Player First and Warner Bros.’ MultiVersus You have hit another milestone at 10 million players. The statistics website tracker.gg revealed the WB fighting game currently boasts 10.3 million players at time of writing.
MultiVersus has been a success since its launch in late July. Currently still in beta, its first day boasted over 140,000 players on Steam. It was later reported as the most played game on the Steam Deck handheld.
Most of the game’s player base appears to be on consoles. Of those 10 million players, nearly 69,000 are playing on Steam.
Though the game’s first season has been indefinitely delayed since its original August 9 date, that hasn’t stopped players from digging into the WB platform fighter. Upon full release, the first season will feature DLC characters Rick and Morty, ranked mode, and a battle pass.
During EVO 2022, MultiVersus had its debut tournament at the annual fighting game competition. It’s clear, through both the fighting game community, and its player count, that the game will have some legs for the foreseeable future.
Amidst concerns about the game’s lifespan following WB’s merger with Discovery, game director Tony Huynh confirmed that MultiVersus was unaffected by company shakeups.
Licensed games keep getting bigger and more popular
Currently, MultiVersus stands as one of the biggest licensed games of the year. The additional success of games such as Marvel’s Spider-Man series, or the various crossovers that Fortnite has with licensed characters, means we’ll surely be getting more of them.
Recently, Arc System Works CEO Minoru Kikooda said that licenses like WB or Marvel would be a boon to the future of fighting games. Going forward, his company will make a greater effort to pursue licenses it wants to make games for.
“In the future, if we have such an opportunity, we are actively pushing to collaborate with new IP owners,” said Kikooda. “We need to expand fighting game communities through IP.”
A UK breakfast TV host has been slammed by viewers after making “creepy” comments about singer Olivia Newton-John just hours after news of her death broke.
Good Morning Britain host Richard Madeley paid tribute to the 73-year-old Grease star but copped a lashing from Brits over his choice of anecdote.
Madeley referenced an iconic 1970s modeling picture of Newton-John that had been shared in countless tributes following her death, including by her Grease co-star John Travolta.
“I wish I’d met her, I wish I’d interviewed her. It never happened, I always regretted it actually as years went by,” Madeley said.
“That publicity picture… the one of her in the denim shirt. It was a very famous poster of her by her in the 1970s. ”
Good Morning Britain’s Richard Madeley has copped a serve from viewers. Credit: good morning britain
And he went on to confess many of his former colleagues had a schoolboy crush on the star.
“That poster was on the wall of a radio station I used to work in back in the 70s and I’m not exaggerating, it basically stopped traffic in the corridor,” he said.
“It was up there for months! The guys would just stop and look at it.”
Insulting, inappropriate and very, very creepy.
Viewers were less than impressed by his comments, which came as many Brits learned the news of Newton-John’s death, following a cancer battle, aged 73.
“Richard Madeley’s weird angle on the loss of Olivia Newton-John today on (Good Morning Britain) was uncomfortable to watch,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Just kept on the line of how attractive she was & if she acknowledged how beautiful she was & how her colleagues would stare at her poster.”
The iconic picture of Olivia Newton-John Madeley was referring to, Credit: John Travolta
One viewer described the comments as: “Insulting, inappropriate and very, very creepy.”
Some even called for Madeley to lose his job over the remarks.
“This creep needs to be fired,” one furious viewer wrote.
TV veteran Madeley, who is known for his cringeworthy live TV moments, is widely thought to have been the inspiration for comedian Steve Coogan’s show Alan Partridge.
Coogan has previously admitted Partridge’s character is similar to the host.
Last week, Madeley was in viewers’ crosshairs again for an awkward comment about England Lionesses soccer player Chloe Kelly.
While discussing her team’s Euro 2022 win, Madeley got a little too familiar with the player, referring to her as “Coco”, admitting he uses the same nickname for his daughter, who is also named Chloe.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten has made a startling admission about young gun Tom Dearden, revealing the rising playmaker was a “shell of a person” when he arrived at the club.
Dearden, 21, was once heralded as a star of the future at the Brisbane Broncos before he reportedly fell out of favor with head coach Kevin Walters.
The five-eighth signed with rivals North Queensland on a three-year deal, and was later a granted a mid-season transfer.
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Both clubs were struggling towards the bottom of the ladder, with the Broncos having claimed the wooden spoon for the first time in their history the season before.
While Dearden insisted that his confidence hadn’t taken a hit by how things turned out at the Broncos, coach Payten has now revealed he saw things differently.
“He was a shell of a person, I’ve got to say,” Payten told Matty Johns on Fox League’s face to face
“He was nervous and second guessing himself, whether it was on or off the pitch.
“What I did like about him was the way he trained. He’s super competitive, he’s really professional, and playing footy means something to him.
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“He’s wanted to play NRL since he was a kid and you can see that in the way he goes about it.”
North Queensland took a backwards step in 2021 and finished a place behind the Broncos in 15th.
But a stellar pre-season, with Dearden among the standouts, has thrust the club into premiership contention this year.
Payten said while the senior players helped lead the team throughout the successful pre-season, younger players including Dearden, Reuben Cotter and Tom Gilbert also impressed.
These players helped the Cowboys learn from their mistakes, as they trained by practicing things that “they weren’t expecting”.
“They train hard, everyone trains hard so that’s a given. Through our review, I’m talking about the coaches review… we watched all of the tries that we’d conceded which was not fun to view,” Payten said.
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“A lot of those, I think about 60 per cent of those would come from missed tackles that should’ve been made or guys not competing enough.
“We conceded the most tries from kicks in the competition and that affected our headspace in games. We’d defend two sets and then from a guy not getting their job done or someone not competing hard enough, we’d conceded a try.
“As soon as something upset the rhythm or went against them, we didn’t have the mental or physical capacity to get on with the job.
“(We had to) just build around upsetting rhythm in different ways. Doing things that they weren’t expecting to do at different times and causing a little bit of chaos and seeing how they handled it.
“We got better as the preseason went on.”
Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom DeardenSource: Supplied
Dearden has reaped the rewards of the Cowboys’ successful season, as they currently sit in second behind the Panthers, by making his Origin debut for Queensland.
The up-and-comer announced himself on one of the game’s biggest stages, as he helped inspire his state to win in the decider at Suncorp Stadium.
Troy Patten’s life for the last two years has been more isolated than most.
Key points:
Elective surgeries were postponed during the COVID pandemic to relieve pressure on hospitals
Waiting lists have increased by the thousands across the country, with as many as 100,000 people waiting for surgery in New South Wales
Health experts say delaying elective surgeries will eventually put pressure on other parts of the healthcare system
The 58-year-old has been waiting for a hip replacement, and the risk of catching COVID-19 just when he might finally have his surgery scheduled is not one he’s willing to take.
“All I do is sit by the phone and wait for someone to let me know I can have my life back and give me a hip replacement,” he told 7.30 at his home in regional Victoria.
Like thousands of Australians, Mr Patten’s operation has been delayed due to repeated shutdowns of elective surgery to take pressure off the strained healthcare system.
He currently relies on a walking stick and said he struggles with day-to-day tasks. He’s also had to stop working, and can’t pursue hobbies, like doing up cars, which he’s passionate about.
Despite this, his surgery is considered non-urgent. He was told in July 2020 that it should happen within 365 days – two years later, he’s still waiting.
Troy Patten can’t pursue his hobbies, like fixing up cars, because he’s in too much pain while waiting on a hip replacement.(ABC News: Daniel Fermer)
“It’s got to the point where it’s not ‘am I in pain?’, it’s ‘how much?'” he said.
“Everything in my whole life is in a state of flux.
“Everything’s half-finished and everything’s in the process of getting done because I just do bits and pieces here and there and try to get the best out of what I have for the day.”
But it’s the toll on his family life he has struggled with the most.
“It’s just surviving now and it’s missing out [on the] grandkids, being able to hold my grandkids,” Mr Patten said.
“I had one of my grandkids on the weekend want to sit on my knee and I couldn’t.
“It’s things like that people just take for granted.”
Waiting lists blowing out across the nation
In Victoria, there were 87,000 people on the waitlist for elective surgery at the end of June – that’s an increase of 21,000 in a year.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Victorian Department of Health said $1.5 billion was being spent to get on top of the backlog and improve capacity in the future.
“Health services work closely with all patients to reschedule any postponed procedures as soon as possible and provide them with alternative supports while waiting for treatment,” they said.
But the problem is far from limited to that state.
Continuing pressure on hospitals and staff shortages have seen elective surgery waitlists blow out across the country. (ABC News: Chris Gillette)
There were more than 100,000 people on the list in New South Wales at the end of March, nearly 19,000 of whom were overdue.
The West Australian list has grown by 10 per cent in the last year to 33,000.
Tasmania’s waitlist has improved by about 2,000 in the last year, down to 9,400 in June.
In Queensland, there are almost 58,000 on the list, 7,500 of which are overdue.
The federal Department of Health told 7.30 in a statement: “The Commonwealth provides a significant proportion of spending on the Australian health system to states and territories … and is committed on working with states and territories on longer-term health reforms of the health system to reduce pressure on hospitals.”
“All health ministers realize there are challenges and pressures facing the state and territory health and hospital systems and are working in partnership to consider a number of long- and short-term measures to ease pressure on hospitals.”
The president of the Australian Medical Association Queensland, Maria Boulton, said just because someone’s surgery is considered “non-urgent” (recommended to be completed within a year) does not mean their injury or illness has no profound impact on their quality of life.
Maria Boulton says elective surgeries shouldn’t be considered optional for those on the waiting list.(ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
“It’s important to understand that surgery is not optional,” she said.
“These are people that are in pain, these are people that are having effects into their activities of daily living… it’s also causing a lot of stress to them.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen if they have to wait on a waitlist for that long — are they ending up in an emergency? Will that surgery then become an emergency surgery?
“It’s not fair that they’re waiting for so long for a procedure in such a state.”
‘My fear is that my life will change dramatically’
Dianne Hill, from Brisbane, has been waiting 13 months now for cataract surgery, which she was recommended to have within a year.
While she is managing, she said she was worried about what would happen if her condition deteriorated.
Dianne Hill has been waiting over a year for cataract surgery in Queensland.(ABC News: Michael Lloyd)
“I can drive still, but I’m on the cusp, so I’m very concerned… I’m on my own, single, no-one to look after me,” she said.
“I am having issues. I can’t read instructions … I’ve got a magnifying glass I have to use.
“I’m still lucky I can get out and about and keep up with some of my hobbies and activities … my fear is that my life will change dramatically.”
A spokesperson for Queensland Health said in a statement $15 million was being spent to tackle waitlists.
“All hospital and health services (HHS) continue to prioritize clinically safe care for patients who require emergency surgery, the sickest patients will always be seen first,” they said.
System in need of reform
Jeffrey Braithwaite from the Australian Institute of Health Innovation was part of a team of researchers who looked into how to improve elective surgery waitlists in the first year of the pandemic.
He said there were a number of things that needed to be considered.
“Prioritising people on the list and really looking at where it is that we would provide the best value care for conditions,” he said.
“We could optimize the public and private hospital nexus … the public hospitals are often jam-packed, and under huge pressure — sometimes the private system has some capacity.”
He and Dr Boulton agree that delaying elective surgeries would also eventually put pressure on other parts of the health care system.
Jeffrey Braithwaite says it will take a variety of measures to get on top of waitlists. (ABC News: Kathleen Calderwood)
“You can say a simple hip replacement is not as urgent as some cardiac surgery — that may well be true,” Professor Braithwaite said.
“However, to what extent is the hip not being replaced going to create huge effects for that person not being able to work, to be deteriorating over time, to not be mobile at all?
“[And then there will] be a much bigger set of problems [and] comorbidities coming into the health system six months later because we didn’t tackle them to start with.”
For Troy Patten, he’s just desperate to get his life back.
Troy Patten has had to remain isolated at his home in regional Victoria while he waits for a hip replacement.(ABC News: Daniel Fermer)
“It’s hard on the mental state,” he said.
“Am I not worthy? Am I worthy? All these things go through your head.
“Then you start thinking they’re just going to throw me away and they’re finished with me — where I have a lot more to give.”
Dead by Daylight PTB patch 6.2.0 is finally live, and players can finally try out the fresh new content that has made its way to the survival game.
Players can now test out The Mastermind, Ada Wong, and Rebecca Chambers during the PTB this month. They can even try out the special perks that all three will be dropping with.
Dead by Daylight fans looking for a detailed description of the patch can look up the official notes. However, for a brief overview, here are all the major highlights.
Dead by Daylight PTB patch 6.2.0 official notes
1) Features
New Killer – The Mastermind
New Perk: Superior Anatomy
When a survivor performs a fast vault within eight meters of you, this perk activates. The next time you vault a window, your vaulting speed is increased by 30%/35%/40%. This perk deactivates after vaulting a window. This perk has a 30-second cooldown.
New Perk: Awakened Awareness
When carrying a survivor, you can see the aura of other survivors within 16/18/20 meters of your position. Auras revealed this way linger for two seconds after you stop carrying the survivor.
New Perk: Terminus
When exit gates are powered, this perk activates. While the perk is active, injured, downed, and hooked survivors are inflicted with the broken status effect until exit gates are open. When exit gates are open, survivors will stay broken for an additional 20/25/30 seconds.
New Survivor – Ada Wong
New Perk: Wiretap
After repairing Generators for a total of 33%, this perk activates. After repairing a Generator for at least three seconds, press the Ability button to install a spy trap, which stays active for 60/70/80 seconds. The aura of the trapped generator is revealed in yellow to all Survivors. When the Killer comes within 14 meters of the trapped generator, their aura is revealed to all Survivors. Damaging the generator destroys the Wiretap.
New Perk: Reactive Healing
When another survivor loses a health state in a 32-meter radius around you while you are injured, instantly increase your healing progression by 25%/30%/35% of the missing healing progression.
New Perk: Low Profile
When you become the last Survivor, this perk activates. Hide your scratch marks and pools of blood for 70/80/90 seconds.
New Survivor – Rebecca Chambers
New Perk: Better Than New
Upon completing a healing action on another survivor, the targeted survivor gets a 6% speed boost to generator repair, healing, chest opening, and totem cleansing for 25/30/35 seconds.
New Perk: Reassurance
When within a six-meter radius around a hooked survivor, use the Active Ability Button 2 to pause their struggle progression for 20/25/30 seconds. If they are on the struggle phase, it also pauses the Struggle Skill Checks. This perk has a 40-second cooldown.
New Perk: Hyper Focus
After hitting a great Skill Check while repairing or healing, this perk gains one token, up to six tokens. Each token increases the chance of Skill Check trigger by 2%, the Skill Check cursor speed by 4% and the bonus progression for great Skill Checks by 10%/20%/30% of its base value. The perk loses all tokens in case of normal Skill Check success, Skill Check fail, or if you stop performing the action by any means.
New Features: Streamer Options (PC Only)
These privacy options are available under the Privacy section of the General tab in the Options menu and are intended to help reduce targeting and harassment of players who stream the game.
Anonymous Mode
Replaces your account name with your selected character’s name for other players. Players in your group will still see your account name.
Hide Your Name
Replaces your own name with your selected character’s name on your own screen. Elsewhere in the menus, your account name will appear as “You” and be hidden in your Friend List.
Hide Other Player Names
Replaces other player names with their selected character’s name.
Hidden Matchmaking Delay
Adds a short, random delay when entering the matchmaking queue to prevent targeted in-game harassment.
Improved Feature: HUD Connection Indicators
The in-game connection indicator has been improved to show more detailed information during connection issues stemming from ping and packet loss
Ping is represented by a vertical bar icon
Yellow = Ping over 100ms
Network = Ping over 200ms
Packet Loss is represented by a double-diamond icon
Yellow = 2%-5% packet loss
Network = More than 5% packet loss
For Killer issues: A unique red icon appears above the Survivor List for Survivors
For Survivor issues: A red bar appears next to their name on the Survivor List
A photosensitivity warning has been added to the boot sequence of the game
2) content
The Racoon City Police Station map has been split into two separate layouts:
Raccoon City Police Station East Wing
Raccoon City Police Station West Wing
Both maps feature new openings to make it easier than ever to navigate, wider hallways to improve gameplay, and are much smaller than the original version.
3) Bug Fixes
Also Read Story Continues below
Fixed an issue that caused survivors to drop too many Blood Orbs after performing some actions when playing against the Oni.
Fixed an issue that occasionally caused the killer to appear in a survivor slot in a custom game lobby.
Fixed an issue that caused the Spirit’s and Oni’s Attack on Titan outfits to appear as body-only cosmetics in the store featured page.
Fixed an issue that caused The Survivor to float in front of the Killer when been grab while performing various actions.
Fixed an issue that caused Survivors to be misaligned with the Huntress when interrupted while vaulting towards the Killer.
Fixed an issue that caused broken animation when repairing a generator.
Fixed an issue that caused the ‘Disfigured Ear’ add-on for the Hag to reduce audio for everyone, and not only the survivor that triggers the trap.
Fixed an issue that caused the status effect icon to display a second time instead of the effect’s source
Fixed an issue that may cause the Lament Configuration to become invisible after being picked up by the Cenobite.
Fixed an issue that may cause the Lament Configuration to appear on a bush and be inaccessible in the Garden of Joy map.
Fixed an issue that may cause survivors to no longer be able to solve the Lament Configuration when picking it up at the same time as the Cenobite.
Fixed an issue that caused the Shape to be unable to use the Tombstone Mori on survivors currently using the map, key or Clairvoyance perk.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors to be unable to interact with the White Glyph after breaking the mirror.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors not to receive a score event after burning the Spirit’s husk with a flashlight.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors to receive a Burn score event after blinding the Wraith with the flashlight while uncloaked.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors not to receive progress towards the Medic achievement when healing a survivor using the For the People perk.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors to gain progress towards the Milk ‘n’ Cookies achievement by opening the basement chest without picking up the item.
Fixed an issue that caused survivors sacrificed at the Executioner’s Cage of Atonement not to grant progress towards the Reverent archive challenge.
Fixed an issue that caused killers to remain shortly in the falling animation after landing after vaulting from a certain height.
Fixed an issue that caused certain survivor charms to be misplaced when repairing a generator.
4) Known Issues
The Mastermind’s tentacles glows in first person point of view.
She’s currently in Australia filming the latest Mad Max installation.
And actress Anya Taylor-Joy took a well-deserved day off on Monday, spending the day in Sydney’s Hyde Park.
The 26-year-old, who is best known for her role in the Netflix miniseries The Queen’s Gambit, was seen having a cigarette mid-stroll in the iconic park.
Smoke-break! Anya Taylor-Joy was spotted smoking on day off from filming Mad Max: Fury Road in Sydney’s Hyde park on Monday, after revealing she lived off diet coke and cigarettes during Queen’s Gambit filming
Anya sat down on a park bench and lit up a cigarette to smoke, flashing her dazzling wedding and engagement ring.
Dressed head-to-toe in oversized black outerwear, the award-winning actress rugged up for the winter weather in a black trench coat, black trousers and a black beanie.
She was wearing black Bose QuietComfort headphones and a tote bag from Sydney’s well-known Ritz Cinemas in Randwick.
Lighting up: Anya sat down on a park bench and lit up a cigarette to smoke, flashing her dazzling wedding and engagement ring
Chatting away! Anya chatted on the phone as she enjoyed her smoke break
Keeping warm: Dressed head-to-toe in oversized black outerwear, the award-winning actress rugged up for the winter weather in a black trench coat, black trousers and a black beanie
The canvas bag features several famous film directors including Sofia Coppola, George Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Federico Fellini and Ava Duvernay.
Anya also appeared to be wearing a long blonde wig, with her brown hair peeking underneath after the actress’ hair was dyed brown while she films Mad Max: Furiosa.
Last year, the Golden Globe winner revealed that she was suffering with burnout while filming The Queens’s Gambit, as it came right off the back of filming two movies.
Happy: The star seemed in good spirits as she enjoyed her walk around the picturesque park
Grungy: She was wearing black Bose QuietComfort headphones and a tote bag from Sydney’s well-known Ritz Cinemas in Randwick
Getting wiggy with it: Anya also appeared to be wearing a long blonde wig, with her brown hair peeking underneath after the actress’ hair was dyed brown while she films Mad Max: Fury Road
First up was her lead role in Autumn de Wilde’s big-screen adaptation of Emma. Then after just one day off she began work on psychological horror Last Night in Soho, before going straight into filming The Queen’s Gambit.
‘I survived on Diet Coke, cigarettes and coffee, and by the end of it, I was like, “I need to eat a vegetable,”‘ she told Tatler magazine at the time.
By the time she got around to filming the Netflix miniseries, Anya admitted she was in bed by 8pm every night, yet struggled with the fact she wanted to be out socializing and partying like her friends in their 20s.
‘It’s: go home, have a bath, get up for work. I sound mental, but that’s what’s working for me right now,’ she added.
Shock diet: Last year, the Golden Globe winner revealed that she was suffering with burnout while filming The Queens’s Gambit, as it came right off the back of filming two movies. She said she lived off Diet Coke, coffee and cigarettes
Anya’s latest sighting was just a week after she was seen for the first time on the set of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa.
Dressed as the titular character, Furiosa, the American star looked worlds away from her usually polished, stylish self while filming in front of a green screen in Sydney’s South on Wednesday, August 3.
Swapping her trademark platinum locks for a messy, matted brown hair-do and tatty clothing, the smiling star was unrecognizable on set as she got stuck in to her latest role.
Award-winning role: Anya played an orphan named Beth Harmon who becomes a chess prodigy in the Netflix miniseries
Her costume consisted of a dirt-stained brown T-shirt which had one sleeve missing and loose trousers. She also wore a green glove, which will be used in post-production to create her character Furiosa’s prosthetic arm.
Anya has enjoyed a stratospheric rise to fame in recent years thanks to her role in Netflix drama The Queens Gambit, as well as films Emma and The Northman, in which she stars alongside Alexander Skarsgård and Nicole Kidman.
Anya arrived in Sydney in May ahead of filming Furiosa, accompanied by her partner Malcolm McRae, who she secretly married in June.
Mad Max: Furiosa is scheduled for release in 2024.
Just married! Anya arrived in Sydney in May ahead of filming Furiosa, accompanied by her partner Malcolm McRae, who she secretly married in June
Japanese jockey Taiki Yanagida has died in Waikato Hospital from injuries suffered in a horse racing fall at Cambridge last week.
The 28-year-old had his mother Kayano and one of his two sisters Chiaki by his side when he died, the NZ Herald reports. They had rushed from Japan last Thursday to be with Taiki, who suffered brain and spinal cord damage in the accident.
He was placed in an induced coma straight after the accident and never regained consciousness.
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If he had, the damage to his spinal cord was so severe it was highly unlikely he would have walked again.
Yanagida was riding maiden horse Te Atatu Pash in the last race of the Cambridge synthetic track meeting last Wednesday when his mount was checked and fell.
Yanagida’s riding helmet came off in the fall and he was partially rolled on by his own mount but was also galloped on by a following horse, who in the split-second incident could not have avoided him and struck him heavily in the back.
The accident stunned racing industry participants, particularly the very close-knit ranks of professional jockeys, with Yanagida the first jockey to die in a race fall in New Zealand since Rebecca Black at Gore in December, 2016.
Yanagida, known to almost everyone in the racing industry as Tiger, was born and raised in Japan and didn’t start riding until he was 18, firstly in Australia before moving to New Zealand.
He recently told racing publication race form his mother had initially been against him becoming a jockey.
“I wanted to try and become a jockey but my Mum didn’t agree, she said I must go to university first,” Taiki said in June.
“I completed one year at university before I said I was going to Australia to train to be a jockey.”
Yanagida then spoke of his mother’s fears for him in his chosen career, fears that have so tragically become reality.
“Now my mother is happy for me, she knows I am doing what I always wanted to, but she still worries about me and is always going to the temple to pray for my luck and safety,” he said just two months ago.
Yanagida moved to New Zealand and developed his craft working for top Matamata trainers Andrew Scott and Lance O’Sullivan, the latter one of New Zealand’s all-time champion jockeys.
O’Sullivan said the news was heartbreaking for those who knew Yanagida but will be felt throughout the racing industry not only in New Zealand and Japan but beyond.
“He was a good young man, very dedicated to his career,” O’Sullivan said.
“He had to be because he was quite tall for a jockey so he had to work hard to keep his weight under control but that became his other passion, being a fitness fanatic so he could keep being a jockey.
“He wasn’t a natural jockey when he first came to us but worked so hard he got better and better.
“It is a very sad day for everybody who knew him and the racing industry.”
One of Yanagida’s closest friends was fellow Japanese apprentice jockey Yuto Kumagai, who Yanagida’s had helped mentor since Kumagai arrived in New Zealand.
“He was a very special friend and he told me a few weeks ago he wanted to help me become the leading apprentice this season,” said Kumagai.
“He loved riding and worked so hard to stay fit so he could be better at it. I always wanted to improve.
“It is very, very sad. I am very sad.”
Yanagida was a single man with no children who O’Sullivan says was unfailingly polite.
“These days it is rare for an apprentice to stay with the same trainers right through their apprenticeship because it is so easy once they start riding winners to go somewhere where they don’t have to do the stable work, just ride trackwork and in races .
“But Taiki stayed with us all the way through. He wanted to work hard and do the right thing. That is what sort of young man he was.”
Yanagida’s racing manager Ted McLachlan had been with him and his family at the hospital every day and was devastated by his death.
“He was such a wonderful young man it really is a tragedy and so hard to watch what his mother and sister here have had to go through,” said McLachlan.
“This will really hurt the other people in the industry because Taiki was so popular.”
Yanagida had his personal best season last racing term, riding 42 winners including three black type successes, which are at racing highest levels.
He sacrificed his goal of winning 50 races for the season to fly home to Japan for the first time in four years to see his family for a month in June, only returning to New Zealand mid-July.
Yanagida rode 162 winners in his New Zealand career and while those numbers are testament to his work ethic those who met and worked alongside Yanagida will not remember him for his racetrack victories.
They will remember a polite, happy, dedicated young man who was willing to leave his home country to chase his dream of becoming a jockey.
Taiki achieved his dream and that can never be taken away from him.
This article originally appeared on the NZ Herald and was reproduced with permission
Australia’s national weather agency has issued a staunch defense of its handling of deadly flooding in New South Wales earlier this year, after a parliamentary report found it did not comprehend the scale of the threat.
Key points:
The Bureau of Meteorology has defended its role in the 2022 flood event, arguing government and communities were warned
A NSW parliamentary report found the bureau used “incorrect” data to brief agencies
A residents group wants more control over decisions made in a flood crisis
Five people died in the first flood event in the Northern Rivers on February 28, with evacuation orders for towns such as Lismore issued through the night as flood waters tore through the region.
A NSW parliamentary committee found the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was not prepared, that information used to make decisions was “incorrect and out of date”, and recommended it review its data processes.
The bureau declined to be interviewed by the ABC but in a statement a spokesperson said the agency “strongly refutes” the committee’s findings.
The statement outlined how the BOM warned governments, including national cabinet, and the community in 2021 of a likely La Niña event and above-average flooding risk across Australia’s north and east.
Specifically in relation to flooding in northern NSW, it said it told the State Emergency Service (SES) five days before the first event of “the potential for life-threatening flash-flooding over the NSW north coast” and that it issued flood watches and warnings “many days in advance”.
“The bureau also explicitly identified the risk for intense localized rain events, life threatening flash flooding and the potential for rapid river rises,” it said.
The Northern Rivers flood event was the region’s worst on record.(ABC North Coast: Ruby Cornish)
The statement also addressed the report findings that some agencies treated it “as a nine-to-five business operation”, arguing it was instead a “365 days a year, 24/7 operation”.
The bureau said that for this event, a specialized meteorologist and a hydrologist were embedded with the SES at the Wollongong headquarters, and that the bureau supplied area-specific briefings to agencies.
It also noted that engagement with the parliamentary committee had been “limited”, and that a separate independent flood inquiry, which has handed its report to the government but was not yet public, was much more proactive with asking for information.
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Probe finds lead emergency agencies failed in flood response(Bruce MacKenzie)
‘more of the same’
Kyogle Shire Council general manager Graham Kennett said the report was missing recommendations to improve telecommunications, which were crucial for monitoring levels to make decisions.
“If we know what’s going on in this catchment and in that catchment, then we have warning times and we can predict flood levels to a degree of accuracy that is good enough to make informed decisions about when people need to leave,” he said.
“It takes 45 minutes to an hour for the data to get online and in some cases that is too long for a decision-making process.”
In Lismore, a group of residents said the 37 recommendations did not go far enough, and wanted locals to be given the power to make decisions in future flood events
The parliamentary committee slammed the response of the SES during the flood crisis, accusing it of “issuing out of date, inaccurate and confusing messages”.
It has recommended that a restructure of the SES be conducted to harness local knowledge and increase the number of salaried staff and volunteers.
Beth Trevan (left) believes the recommendations do not afford local people enough autonomy.(ABC North Coast: Bruce MacKenzie)
Lismore Citizens Flood Review group coordinator Beth Trevan said while the inquiry findings mirrored the group’s submission, the recommendations were “disappointing” as they appeared to be “more of the same”.
Ms Trevan wants local people on the ground to have the power to make decisions.
“In the past we’ve had long term local people, who had been here for 30 or 40 years and were in senior positions at a regional level … and the knowledge of the entire area and the knowledge of all the agencies and the people who ran them was at their fingertips,” she said.
“By the time it gets transferred from here to Sydney and they have a chat with the bureau, the time is wasted, and we don’t have time.”
Catherine Cusack left parliament in protest of her party’s handling of the flood crisis.(abcnews)
Catherine Cusack represented the Liberal Party on the parliamentary committee, but no longer sits in parliament after letting her membership lapse in protest at her party’s handling of the crisis.
She fell short of backing the notion that local people should be making decisions but said they should be “more front and centre”.
“Of all the data that flows into them, there’s just no capacity for locals to say ‘I don’t know what it is in your gauges … but all I can tell you is the water is meters high up here in an unprecedented way’ ,” she said.
The SES said it is reviewing the report and will provide a response to parliament.
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina says they’ve found the vehicle and arrested its prime suspect in recent Muslim killings. Police and FBI agents have arrested 51-year-old Muhammad Syed. Police consider Syed to be the primary suspect in the recent killings. Police say as they prepared to search Syed’s home, Syed drove from the home in the Volkswagen Jetta they were searching for. Once police detained Syed, they searched his home and his vehicle, finding evidence that tied Syed to the recent murders. Detectives found evidence that shows Syed knew the victims and that a conflict may have lead to the shootings. Syed is being charged in the July 26, 2022 murder of Aftab Hussein and the Aug. 1, 2022 murder of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain. Police say they found bullet casings at both scenes that connected the two shootings. The gun that was used in both shootings was found during the search of Syed’s home. Police will work with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office on possible charges in the August 5, 2022 murder of Naeem Hussain and the Nov. 7, 2021 murder of Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi. What we know about each case Police believe three recent murders and a murder that happened on Nov. 7, 2021, could be potentially connected. Albuquerque police say the first homicide happened on Nov. 7, 2021. In that incident, Mohammad Ahmadi was killed outside of a business he and his brother ran at 1401 San Mateo Blvd. Ahmadi was from Afghanistan. Police are working to determine if this murder is connected to three other murders that happened in the city. Albuquerque police say the second homicide happened on July 26 in southeast Albuquerque. Police identified the victim as 41-year-old Aftab Hussein. Hussein was from Pakistan.The third homicide happened on Aug. 1. Police say Muhammed Afzaal Hussain was killed in southeast Albuquerque.RELATED: Albuquerque homicides on pace with last year’s recordThe fourth homicide happened on Aug. 5. Police say they responded to reports of a shooting on Truman Street and Grand Avenue in northeast Albuquerque. When police arrived, they found Naeem Hussain dead at the scene. Police say the victim was Muslim and was a native of South Asia. Police are still not calling this a hate crime, nor are they calling the suspect a serial killer. If you have any information on the incident, call Crime Stoppers at 505-843 -STOP or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. The Albuquerque Police Department has also created a portal for the public to submit any video or photo evidence related to the case. Click here to access the portal. Who are the victims? Police have named three of the four victims who were killed. Mohammad Ahmadi was killed on Nov. 7, 2021. Aftab Hussein was killed on July 26, 2022. Muhammed Afzaal Hussain was killed on Aug. 1. Naeem Hussain was fourth person killed on Aug 5.Muhammed Hussain was the Planning and Land Use Director for the city of Española.
ALBUQUERQUE, NM —
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina says they’ve found the vehicle and arrested its prime suspect in recent Muslim killings.
Police and FBI agents have arrested 51-year-old Muhammad Syed. Police consider Syed to be the primary suspect in the recent killings.
Police say as they prepared to search Syed’s home, Syed drove from the home in the Volkswagen Jetta they were searching for. Once police detained Syed, they searched his home and his vehicle, finding evidence that tied Syed to the recent murders.
Detectives found evidence that shows Syed knew the victims and that a conflict may have lead to the shootings.
Syed is being charged in the July 26, 2022 murder of Aftab Hussein and the Aug. 1, 2022 murder of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain.
Police say they found bullet casings at both scenes that connected the two shootings. The gun that was used in both shootings was found during the search of Syed’s home.
Police will work with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office on possible charges in the August 5, 2022 murder of Naeem Hussain and the Nov. 7, 2021 murder of Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi.
What we know about each case
Police believe three recent murders and a murder that happened on Nov. 7, 2021, could be potentially connected.
Albuquerque police say the first homicide happened on Nov. 7, 2021. In that incident, Mohammad Ahmadi was killed outside of a business he and his brother ran at 1401 San Mateo Blvd. Ahmadi was from Afghanistan. Police are working to determine if this murder is connected to three other murders that happened in the city.
Albuquerque police say the second homicide happened on July 26 in southeast Albuquerque. Police identified the victim as 41-year-old Aftab Hussein. Hussein was from Pakistan.
The third homicide happened on Aug. 1. Police say Muhammed Afzaal Hussain was killed in southeast Albuquerque.
RELATED: Albuquerque homicides on pace with last year’s record
The fourth homicide happened on Aug. 5. Police say they responded to reports of a shooting on Truman Street and Grand Avenue in northeast Albuquerque. When police arrived, they found Naeem Hussain dead at the scene. Police say the victim was Muslim and was a native of South Asia.
Police are still not calling this a hate crime, nor are they calling the suspect a serial killer.
If you have any information about the incident, call Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
The Albuquerque Police Department has also created a portal for the public to submit any video or photo evidence related to the case. Click here to access the portal.
Who are the victims?
Police have named three of the four victims who were killed.
Mohammad Ahmadi was killed on Nov. 7, 2021.
Aftab Hussein was killed on July 26, 2022.
Muhammed Afzaal Hussain was killed on Aug. 1.
Naeem Hussain was fourth person killed on Aug 5.
Muhammed Hussain was the Planning and Land Use Director for the city of Española.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick didn’t have a huge amount to say about the still-untitled GTA 6 during the company’s recent earnings, but that didn’t keep him from using some pretty strong language to describe it.
“With the development of the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series well underway, the Rockstar Games team is determined to once again set creative benchmarks for the series, our industry, and for all entertainment, just as the label has done with every one of their frontline releases,” reads a quote from Zelnick in the company’s latest financial results report. That’s quite a statement and surely gives the game, whatever form it takes, a lot to live up to.
Zelnick, of course, is known for issuing big, bold claims. It’s not that I don’t believe him when he says this, either — quite the contrary, we’re still seeing the continued, runaway success of GTA Online today, a decade after launch. So there’s certainly precedent for puffing one’s chest. But still … what a thing to claim.
This statement marks the second time this year that Rockstar has confirmed active development on its follow-up to the staggeringly popular Grand Theft Auto V. There are still no official details on GTA 6 just yet. However, a report did go around late last month regarding improved working conditions on the project and that the game would feature a Latin woman in the lead role.
Take-Two’s latest earnings report indicates that GTA V has sold almost 170 million units worldwide. That’s another five million sales since its last earnings report in May. Additionally, Take-Two says that its GTA+ subscription service has “seen consistent growth since launch.” It also confirmed that players on PS5 and Xbox Series X spend more than those on older hardware.
