A baby green sea turtle rescued from a Sydney beach had eaten so much plastic that it took six days for the contents to be excreted, according to Taronga zoo’s wildlife hospital.
The 127-gram hatchling was found lying on its back in a rockpool near Sydney’s Tamarama beach. It was missing one of its four flippers, had a chip in another, and had a hole in its shell.
Carers said that aside from these injuries, the turtle appeared to be in good physical condition and had no trouble swimming.
The green sea turtle hatchling was missing a flipper when it was found on Tamarama beach in Sydney. Photograph: Taronga Zoo
“But then it started to defecate, and it defecated plastic for six days. No faeces came out, just pure plastic,” the Taronga veterinary nurse Sarah Male said.
“It was all different sizes, colors and compositions. Some were hard, some were sharp, and with some, you could tell the plastic had writing on it. This is all some of these poor little things are eating. There’s so much plastic around they’re just consuming it as their first initial food,” she said.
Male has described the turtle, which has returned to health and now weighs almost 400g, as a “bagel with flippers”.
Despite progress, it could be a whole year before he is released back into the wild and coastal waters.
Rescued green turtle hatchling poos pure plastic for six days straight – video
The hospital says the size of tiny hatchlings makes them particularly vulnerable to prey, and they want the animal to have the best chance of life. As well as size, ocean temperatures are also a factor – warmer waters are better for turtles.
Taronga’s wildlife hospital cares for up to 80 marine turtles a year – many admitted with injuries after becoming entangled in fishing lines or from digesting hooks and plastics.
“If everybody just takes a little bit of their time to pick up a bit of rubbish – it doesn’t have to be on the beach – then hopefully we can make a difference,” Male said.
States including New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, have all brought in tougher bans on single-use plastic, but the scale of the problem is at times overwhelming.
More than 8m tonnes pour into oceans around the world each year. The majority is carried out to sea by rivers, dumped along coastlines or abandoned by fishing vessels.
A study of a beach on Henderson Island, one of the world’s most remote places, found nearly 38m pieces of plastic strewn across the sand.
However, CSIRO researchers reported in June that local actions were making a difference with the amount of plastic pollution on Australia’s coast decreasing by up to 30% on average as a result of work by local governments to reduce litter.
Shocking video shows the moments a New Jersey councilwoman allegedly plowed down a bicyclist while speeding through an intersection and kept going in an apparent hit-and-run accident.
Jersey City Councilwoman Amy DeGise is accused of failing to slow or stop her car after striking the cyclist at the intersection of Forrest Street and Martin Luther King Drive last week.
Traffic camera video released by city officials on Tuesday afternoon shows the black SUV allegedly driven by DeGise striking a man on a bicycle in the middle of the intersection on July 19 without ever slowing down before leaving the scene.
The man, wearing a helmet, backpack, yellow shirt and jean shorts, flipped over and slides off the windshield and then onto the pavement after the impact. The video shows him slowly getting up afterward, his mangled bike lying on the opposite side of the street.
NEW JERSEY TO PAY CITIZENS TO PURCHASE AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE
Jersey City councilwoman Amy DeGise has so far refused calls to resign after a hit-and-run accident with 29-year-old cyclist Andrew Black. (Handout from the Jersey City Mayors Office)
The cyclist, identified as 29-year-old Andrew Black, told police he had a green light and the right of way, NJ.com reported, citing a crash report. In an interview with HudPost.com, Black reiterated that he had the right of way and said he suffered deep bruising and anxiety crossing the street after the incident.
WNBC reported that officials later said Black was mistaken, and he did not have the green light, but DeGise is still facing mounting calls to resign because she still did leave the crash scene.
“[That] someone of prestige would fall to a point where they would ignore the law they are demanding to uphold, and they are trying to clean our streets or whatever they are calling it, they can’t even do it themselves — that really upsets me,” Black told HudPost on Tuesday.
Despite facing criticism, a spokesperson for DeGise told news outlets on Friday that the councilwoman would not resign.
“Councilwoman DeGise was elected overwhelmingly just a few months ago and she has no intention of walking away from the commitment she made to serve the people of Jersey City. She will not resign and plans to complete her full term and continue in public service,” DeGise’s spokesman, Phil Swibinski, said in a statement obtained by Patch.com.
Jersey City Councilwoman At Large Amy DeGise seen in official photo. (JerseyCity)
“Amy recognizes the calls that have been made for additional information and transparency,” Swibinski said. “She would very much like to address this situation more comprehensively, but there is a legal process that must play out first and she will not be making any additional public comment at this time.”
The statement added, “As she has said previously, she is thankful that no one was seriously injured and she fully intends to speak out more when the legal process is completed. She will continue working hard to serve the people who elected her, just as she has since she was inaugurated in January.”
In an interview with NJ Spotlight News on Monday, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop criticized DeGise’s move to leave the scene of the crash, describing it as a “tremendous mistake.”
Fulop did add, however, that DeGise took some responsibility for the incident.
The councilwoman at large reportedly claimed she hit her head during the crash and went to a police station several hours later to report the incident after leaving the scene.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital reached out to Amy DeGise and her aides Thursday seeking added comment but have not heard back as of Sunday.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
If you’ve been following the discourse around Wear OS watches for the past year, there’s a good chance you’re sick of hearing about the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. While there have been other high-profile Wear OS releases since the Watch4 series’s debut, like the Fossil Gen 6 and Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS, none of them have been very good.
ANDROID POLICE VIDEO OF THE DAY
What’s the problem?
It’s not just that they’re running old software (though it doesn’t help that Samsung’s watches are still the only ones with Wear OS 3 that don’t cost four figures), but they also exhibit the same grating hardware flaws Wear OS has been known for years: mediocre performance and battery life.
Smartwatches are physically small devices; there’s just not a lot of room to put a battery. Unless you disable features like always-on displays and motion detection to wake their screens, even the largest smartwatches available today typically give up the ghost after about a day and a half away from a charger.
The Mobvoi watch mentioned above is a special case. It has a secondary, ultra-low-power display built under its primary screen to show the time when you’re not actively using the watch. With this specialized hardware, it can last up to three days.
For a phone, that kind of battery life is acceptable. But in a device you’re meant to keep strapped to your body at all times, including while you sleep, having to top up using a proprietary charger every day is a lot of friction. Fitness trackers can manage a much longer battery life of up to a week between charges. Still, compared to full-fledged smartwatches, their functionality is typically limited.
Does Qualcomm have a solution?
Qualcomm wants us to believe it’s cooked up the answer to wearable battery anxiety in its upcoming W5 Gen 1 and W5+ Gen 1 chipsets. Qualcomm’s been teasing new silicon for smartwatches and it looks seriously impressive. Compared to its formerly top-of-the-line Wear 4100+ CPU, the W5+ is about 30 percent smaller. This means greater efficiency and more room to stuff a smartwatch chassis with a battery.
Qualcomm also claims that the W5+ is both “50% better” at power management and twice as fast as the 4100+ was. These are claims we have to take with a grain of salt until we can test them ourselves. However, if they’re even remotely accurate, the high-end Wear OS watches of the near future should be in an entirely different league from the ones we’re seeing out of most major players today. And if these new chips are as good as the company says, we could be in for a very competitive smartwatch market in the near future, and that’s exciting.
As much as we love the Watch4 series, we’re always happy to see healthy competition. Our hopes for Google’s upcoming Pixel Watch have been tempered by all-too-believable reports that it’ll run on outdated hardware—Samsung’s Exynos 9110 chipset, which debuted more than four years ago. Samsung’s latest smartwatches run on the newer Exynos W920, and compared to most Wear OS watches from other manufacturers, they’re appreciably more snappy.
What does the future hold?
Despite Samsung’s initial claims of 40-hour battery life, the Galaxy Watch4 turned out to have pretty average longevity for a smartwatch. If Qualcomm’s new chips are as great as it claims, upcoming smartwatch releases from the likes of Fossil and Mobvoi should be competitive on performance and potentially beat Samsung on battery life (though a new leak claims the upcoming Galaxy Watch5 Pro will hit three days).
We could very well be looking at a future where Android users are spoiled for choice when it comes to good smartwatches—from multiple manufacturers. Compared to where we were just two years ago, that’s a hell of an improvement.
Kate Bush fans perform her iconic song Wuthering Heights
Kate Bush fans perform her iconic song Wuthering Heights
We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.
23 Images
Sydney Park on a sunny winter’s day is a long way from the wily, windy moors of Kate Bush’s 1978 debut single Wuthering Heights, but hundreds of music fans took over the green space in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday in a joyous tribute to the iconic song .
1/23
People dressed in red gathered in Sydney Park to dance the 1978 Kate Bush masterpiece, “Wuthering Heights.”Credit:Flavio Brancalone
two/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
3/23
Dressed in red, the crowd performed the singer’s distinctive dance moves from the music video and listened to a live performance of the song by a local choir.Credit:Flavio Brancalone
4/23
Preparing for the Kate Bush tribute in Sydney Park.Credit:Flavio Brancalone
5/23
After a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, co-organizer Belinda Burton said it was fun to bring fans together again to re-enact the music video for Wuthering Heights based on Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel.Credit:Flavio Brancalone
6/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
7/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
8/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
9/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
10/23
Hundreds of music fans took over the green space in Sydney’s inner west on Saturday in a joyous tribute to the iconic song.Credit:Flavio Brancalone
eleven/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
12/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
13/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
14/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
fifteen/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
16/23
Credit:Flavio Brancalone
17/23
Bush has enjoyed a resurgence this year thanks to Netflix series Stranger Things, which features her song Running Up That Hill, propelling it to the top of the charts.Credit:Flavio Brancalone
Novak Djokovic said he remains hopeful he will be allowed to play at the US Open when it begins in late August, despite not being vaccinated against Covid-19.
The unvaccinated tennis star was booted out of Australia ahead of the Melbourne Slam back in January after the government decided he’d broken strict Covid-19 regulations and he failed with a legal challenge.
And the 35-year-old could face a repeat at Flushing Meadows but he insisted he is preparing to play at the US Open which begins next month.
Current rules require non-US citizens to show proof of being fully vaccinated before entering the country by air from a foreign nation. He would need an exemption to play.
And, Djokovic said on social media Saturday that he’ll be ready to go should he get the OK. The Serbian’s name appears on the entry list for the US Open, which will be held August 29 – September 11 in New York.
‘I am preparing as if I will be allowed to compete, while I await to hear if there is any room for me to travel to US,’ Djokovic wrote.
‘Fingers crossed!’
The Serbian proved he was preparing a he posted a video to his Instagram of him practicing.
Fans had shown their support for the tennis star on social media earlier this week with #LetNovakPlay.
Novak Djokovic said he remains hopeful he will be allowed to play at the US Open in August
The Serbian shared a video of him practicing to Instagram as he thanked fans for their support
Supporters thanked Djokovic for being a role model and praised him for sticking to his principles.
One posted: ‘With failing politicians and personalities in the World our children look to examples like you in sport .. your principles and what you stand for and what you have sacrificed make you the hero in all of this charade .. thank you.’
Another wrote: ‘He will be remembered for more than the sport he mastered. His actions of him standing up for freedom of choice, will go down in history.’
Another claimed the world will be waiting for the decision, claiming the country would become a laughing stock if the US denies Djokovic entry.
The tennis star is unvaccinated against Covid-19 and would need an exemption to enter the US
Fans shared their support for the 21-time Grand Slam winner on social media this week
They said: ‘The whole world will be watching to see if the US deny one of the healthiest and fittest athletes of all time play the global and mandatory #LetNovakPlay @usopen
‘They will become an even bigger laughing stock if they deny him; @SecBlinken @POTUS @CDCgov @CDCDirector @USCIS’
Meanwhile, one supporter wrote: ‘Not only are you one of the best players that’s ever lived, you have shown to be a human being who believes his decisions should be, just that.
‘The facts are coming out thick and fast. As everyday goes by. It’s proves you 100 made the right choice. Well done sir.’
Another insisted that Djokovic had provided the sport with many entertaining moments and fans should repay him with their support.
They shared: ‘You have given us so many joys, beautiful sensations and satisfaction, that the least we can do for you is to wish the best for you. And thank you for your words…idemo Nole.’
One supporter insisted that Djokovic had provided the sport with many entertaining moments
As of Saturday morning, almost 45,000 people had signed a petition to allow him to play
As of Saturday morning, almost 45,000 people had signed a Change.org petition asking the US Tennis Association and the federal government to reach an agreement for Djokovic, a 21-time Grand Slam winner, to be allowed to play.
The USTA has said it will adhere to federal rules and won’t seek an exemption for any player – even a three-time champion like Djokovic.
He also thanked fans for their support, which undoubtedly includes their participation in a petition drive.
‘I just wanted to take a moment and say to all of you how grateful I am to see so many messages of support and love from all around the world these days,’ he wrote to fans.
The 35-year-old said it felt ‘special’ to have fans wish for him to compete in the tournament
‘It feels special that people connect with my tennis career in such a loving and supportive way and wish for me to continue to compete.’
Djokovic wasn’t allowed to play at the Australian Open in January because of his refusal to be vaccinated. He lost to rival Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals at the French Open in May, then defeated Nick Kyrgios to win Wimbledon in July.
European media outlets reported this week that the Serbian-American Voting Alliance sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking him to intervene to allow Djokovic to play.
They got the job done far earlier than they expected, and one could even say their 4am wake-up may have been a little too keen.
But there is never an end to the list of jobs “station life” gives you when you first walk through the door, so 4am was probably still a good call.
Mathew Brockhurst wiped his brow, smearing sweat and bull dust across his already grubby face, his hat was resting on a cocked knee as he and his girlfriend Alice Purcell sprawled out under a tree sweaty and covered in dirt.
They had just finished processing a mob of cattle and were sharing a brief reprieve from the heat of the day.
It was around 2pm on November 4, 2021, and the harsh central Queensland sun was glaring through the leaves of the tree the couple was sitting under, casting a checked shadow over their grubby clothes.
Matt and Alice met on their family’s station in the Kimberley.(Supplied: Alice Purcell)
Matt knew they still had to walk the cattle, chilling and chewing in the yard behind them, back to a waterhole and check the bores before sundown, but if they split it, they could be looking at almost an early beer.
Now, Alice was darn capable and could handle the cattle by herself. She had cut her teeth on his family’s property Larrawa Station — a few hours from Halls Creek in the Kimberley, where they met.
They they would head east to Queensland and chase an adventure of their own decided, and here they were, almost a year into that adventure, under a tree, working out who would do what job next.
“She said she’d be right with them [the cattle] and I’d said, ‘I’ll go do the bore run then’,” Matt collected.
The 24-year-old stockman had shrugged and wandered over to his motorbike, strapping on his helmet as he went.
Alice had followed behind him watching his lanky saunter.
Neither of them could ever have guessed it was the last time Matt would walk.
Just a rock on the road
Matt and Alice working together.(Supplied: Alice Purcell)
An hour or two later and Matt had finally finished for the day.
The sun was still hot as ever but the wind through his shirt was keeping him cool as he cruised home on the same Honda 250 he had ridden almost every day of the nine months he had worked on the property.
“I went around the corner, and there was a rock on the road,” Matt recalled.
“I thought, ‘Oh shit’… I hit it and I went over the handlebars… I wasn’t [going] overly fast or anything.”
Matt has lived his whole life on the land and like so many, there have been plenty of close calls before.
He’d been bucked off horses, run up rails by scrub bulls and come off his fair share of bikes, but he knew almost instantly this was different.
A young Matt pictured with his family, as they head off for a muster on Larrawa Station where he grew up.(Supplied: Matt Brockhurst)
“I hit the ground and the dust was sort of settling… I touched my leg, and I could feel it with my hand, but I couldn’t feel it with my leg,
“When you do first aid, you sort of know, once that isn’t coming back with the feeling, there’s something to do with your spinal cord.”
He lay there for two and a half hours in that Queensland summer heat, waiting for help.
“I’d said to Alice, if I’m not home by five, come looking, which is a very common thing on stations, there’s a certain time you meant to be home.”
“I was thinking flat tire, maybe bogged, there had been some rain around earlier on in the day”
Lying there waiting for Alice, Matt began making peace with his life.
“I was prepared to die out there,” he said.
“I was thinking, ‘Shit! What was the last word I said to Alice? What were the last things I said to my mum and dad and brothers?’
“I remember thinking, you know, I’ve made it this far, if I leave now with whatever I have, every moment from now on is a plus.”
They found me
Matt had shattered his T5 vertebra.(Supplied: Alice Purcell)
When Matt was eventually found by his boss and Alice, he was severely sunburnt and dehydrated, but alive.
“I could hear ute in the distance, and I’m in the middle of the road lying flat on the ground.
“I’m thinking, ‘Oh shit, this is going to be horrible, if I’ve finally made it to this point, and he comes around the corner and runs me over,'” Matt recounted.
He was eventually airlifted by the Royal Flying Doctor Service to Townsville and then moved on quickly to Brisbane.
A couple of days later, after a number of scans and operations, he was given the news he was unlikely to ever walk again.
“It was sort of water off a duck’s back. I didn’t believe him. I was probably in denial.”
“It wasn’t until a week or so later, it finally hit me.
“The nurses were saying to my mum they were waiting for me to have the realization and break down and eventually, yeah, that happened,” Matt admitted.
From day dot
Alice has stood by Matt through thick and thin.(Supplied: Matt Brockhurst )
By his side candidly, from the beginning when they met on his family property to now — eight months into Matt’s rehab — Alice has been there.
She’s 20 years old from Pittsworth Queensland and has already lived a full life as a ringer turned counsellor, nurse and carer.
“Still, to this day, actually, it’s still hard to believe,” Alice reflected.
“I was surprised I was so calm… when I got to him, I knew I couldn’t be worked up.
“I couldn’t be bawling my eyes out because there was a serious thing we had to deal with.”
The station they were working on had, only weeks before, put the couple through a first aid course.
“I just had to remain calm.”
Since the accident, Alice has supported Matt through everything.
“Before she was my girlfriend, and now she’s my absolute world,” Matt said with a smile.
“I would not be where I am without trying to impress her and show her that, I am capable of all this.”
Alice has sacrificed some of her own ambitions to stand by Matt through his recovery.
“I was heading off for a job when Matthew had his accident, but I just thought I’d put that on hold. I mentally couldn’t even think about work,” she explained.
“It got thrown at us that we were flying to WA for Mathew’s rehab, so going home and having to pack everything… was a lot.
“Still to this day, I don’t really know where we’re going to settle, but I just got to take it each day as it comes.”
Alice and Matt were engaged in Broome earlier this year.(Supplied: Alice Purcell)
For Alice and Matt, the road ahead is not an easy one, but one they are ready to take on together.
“He’s very special to me, he’s my best friend not just my fiancé,” Alice said.
“The wheelchair’s a barrier, it’s not the end of the world, we want to have kids, we want to do everything together… we’ll get there,” Matt added.
Sen. Joe Manchin in the US Capitol on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and his staff told Democratic leadership on Thursday that he’s not willing to support better climate and tax provisions in a sweeping Biden agenda bill, according to a Democrat briefed on the conversations.
Tom-Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Senator Joe Manchin, DW.V., made the morning talk show rounds on Sunday to talk about the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, a revival of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better economic bill that collapsed earlier this year.
The inflation bill, which Democrats are attempting to pass through reconciliation, aims to reform the tax code, cut health-care costs and fight climate change. It will invest more than $400 billion over a decade by closing tax loopholes, mostly on the largest and richest American corporations. It would also reduce the deficit by $300 billion in the same decade-long timeframe.
“This is all about fighting inflation,” Manchin told Jonathan Karl on Sunday’s “This Week” on ABC.
Manchin insisted that the bill isn’t a spending bill, but instead is focusing on investing money.
“We’ve taken $3.5 trillion of spending down to $400 billion of investing without raising any taxes whatsoever, we closed some loopholes, didn’t raise any taxes,” he added.
He further explained the closing of tax loopholes, which will raise taxes on certain American companies. Any tax increase could jeopardize full Democratic support of the legislation, which it needs to pass through reconciliation – Senator Kyrsten Sinema, DA.Z., may not support this provision.
“The only thing we have done is basically say that every corporation of a billion dollars of value or greater in America should pay at least 15% of minimum corporate tax,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“That’s not a tax increase it’s closing a loophole,” he said.
Manchin also noted that a deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, and he was struck in private to avoid drama.
“We’ve been negotiating off and on very quietly because I didn’t know if it would ever come to fruition,” he said. “I didn’t want to go through the drama that eight months ago we went through for so long.”
Manchin added that he’s struck an agreement with Democratic leaders to support the bill in exchange for taking on permitting reform later.
“If I don’t fulfill my commitment promise that I will vote and support this bill with all my heart, there are consequences, and there are consequences on both sides,” he said on “Meet the Press.”
Manchin also noted that the bill will especially target energy prices in the US by upping production and using clean energy effectively.
“Inflation is the greatest challenge we have in our country right now,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want to get gasoline prices down, produce more and produce it in America.”
manchin dodges election talk
During his Sunday interviews, Manchin repeatedly evaded answering questions about who he supports in upcoming elections – the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential election.
“I’m not getting involved in any election right now,” he said on “State of the Union.”
He reiterated that he would work with anyone that voters elect and specifically wouldn’t answer if he wants Democrats to keep control of Congress come November.
“Whatever the voters choose,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “Whoever you send me that’s your representative and I respect them.”
When specifically asked if he’d support Biden in reelection, he focused on Biden’s current presidency.
“Whoever is my president, that’s my president, and Joe Biden is my president right now,” he said on “This Week.”
(Pocket-lint) – It seems that Corsair is getting serious with the K70 Pro Mini – a hot-swappable keyboard packed with specs and features in a tiny form factor.
This is an intriguing offering for a number of reasons, and not just because this is the first time the company has offered this level of customization.
The market is now packed with tons of capable options for both gaming and productivity, however, so just how does Corsair’s latest effort match up?
We’ve been testing it over the last few weeks in order to find out.
Our quick take
The K70 Pro Mini Wireless is a fantastic keyboard if you enjoy the 60 percent form factor.
We love the addition of hot-swappable switches here, and it’s nice to see a big brand rolling out that feature on a gaming keyboard.
There’s a lot to like about this keyboard in terms of the specs under the hood, too, and the general typing and gaming experience is strong.
The price might put some off, and it’s not one for those who plan to swap in five-pin switches, but you can do worse than the K70 Pro Mini Wireless.
Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless
For
Hot-swappable switch design
Interesting RGB lighting bar
Multiple onboard controls
Comfortable typing experience
Fast acting for gaming
Against
RGB isn’t bright as standard
Only accepts three-pin switches
squirrel_widget_12853992
Serious specs
8,000Hz hyper polling; 4,000Hz key scanning
2.4GHz Slipstream wireless or Bluetooth 4.2 low latency
8MB onboard memory for 50 profiles and 20 layered lighting effects
At a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the K70 Pro Mini was just a wireless version of the K65 RGB Mini. There are some similarities here – they both have Cherry MX Switches as standard, and they both pack specs that include an 8,000Hz polling rate and the promise of low latency data transmission.
Think of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless as the K65’s more expensive and fancier brother, though. It might look similar, but there’s actually a lot more on offer here.
Pocket-lint
Obviously, for a start, it’s wireless, so that means you can abandon the USB-C cable unless you need to charge it (which is around every 30 hours with RGB on or 200 with the lighting off). You also have a choice of low-latency Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless, and there’s even a special mode designed specifically for PlayStation 5 as well.
It also promises hyper-fast performance with an 8,000Hz polling rate, 4,000Hz key scanning and Intelligent Frequency Shift to scan and switch to the cleanest wireless channel on the fly. All this adds up to a fast (0.25ms) and accurate signal from the keyboard to your gaming PC. So, that means you won’t be able to blame your hardware for your in-game failings.
As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also an 8MB onboard memory that lets you save up to 50 different profiles to the keyboard (think different settings for different games) and stack as many as 20 different lighting effects on top of each other, as well.
Pocket-lint
The Corsair K70 Pro Mini Wireless might be small, but it has multiple extra functions packed into the secondary layer. This means you can do all sorts with a double button press, including checking battery life, recording macros, activating PlayStation mode, switching to Bluetooth and more.
This is great news, as 60 percent keyboards are a bit of a faff to negotiate some standard uses and button presses. Simple things like directional arrows can be buried in other buttons and need a press of FN first in order to access. The placement is good here and logical here, though.
This keyboard also includes some quirky controls, like mouse movements and clicks in the WASD area, which is unusual and intriguing.
So far, so good. The highlight for us, however, as you might have guessed, is the hot-swappable switches.
Pocket-lint
Hot-swappable to a point
Standard switches are Cherry MX RGB Red or Speed Silver
Swappable three-pin Cherry MX switches
Standard bottom row layout
Include keycap and key switch puller
One of the most appealing features of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless is the ability to swap out the switches. As standard, it comes with a choice of two switches:
These are three-pin switches and you can remove them with the included switch puller and replace them with switches of your choice. This is great if you’re looking to upgrade or replace defective switches in the future, though it is worth noting that it will only accept three-pin switches – not five-pin – which may limit your options.
We were originally going to use lubed Novelkeys Creams to change the feel (and sound) of the keyboard, but couldn’t because they’re five-pin switches. So, that was a sad setback.
This might seem like a small complaint, but the more affordable NZXT Function MiniTKL accepts both three and five-pin switches. It’s still nice to see this option included on a mainstream keyboard, though, as most big gaming brands haven’t made that move yet.
The other benefit of the K70 Pro Mini Wireless design is that it has a standard bottom row layout, so you have the option to try various different custom keycaps to change the look and feel of the keyboard.
Pocket-lint
squirrel_widget_4715350
As standard, it has either PBT double shot or Polycarbonate keycaps (depending on your region), and, in our experience, the lighting doesn’t shine through as well with the thick PBT setup. The K65 RGB Mini had a nice bit of RGB bleed thanks to the white backplate, but that’s not here with the K70 Pro Mini Wireless, and that’s a real shame.
We tried a few different keycap sets and Corsair’s colored ones look a bit nicer, but, again, they don’t let through as much light. From the side, though, you can see that this keyboard has a 360-degree RGB LightEdge lighting bar with 28 LEDs to add some accent lighting to it.
Pocket-lint
We found this didn’t add much glow to our desk, but it’s still a nice bit of extra style to the keyboard.
With the possibility of stacking lighting effects, we’d like to have seen better visuals as standard, especially with the K65 RGB Mini looking nicer out of the box.
squirrel_widget_12853962
You can, however, achieve some improvement by using something like SteelSeries PrismCaps. Pudding keycaps add a much nicer lighting over and a better aesthetic.
squirrel_widget_12853992
to recap
This is possibly the most interesting keyboard that Corsair has released – and it packs in all sorts of specs and interesting features into a tiny form factor. Just don’t expect super bright RGB or five-pin switch support.
Writing by Adrian Willings. Editing by Conor Allison.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly at loggerheads with two other members of the royal family in the wake of a recent controversy.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, the daughters of Prince Andrew, are reportedly furious that their father is now excluded from official royal events.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Queen’s guard terrifies tourists
For more Royal Family related news and videos check out Royal Family >>
Prince Andrew’s fall from grace began in 2020 when his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came under the microscope.
After the royal gave a disastrous interview to the BBC denying that a teenage girl was “sex trafficked” to him on three occasions, he was gradually removed from high-profile public duties.
Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate are understood to be the royals most against any kind of reintegration of Prince Andrew back into public life.
That’s causing some anger from Prince Andrew’s daughters, according to royal commentator Neil Sean.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Credit: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
“There is a big story in the royal family that has remained largely under the radar, and it’s to do with Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge, and William’s father Prince Charles,” Sean recently told The Express.
“According to very good sources, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice are seemingly struggling to remain cordial with Prince William, Catherine, and Charles.
“It stems from the deal organized by William, the Queen, and Prince Charles to remove their father Prince Andrew from royal duties following his disgrace in recent years.”
Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, together in 2012. Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Sean said the “thawing” between the two families in the past two years had been difficult.
“Prince William and Charles are doing this for the benefit of the monarchy,” he said.
“They are reading the public mood, which is saying that Andrew should permanently retire from public life.
“But Andrew wants to make a return which he thinks could be achieved by his daughters carrying out charitable work.”
Sean said when Prince Charles takes the throne, any kind of reinstatement of Prince Andrew would be highly unlikely.
Things could get even more complicated because Princess Beatrice and Eugenie have remained on good terms with Prince Harry and Meghan, while relations between the latter two and William and Kate have definitely cooled.
It’s understood Prince Charles desires a “slimmed down” monarchy that would not include official royal roles for Beatrice and Eugenie, let alone their father.
Princess Eugenie, left, shown with her sister Beatrice. Credit: AP
It was recently revealed that Princess Beatrice attended her father’s “train wreck” BBC interview in 2019.
The BBC producer who secured the interview, Sam McAlister, said she was taken back that the Princess wanted to be there as her father was grilled.
“Imagine speaking about the things we had to talk about in that tiny room, face-to-face with her father who is accused of those heinous acts,” McAlister said.
Princess Beatrice was present when her father Prince Andrew was grilled by the BBC about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Credit: Getty/Supplied
“To be frank, the only thing worse than speaking to a prospective interviewee about allegations of sexual impropriety and sex with a 17-year-old girl is having to do so in front of his daughter,” she wrote in her book Scoops: Behind The Scenes Of The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews.
“Princess Beatrice was polite and engaged, but, unlike her father, she was obviously anxious about the meeting and clearly there to protect his interests.”
For more engaging royal content, visit 7Life on Facebook.
For just a moment, on Saturday night, the mask slipped and Sarina Wiegman displayed the mildest sense of irritation with her German opposite number’s claim that all ‘the pressure is on England.’
It was a reminder that it is always slightly different when these two adversaries are facing up to each other.
‘Did she also say why?’ Wiegman asked, when Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s claim about her was put to her. ‘We are not going to feel more pressure.’ England’s manager felt she’d already answered enough questions on the age-old issue of penalties in this fixture, too.
‘You’ve asked me before. We have practiced penalties and are prepared for everything. We are not going to do differently things all of a sudden.’
But a match this evening before 90,000 fans and a likely 14 million domestic TV audience, is different, however religiously the English ‘process’ stays the same.
There’s also huge hype in Germany, where a clip of striker Alexandra Popp turning up at Friday’s press conference in fake mustache and cap worn backwards — her riposte to being compared with Robert Lewandowski — has gone viral.
But it falls to Wiegman, only ten months into the job, to bring it home to her adoptive nation for the first time since 1966.
England boss Sarina Wiegman hit back at claims that all ‘the pressure is on England’
And then there’s the level of physicality to be expected against Germany — on a level that Wiegman’s players have not seen before in this tournament. Things got a little spicy against Spain in the quarter-final, with allegations of their captain being elbowed in the neck before England’s equaliser, but Germany have put a boot in more than any other side.
‘I think at some point it might be a little physical Germany can play very direct,’ said Wiegman, a theme which was picked up by her captain.
‘That’s the nature of any German team,’ Leah Williamson said. ‘They’re physical, but I think our game is so strong, the way we play to combat that. It will be a good game, two different approaches potentially, but we have fight in us, it just comes out in us a little differently. It’s something to be aware of, but not something we can’t match.’
In other words, neither side will be taking prisoners. The Germans have committed 60 fouls in five games, the most by any team in the tournament and 20 more than England, and have also accumulated eight yellow cards.
The Lionesses are not holding back as they aim to make history at Wembley on Sunday
Germany boss Martina Voss-Tecklenburg insists the pressure is firmly on the hosts
Wiegman also found herself lumbered with the failings of the men in her last public pre-match discussion. Not only the shadow of 1996, when hosts England lost in a Wembley semi-final penalty shoot-out, but last summer’s defeat by the same method for Gareth Southgate’s men against Italy.
With quite enough expectation to contend with, this England manager batted that one away, when asked if she could make up for this. ‘I don’t think we should compare men and women. It’s one England, ‘she responded to the idea of her side of her going one better. ‘Everyone there should cheer for the England team. I don’t think that’s going to be any different.’
The Germans were the ones looking more relaxed in front of the cameras. Voss-Tecklenburg breezily brought up the subject of Geoff Hurst and all that when she did not need to. She had been asked whether she had memories of the ’96 shoot-out when she said that she had been born in 1967 so she only had videos to go on. ‘Everyone knows the history between Germany and England and Wembley and goals and penalties. But that’s all in the past,’ she said.
Her captain Svenja Huth photographed the packed Wembley press conference room, while Voss-Tecklenburg eulogized about this final being the one the nation had always wanted. ‘We’ve dreamt of this to have a final against England at Wembley,’ she said.
Ellen White and Rachel Daly of England celebrate during their semi-final victory over Sweden
‘I don’t think there are any bigger moments for our players. We really want to stay present and embrace everything. England v Germany electrifies football fans.’ Both sides feel the need for this tournament to very much be a game-changer for women in sport and society generally, long after the dust has settled on the final.
‘This hasn’t just been a change of moment football but society in general, how we’re looked upon,’ said Williamson, a schoolgirl when she watched the Great Britain team defeat Brazil in the London Olympics ten years ago today. That was another game-changer for our women’s game.
‘When we look back on the tournament, we will have started something. I’ve only been aware of the workplace in football but in the world women have more battles and hurdles to overcome.’
There’s plenty that Wiegman and her players will want to put out of mind. The fact that they have never won a tournament penalty shoot-out, for instance. They were first beaten on penalties in the final of the inaugural Euros in 1984 — by Tuesday’s semi-final opponents Sweden and were then knocked out by France by the same method in the quarter-finals of the 2011 Women’s World Cup.
Wiegman is expecting a physical battle from the Germans at the home of football
Southgate’s coaches had the England players deliberately shouting at each other while they practiced kicks, to replicate the game environment, last summer. Wiegman is not thought to have repeated this practice but there has been an increase in the frequency of spot-kick practice since May.
If anyone is capable of allowing England to leave the past against Germany firmly where it belongs, then it is the impeccably calm Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to victory in 2017 when the Dutch beat Denmark 4-2 in the final with Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema scoring twice.
‘I think there is some rivalry with Germany, but whoever we would play against there would be some rivalry, because we want to win that final,’ she said. ‘Netherlands and Germany have some rivalry too.’
She is likely to select the same team for the final that she has throughout this competition, while Germany will probably line-up as they did in the semi-final against France. There is no chance that forward Klara Buhl will be available, even if she has recovered from Covid. A positive test saw her miss the semi-final.
England are now looking to make history by winning the Euro 2022 final on Sunday
There is no doubt how much remains on the occasion for both these nations. The Football Association knows that lifting the trophy on home soil could be transformative for the women’s game that they have invested so much in. Their German counterparts feel precisely the same.
‘At the beginning of the game, Wembley will be English and it would be nice if it belonged to us at the end,’ said Voss-Tecklenburg.
To which Williamson’s response was very much to the point. ‘I would be surprised if she didn’t hope that,’ the 25-year-old said.
‘She’s going into the game with the same goal as us. Ninety minutes of football will tell all. That’s what we’re focused on and probably what they will be too.’
