Categories
Australia

Queensland family shooting: Accused charged with three counts of murder, one charge of attempted murder

Queensland family shooting: Accused charged with three counts of murder, one charge of attempted murder

A 59-year-old man has been charged with three counts of murder following the horrific mass shooting on remote farmland in Queensland.

The accused, identified by The Courier-Mail as long-term Bogie resident Darryl Young, is also facing one charge of attempted murder.

He will appear in the Proserpine Magistrates Court on Monday.

Mervyn and Maree Schwarz and their son Graham Tighe were killed in Bogie on Thursday.

Ross Tighe – Graham’s brother – survived the shooting and is currently in hospital after being shot in the stomach.

Police allege the weapon used in the shooting was a rifle.

“It will be alleged that around 9am, police received a report that three people had been fatally shot at a property on Shannonvale Road and another man had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen,” the police said in a statement.

“The injured man remains in Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition with a single gunshot wound to the stomach.”

“How it happened in this day and age is beyond me. It’s not America,” Maree Schwarz’s brother-in-law, Greg Austin, told TheDailyMail.

Mr Austen said he was completely shocked when he heard the news, describing his loved ones as an “honest Christian family”.

“They were a bush family who worked seven days a week and had beers on Sundays, participated in events, very community-minded and well-respected in the community. Just a normal Australian family,” he said.

Mr Austen told news.com.au he learned of the shooting through “dribs and drabs” from the rest of his family.

“I have sisters and that over there, or on their way there, and it was just what we were hearing from them. They obviously were talking to the police, and we just got information from them when we could,” he said.

And in a tragic detail, Mr Austen revealed Graham Tighe had only spent three days with his newborn son before the shooting. The baby had just come home after three weeks in hospital in Brisbane.

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How the situation unfolded

Emergency crews were called to a property in Bogie – a small outback mining town in the Whitsundays near Collinsville – at 8.54am on Thursday.

Three people were confirmed deceased after police were notified of reports that multiple people had been shot in the area.

After finding the sole survivor, Ross, in a vehicle at Flagstone, an emergency declaration was made at 11.30am under the Public Safety Preservation Act, with boundaries encompassing Sutherland Rd, Normanby Rd, Mount Compton Rd and Starvation Creek.

This emergency declaration has since been revoked.

Police revealed Ross managed to alert police to the shooting after escaping the scene and miraculously traveling “many, many kilometers” while suffering from a gunshot wound.

“We believe that the male was able to extract himself from the area when he was spoken to by a police officer many, many kilometers away from the crime scene,” Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt said on Thursday.

“He was fleeing from the scene… he was able to tell police that he had been shot and three others (were) also shot.”

Police said he fled the scene in a red ute before contacting the authorities.

Mr Austen told the Daily Mail that his nephew-in-law showed incredible courage, describing him as a “very strong man”.

“Ross has two girls, but he’s OK. I haven’t spoken to him yet because he’s about three hours away, but we’re heading there,” he said.

“To witness what unfolded in front of him and then to be able to walk back to the car shows real resilience, and I’m sure he won’t forget it for the rest of his life.”

He was flown to Mackay Hospital in a critical condition and rushed into emergency surgery.

He is now in a serious but stable condition in the intensive care unit.

Police were able to interview him on Thursday night and are expected to speak with him again today.

speaking to Sunrise on Friday morning, Acting Superintendent Armitt said police “believe” they have the alleged shooter in custody.

“The person who has been nominated for that offense is with us here in custody,” he said.

“We haven’t pressed any charges at this point in time while our investigations are ongoing.”

Police spoke to five people on Thursday night in relation to the shooting.

Two of the people who were spoken to by police were reportedly wind farm contractors who happened to be near the property at the wrong time. They were released on Thursday night.

Two other people, family members of the 59-year-old man still in custody, have also now been released.

The man still in custody was located by police on the property following the shooting.

“At that particular point in time when we initially received the call we had no idea who or where the shooting offender was and obviously we had to push forward into the scene being very mindful of our own safety and at the risk of police officers being shot. ,” Acting Superintendent Armitt told reporters on Friday.

“We were able to make contact with the people on the property and organize taking them into custody.”

$10m property and neighborhood dispute in the spotlight

An alleged neighborhood dispute is forming a major part of investigations, with Acting Superintendent Armitt revealing parties involved in the event were neighbours.

Mr and Mrs Schwarz, along with Graham, had only purchased the 300-square-kilometre property in May 2021, according to the Daily Mail.

They paid $10 million for the land, which is zoned for cattle grazing, breeding and farming purposes.

Acting Superintendent Armitt also appeared on Nine’s Today show on Friday, providing some more detail on the alleged neighborhood dispute.

“There is not too much detail I can tell you right now. What we do know is that the parties involved are neighbors and some conversation has occurred between the parties and resulted in a meeting up of the parties at the boundary line in the early hours of yesterday morning when the incident occurred,” he said.

Later on Friday, the Acting Superintendent provided some further insight on the layout of the properties in the area, revealing the scene of the shooting was an hour-and-a-half away from Collinsville in a very remote area.

“We are talking properties of the size of tens of thousands of acres and between the two properties in question it’s actually a 45 minute drive between the neighbours,” I explained.

“At the crime scene, which is at the front gate of one of the promises, it is a 3km drive between the gate and the house at that location.”

Mike Brunker from the Whitsunday Regional Council told Sunrise the family moved to the area from out west, describing the situation as “absolutely tragic”.

“The road leading up to that particular property, there’s some small boutique rural residential areas and then, of course, at the end of the road is the cattle properties that we’re talking about,” he said.

“I think these people had only moved over here 12 months ago from out west.”

‘It’s shocking’: Town rattled by horror shooting

Mr Brunker said a tragic event like this is the last thing the Bogie community would ever think it would make national news for.

According to the latest census data, Bogie has a population of just 207 people, making it an extremely tight knit community.

Locals from nearby Bowen and Collinsville described the incident as “unusual” and “strange” for the usually quiet area.

“There haven’t been many shootings there (Bogie) before … it’s very unusual,” a business owner in Collinsville said.

Bowen resident Shontai McLennan told the DailyMercury that the situation came as a complete shock to many.

“We’re traditional owners of this land around Collinsville. I wouldn’t have thought it could happen here. It’s a small town,” she said.

Redcliffe man Warren Davidson told the publication he had seen multiple emergency vehicles racing along the road as he was on his way to Bowen from Ingham.

“Then we heard it on the CB radio that there’d been a shooting. It’s pretty shocking,” he said.

Read related topics:Brisbane

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Categories
US

Pentagon chiefs’ calls to China go unanswered amid Taiwan crisis

US military leaders strive to maintain open lines of communication even with potential adversaries such as China to prevent accidents and other miscalculations that could turn into a full-blown conflict.

But the last call Milley had with his Chinese counterpart, Chief of the Joint Staff Gen. Li Zuocheng, was on July 7, the Pentagon said. The two spoke by secure video teleconference about the need to maintain open lines of communication, as well as reducing risk, according to a readout from Milley’s office. Austin, meanwhile, met in person with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe in June on the sideline of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“The secretary has repeatedly emphasized the importance of fully open lines of communication with China’s defense leaders to ensure that we can avoid any miscalculations, and that remains true,” Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, told POLITICO in an email.

China on Friday announced that it was halting certain official dialogues between senior-level US military commanders, including the regional commanders, as well as talks on maritime safety. The announcement does not specifically apply to Austin and Milley’s counterparts, and officials said they are still open to communication between those leaders.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said while the announcement “does not completely eliminate the opportunities for senior members of our military to talk,” it increases the risk of an accident.

“These lines of communications are actually important for helping you reduce the risk of miscalculation and misperception,” Kirby said Friday. “You have this much military hardware operating in confined areas, it’s good, especially now, to have those lines of communication open.”

China is conducting military drills around Taiwan that have broken multiple precedents and fundamentally changed the status quo in the region. Beijing this week launched missiles into Taiwan’s territory, including at least one that appears to have flown over the island, and has sortied ships and aircraft across the median line separating Taiwan’s territorial waters from mainland China.

The US, which does not officially recognize Taiwan’s independence but sells weapons to the island, wants to avoid a situation such as on April 1, 2001, when a US Navy EP-3 signals intelligence aircraft and a Chinese J-8 fighter collided in mid -air, prompting an international dispute.

The risk of such an incident is increasingly high. China has recently ramped up aggressive activity in the Pacific, particularly the East and South China seas, alarming US officials. Chinese aircraft and ships have buzzed and harassed US and allied pilots, even conducting an “unsafe” intercept with a US special operations C-130 aircraft in June.

Yet canceling military dialogue is significant, but not unprecedented, experts said.

“Historically this is definitely part of the playbook,” Schriver said. “Thousand thousand [communications] historically it is on the chopping block when we have problems with China.”

But Kirby condemned the move as “irresponsible” at a time of escalating tensions.

“We find the shutting down of military communications channels at whatever level and whatever scope and at a time of crisis to be an irresponsible Act,” Kirby said.

Categories
Business

Elon Musk’s desperate plea to his dad ignored: ‘Please keep quiet’

Elon Musk's desperate plea to his dad ignored: 'Please keep quiet'

Elon Musk has begged his father to “please keep quiet” after he gave an interview about their relationship to the Kyle and Jackie O show on Kiss FM.

Errol Musk, 76, told the Australian radio station he was not proud of his billionaire son when quizzed on the matter live on air earlier in the week.

But the retired electrical engineer later said he misspoke at the time because he hadn’t heard the question properly.

Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia, Errol said his three daughters were so upset with the comments he made on Kyle and Jackie O they refused to speak to him for days.

“Elon knows it’s not true, so he would never get upset about it. He just laughs this kind of stuff off,” Errol said.

“But the last message Elon sent to me was: ‘Dad, the press play you like a fiddle so please keep quiet’.”

It comes after Elon accused Twitter of fraud, alleging the social media platform misled him about key aspects of his business before he agreed to a $44 billion buyout, as their court battle heats up.

The Tesla boss lodged the claim late Thursday as he fights back against Twitter’s lawsuit seeking to force him to close the deal, which he has tried to cancel.

Elon argued in the filing to a Delaware court that the number of users who can be shown advertising on the platform is far below the firm’s figures.

“Twitter’s disclosures have slowly unraveled, with Twitter frantically closing the gates on information in a desperate bid to prevent the Musk Parties from uncovering its fraud,” the claim alleged.

In its own filing, Twitter rejected the mercurial billionaire’s argument, calling it “as implausible and contrary to fact as it sounds.” “According to Musk, he – the billionaire founder of multiple companies, advised by Wall Street bankers and lawyers – was hoodwinked by Twitter into signing a $44 billion merger agreement,” Twitter said.

Elon last week filed his countersuit, which was finally made public on Thursday, along with a legal defense against Twitter’s claim that the billionaire is contractually bound to complete the takeover deal.

‘Distortion, misrepresentation’

“The counterclaims are a made-for-litigation tale that is contradicted by the evidence and common sense,” Twitter argued in the filing.

A five-day trial that will consider Twitter’s lawsuit against Elon has been scheduled for October 17.

The Tesla boss wooed Twitter’s board with a $54.20 per-share offer, but then in July announced he was ending their agreement because the firm had misled him regarding its tally of fake and spam accounts.

Twitter, whose stock price closed at $41.06 on Thursday, has stuck by its estimates that less than five per cent of the activity on the platform is due to software “bots” rather than people.

Twitter told the court that Elon’s claim that the false account figure tops 10 per cent is “untenable.” The company also disputed Elon’s assertion that he has the right to walk away from the deal if Twitter’s bot count is found to be wrong, since he didn’t ask anything about bots when he made the buyout offer.

Twitter accuses Elon of contriving a story to escape a merger agreement that he no longer found attractive.

“Twitter has complied in every respect with the merger agreement,” the company said in the filing made to Chancery Court in the state of Delaware.

“Musk’s counterclaims, based as they are on distortion, misrepresentation, and outright deception, change nothing.” The social media platform has urged shareholders to endorse the deal, setting a vote on the merger for September 13.

Billions of dollars are at stake, but so is the future of Twitter, which Elon has said should allow any legal speech – an absolutist position that has sparked fears the network could be used to incite violence.

– With AFP

Read related topics:Elon Musk

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Categories
Technology

Multiple Call of Duty games are down across all platforms

Multiple Call of Duty games are down across all platforms

Activision’s online service page has confirmed that multiple Call of Duty games including — Vanguard and war zone are experiencing connectivity issues on all platforms. According to a report by Dot Esports, Activision is aware of the issues faced by these games (including Black Ops Cold War on all platforms and Black OpsIII on PC) and is investigating the cause.
Moreover, some users have also reported issues regarding Modern Warfare and Black Ops 4, however, Activision has listed any issues regarding these games. The server outage was initially reported by BO4 connection on PlayStation 4, the report mentions.

How this outage has impacted the game and players
As per the report, the developers are likely working hard to patch this issue, however, it will take some time before they resolve it. This outage will deduct a little bit of time out of the Double XP week that recently began for both weapons and the battle pass in Vanguard and Warzone.
Apart from that, the connectivity problems have also affected the Call of Duty League Championship which is also the biggest COD event of the year. The championship has been experiencing a delay since the outage. The report suggests that the league seemed ready to start the second match of the tournament right around the time the servers dropped.

How to understand when a server starts falling
As the server of a game starts struggling, players will start experiencing lag, high ping, and packet loss along with complete loss of connection to the server while playing it. There are a few fixes that can temporarily patch the issue, however, only the developers can roll out a permanent solution to the problem.

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Categories
Sports

MotoGP Silverstone: Aleix: 0.8s Long Lap ‘a joke’, ‘we have to be more professional’ | MotoGP

MotoGP Silverstone: Aleix: 0.8s Long Lap 'a joke', 'we have to be more professional' | MotoGP

While there has been plenty of debate over whether MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo should even have received a Long Lap for the Assen incident with Aleix Espargaro, it is the Silverstone Long Lap layout itself that has now come under fire.

Usually, riders lose around 2.5-3 seconds when they run ‘wide’ to serve the Long Lap. But Quartararo looked to lose far less during his many practice runs through the Silverstone penalty area on Friday.

This weekend’s Long Lap lane is located on the outside of Turn 14, a tight hairpin corner.

Quartararo wouldn’t put a number on exactly how much time he was losing, but the slow nature of the turn, combined with the relatively short length of the loop, meant Espargaro estimated it is only 0.8s.

While the Aprilia star has made clear he does not agree with Quartararo receiving the penalty, given other incidents have gone unpunished this year, he felt it was also inexcusable for MotoGP not to be able to create a consistent Long Lap zone of 2.5-3s at each racetrack.

“It’s a joke. It is not for me to complain about the Long Lap because it looks like I am saying it because my rival has to do the penalty, but it’s a joke. You lose eight tenths! He was trying it today and it was eight tenths,” Espargaro said. “We have to be more professional about this.

“If it’s 3 seconds then it should be 3 seconds everywhere. 2.5s is OK, but eight tenths?! It’s ridiculous.

“But anyway it doesn’t matter. Even if it was 2 seconds Jack [Miller] proved this year you can do the Long Lap penalty and fight for the podium, so imagine Fabio.”

Espargaro added that he fully supports the Long Lap as a way of penalizing riders.

“In the past, if you did a jump start then you had to do a ride-through [the pits] and this was a disaster. Now if you do a Long Lap penalty it is better for the show. It is a good invention, but now we have to be serious with it.

“I don’t think it is that difficult [to get the same time Long Lap time at each track]. Someone can come with a Superbike and try it, if it’s too fast then you tighten it. You can have half a second up or down, but not from 3.1-3.2 like it was in Barcelona to 0.8 here. That’s a huge difference.

“You can see here that it is one meter out of the track and with the same layout. It’s easy!”

For Espargaro, it comes down to consistency once again.

“I have nothing against Fabio. It looks like I’m saying all this because he has to do the Long Lap, but again, what we want is that things are the same: the Long Lap penalty, the penalties in general and how we treat everything.

“Once again, we get to another track and it is different; this is what we need to improve.”

Joan Mir jokes: Maybe you gain time on this Long Lap!

Espargaro wasn’t the only one to highlight the lack of time lost on the Long Lap at Silverstone.

“This Long Lap penalty, maybe you gain a bit of time rather than lose!” joked Suzuki’s Joan Mir. “Okay, for sure you don’t gain time. But it’s not 3 seconds, not at all. Maybe just 1 second.

“It’s a really tight corner, and also it’s really close [to the racing] line. In a slow corner you always lose less time than in a fast corner.

“I think that this can be improved a little bit more, to have more or less than 3 seconds average [at every track].”

A ‘delayed’ Long Lap would also help Quartararo

Aside from the time lost in the Long Lap, the timing of when Quartararo serves the penalty will also determine how many places he loses.

The earlier in the race the ‘Long Lap’ board is shown, after which Quartararo will have two further laps in which serve the penalty, the more positions the Frenchman is likely to concede.

“I will not say a number, but we lose quite a lot [of time],” Quartararo said of his Long Lap practice.

“I also need to make it in the beginning of the race, but I hope I will not make it so much in the beginning because I think it’s quite a dangerous place to get back on the track.

“Of course, it’s also a small advantage for me [to take later]but for the safety, I hope they will not put it straight away from the first lap, but maybe from the second or third lap.”

Other riders serving Long Laps in the early stages of a race have lost around 3-4 positions this year.

Quartararo, last year’s Silverstone winner, was fastest during Friday practice with Espargaro, currently 21 points behind the Yamaha rider, in a close fifth (+0.207s).

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Categories
Australia

‘We’ve changed and so have restaurants’: the new rules of dining out in Australia | Australian food and drinks

The question that we, as diners, don’t ask ourselves enough is, “Am I being unreasonable?”

Sadly, a lot of reliable, old-school restaurants are choosing to close rather than renew their leases. And can you blame them? Many of these owners are claiming burnout is the problem. And what burnout means is constantly putting their health at risk by working a public-facing role, while tackling rising food costs, rent hikes, irate customers, and a nation-wide labor shortage where hospitality has 52,000 roles to fill. These figures place hospitality as one of the top industries experiencing a labor crisis, next to healthcare. Demand for workers is at an all-time high.

Unsurprisingly, after being locked in our homes for extended periods of time, we have forgotten how to dine. But what may be a surprise is that it’s a new generation of restaurant staff making up most of the workforce too. They’re green, they’ve been thrown into the deep end, and mentorship is hard to come by.

As much as we’d like to go out and think that everything was just like we left it, it isn’t. We’ve changed, and so have restaurants. So, how are we meant to behave to make sure we can continue dining out tomorrow?

Empty seating areas at Barangaroo in Sydney
Many established restaurants have closed as hospitality faces a labor crisis. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

The obvious stuff: book a table and read the fine print

Remember when everyone collectively whinged about how restaurants didn’t take bookings anymore and we yearned for the good old days? Well, they’re back. Thanks to the pandemic, restaurants are still less likely to pack diners in, in case dinner turns into a super spreader event, infects their floor staff, and they need to close for a week.

It’s become standard practice for restaurants to ask for a credit card number to secure a booking. If you’re sacrificing your details, it would be remiss of you to not see what they can be used for – especially if you have flaky friends. If you’ve agreed to be charged per-head for a last-minute no-show, you shouldn’t be upset when it happens.

Communicate

Like all successful relationships, good communication leads to better experiences. Does your group have allergies? Tell the restaurant when you book. There is no way that the kitchen can come up with a delicious menu for you on the fly when they’re already behind, understaffed and firing off the courses for every other table in the venue.

Do you want to be seated in a specific area because you like it? Ask when making a reservation. Did someone suddenly get one of the million viruses going around? Tell the restaurant before you show up. Are you celebrating something? Tell them! Do you need to be out early because you have a show? Please tell them. Are you running late? You know the answer to this question.

Diners sit at tables inside a restaurant in China Town in Melbourne.
Diners at a restaurant in Melbourne’s China Town. Communicating with a restaurant will lead to a better experience. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

be on time

This applied before the pandemic, but it has never been more important. If your table is rebooked for a second, or even third seating and you have been given an out-by time, it’s not a suggestion.

There is a flow-on effect from you being late, and that causes stress on the floor and in the kitchen to get your meal out faster, so the people after you aren’t being punished for doing the right thing. The push to speed up a service is an act that can only be controlled by experienced staff. Newbies to the industry are not as efficient as hospo-lifers and haven’t yet developed the confidence to rush an order through the kitchen. So, if you’re late, you’ll make everyone late.

You can ask when the next table is coming but keep in mind that once you leave, your table will have to be cleared, sanitized, and reset. You can’t just play musical chairs. That being said, the industry es hospitality and staff always try to be hospitable. So, if the team read the room correctly and can shuffle people around, they’ll let you know that you can stay for longer. Just don’t assume it can happen every time.

Workers prepare food at Japanese restaurant Nobu at Crown Sydney
The kitchen at Nobu, Sydney. When diners are late, it has a flow-on effect on chefs. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

be patient

You know how over lockdown, you reflected on your life choices and decided it was probably time to get a new job or quit your industry altogether to do what you love? Well, that happened in hospitality. Plus a huge chunk of the international workforce went home and it’s expensive and very difficult to sponsor new, international workers now.

That means you’re being served by fewer people, and they may never have worked in hospitality before. Everyone is operating a little slower, they’re a little bit clumsy, they’re learning on the job and prone to making a mistake or two. Please, be kind and understanding. It’s not the end of the world if your drink takes a couple of minutes longer than everyone else’s – in the worst-case scenario, just remind your server. I guarantee you they’ll apologize profusely. If you scare off the next generation, who will be there to serve you next week?

show-up

It hurts me to write this, but after speaking to a few restaurant owners, they all mentioned an overwhelming number of no-shows. Even when confirmation texts and emails have been sent and acknowledged. One owner told me he texted a person half an hour after their table was meant to arrive, and receiving the response, “Nah, brah, not coming. GF’s not feeling it.” After warning the customer they would be charged to cover the minimum cost of labor and wasted food, the owner discovered the card was already maxed out. Food waste is agonizing for any restaurateur, especially as costs rise – and they’ve already prepped it for you to eat. If you don’t show up, you’re lighting someone else’s money on fire.

Workers clean tables for outdoor dining
Outdoor tables at Sambandha Nepalese restaurant in Auburn, Sydney. Remember, staff have limited time to turn tables around between sittings. Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA

But what if the experience was truly horrific?

We have all been here. It’s an off night for the front and back of house. The bar couldn’t get your drinks right. You were left standing out in the cold waiting for your table to turn (see point three). Service was absent. Cold food arrived warm and hot food arrived cold. It took forever to pay and you felt like you were left to die in the corner.

Raised by Wolves cover
Raised by Wolves, by Jess Ho. Photograph: Affirm Press

Management should be able to see this and they’ll be hurting inside watching your table receive a sub-par experience. If they aren’t putting out a million fires, they’ll most likely approach your table, apologize, take on your feedback and either buy some drinks or send dessert to your table. If you can give them feedback on the spot, don’t make a scene. If management is going down with the ship, try to call in rather than calling out. Email or ring the restaurant to let them know about your experience. Outline what went wrong in the most graceful way possible. They can always track down your table to confirm your story, use your feedback to retrain staff, and most likely invite you back to dine on them. If there is anything a restaurant wants, it is to prove to you that they can do better.

Businesses have been struggling to survive Covid, give them a chance to change your mind before venting your frustrations on Google.

Categories
US

Pentagon chiefs’ calls to China go unanswered amid Taiwan crisis

US military leaders strive to maintain open lines of communication even with potential adversaries such as China to prevent accidents and other miscalculations that could turn into a full-blown conflict.

But the last call Milley had with his Chinese counterpart, Chief of the Joint Staff Gen. Li Zuocheng, was on July 7, the Pentagon said. The two spoke by secure video teleconference about the need to maintain open lines of communication, as well as reducing risk, according to a readout from Milley’s office. Austin, meanwhile, met in person with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe in June on the sideline of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“The secretary has repeatedly emphasized the importance of fully open lines of communication with China’s defense leaders to ensure that we can avoid any miscalculations, and that remains true,” Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, told POLITICO in an email.

China on Friday announced that it was halting certain official dialogues between senior-level US military commanders, including the regional commanders, as well as talks on maritime safety. The announcement does not specifically apply to Austin and Milley’s counterparts, and officials said they are still open to communication between those leaders.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said while the announcement “does not completely eliminate the opportunities for senior members of our military to talk,” it increases the risk of an accident.

“These lines of communications are actually important for helping you reduce the risk of miscalculation and misperception,” Kirby said Friday. “You have this much military hardware operating in confined areas, it’s good, especially now, to have those lines of communication open.”

China is conducting military drills around Taiwan that have broken multiple precedents and fundamentally changed the status quo in the region. Beijing this week launched missiles into Taiwan’s territory, including at least one that appears to have flown over the island, and has sortied ships and aircraft across the median line separating Taiwan’s territorial waters from mainland China.

The US, which does not officially recognize Taiwan’s independence but sells weapons to the island, wants to avoid a situation such as on April 1, 2001, when a US Navy EP-3 signals intelligence aircraft and a Chinese J-8 fighter collided in mid -air, prompting an international dispute.

The risk of such an incident is increasingly high. China has recently ramped up aggressive activity in the Pacific, particularly the East and South China seas, alarming US officials. Chinese aircraft and ships have buzzed and harassed US and allied pilots, even conducting an “unsafe” intercept with a US special operations C-130 aircraft in June.

Yet canceling military dialogue is significant, but not unprecedented, experts said.

“Historically this is definitely part of the playbook,” Schriver said. “Thousand thousand [communications] historically it is on the chopping block when we have problems with China.”

But Kirby condemned the move as “irresponsible” at a time of escalating tensions.

“We find the shutting down of military communications channels at whatever level and whatever scope and at a time of crisis to be an irresponsible Act,” Kirby said.

Categories
Business

Smartphone app could alert you to cancer-causing chemicals in meat

Cured and processed meats, such as salami and bacon, are often treated with nitrite or nitrate salts to keep them looking and tasting fresh (file photo)

A new smartphone app could alert users to cancer-causing chemicals in processed meats like sausages, ham, bacon and salami.

Scientists in Spain have created a system that includes a colour-changing film called ‘POLYSEN’ that consumers can stick onto meat products.

The labels get darker when they detect high levels of nitrite – a meat preservative that can form potentially cancer-causing compounds.

Users can then snap a picture of the film with a smartphone, and a specially-developed app will analyze the color and give a nitrite concentration value.

Cured and processed meats, such as salami and bacon, are often treated with nitrite or nitrate salts to keep them looking and tasting fresh (file photo)

Cured and processed meats, such as salami and bacon, are often treated with nitrite or nitrate salts to keep them looking and tasting fresh (file photo)

Graphic from the researchers' paper shows the system works. Discs punched from the film are placed on meat samples for 15 minutes to allow them to react with nitrite. The discs are then removed and dipped in a sodium hydroxide solution for one minute to develop the colour. The higher the nitrite present, the deeper the film's yellowish hue. A smartphone app self-calibrates when a chart of reference discs is photographed in the same image

Graphic from the researchers’ paper shows the system works. Discs punched from the film are placed on meat samples for 15 minutes to allow them to react with nitrite. The discs are then removed and dipped in a sodium hydroxide solution for one minute to develop the colour. The higher the nitrite present, the deeper the film’s yellowish hue. A smartphone app self-calibrates when a chart of reference discs is photographed in the same image

HOW DOES ‘POLYSEN’ WORK?

POLYSEN, or ‘polymeric sensor’, is a film made of four monomers and hydrochloric acid.

Discs punched from the film are placed on meat samples for 15 minutes to allow them to react with nitrite.

The discs are then removed and dipped in a sodium hydroxide solution for one minute to develop the colour.

The higher the nitrite present, the deeper the film’s yellowish hue.

A smartphone app self-calibrates when a chart of reference disks is photographed in the same image.

The system has been created by experts at Universidad de Burgos in Spain and detailed in a new study, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

‘There is a need to detect and control different chemical compounds added to processed food, such as processed meat,’ they say.

‘Our method represents a great advance in terms of analysis time, simplicity, and orientation to use by average citizens.’

Cured and processed meats, such as bacon, hot dogs, ham and sausages (including Mortadella, an Italian luncheon meat), are often treated with nitrite or nitrate to keep them looking and tasting fresh.

Nitrites are widely used in processed meats to extend their shelf life, by warding off bacteria that can cause diseases like salmonella, listeriosis, and botulism.

Crucially, they also add an alluringly tangy taste and a pink hue to products like bacon, making them appear more appetizing.

Though nitrate is relatively stable, it can be converted to the more reactive nitrite ion in the body.

When in the acidic environment of the stomach or under the high heat of a frying pan, nitrite can undergo a reaction to form nitrosamines, which have been linked to the development of various cancers.

For this reason, consumers want to limit consumption of these preservatives, but knowing how much is in a food has been difficult to determine.

Nitrites add an alluringly tangy taste and a shopper-seducing fresh-pink hue to products like sausages, ham, bacon and salami (file photo)

Nitrites add an alluringly tangy taste and a shopper-seducing fresh-pink hue to products like sausages, ham, bacon and salami (file photo)

Here, a worker packages slices of Mortadella, an Italian luncheon meat, in a factory (file photo)

Here, a worker packages slices of Mortadella, an Italian luncheon meat, in a factory (file photo)

So the researchers crated the new POLYSEN film – an abbreviation of ‘polymeric sensor’ – which is made of four monomers and hydrochloric acid.

First, to create a ‘reference chart’, discs punched from the film were placed on five different meat samples for 15 minutes, allowing the monomer units and acid in the film to react with nitrite.

The meat samples all had different nitrite concentrations, so the researchers knew the discs would vary in colour.

The discs were then removed and dipped in a sodium hydroxide solution for one minute to develop the colour.

The higher the nitrite present in the meat, the deeper each film’s yellowish hue became.

To calibrate the system, discs punched from the film were placed on five different meat samples for 15 minutes, allowing the monomer units and acid in the film to react with nitrite

To calibrate the system, discs punched from the film were placed on five different meat samples for 15 minutes, allowing the monomer units and acid in the film to react with nitrite

Next, the researchers created the smartphone app that uses colorimetry – which uses light to determine the concentration of particular compounds.

When photographed in the same image as the reference chart, the app can return a nitrite estimate for the sample disc.

The team tested the film on meats they prepared and treated with nitrite, in addition to store-bought meats.

They found the POLYSEN-based method produced results similar to those obtained with a traditional and more complex nitrite detection method.

In addition, POLYSEN complied with a European regulation for migration of substances from the film to the food.

While the team have only demonstrated the system for now, it could provide a user-friendly and inexpensive way for consumers to determine nitrite levels in foods in the future.

‘This study is intended as a proof of concept in which it has been demonstrated that the methodology is practical and works,’ they conclude.

NITRITES AND NITRATES: A FIRST

Nitrite and nitrate are commonly used for curing meat and other perishable produce.

They are also added to meat to keep it red and give flavour.

Nitrate is also found naturally in vegetables, with the highest concentrations occurring in leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce.

It can also enter the food chain as an environmental contaminant in water, due to its use in intensive farming methods, livestock production and sewage discharge.

Nitrite in food (and nitrate converted to nitrite in the body) may contribute to the formation of a group of compounds known as nitrosamines, some of which are carcinogenic – ie, have the potential to cause cancer.

In 2015 the World Health Organization warned there were significant increases in the risk of bowel cancer from eating processed meats such as bacon that traditionally have nitrites added as they are cured.

The current acceptable daily intake for nitrates, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), is 3.7 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day.

The EFSA’s acceptable daily intake for nitrites is 0.07mg per kilogram of weight each day.

Source: EFSA

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Categories
Technology

Someone Spent Six Years Remastering An Unreleased Warcraft Game

Someone Spent Six Years Remastering An Unreleased Warcraft Game

Years ago, a never-officially-released warcraft point-and-click adventure game developed by Blizzard in the late ’90s was leaked online. While the game was completely playable back then, its cutscenes were low-quality, highly compressed, not perfectly synced to the audio, and a few were even just straight up missing from the leak. Now, after years of working on it, someone has remastered all the cutscenes, fixed them up, and made it easier to experience this bit of video game history.

As spotted by Indie Retro News and pc gamermodder DerSilver83 recently released the finished 1.0 release of WACRP (Warcraft Adventures Cutscenes Remastered Project). The mod contains 20 completely remastered cutscenes, including two which didn’t actually exist in the initial leak but appeared later on via a different DVD leak.

You can see an example of what this mod and its improved cutscenes look like in the video below:

A lot of work went into this release, according to the modder and the project’s website. Apparently, DerSilver83 hand-removed all the compression artifacts from all of the cutscenes. The modder also used Photoshop to painstakingly redraw entire frames and assets, frame-by-frame. Continuity issues have also been fixed and some new transitional scenes have been created entirely from scratch. All audio was also synced and everything now runs at the correct 12fps.

All told, DerSilver83 says they have been working on this mod for about six years, and this latest 1.0 release represents the end of the project. They explained in a post on July 31 that they have done all they can in what they call a “reasonable timeframe” and are happy with the end results.

“I want to remember this project as something fun before it transforms into some kind of a burden,” said DerSilver83 on the project’s site. “So this is it. The final release of my Cutscenes Remaster Project and I hope everybody who uses it can enjoy it as much as I do. I always wanted to create a substantial mod for a game I love and I can finally say that I have achieved (or at least tried) that.”

To actually play this, you’ll need to do some searching around the internet to find the appropriate files needed to play the full game, as this mod only contains the remastered cutscenes and nothing else.

In the meantime, you can read more about Warcraft: Lord of The Clans via this great story from our own Luke Plunkett.

Categories
Sports

F1 world reacts to McLaren sacking Daniel Ricciardo: ‘Done dirty’

F1 world reacts to McLaren sacking Daniel Ricciardo: 'Done dirty'

Daniel Ricciardo might sit well outside the top 10 in the F1 driver rankings but he remains one of the sport’s most popular figures.

And his army of supporters was out in full force after it was revealed McLaren plans to replace him with young Australian driver Oscar Piastri next season despite Ricciardo being contracted for 2023.

The 33-year-old’s career has been on some what of a downward spiral since his days of outdriving Sebastian Vettel and regularly challenging Max Verstappen at Red Bull. But no one wants to see it end this way.

All-Aussie F1 bombshell: Ricciardo ‘told he’ll be replaced’ by Piastri at McLaren

ESPN’s Nate Saunders reported four teams have sounded Ricciardo out recently to “see where his head is at” and slammed McLaren for its treatment of the Aussie.

“It reflects very poorly on Brown and McLaren how they have treated Ricciardo over the past six months,” Saunders wrote. “Ricciardo, the only McLaren driver to have won an F1 race since 2012, has been the first to admit his performances have not been up to the standards he set at Red Bull and Renault but it feels as though he has been made as a scapegoat to deflect away from deeper problems at the team.”

He wasn’t alone in hailing the Aussie’s class during a turbulent season.

“Amid all the rumpus and pressure you have to commend Ricciardo on his grace and professionalism over these last few months,” tweeted Tom Gaymor. “El Says everything about him as a man, he is a class act and I hope he keeps smiling and doing it his way.”

But others saw it differently, believing Ricciardo is a spent force and he’s replacement is part and parcel of the cut throat nature of F1.

“Ricciardo is getting a taste of his own medicine when he left Renault to join McLaren and this is proof that that was not right move for him,” tweeted Sahil Mohan Gupta. “Now, he will probably end up at Alpine if not leave F1. This is crazy.”

Daniel Ricciardo is out at McLaren. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
Daniel Ricciardo is out at McLaren. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“I’ll always be a fan of Ricciardo, but can you really blame McLaren?” added Gannon Burgett. “They’re paying him out the ass for a driver who’s scored only 20% of the team’s points so far.”

“Please Alpine don’t take him back!” Tiff Needell tweeted. “Love Daniel but he’s had 12 years in F1, stuffed a few million in the bank and there’s lots of other motorsport he could do. So give someone else a chance!”

Despite the rapid turn of events this week Ricciardo’s future could take a long time to settle because McLaren will likely face a challenge from Alpine over its poaching of Piastri.

The West Australian could spend a year with McLaren’s IndyCar team to see out his deal, or could receive a pay out and join another team. That team could even be Alpine if Piastri is able to leave.

Who is Oscar Piastri?

Born in Melbourne, Piastri joined Alpine’s academy after clinching the Formula Renault Eurocup title in 2019, securing seven wins.

He carried the form into the Formula 3 series in 2020, winning the opening race on his debut and holding his nerve to claim the title by three points in one of the most closely fought championships ever.

The following year he was on the Formula 2 grid, where he clocked six wins to unequivocally announce his arrival on the world stage, becoming just the third rookie champion after Charles Leclerc (2017) and George Russell (2018). They are both now in F1.

Despite his rapid rise Piastri was overlooked for a drive in Formula One this season because of a lack of available seats, instead lurking on the sidelines at Alpine ready to replace either Esteban Ocon or Alonso if they were forced to miss a race.

He’s managed by fellow Aussie and nine-time F1 race winner Mark Webber. “Does he deserve to be in F1? Absolutely, we all know that,” Webber says. “It’s not a question of if, but when.”

The Piastri family say they are “petrol heads” with his father Chris telling The Sydney Morning Herald that “Oscar’s bedtime stories were mainly car books”.

He started racing remote-controlled cars aged six and by nine had graduated to piloting go-karts.

Oscar Piastri is a star in the making. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“I think he’s got the determination and the ability and the intellect,” his mother Nicole told The Age newspaper this year of her son’s progression to Formula One.

“I think he’s got everything that’s required to be able to get there and to do a good job, but that’s only one very small factor.

“There are a lot of other things that come into getting a Formula One seat – politics, money, availability of seats.”

Chris Piastri pinpointed Webber’s involvement from Formula 3 onwards as key to helping their son reach his goal, opening funding and sponsorship doors to help with the soaring costs that come with making it as a racing driver.

“Mark knows everybody,” he said. “It was at that point that he started taking over the reins, dealing with the teams, managing Oscar up into the visibility of the teams.”

Webber said it was a “no-brainer” to help out. “It’s hard to turn heads, especially in the F1 paddock, as they are pretty hard to please,” he said.

“But there’s not many people who haven’t mentioned him to me – how impressed they are with him, what he’s doing, the trajectory he is on.”

– with AFP

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