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Entertainment

Archibald prize 2022: Jeremy Eden’s portrait of actor Samuel Johnson wins people’s choice award | Archibald prize 2022

A portrait of Australian actor and cancer charity campaigner Samuel Johnson by Jeremy Eden has won the 2022 Archibald prize people’s choice award.

Eden, a Sydney-based artist, first met Johnson over video in 2021 while the actor was recovering from a near-fatal car accident. Eden then flew to Melbourne for a live sitting with Johnson, before returning to Sydney where he painted for up to six hours a day for 10 weeks to complete the portrait.

The men bonded over their shared experience of losing close family members to cancer. Johnson, who founded the cancer research charity Love Your Sister with his late sister Connie before she passed away in 2017, encouraged Eden to include his own story of him in the painting; the portrait shows Johnson holding a photograph of Eden’s mother Annette, who passed away from cancer in 2008.

Eden, who wins a $5,000 prize, said it was “an honour”.

“This painting has been one I have been thinking about and wanting to make for 10 years,” he said. “Sam is a storyteller at heart, and it was really important to find a way to share my own narrative while still capturing Sam’s character and emotion from him in the portrait.

Jeremy Eden's Samuel Johnson OAM, oil on canvas, 198.4 x 122 cm © the artist, image © AGNSW, Felicity Jenkins
Jeremy Eden’s Samuel Johnson OAM, oil on canvas. Photograph: Felicity Jenkins/AGNSW, Jenni Carter

“It is inspiring to see what Sam and the team at Love Your Sister have accomplished, having raised so much money for cancer research. I’ve followed Sam’s journey from him with the charity for many years and it’s a privilege to be able to contribute in my own way. It is amazing to be a finalist in the Archibald prize but knowing the painting has resonated with so many people makes the experience even more meaningful.”

Love Your Sister has raised more than $15m in support of cancer research. In 2016, Johnson was awarded the Order of Australia Medal, for his service to cancer research and performing arts.

Johnson called Eden “exceptionally talented.”

“He is an extraordinary storyteller, he has a huge heart and deserves this acknowledgment so fully. To win the Archibald prize you have to satisfy a select group of people who really know their stuff. To win the people’s choice takes in the votes of everyone who sees the exhibition. The people have spoken and they loved Jeremy the most,” he said.

“Wow and phwoar. I’m stupidly happy for Jeremy. Such a well-deserved triumph.”

Maud Page, the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s deputy director and director of collections, said the portrait was a clear crowd favorite among visitors to the annual Archibald exhibition.

“We congratulate Jeremy Eden on capturing the hearts of our visitors with his powerful portrait of Samuel Johnson,” Page said.

Born in Sydney in 1988, Eden completed a bachelor of fine art at Queensland College of Art in 2015. He was also nominated for the Archibald prize in 2021, for his portrait of another actor, Firass Dirani.

First awarded in 1988, the people’s choice category this year was voted on by more than 35,000 people, the highest ever number of votes cast in the history of the category.

In May, the acclaimed Dhungatti artist Blak Douglas won the $100,000 Archibald prize for his portrait of Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens, titled Moby Dickens, making him the second Indigenous Australian winner in 101 years, after Vincent Namatjira in 2020.

And Claus Stangl’s portrait of film-maker Taika Waititi won the packing room prize, which is judged by gallery staff who hang the entries each year.

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Sports

Australia’s Peter Bol cruises into Birmingham Commonwealth Games final after dominant heat win

An Australian male athlete runs during a heat of the men's 800 metres at the Commonwealth Games.

National record holder Peter Bol has ignored a pre-race injury scare to cruise into the men’s 800 meter final at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Bol rolled his ankle when stepping on the curb at the training track on Tuesday.

But the threat of injury did not hamper the Australian in his 800m heat on Wednesday night AEST.

Bol went to the lead with 250 meters to run and enjoyed the luxury of easing right down in the final straight before crossing the line first in one minute and 47.01 seconds.

After clocking the fastest qualifying time, Bol now has a full four days to reset ahead of the final, where he will be among the gold-medal favourites.

“I rolled my ankle yesterday and I was limping on the way back and today I’m perfectly fine, so it’s a massive thanks to the medical team at Athletics Australia,” said Bol, who was fourth at the Tokyo Olympics.

“I wasn’t playing basketball, I promise.

“I just rolled it on the curb at the track. That’s the first time ever.”

After finishing a disappointing seventh in the final at the recent world championships in Eugene, Bol was thrilled to get the tactics just right in his Birmingham heat.

“I always say it’s a strange race, the 800, because it’s so unpredictable,” he said.

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Australia

opposition leader risks voter backlash over ‘abysmal’ judgment

opposition leader risks voter backlash over 'abysmal' judgment

She said that “the government’s integrity record is arguably worse than Guy’s” and that “many will be confused about where to place their vote”.

The government continued its attack on Guy on Wednesday, while the Coalition accused Labor of hypocrisy and attempting to deflect from its own integrity problems. Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said Guy needed to “come clean … about his role in this extraordinary secret arrangement that would have sought to subvert the strict donation laws in our state.”

Jonathan Munz pictured at Inglis Easter yearling sale in 2008.

Jonathan Munz pictured at Inglis Easter yearling sale in 2008.Credit:Martin King

Several Liberal sources said Frost, an ally of former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, was the frontrunner to replace Catlin as Guy’s chief of staff.

Frost, who last year unsuccessfully contested a position in the Senate, previously ran the Victorian state division of the Liberal Party. Jackson Whiteley, a former staff member at federal Liberal MP Michael Sukkar’s office, was also in contention, but may join the office in another role.

Victorian Liberal president Robert Clark and state director Simon Frost (right) in 2019.

Victorian Liberal president Robert Clark and state director Simon Frost (right) in 2019.Credit:Chris Hopkins

Catlin unsuccessfully sought payments from Munz in addition to his publicly funded salary, according to a leaked email to Guy’s private Hotmail account and a proposed contract obtained by TheAge.

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“Hey MG. Attached is the proposed agreement between [the donor] and Catchy Media Marketing and Management,” Catlin wrote. “It’s as per the original email agreement between you and me. Can I leave you to forward onto him?”

Guy on Wednesday refused to provide further details about the proposal because it was being assessed by authorities including Victoria Police, the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) and the Victorian Ombudsman.

When questioned on Wednesday about the chain of events, Guy said he was unaware of key details.

In the email reported by The Age, Catlin asked Guy to “forward” the contract to Munz. Guy said he did not do this and was unaware about how the contract was put to Munz. The businessman’s camp said Catlin forwarded the email “unsolicited”.

“I hadn’t responded to or forwarded any emails. That’s what it comes down to,” Guy said.

The Coalition leader said he could not explain why Munz rejected the arrangement because he did not have any conversations with the donor about the proposal. “I haven’t spoken to either of the two about that and I don’t intend to because nothing was signed,” he said.

On Tuesday, Guy admitted he had discussed with Catlin how to secure more money to employ him, but decided against doing so. He did not answer a question on Wednesday about whether the proposal would have breached donation laws. He has also not explained what was meant by Catlin when he wrote to Guy saying the contract was “as per the original email agreement between you and me”.

The MP claimed every employee in his office was “entirely” paid out of the regular fund with “not a single amount topped up”. Catlin’s salary increased from the initial level of $140,000 after some staff left the opposition leader’s office and were not replaced, or were replaced by lesser-paid staff, a senior Liberal source told The Age.

Guy said on Wednesday that he knew Munz, a plumbing supplies baron and horse racing figure. “I’ve met him a couple of times… but I certainly haven’t had this conversation with him,” he said.

In a written statement, Munz said on Tuesday: “I do not know how many people received this unsolicited and unwanted email, but when I got it, I rejected it out of hand.” Munz declined to comment further on Wednesday.

Jacinta Allan with Daniel Andrews.

Jacinta Allan with Daniel Andrews.Credit:Paul Jeffers

A spokeswoman for the VEC, who on Tuesday announced it was inquiring into whether the proposal was designed to circumvent donation laws, said she would “welcome anyone who wishes to come forward and provide us with information that they have regarding the matters raised.”

“It is difficult to provide a timeframe at this early stage of any investigation, as there are multiple lines of inquiry,” she said.

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US

Elderly California store owner who shot would-be robber speaks out: ‘I did a lot of hunting when I was a kid’

Elderly California store owner who shot would-be robber speaks out: 'I did a lot of hunting when I was a kid'

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The 80-year-old California liquor store owner caught on video opening fire at a would-be robber with a shotgun is now speaking out, saying “I did a lot of hunting when I was a little kid.”

The incident early Sunday at Norco Market & Liquor in Norco, just east of Los Angeles, prompted the armed suspect to run out of his business screaming “he shot my arm off!”

“I would always protect my employees, my customers, myself. This instance, fortunately, I was here by myself, so I only had to worry about that. I took care of it and that was that,” the store’s owner, identified by CBS LA as Craig Cope, told the station.

“I did a lot of hunting when I was a little kid,” he added. “I’d put food on the table. So, I still remember things from a long time ago.”

ELDERLY CALIFORNIA STORE OWNER FIRES AT ARMED ROBBERY SUSPECT WHO SHOUTS, ‘HE SHOT MY ARM OFF!’

Two of the armed suspects police say they have taken into custody following the attempted robbery at a liquor store in Norco, Calif., on Sunday, July 31.

Two of the armed suspects police say they have taken into custody following the attempted robbery at a liquor store in Norco, Calif., on Sunday, July 31.
(Riverside County Sheriff’s Office)

Cope also told CBS LA that he thinks “more people should vote and vote the right way, and I think the politicians… this isn’t going to get me on the right side of a lot of people, but there’s a whole lotta people out there, they got no clue what it’s like to try to run a small business.

EMERGING CRIME CAPITALS OF AMERICA: THESE CITIES HAVE THE HIGHEST MURDERS PER CAPITA

“And when they’re letting people out… and we’ve got bad people, let’s face it. There’s bad people, bad people we don’t need. We need to get them locked up because this is a scary situation when that happens,” he also said. “Everybody works hard. They got bills to pay. These guys are going to come in and take it away from you. Not here.”

The liquor store in Southern California where the attempted robbery unfolded

The liquor store in Southern California where the attempted robbery unfolded
(Google Maps)

The 23-year-old gunman seen in surveillance footage wielding a rifle – who has not been publicly identified – was later tracked down at a local hospital “suffering from a gunshot wound consistent with a shotgun blast,” according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office .

He remains in critical but stable condition and will be booked into jail upon his release.

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Three other police men say were inside a getaway vehicle at the time of the attempted robbery are in custody and are facing charges of robbery and conspiracy.

Cope, meanwhile, returned to work Tuesday after suffering a heart attack following the shooting, according to media reports.

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Technology

Pinterest’s new app is here to help you slap together and share a mood board

Pinterest's new app is here to help you slap together and share a mood board

Today, Pinterest has released a new app on iOS called Shuffles — a collage-style social app where users can create a digital mood board and collaborate with others on the platform, TechCrunch reports. As of today, Shuffles is available via invite, but you can request to be on the app’s wait list.

In the standard Pinterest experience, users have the option to save their content, create photo libraries of their pins, and also browse. The app has a number of built-in photo editing features like Cut Out to isolate single objects in a particular photo, Collage to overlap photos and mesh your ideas together, and Animate to put visual effects on objects.


According to TechCrunch, the app hails from Pinterest’s TwoTwenty incubator, which was also behind the Pinterest TV live shopping effort last fall. Shuffles seems like a natural creative spinoff for the app to help users have more control over their ideas outside of just creating “idea pins.” Pinterest isn’t the only one working on the concept lately. In October 2021, Adobe announced its Canvas platform for people to share and collaborate on a mood board in its Creative Cloud suite — with the ability to make changes to each other’s work.

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Entertainment

Why Kylie Minogue only spoke five words in Neighbours’ finale

Why Kylie Minogue only spoke five words in Neighbours' finale

After 37 years on air, Aussie soap Neighbors ended last week – and many tuned in to see some of the early stars of the show make their reappearance.

Fans especially couldn’t wait to see Scott and Charlene – aka Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue – return to Ramsay Street.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Neighbors star explains his changed appearance

For more TV related news and videos check out TV >>

But they appeared only briefly, parking their red Mini on Ramsay Street before getting out and admiring their old home, then appearing later at Toadie’s wedding.

The pair was given next to no dialogue – in fact, Minogue spoke only five words all episode, three of which were “home sweet home.”

The other two? “Jane” and “Harold”.

Memes and jokes began flying: was Minogue being paid by the word and charging an exorbitant rate for each?

Having lived in the UK for so long, was her accent now too posh for mechanic Charlene?

Was she actually a DeepFake?

Were she and Donovan having trouble remembering their lines?

Now and then: Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan in Neighbors. Credit: AAP/Twitter

The answer to all these questions is no, according to the show’s executive producer, Jason Herbison.

Herbison told TV Tonight that Minogue and Donovan didn’t want to overshadow some of the more recent cast members in the finale.

And the timing of their “secret shoot” meant it had to stand apart from any of the finale’s various story threads.

“Our discussions with Jason (Donovan) and Kylie were always about making a small appearance,” he said.

“They didn’t want to overshadow the current cast or make the finale about them.

“We also filmed their scenes before I’d written the episode, so whatever we filmed had to fit in with that.”

That meant they couldn’t be part of any bigger plot line in the finale.

“I hate to see Kylie coping with any criticism – she was nothing short of amazing on the day,” Herbison said.

The producer also quashed rumors that sets at the Nunawading film site in Melbourne were being demolished.

“We haven’t made any decisions about the sets and nothing has been demolished,” Herbison said.

“We are in the fortunate position of having the Nunawading studios for several more months and we will be using the site for other productions.

“This gives us plenty of time to make provisions.”

It begs the question: Could a Neighbors museum be in the works?

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Passengers crawl into baggage carousel hatch to grab suitcases after delays

Passengers crawl into baggage carousel hatch to grab suitcases after delays

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Sports

NRL: Former Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden returning to club in new role

NRL: Former Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden returning to club in new role

Sport

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Andrew McFadden will return to the club he has once coached. Photo / Photosport

Former Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden is returning to the club.

The 44-year-old will take on the new role as general manager of recruitment, development and pathways.

His arrival will coincide with the departure of current football general manager Craig Hodges, who is leaving to pursue coaching opportunities in Australia.

McFadden has extensive background with the Warriors.

He arrived as an assistant coach to Matthew Elliott in 2013, then took on the top job when Elliott was sacked early in the 2014 season.

McFadden was in charge of the first grade team for three seasons – at a time that was successful by current standards – before he stepped down before the 2017 season.

But he stayed on as assistant to Stephen Kearney for two years, before moving to his current role with Canberra, working under Ricky Stuart for the past four seasons.

I have helped the Raiders reach the 2019 grand final and the preliminary final a year later.

McFadden also has an association with incoming Warriors head coach Andrew Webster. Webster was an assistant coach under McFadden at Mt Smart in 2015 and 2016.

“He has a great affinity with the club and with New Zealand,” said Warriors chief executive Cameron George. “He’s driven now to step away from coaching at NRL level and step into the critical area of ​​recruitment, development and pathways.

“We’ve invested heavily in development and pathways while being based in Australia for the last three years and we have even bigger plans in this space with our full football operation coming back to New Zealand from next season. Part of his role will be to identify and mentor young coaches in our system.”

Hodges had a close association with former coach Nathan Brown and was always unlikely to be a long-term prospect at the Warriors after Brown left the club.

“He has wonderful qualities and has made a fantastic contribution but he still has a strong desire to coach so unfortunately, with no position here, he is looking for opportunities in Australia,” said George.

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US

Georgia says fetuses count as dependents, qualifying for tax deduction

Georgia says fetuses count as dependents, qualifying for tax deduction

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Under Georgia law, fetuses now have “full legal recognition” as living people. That means their parents can claim them as dependents on their tax returns — even before delivery.

The state’s department of revenue said Monday that it would begin recognizing “any unborn child with a detectable human heartbeat … as eligible for the Georgia individual income tax dependent exemption” — amounting to $3,000. Taxpayers must be prepared to provide relevant medical records and documents if requested by the department.

The tax benefit is a byproduct of a law that went into effect July 20 banning abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Georgia House Bill 481 was initially approved in 2019 but was deemed unconstitutional, given the protections granted by Roe v. Wade. Once that long-standing precedent was overturned in June, a federal appeals court cleared the way for Georgia’s abortion ban to become law. The court also agreed that “personhood” could be redefined to include fetuses.

The concept of enshrining personhood into anti-abortion policy isn’t new. Among the states that consider embryos as distinct people are Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas and Missouri, the Associated Press reported. Other states — including Colorado, Mississippi and North Dakota — have tried to follow suit, but the proposed pieces of legislation have so far failed, according to the AP.

EXPLAINER: What’s the role of personhood in the abortion debate?

Georgia’s personhood provision is, for now, the most expansive. Not only does it grant tax breaks for fetuses, but it also requires that they be included in some population counts. It also imposes child support “on the father of an unborn child” — amounting to the “direct medical and pregnancy related expenses of the mother.”

But considering the prevalence of miscarriages and stillbirths, some wondered what the implications of the new tax policy could mean for those who experience pregnancy loss. Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis speculated on Twitter that the state’s treasury could end up “handing out a lot of cash for pregnancies that would never come to term.”

Lauren Groh-Wargo, campaign manager for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, questioned whether pregnancy loss could trigger an investigation. “So what happens when you claim your fetus as a dependent and then miscarry later in the pregnancy, you get investigated both for tax fraud and an illegal abortion?” she tweeted.

Neither the bill nor the guidance issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue addresses what would happen in the event of a miscarriage.

The law also creates other gray areas. For instance, what are the implications for couples using a surrogate? And when it comes to sperm donors or instances of uncertain paternity, who would be responsible for providing child support?

The Washington Post has contacted the Georgia Department of Revenue seeking clarification. The department’s guidance delineates that additional information — “including return instructions to claim the personal exemption for an unborn child with a detectable heartbeat” — will be issued later this year.

Stacey Abrams, a Democrat running for governor, said July 20 that she was “enraged” by the law that bans abortion after detecting a fetal heartbeat. (Video: Washington Post)

Georgia’s ban prohibits most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, typically around the time when doctors can begin to detect cardiac activity. Exceptions include pregnancies caused by rape and incest, if a police report is filed, and pregnancies that would result in a woman’s death or serious harm, though not harm based “on a diagnosis or claim of a mental or emotional condition.” Additionally, the law doesn’t ban terminations for nonviable pregnancies, ectopic pregnancies or spontaneous abortions, commonly known as miscarriages.

Georgia’s law underscores stark differences among states and a dizzying lack of consensus when it comes to personhood.

Abortion is now banned in these states. See where laws have changed.

In Missouri, abortion is prohibited — except in cases of life endangerment — based on the “right to life of the unborn child.” At the same time, a divorce there can’t be finalized if one spouse is pregnant. The reason: The state’s divorce law doesn’t consider fetuses to be people, so there can’t be a “court order that dictates visitation and child support for a child that doesn’t exist,” the Riverfront Times reported.

Last month, a case in Texas made headlines after a pregnant woman was pulled over for driving alone in a high-occupancy lane. When the officers asked where the other passenger was, Brandy Bottone replied that her baby de ella counted as a passenger, given the overturning of gnaws and the state’s abortion policy.

“The laws don’t speak the same language, and it’s all been kind of confusing, honestly,” she told The Post.

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Technology

Hands-ons with Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X laptop for content creators and power users

Hands-ons with Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X laptop for content creators and power users

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X has brought together a set of features that makes it ideal for content creators and anyone else who wants superior performance.

The Yoga Slim 7 Pro X has a sleek design with rounded comfortable edges and is 15.9mm thick with a weight of just 1.45kg.

But what will really catch your eye is the stunning 14.5-inch Lenovo PureSight 3K display with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a resolution of 3072 x 1920.

It has a 92.5 per cent screen to body ratio and that’s even with cameras located above the display in the top bezel Inside a raised notch.

The left, right and bottom bezels are some of the thinnest we’ve ever seen on a laptop.

This means there is no distraction outside this screen.

The screen is bright and sharp so your content, photos, videos and websites look amazing.

And with that aspect ratio of 16:10, it’s a perfect shape to be using applications and browsing the web. It’s quite generous screen real estate.

And being a Yoga laptop this means users can open the screen all the way back so its flat and level with the keyboard.

On this position the fact the laptop has a touchscreen lets you use it more like a tablet.

The premium display is also Dolby Vision HDR certified so it can show bright colors as well as a wide color contrast with real time color and brightness optimization to give you a remarkable viewing experience on the move.

On the audio side, the device has top firing Dolby Atmos certified Harman stereo speakers to give you a three-dimensional surround sound experience.

And in terms of the refresh rate, the user can switch between three different modes including Low mode that varies refresh rate between 30 and 60Hz, High mode which takes things up to 120Hz or Auto mode which can adjust refresh rates dynamically.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim7 Pro X can put its ultra-thin design down to its precision machined aerospace-grade 6000 series aluminum chassis with an all-new comfort edge jewel design.

It has an ergonomically designed TrueStrike keyboard with 1.3mm key travel.

Typing on the Lenovo laptop is smooth, responsive and quiet.

And the touchpad is bigger this time out.

In fact, it’s 20 per cent larger than the previous model and covers an area of ​​13cm by 8cm which is plenty of room to navigate and for multi-finger gestures.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim7 Pro X is powered by the all-new AMD Ryzen 6000 series HS Creator Edition which sits on top of the updated AMD Zen 3+ core.

The result is speeds up to 2.1 times faster than the 5000 series.

And this and 3+ Core also offers greater power and efficiency with the new adaptive power management feature that can adjust performance in milliseconds.

The AMD Ryzen 6000 series of processors have been shown to use up to 30 per cent less power.

And the payoff for that is impressively long battery life.

If it’s graphics performance you’re after, it does come with the RDNA 2 architecture-based built-in graphics.

What the laptop also brings to the table is the Lenovo X Power performance tuning technology which works to maximize performance.

It brings together the hardware and the software.

And when things get serious, it can cool things down thanks to a micron level heat conduction system.

A dual 6mm heat pipe transfers heat away from the processor before bringing in cool air and getting rid of the hot air through two customized turbo fans.

Another feature of Lenovo X Power is Scenario Tuning which lets you fine-tune and optimize applications like Adobe Premiere Pro to maximize performance.

If gaming is more your bag, you’ll be pleased to know there is an onboard NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 which allows you to play the latest games at high quality as well as enhancing your own content creation and conference calls.

On the security side, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X has Smart Login which uses facial recognition to unlock the laptop.

And there’s even a physical camera privacy shutter button to cut off the connection to the camera

When you consider the way we’ve been working during the pandemic over the last two years, it should not come as a surprise that Lenovo has included features to make connecting via video call even better.

These include Lenovo Smart Appearance which can blur your background and enhance your video to the point of adjusting background lighting to give the subject a cleaner look.

It also has smart noise cancellation which uses an array of microphones and AI to eliminate background noise from drowning out your voice.

Connectivity-wise, the Lenovo Yoga Slim7 Pro X has two USB-C and two USB-A ports and a headphone jack.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X comes with 16GB RAM and either a 512GB or 1TB SSD (solid state drive) storage.

The unit is also Wi-Fi 6E compatible so it performs that little bit faster on Wi-Fi 6E networks.

The 70Whr lithium-ion polymer battery provides up to 15.5 hours of video playback.

For our review we took the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X out all day for a normal workday and cruised through the day with plenty of power left in the tank.

But if you are running low, the Rapid Charge Express can add three hours of usage with just a 15-minute charge.

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro X is an ideal laptop for those users who want to create content and have the power when they need it to power through their work and run more demanding applications.

It is available now and is priced from $2,749.

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Entertainment

Borgen gets more than politics right

Borgen gets more than politics right

Acclaimed TV series Borgen, about a fictional first female prime minister of Denmark, has just “dropped” its fourth season, arguably the best yet. I devoured the box-set of seasons one to three a decade ago. Never had I imagined becoming so utterly caught up in a show about politics, set in a country about which I knew precious little.

Half the appeal lies in the performance of Sidse Babett Knudsen, who plays the titular role of Danish prime minister Birgitte Nyborg. I could watch the captivating Knudsen reading a phone book of bewildering (to this ignorant Anglo) Danish names.

Half the appeal of Borgen lies in the performance of Sidse Babett Knudsen who plays the Danish prime minister.

Half the appeal of Borgen lies in the performance of Sidse Babett Knudsen who plays the Danish prime minister.

The thing that sold me utterly on season four, however, was its startlingly realistic portrayal of a menopausal woman, without pandering to stereotypes. Sure, the ever-ambitious Nyborg is crankier than she used to be, but this is revealed to be less due to her hormones than her essential loneliness.

In one profoundly moving scene, where her adult son challenges her as to why power has recently become the most important thing in her life, she says, simply: “But back then, I had you guys.”

Hot flushes might be a cliche but there’s a reason for that. Nyborg has to leave a meeting and cool herself down in the bathroom, running her face and wrists under cold water, untucking and flapping her blouse. Most women who have endured menopause know only too well that desperate feeling akin to instantaneously spiking a temperature high enough to land you in hospital.

And who among people who menstruate have never messaged a friend or colleague, “tampon, urgent!” as Nyborg does at the start of a vital meeting with the Chinese ambassador, before racing to the bathroom and craning her neck to see if she has a blood stain on her skirt.

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She peers into the mirror to pull out stray facial whiskers. She even has a ball under her desk on which to rub the underside of her foot de ella, something I spent hours doing as a victim of plantar fasciitis, that painful condition which often affects women of a certain age.

I hope women everywhere are cheering as Nyborg so convincingly portrays a remarkable human being who happens to be enduring menopause. Welcome to our world fellas.

May there be many more realistic portrayals of how women live. Not many of us are in parliament, but menopause, menstruation, period pain, childbirth, breastfeeding, struggling to be able to afford pads – are the ordinary things my half of the population live with and, despite this, still manage to do all we do.

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