Exploring Arnea, Halkidiki’s Architectural Gem
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#Exploring #Arnea #Halkidikis #Architectural #Gem
BBC Fearghal McKinney, head of the BHF in Northern Ireland, said it is important to correct the record as the charity has suffered reputational damage due to the fall out.
“This caused enormous distress and anxiety among our staff and unwavering supporters,” he added.
‘Due diligence’
ReutersOn Wednesday, O’Neill said there were lessons for a lot of people in terms of “due diligence for an employer when they take on an employee”.
Mr McKinney said O’Neill has “expressed regret” about the comments.
“It was quite clear that whenever comments were made about due diligence that there was only one other organisation that employed him since he was employed by Sinn Féin, so clearly there was a reflection on us,” he told BBC News NI.
“We need to have support from the public – close supporters, volunteers, staff,” he said, adding that “any damage caused to that at all” can “undermine the good work” of the charity.
“When this happened and there was damage caused, as we saw it, to our reputation, added damage we thought around the public comments that were made, we had to do something to make sure that the record was put straight,” Mr McKinney said.
“We’re content that we have done everything in our power in order of keeping all our supporters, all our staff and the wider public that’s connected with us safe and they know that that’s what the standard that the British Heart Foundation applies.”
The work references were provided three months after McMonagle was dismissed from the party while under police investigation.
Sinn Féin said this happened without clearance from the party and described the press officers’ actions as wrong and unacceptable.
Seán Mag Uidhir and Caolán McGinley have resigned from their roles at the party.
When asked if the charity was aware of the reasons for McMonagle leaving Sinn Féin, Mr McKinney replied: “We knew nothing.”
The leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) have called for O’Neill to be questioned in the Assembly over the issue.
‘Words of regret and apology’
Mr McKinney said he spoke with O’Neill on Saturday morning and that she offered “words of regret and apology about what has happened”.
He said in the phone call he outlined the hiring process McMonagle went through, as well as the “robust internal investigation” that he said took place after the charity learned of the charges.
“Michelle O’Neill agreed recent comments by her and party colleagues questioning the BHF’s due diligence process were unhelpful, and she expressed regret for the damage and upset this has caused to our dedicated staff and supporters,” he told BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
“I wish to reiterate that the BHF is confident we undertook all necessary statutory and moral duties required throughout this entire process.
“The tone of the phone call and the words of the phone call was sufficient for us to feel confident that, in fact, the situation and the record has been put absolutely straight.”
‘Appalled and horrified’
“We reached out to Sinn Féin to let them know that the comments around the nearness of their knowledge about this was not the reality and that in fact we had been talking to a HR official in Sinn Féin over a year before,” said Mr McKinney.
O’Neill confirmed on Saturday that a human resources (HR) manager had been contacted by the charity in August 2023, but added the party’s leadership had not been made aware of this.
In a statement on Saturday, she described this as “a serious omission”.
Previously, Sinn Féin minister Conor Murphy told BBC News NI the party had only been aware of the references since 25 September 2024.
O’Neill said she apologised for the hurt and distress caused by the press officers who provided the references and reiterated Murphy’s claim that the party leadership was unaware of the references until recently.
“On Wednesday 25 September 2024, Sinn Féin and I were informed that two press officers, who were former colleagues of Michael McMonagle, had provided employment references for him,” O’Neill said in the statement.
“I am absolutely appalled and horrified that this occurred,” she continued.
“These references were given without the knowledge or authorisation of the party.
“Under no circumstances would the party provide a reference, for work or otherwise, for Michael McMonagle.”
#Reputational #damage #British #Heart #Foundation
The Fallout TV series on Prime Video was a big hit this year, and if you’re looking for something to tide you over until the second season arrives, this new collector’s tin full of memorabilia might be just what you need. Available to preorder now through Amazon and priced at $50 ahead of its December 15 release, the Fallout: Lucy’s Dweller Kit could make for a nice gift for Fallout fans this holiday.
Gallery
So what’s inside the Vault-themed box? Quite a bit, as you’ll find the following goodies waiting to see if the smoke has cleared from mutually assured destruction between nuclear-powered countries. The first item you’ll get is Lucy Maclean’s 80-page Vault Dweller’s book, a comprehensive guide to surviving in Vault 33. This is filled with tips, lore, and untold stories from the Fallout TV series. Next, there’s the Vault-Tec torch projector–a torch projector–and exclusive slide-discs that project never-before-seen scenes from the show.
You can also display your Vault 33 love with a huge flag, a sleek metal plate, a glow-in-the-dark Vault Boy magnet, and a detailed Vault 33 blueprint map. Finally, you can check out key moments from the series with Lucy’s marriage application, a photo of her and Monty after they were just married, and a Hank Maclean photo.
For a few more pieces of Fallout merchandise–from both the TV series and the games–there’s quite a bit to choose from, like the upcoming Mega Bloks set based on the iconic Red Rocket truck stops seen in the franchise. For a closer look, you can click through for official Fallout merchandise in the links below.
#Fallout #Series #Collectors #Tin #Filled #Memorabilia #Releases #Time #Holidays
Recent advances in bionic limb technology have brought us closer to a reality once imagined in science fiction. A recent clinical trial has demonstrated a revolutionary method that enhances the integration of bionic prostheses with the human body. Researchers have developed a technique that surgically reconstructs muscle pairs, enabling amputees to control robotic limbs through brain signals, enhancing their ability to navigate obstacles and stairs with greater ease.
The Anatomics Approach
Traditionally, prosthetic design has viewed the human body as a constraint. However, bioengineer Tyler Clites, now at UCLA, suggests an “anatomics” approach that integrates the body with machines. This technique reconfigures muscles, bones, and nerves to create a more natural communication pathway between the bionic limb and the nervous system. By exploiting biological elements, the prostheses can mimic natural movement and proprioception— the body’s awareness of its position and movement.
Agonist-Antagonist Myoneural Interface (AMI)
The agonist-antagonist myoneural interface (AMI) technique is at the forefront of this integration. By reconstructing muscle pairs, recipients can perceive movements in their prosthetic limb as natural sensations. In a recent trial, those who underwent AMI surgery saw a 40% increase in walking speed, approaching the pace of non-amputees.
Innovations in Prosthetic Integration
Furthermore, osseointegration techniques, which anchor prosthetics directly to bone using titanium bolts, offer improved comfort and stability compared to traditional sockets. Innovations like targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and regenerative peripheral nerve interfaces (RPNI) also enhance the control and feedback of prosthetic limbs.
Conclusion
As researchers continue to refine these techniques, the vision of seamlessly integrated, brain-controlled bionic limbs is becoming increasingly tangible, offering hope and improved quality of life for amputees worldwide.
#Bionic #Limbs #Controlled #Brain #Signals #Leap #Amputees
Poco has just unveiled its next generation F series smartphone called the Poco F4 5G. It’s not a direct successor to the gaming-focused Poco F3 GT (Review) which launched last year, but can be seen as more of a premium offering in the mid-range space. The F series has always been about delivering flagship-grade performance at very affordable prices, however, rather than focusing on just the specs, the F4 5G aims to strike a balance between powerful specifications and a premium design. We’ve got our hands on a unit, so let’s see what’s it all about.
Let’s kick things off with the configurations. Poco has announced three variants in India with 6GB, 8GB and 12GB of RAM. The 6GB and 8GB variants have 128GB of storage and are priced at Rs. 27,999 and Rs. 29,999 respectively, while the 12GB variant has 256GB of storage and is priced at Rs. 33,999. There’s no microSD card slot in this phone. Poco is also offering an additional one year of warranty with the F4 5G and it has announced some heavy discounts of up to Rs. 4,000 if you buy the phone on launch day (June 27).
My first impression of the Poco F4 5G is that it’s a good-looking smartphone, especially in this Nebula Green finish. The matte texture for the plastic frame and the glass back panel gives it very premium and sophisticated look. It’s also available in a Night Black colour. The dimensions of the phone and rounded edges of the frame make it quite comfortable to hold. The Poco F4 5G measures just 7.7mm in thickness and weighs 195g. The bundle also includes a silicone protective case.
You’ll find the usual selection of ports and buttons all in familiar places on the Poco F4 5G. There’s no headphone jack but you do get an infrared emitter. Oddly, there’s no in-display fingerprint sensor despite this phone using an AMOLED display, but the side-mounted one works just as well.
The Poco F4 5G has a bright and vivid AMOLED display with support for Dolby Vision playback
The Poco F4 5G has stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos support. What I like is there’s a separate cutout in the frame for the top-firing speaker, which should hopefully deliver a more balanced sound. However, it’s easy to block this opening with your palm when holding the phone horizontally so we’ll have to wait and see how much of an issue it really ends up being. The Poco F4 5G is also IP53 rated for dust and water resistance, which is always nice to have.
Switch it on and you’re greeted by a bright and vivid 6.67-inch full-HD+ E4 AMOLED display. Content generally looks crisp and clear and this is one of the few phones in this segment to support Dolby Vision HDR playback, in addition to HDR10+. The display gets Corning Gorilla Glass 5 scratch protection and has a 120Hz refresh rate. The Poco F4 5G also claims 1,300 nits of peak brightness and a touch sampling rate of 360Hz.
The Poco F4 5G is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870, which is a powerful 5G SoC for heavy multitasking and gaming. The phone supports 10 5G bands in total along with dual-5G standby. Poco has gone with a 4,500mAh battery for the F4 5G. There’s support for 67W fast charging and this charger is included in the box. Wireless charging is not supported.
Coming to the cameras, the Poco F4 5G features a 64-megapixel primary rear camera with optical stabilisation (OIS) and 4-in-1 pixel binning. There’s also an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The phone has a 20-megapixel selfie camera. On paper, these specs look decent but we’ll know for sure after testing photo and video quality.
The Poco F4 5G is a good-looking phone with a sturdy body and pleasing aesthetics
Finally, we come to software. The Poco F4 5G runs MIUI 13, based on Android 12. The interface is colourful and feature-rich, and so far I haven’t noticed any notification spam from the preinstalled apps. Poco hasn’t yet committed to any long-term software updates for the F4 5G, which is a little disappointing.
The Poco F4 5G has all the makings of a successful mid-range smartphone. It has the brute power of a very capable SoC and a laundry list of impressive features, all packaged in a premium body. While Poco has done a commendable job with this phone, we shouldn’t forget the F4 5G’s not-so-distant cousin which most likely inspired its creation, the Mi 11X (Review) from Xiaomi. Launched in April 2021, the Mi 11X offers nearly the same set of features and specifications at a similar price. We also have the newly launched iQoo Neo 6 (Review) as a strong competitor to the F4 5G, and the upcoming OnePlus Nord 2T is also rumoured to launch in the same price segment.
Stay tuned for the full review of the Poco F4 5G coming soon on Gadgets 360.
#Poco #Impressions #Impressive #Features #Premium #Design
Just days after WA copped thunderstorms and damaging winds, a severe heatwave warning has been issued for parts of the State.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued the warning on Sunday warning people in the Kimberley district about extremely high temperatures.
“A prolonged period of heat is forecast over northern WA, with maximum temperatures in the high thirties to low forties and minimum temperatures in the mid twenties,” the BoM stated.
“Heatwave conditions are expected to intensify over the weekend and into next week.”
Locations mentioned in the severe heatwave warning include Broome, Derby and Kununurra.
Kununurra is expected to reach 41C on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Severe heatwaves can be dangerous for many people especially older people, babies, children, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, people with medical conditions and people who are unwell.
The Department of Health urges people in the heatwave area to start taking action and preparing for very hot conditions.
How to prepare for a heatwave:
- Check air-conditioners and fans are working and set to the ‘cool’ setting.
- If you need to service or replace your air-conditioner or fan, do so before summer.
- Keep your home cool by keeping windows closed and shutting all blinds and curtains.
- Have a battery, solar or wind-up powered torch and radio available. Have spare batteries on hand.
- Stock up on food so you are less likely to have to go outside. Take care when you buy, store and handle food in hot weather to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
- Wrap medications needing refrigeration in foil or heat-repellent containers with an icepack to keep them cool if there is a power outage.
- Keep electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops charged.
- Keep in regular contact with family, friends and neighbours.
- If you have acute or chronic medical conditions, talk to your doctor about the best ways to cool down during very hot weather.
- If your doctor normally limits your fluids or you are on fluid tablets, you may need to check how much to drink in hot weather.
While it won’t reach anywhere close to 40C in Perth, the metro area is in for some glorious weather.
Skies are set to be clear apart from a slight chance of a shower on Wednesday and temperatures will reach a searing 30C on Friday.
#weather #Severe #heatwave #warning #issued #people #Broome #Derby #Kununurra
Google’s Pixel 8 series was launched earlier this year in October at the company’s Made by Google 2023 event. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro already launched with the ability to shoot RAW photos. Adobe RAW compatibility has now been incorporated into Google’s Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, improving the photographic experience. Compared to JPEGs, RAW image files are richer in data, allowing users greater editing options. The new Adobe RAW support is set to be helpful for heavy image editing.
A support page, first spotted by 9to5Google, confirms that Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop apps now recognise Pixel 8 RAW files in Digital Negative Image (DNG) format. This compatibility covers files from the base Pixel 8’s primary sensor, wide-angle lens, and the front camera. Meanwhile, RAW support for photos taken with the telephoto lens is also available for the Pixel 8 Pro.
Pixel 8 series owners must have plug-in version 16.0.1 (at least) in order to use Adobe RAW support, according to the company’s support page. For best compatibility, it is best to confirm that Lightroom and Photoshop are updated to the most recent version. Other phones listed to offer Adobe RAW support include the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, Xiaomi 14, and Xiaomi 14 Pro.
Pricing for the Pixel 8 starts in India at Rs. 75,999 for the 8GB + 128GB option, while the Pixel 8 Pro is listed at Rs. 1,06,999 for the 12GB + 128GB variant. The base model is offered in Hazel, Obsidian, and Rose colour options. The high-end Pro model comes in Bay, Obsidian, and Porcelain shades.
The phones are powered by Google’s in-house Tensor G3 chip and Titan M2 security chip. They ship with Android 14 and supports Wi-Fi 6E, 5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, NFC, and a USB Type-C connectivity. The dual rear camera unit of the Pixel 8 includes a 50-megapixel Samsung GN2 sensor and a 12-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera. The Pixel 8 Pro, on the other hand, sports a 50-megapixel primary sensor, and two 48-megapixel sensors. Both phones are equipped with a 10.5-megapixel selfie camera.
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#Google #Pixel #Pixel #Pro #Gain #Adobe #RAW #Support #Lightroom #Photoshop
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The mayor of the capital of Mexico’s violence-plagued state of Guerrero was killed on Sunday less than a week after he took office, the state’s governor confirmed.
Alejandro Arcos was killed just six days after he took office as mayor of the city of Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in southwestern Mexico.
“His loss mourns the entire Guerrero society and fills us with indignation,” Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado said in a statement shared on social media.
Guerrero’s state attorney general’s office also said it was investigating his murder.
The official confirmation came after photos circulated on messaging app WhatsApp depicting a severed head on top of a pick-up truck, appearing to be that of Arcos. Reuters could not independently verify the photos’ authenticity.
Arcos’ death comes just three days after the new city government’s secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot to death.
“They were young and honest officials who sought progress for their community,” Senator Alejandro Moreno wrote on social media.
Moreno, who is the head of Mexico’s PRI political party, called on the federal attorney general’s office to lead the investigation into Arcos and Tapia’s murders, given “the situation of ungovernability in Guerrero.”
Guerrero has become one of the deadliest states for aspiring and elected public officials, as well as for journalists.
At least six candidates for public office were killed in the state in the run-up to Mexico’s June 2 elections.
Arcos’ social media posts show the mayor in recent days had been supervising disaster relief efforts following the impact of Hurricane John last month, which caused severe flooding in beach resort Acapulco and surrounding towns.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle and Aida Pelaez Fernandez; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Michael Perry)
#Mexican #mayor #assassinated #days #office
Meta is facing calls from U.K. banks and payment firms like Revolut to financially compensate people who fall for scams on their services.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto via Getty Images
Tensions are escalating between banking and payment companies and social media firms in the U.K. over who should be liable for compensating people if they fall victim to fraud schemes online.
Starting from Oct. 7, banks will be required to start compensating victims of so-called authorized push payment (APP) fraud a maximum £85,000 if those individuals affected were tricked or psychologically manipulated into handing over the cash.
APP fraud is a form of a scam where criminals attempt to convince people to send them money by impersonating individuals or businesses selling a service.
The £85,000 reimbursement sum could prove costly for large banks and payment firms. However, it’s actually lower than the mandatory £415,000 reimbursement amount that the U.K.’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) had previously proposed.
The PSR backed down from its bid for the lofty maximum compensation payout following industry backlash, with industry group the Payments Association in particular saying it would be far too costly a sum tor the financial services sector to bear.
But now that the mandatory fraud compensation is being rolled out in the U.K., questions are being asked about whether financial firms are facing the brunt of the cost for helping fraud victims.
On Thursday, London-based digital bank Revolut accused Meta of falling “woefully short of what’s required to tackle fraud globally.” The Facebook-owner announced a partnership earlier this week with U.K. lenders NatWest and Metro Bank, to share intelligence on fraud activity that takes place on its platforms.
Woody Malouf, Revolut’s head of financial crime, said that Meta and other social media platforms should help cover the cost of reimbursing victims of fraud and that, by sharing no responsibility in doing so, “they have no incentive to do anything about it.”
Revolut’s call for large tech platforms to financially compensate people who fall for scams on their websites and apps isn’t new.
Proposals to make tech firms liable
Tensions have been running high between banks and tech companies for some time. Online fraud has risen dramatically over the last several years due to an acceleration in the usage of digital platforms to pay others and buy products online.
In June, the Financial Times reported that the Labour Party had drafted proposals to force technology firms to reimburse victims of fraud that originates on their platforms. It is not clear whether the government still plans to require tech firms to pay compensation out to victims of APP fraud.
A government spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
Matt Akroyd, a commercial litigation lawyer at Stewarts, told CNBC that, after their victory on lowering the maximum reimbursement limit for APP fraud down to £85,000, banks “will receive another boost if their efforts to push the government to place some regulatory liability on tech companies is also successful.”
However, he added: “The question of what regulatory regime could cover those companies who do not play an active role in the PSR’s payment systems, and how, is complicated meaning that this issue is not likely to be resolved any time soon.”
More broadly, banks and regulators have long been pushing social media companies for more collaboration with retail banks in the U.K. to help combat the fast-growing and constantly evolving fraud threat. A key ask has been for the tech firms to share more detailed intelligence on how criminals are abusing their platforms.
At a U.K. finance industry event focusing on economic fraud in March 2023, regulators and law enforcement stressed the need for social media companies to do more.
“We hear anecdotally today from all of the firms that we talk to, that a large proportion of this fraud originates from social media platforms,” Kate Fitzgerald, head of policy at the PSR, told attendees of the event.
She added that “absolute transparency” was needed on where the fraud was occurring so that regulators could know where to focus their efforts in the value chain.
Social media firms not doing enough to combat and remove attempts to defraud internet users was another complaint from regulatory authorities at the event.
“The bit that’s missing is the at-scale social media companies taking down suspect accounts that are involved in fraud,” Rob Jones, director general of the National Economic Crime Centre, a unit of the U.K. National Crime Agency, said at the event.
Jones added that it was tough to “break the inertia” at tech companies to “really get them to get after it.”
Tech firms push ‘cross-industry collaboration’
Meta has pushed back on suggestions that it should be held liable for paying out compensation to victims of APP fraud.
In written evidence to a parliamentary committee last year, the social media giant said that banks in the U.K. are “too focused on their efforts to transfer liability for fraud to other industries,” adding that this “creates a hostile environment which plays into the hands of fraudsters.”
The company said that it can use live intelligence from big banks through its Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange (FIRE) initiative to help stop fraud and evolve and improve its machine learning and AI detection systems. Meta called on the government to “encourage more cross-industry collaboration like this.”
In a statement to CNBC Thursday, the tech giant stressed that banks, including Revolut, should look to join forces with Meta on its FIRE framework to facilitate data exchanges between the firm and large lenders.
FIRE “is designed to enable banks to share information so we can work together to protect people using our respective services,” a spokesperson for Meta said last week. “Fraud is a multi-sector spanning issue that can only be addressed by working collaboratively.”
#Banks #tech #companies #odds #online #fraud #liability
People on the Mahanakorn skywalk overlooking Bangkok, shot on March 17, 2023.
Lillian Suwanrumpha | Afp | Getty Images
Thailand’s annual headline inflation quickened in September due mainly to higher prices of diesel and some vegetables, the commerce ministry said on Monday, and was still below the central bank’s target range of 1% to 3%.
The headline consumer price index rose 0.61% in September from a year earlier, after August’s annual increase of 0.35%, and missed a forecast rise of 0.80% in a Reuters poll.
The headline inflation rate is expected to be 1.25% in October and about 1.49% in the final quarter of 2024, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director of the trade policy and strategy office, told a press conference.
In the January to September period, average annual headline inflation was 0.20%. The commerce ministry on Monday revised its forecast for the full year to between 0.2% to 0.8%, from between zero and 1% seen earlier.
The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, increased 0.77% in September from a year earlier, and slightly beat the poll forecast for a rise of 0.72%.
#Thai #headline #inflation #quickens #September #central #bank #target