ultimate points required increased seven > eight
  • Slow duration decreased 9.5 > six seconds

Headhunter (Q)

  • Bullet cost increased 100 > 150
    • It’s important that Headhunter is a powerful sidearm for Chamber but at its current price point Chamber doesn’t have to engage in making difficult economic decisions as meaningfully as other Agents. This should most noticeably impact Chamber’s decision-making on pistol rounds and save rounds. The ultimate point change to Tour De Force is also working towards this goal.

Ability regional damage breakup

The devs are updating the ultimates for the following Agent so that they follow similar regional damage rules to our weapons—where hitting the head and legs of an enemy applies different damage multipliers. The intent is to reward precision and create intuitive consistency across damage in VALORANT.

For Neon specifically, it also gives the devs more tuning levers for balancing her across different skill levels. This change should also add depth to the mastery needed when tracking while sprinting that her ult demands.

Neon

Overdrive(X)

⦁ Damage per shot reduced 22 > 18
⦁ Killzone increased 15m > 20m
⦁ Leg shot multiplier reduced 1.0 > 0.85
⦁ Headshot multiplier increased one > three

Chamber

Tour de Force (X)

⦁ Leg shot multiplier reduced 1.0 > 0.85

Jett

Bladestorm (X)

⦁ Leg shot multiplier reduced 1.0 > 0.85

Gameplay system updates

  • Added ability to change “Ghost” keybind outside of Custom Games
    • This option is listed under Settings >> Controls >> Actions

bugs

Agents

⦁ Fixed an issue with Jett’s Tailwind where switching weapons in the middle of the dash would cause the weapon pull-out animation to take longer than desired.

Gameplay systems

⦁ Fixed a bug where some Reyna/Killjoy HUD elements were still visible after enabling Hide User Interface.
⦁ Fixed a bug where defuse animation wouldn’t consistently play if the orb is tapped in rapid succession.

Known issue

⦁ Changing crosshair opacity settings in-game causes crosshair preview visual to flicker
⦁ Spike Announcements UI displaying incorrectly

Categories
Entertainment

Olivia Newton-John’s husband John Easterling posts Instagram tribute to Grease star

Olivia Newton-John's husband John Easterling posts Instagram tribute to Grease star

Olivia Newton-John’s husband has posted a tribute to the “most courageous woman” he has ever known, following the death of the Australian singer and Grease star earlier this week.

John Easterling announced on Tuesday that Newton-John passed away at the age of 73 at her ranch in California “surrounded by family and friends” after a battle with breast cancer.

On Thursday, Australian time, Mr Easterling reflected on his love with Newton-John on a post on the actor’s official Instagram.

“Our love for each other transcends our understanding,” the American businessman wrote.

“Every day we expressed our gratitude for this love that could be so deep, so real, so natural. We never had to ‘work’ on it. We were in awe of this great mystery and accepted the experience of our love as past, present and forever.”

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Mr Easterling is the founder of the American Herb Company, and spent years in the Amazon rainforest studying plants with potential health benefits.

Newton-John was 58 when she started dating Mr Easterling in 2006, a year after the death of her former boyfriend Patrick McDermott disappeared at sea.

They married two years later.

She was formerly married from 1984 to 1995 to Matt Lattanzi, with whom she shared a daughter, Chloe.

A man and a woman in formal wear smile as they stand together and pose outside an event.
Olivia Newton-John and John Easterling were married for 14 years.(Reuters: Gus Ruelas)

In the post, Mr Easterling said his wife was generous and spirited, with a passion for life.

“At Olivia’s deepest essence she was a healer using her mediums of song, of words, of touch,” he wrote.

“She was the most courageous woman I’ve ever known.

“Her bandwidth for genuinely caring for people, for nature and all creatures almost eclipses what is humanely possible. It is only the grace of God that has allowed me to share the depth and passion of her being for so long.

“In her most difficult times she always had the spirit, the humor, and the will power to move things into the light.

“Even now as her soul soars, the pain and holes in my heart are healed with the joy of her love and the light that shines forward.

“Our family deeply appreciates the vast ocean of love and support that has come our way.”

Newton-John’s niece, Totti Goldsmith, told Channel 9 on Wednesday that the British-Australian actor would be buried in California.

She the family intended to accept a state memorial if the Victorian government offered one.

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Categories
Sports

Springboks make late reshuffle after hooker Bongi Mbonambi ruled out for Ellis Park

Springboks make late reshuffle after hooker Bongi Mbonambi ruled out for Ellis Park

Boks hooker Bongi Mbonambi is out for Saturday's test against the All Blacks after being named to start.

Jono Searle/Getty Images

Boks hooker Bongi Mbonambi is out for Saturday’s test against the All Blacks after being named to start.

The Springboks have been forced into a late front-row reshuffle ahead of Saturday’s Rugby Championship test against the All Blacks at Ellis Park after starting hooker Bongi Mbonambi wet down with a knee injury suffered at Tuesday training.

South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber has called inexperienced Stormers hooker Joseph Dweba to start just his third test. His only previous international experience was against Wales in Bloemfontein in July and Argentina last year in Nelson Mandela Bay – both times in the run-on XV.

The Boks coach has resisted the urge to return veteran rake Malcolm Marx to starting duty, after he did so last weekend against the All Blacks in Mbombela to mark his 50th test appearance – a match won 26-10 by the South Africans.

The 26-year-old will pack down alongside his former Cheetahs team-mate Ox Nche. The pair progressed through SA Rugby’s national development system, and played together for the Junior Springboks and national schools team.

”Joseph has been working hard at training and he’s been waiting patiently for his chance, and we feel that it doesn’t get better than facing the All Blacks, who are one of the best teams in the world,” said Nienaber.

”He and Ox have played close to 100 first-class games together, and they know each other well on and off the field, having played together since school level. They progressed through the SA Rugby junior rugby ranks together before forming a strong combination at the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup and Pro14 competitions, and we believe their familiarity will give us the best chance in this match.”

The Boks coach confirmed he was taking no chances with Mbonambi after he took a knock to his knee at Tuesday training with so much international rugby still to come in 2022. He was to get scans, though it was not thought to be a serious injury.

“We have an important Rugby Championship tour coming up and a year-end tour later, so we don’t want to take any risks with Bongi,” he said.

For the beleaguered All Blacks it’s a minor break, with Dweba lacking the high-end pedigree of Mbonambi. But one thing the South Africans have proven in 2022 is that they have spectacular depth in their playing resources.

Ian Foster’s men will be wise to expect business as usual from the Boks up front. The New Zealanders will name their lineup for the second Rugby Championship test on Thursday night (NZT).

SPRINGBOKS: Damian Willemse, Jesse Kriel, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Jaden Hendrikse; Duane Vermeulen, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Joseph Dweba, Ox Nche. Reservations: Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Jasper Wiese, Kwagga Smith, Hershel Jantjies, Willie le Roux.

Categories
Australia

6PR host Liam Bartlett opposes change to frosted glass on balconies of Nedlands homes across from his property

6PR host Liam Bartlett opposes change to frosted glass on balconies of Nedlands homes across from his property

Radio 6PR host Liam Bartlett is opposed to group homes opposite his house having clear glass on their balconies because he doesn’t want to look at their washing.

Owners of five terrace homes being built in Nedlands want a condition to have frosted glass on their balcony balustrades — to stop people looking into their houses — removed. The side of Bartlett’s house is opposite the houses, which are being built.

Mr Bartlett — who lives opposite the homes — has objected to the move saying he didn’t want to see the residents’ “bikes” or “washing” on the balconies.

Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Mr Bartlett told the council when the development was approved last year, they had negotiated the preservation of an “important tree” and the frosted glass.

6pr presenter Liam Bartlett has objected to removing a condition for frosted glass.
Camera Icon6pr presenter Liam Bartlett has objected to removing a condition for frosted glass. Credit: 6pr.com.au/6pr.com.au

“We were more than happy to see height to see density. To have four separate apartments opposite our house. To lose parking. To see more bins and less amenities,” he said.

Mr Bartlett said his house was elevated behind his wall and had four windows that looked out onto the property.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m not fond of looking out onto people’s balconies and their bikes and their washing or whatever else they want to stick up on their balcony or what they’re doing behind their balconies,” he said.

“That’s the reason we had this compromised position.”

Bartlett said the staff recommendation to allow clear glass was “beyond the pale”.

“I can’t understand why we paid rates for 29 years at that property. The first I hear about this is an email saying administration has recommended it,” he said.

Grouped homes under construction in Nedlands
Camera IconGrouped homes under construction in Nedlands Credit: Jake Dietsch/Perth Now

The City of Nedlands approved the construction of five grouped homes, with one on the corner of a Nedlands street and the other four on the adjoining avenue, in May 2021.

Each was sold for $690,000 last year and are all currently under construction.

City staff have recommended the condition to use “either opaque material or frosted glass” be removed.

They said the “cone of vision” for the home on the corner block was confined to the street and it did not overlook any other residential property behind the street setback area.

“Passive surveillance from the balcony on to (the streetscape) is a positive outcome, as it is generally a good planning principle to promote safety through providing opportunities for ‘eyes on the street’,” staff said.

Grouped homes under construction in Nedlands
Camera IconGrouped homes under construction in Nedlands Credit: Jake Dietsch/Perth Now

Staff said the application for the other four homes “satisfies all the relevant deemed-to-comply provisions” for visual privacy and reiterated “street surveillance is seen as a positive outcome.”

One of the homeowners, Geoffrey Nathan, spoke on behalf of himself and the owners of three other homes being built.

Mr Nathan said the condition for frosted glass was placed after they had bought their homes individually and all the sales material showed clear glass.

“The builders weren’t aware that this motion (to impose frosted glass) was coming through,” he said.

Mr Nathan said it was a “matter of aesthetics” but frosted glass would cut off their natural light and view of the street.

Staff estimated it would cost the city between $30,000 to $50,000 if the council refused to remove the condition and an owner took the matter to the State Administrative Tribunal.

The council is scheduled to vote on whether or not to remove the condition at its August 23 meeting.

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Categories
US

Austin Tice: Biden says US government knows ‘with certainty’ that Austin Tice has been held by Syrian government

Austin Tice: Biden says US government knows 'with certainty' that Austin Tice has been held by Syrian government

“We know with certainty that he has been held by the Syrian regime,” Biden said in a statement. “We have repeatedly asked the government of Syria to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”

“On the tenth anniversary of his abduction, I am calling on Syria to end this and help us bring him home,” the President said, adding that the “Tice family deserves answers, and more importantly, they deserve to be swiftly reunited with Austin .”

The government of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad has not publicly acknowledged they are detaining him. Tice, a freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran, was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus in August 2012 while reporting on the war in Syria.

In a separate statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the administration “will continue to pursue all available avenues to bring Austin home and work tirelessly until we succeed in doing so.”

Austin Tice's parents tell CNN they received support from Biden for efforts to get him home

“We continue to demand that Syrian officials fulfill their obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to acknowledge the detention of Austin and every other US national held in Syria, a responsibility under international law and an important step in securing their release,” Blinken said . Another American, Majd Kamalmaz, was detained at a checkpoint in Damascus in February 2017 and has not been heard since.

Biden met with Austin Tice’s parents, Marc and Debra, in early May. Following that meeting, Marc Tice told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview on the “The Lead” that Biden told them “he supported the efforts that are underway and other efforts that may create a positive movement” to get Austin home.

“One of the efforts underway is pushing to get engagement and engagement that sustained,” between the US and Syria, Marc Tice said at the time. The two nations do not have diplomatic relations.

In his statement Wednesday, Blinken said that “Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will continue to engage with the Syrian government in close coordination with the White House, Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, and our team here at the State Department.”

Carstens secretly traveled to Damascus and met with Assad regime officials in 2020 under the Trump administration. In May of this year, he met with Abbas Ibrahim, a top Lebanese security official, in Washington “to discuss US citizens who are missing or detained in Syria,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at the time. Ibrahim, the chief of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate, has played a role in securing the release of American detainees in the past, including Sam Goodwin from Syria and Nizar Zikka from Iran.

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Categories
Business

Elon Musk sells Tesla shares worth $9.8 billion, cites chance of forced Twitter deal

Elon Musk stands in front of one of his Tesla cars as speaks and gestures to an audience

Tesla boss Elon Musk has sold US$6.9 billion ($9.8 billion) worth of shares in the electric vehicle maker, saying the funds could be used to finance a potential Twitter deal if he loses a legal battle with the social media platform.

“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close *and* some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” he said in a tweet late on Tuesday.

Shares of the microblogging site rose 3.5 per cent to $44.35 in pre-market trading, but were still trading significantly below Mr Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share.

Tesla shares were up 1.6 per cent at $863.1.

Mr Musk in early July tore up his April 25 agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion.

Twitter has sued Mr Musk to force him to complete the transaction, dismissing his claim that he was misled about the number of spam accounts on the social media platform as buyer’s remorse, in the wake of a plunge in technology stocks.

The two sides head to trial on October 17.

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Following the announcement of the share sale on Tuesday, Mr Musk took to Twitter and said “yes” when asked if he was done selling Tesla stock, adding he would buy it again if the Twitter deal does not close.

“The removal of the ‘fire sale’ risk, the fact Musk has already raised cash in case of a Twitter decision going against him and the comment that he’ll buy back stock if Twitter deal gets dropped all builds into a positive bias for Tesla ,” said Mark Taylor, sales trader at Mirabaud Securities.

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Categories
Technology

New Samsung Galaxy Foldables Drive More Sustainable Future While Providing the Most Versatile Mobile Experience – Samsung Newsroom Australia

New Samsung Galaxy Foldables Drive More Sustainable Future While Providing the Most Versatile Mobile Experience – Samsung Newsroom Australia

The Company’s MX business shares the progress on its commitment
to do more with less through Galaxy for the Planet

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. announces today that it has made progress towards achieving the 2025 sustainability goals for the MX (Mobile eXperience) Business. Key initiatives include developing and incorporating recycled materials into products, designing more eco-conscious packaging, nd giving new life to older Samsung Galaxy devices to reduce e-waste.

Since announcing the Galaxy for the Planet vision at Unpacked in August 2021, Samsung has worked diligently to create new ways to recycle and repurpose resources that would otherwise become harmful waste, minimize its environmental footprint, and inspire innovation that helps preserve the planet. Today, Samsung is sharing the progress so far on its sustainability journey.

“Samsung is taking consistent and impactful actions that help protect people and the planet. We marry sustainability and innovation in everything we do,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “I am proud of our progress to date. At the same time, it’s been a humbling experience that enables us to continue on our journey towards achieving our sustainability vision with even more conviction and rigor than before.”

Expanding the Use of Recycled Materials to the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Galaxy Z Flip4

Developing new, recycled materials is a key focus area for Galaxy for the Planet. The more Samsung recycles, the more resources it preserves. While repurposing materials into Galaxy devices presents many challenges, the benefits for the planet make it well worth the effort.

Samsung designed the new Galaxy Z series and Galaxy Buds2 Pro with repurposed fishing nets, or ghost nets, that could otherwise end up in the ocean.

First integrated into the Galaxy S22 series in February 2022, today there are eleven Galaxy devices that use repurposed fishing nets including the Galaxy Tab S8 series. By repurposing abandoned fishing nets into a high-performance material for Galaxy technology, Samsung helps to minimize the effects of plastic pollution – 640,000 tons of fishing nets are abandoned and pollute the world’s oceans every year.[1]

Repurposing discarded fishing nets is only one example of Samsung’s advancements in increasing its use of recycled materials in its products.

Samsung has incorporated eco-conscious materials including repurposed fishing nets, post-consumer materials (PCM) or bio-based resin into components of 90% of Galaxy devices launched in the past year.[2] For the Galaxy Buds2 Pro, more than 90% of the plastic components of this product is made with recycled materials.[3]

This process requires complex engineering and technical skills to ensure the overall quality, safety and reliability of all new materials for Samsung’s innovative technologies. Samsung plans to make further investments in research and development to source and transform other, new materials for use in Galaxy products and to increase the presence of recycled materials in each device.

Changing the Way Galaxy Products are Packaged

Samsung set a goal to eliminate all single-use plastics in mobile product packaging by 2025, and the company has already reduced a sizeable amount of single-use plastics in its current packaging for Galaxy smartphones including the new Galaxy foldables. Samsung will explore more ways to eliminate single-use plastics in packaging by assessing every aspect of its packaging designs, down to the smallest of details.

Starting with the launch of the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung now uses 100% recycled paper for flagship product packaging.

By doing so, Samsung will be able to save the equivalent of nearly 51,000 trees[4] with the Galaxy S22 series and the new Galaxy Z series this year.

Samsung has also reduced the volume of packaging for Galaxy Z Flip4 by 52.8% and for Galaxy Z Fold4 by 58.2% respectively compared to the first-generation Galaxy foldables. By reducing each device package’s volume, Samsung ultimately reduces its environmental footprint in transporting these units using trucks, planes and ships. The company estimates that this reduction in packaging volume equates to a reduction in carbon emissions from transportation of approximately 10,000 tons by the end of 2022.[5] In addition to continually evolving packaging for flagship smartphones, Samsung will expand eco-conscious packaging to other product categories.

Scaling Solutions that Reduce E-waste

More than ever, reducing e-waste is crucial to advancing a circular economy that preserves and repurposes the planet’s finite resources. According to the World Economic Forum, 57 million tons of e-waste was generated in 2021 and it is expected to grow by 2 million tons per year.[6]

To address this, Samsung has been expanding the Galaxy Upcycling program, which gives new life to older Galaxy smartphones. Through Galaxy Upcycling at Home[7]Samsung repurposes smartphones with a simple software update that turns them into smart home devices that support everyday needs, such as childcare and pet care.

An important part of Galaxy Upcycling is ensuring that these sustainable practices not only support the environment but also improve people’s lives. The company also upcycles secondhand Galaxy devices into medical diagnostic equipment called EYELIKE™ fundus cameras that provide necessary eye care services in underserved communities. This program has already upcycled hundreds of Galaxy devices and provided basic eye care for over 13,000 patients in Vietnam, Morocco, India, and Papua New Guinea.

The Path Forward

Samsung has set clear sustainability goals by scaling solutions across its business. Whether it is repurposing discarded fishing nets for Galaxy devices, striving to achieve plastic-free packaging or moving us forward to achieve zero waste to landfill and zero standby power of smartphone chargers, Samsung is realizing its Galaxy for the Planet vision one step at a time .

There will be more challenges along the way, but Samsung will hold itself accountable and continue to report progress on its mission to effect positive change and inspire others to protect the planet for generations to come.

[1] FAO and UNEP

[2] By number of models. This includes Galaxy smartphones, tablets, laptops and Samsung wearables launched globally from September 2021 to August 2022. There are 37 models launched globally during this period and 34 models include at least one component that is made of recycled materials or bio-based resin.

[3] More than 90% of all the plastic components of Galaxy Buds2 Pro, in weight, are made of recycled materials. 29 grams of plastics are used in the Galaxy Buds2 Pro in total, and it includes more than 27 grams recycled materials. Each of these components contains at least 20% of either discarded fishing nets (ocean-bound plastic) or post-consumer materials. Recycled fishing nets are used in three internal components of the cradle case in its bracket deco front, bracket battery holder and bracket-PCB. Post-consumer recycled materials are used in eight exterior components. Four components in both Ear Buds in its case front left/right, case rear left/right. And four components in the cradle case in its deco front, case-upper, case-upper inner, and case-lower.

[4] A 30-year-old pine tree can produce 59 kg of paper.

[5] This is calculated based on ISO 14040:2006 and 14044:2006 standard, using Ecoinvent 3.8 database for transportation of SM-F700F, SM-F721B, SM-F900F and SM-F936B models from Korea to Europe.

[6] World Economic Forum, “This year’s e-waste to outweigh Great Wall of China,” October 18, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/2021-years-e-waste-outweigh-great-wall-of-china/

[7] Galaxy Upcycling at Home is available in the US, the UK and Korea currently and availability may vary by carrier. This feature is available on all Galaxy S, Note, and Z series released since 2018 (Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note9 or later) running Android 9 and above. More devices will be supported in the future.