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NoneNamibian Regulators Order Elon Musk Owned Starlink To Cease Operations In The CountryEverything you need to know about Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks: Best vantage points around Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, how to get to the harbourside waterfront, weather warning and more... More than one million expected to watch fireworks show in person Attendees urged to plan ahead and arrive at their spot early READ MORE: Robbie Williams to headline Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations By FREDDY PAWLE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 00:55, 30 December 2024 | Updated: 00:55, 30 December 2024 e-mail View comments Revellers planning to watch Sydney 's world-famous New Year's Eve fireworks show have been urged to find their spot early with more than one million tipped to attend. More than nine tonnes of fireworks are going to light up Sydney's sky from 264 firing points across Sydney Harbour for this year's highly-anticipated event under the theme 'Forward with Heart'. The first fireworks will be launched during the children's fireworks session, now renamed the Calling Country show, at 9pm before the main event at midnight. Those hoping to see the fireworks in person without spending a fortune can find a space at 35 free waterfront vantage points. But there will be huge competition for the free viewing spots, with the City of Sydney estimating more than one million people to flock to the harbour. Attendees have also been urged to pack an umbrella or poncho with the Bureau of Meteorology expecting 'heavy bursts of rain' to dampen celebrations. Rainfall is also expected earlier in the day, leading to muggy conditions as the mercury is set to rise to 27C in the city and 29C in the Western Suburbs. While public transport will continue to operate throughout the day, authorities have warned attendees to expect 'long queues' for their trip home. Partygoers hoping to watch this year's New Year's Eve fireworks in Sydney have been urged to find their vantage spot early (pictured, revellers during last year's event) More than one million people are expected to flock to the city in order to see more than nine tonnes of fireworks fireworks in person (pictured, last year's event) WHERE YOU CAN WATCH THE FIREWORKS FOR FREE Circular Quay and the Rocks East and West Circular Quay Sydney Opera House The Rocks Hickson Road Reserve Dawes Point Park Campbell's Cove Royal Botanic Garden and The Domain Mrs Macquarie's Point Fleet Steps Bennelong Lawn Tarpeian Lawn Darling Harbour and Barangaroo Darling Harbour Barangaroo Reserve Observatory Hill North Sydney Blues Point Lavender Bay Parklands Bradfield Park and Mary Booth Reserve Eastern suburbs Rose Bay Foreshore Embarkation Park Yarranabbe Park McKell Park Murray Rose Pool and Blackburn Gardens Duff Reserve Dumaresq Reserve Pyrmont Pyrmont Bay Park Giba Park Giba Park Balmain Simmons Point Birchgrove Park Mort Bay Park Yurulbin Park Elkington Park Illoura Reserve Thornton Park Lookes Avenue Reserve Opening times and if alcohol is prohibited or available for sale varies. Credit: City of Sydney Advertisement This year's display is expected to exceed previous spectacles with new technology being used to create ever-more stunning visuals. Foti International Fireworks, behind Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks since 1997, said they have put more than 4500 hours of preparation into this year. The family-owned business promised fireworks that turn into shapes like fish and sharks while others falling from the bridge like a waterfall will spell 'Sydney'. Attendees can also expect artificial intelligence and four drone-powered pyrotechnic platforms to help create the stunning visuals seen around the world. 'We are always looking at ways we can evolve our show and believe this will be one of the most innovative New Year's Eve fireworks displays in the world,' Fortunato Foti told the Daily Telegraph . The most popular vantage points for the show, the Royal Botanical Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Point and the Sydney Opera House, are expected to pack out well before nightfall. Their close view of the Harbour Bridge led to the popular Royal Botanical Gardens and Mrs Macquaries Chair quickly reaching capacity before gates opened last year. Attendees have been warned to bring their own entertainment for the long wait, as many vantage points, even quiter ones, don't allow re-entry after leaving. This year's rendition has promised AI projections and drone-powered platforms to enhance the visual spectacle (pictured, last year's event) NSW Police have warned attendees to not start 2025 'in the back of a police truck' with a massive police operation planned across the state (pictured, last year's revellers) The Bureau of Meteorology expects a 'slight chance of a shower in the afternoon and evening' for New Year's Eve in Sydney. There is also a chance of the rain to be followed by a thunderstorm, but it is most likely to fall over the Western Suburbs. Read More New Year's Eve, Australian style: Travel chaos and wild weather smash major cities - and some revellers keep the party going until dawn Transport for NSW coordinator general Howard Collins said attendees should 'get to their destination early' and patiently hold their spot. 'It's important to understand that we want to walk you into the city and walk you out again,' he said. Sydney Trains chief executive Matt Longlan added that transport to and from areas around the Harbour Bridge will likely be 'very busy'. NSW Police's Operation New Year's Eve 2024 Commander Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna urged partygoers to be safe this year. The operation will see large numbers of uniformed and plain-clothed officers patrolling New Year's Eve events across the state. 'We want everyone to enjoy their New Year's Eve celebrations in a safe and responsible way,' Assistant Commission McKenna said. 'People planning on coming to the city for free vantage points are urged to get in early to avoid missing out. If a location becomes full, do not attend and find an alternative location. 'Police will not tolerate dangerous, criminal or anti-social behaviour. 'We ask people to drink responsibly, know their limit and avoid starting 2025 in the back of a police truck.' Share or comment on this article: Everything you need to know about Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks: Best vantage points around Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge, how to get to the harbourside waterfront, weather warning and more... e-mail Add comment
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will be receiving an increase in its budget in 2025, according to Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri. In his keynote speech at the closing plenary of the 2024 Philippine Textile Industry Forum at the Limketkai Luxe Hotel here, Zubiri revealed that from the P26.9 billion that was approved at the House of Representatives level, the DOST is slated to receive over P29 billion after the Senate panel increased its budget during the deliberations at the Bicameral Conference Committee. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options.
Kansas City Chiefs fans and Hallmark movie lovers alike are in for a treat this Thanksgiving weekend. “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story,” premieres on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 (11/30/24) at 8 p.m. ET on the Hallmark Channel . The movie spent time filming at Arrowhead Stadium and includes several, star-studded Kansas City Chiefs cameos. How to watch: Fans can watch “Holiday Touchdown” for free via a trial of Philo , DirecTV Stream or fuboTV , which is offering $30 off this month. Here’s what you need to know: What: “Holiday Touchdown” premiere When: Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024 Time: 8 p.m. ET TV: Hallmark Channel Live stream: Philo (free trial), fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) Kansas City Chiefs’ cameos: Head coach Andy Reid , offensive guard Trey Smith , wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. , running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire and defensive end George Karlaftis . Donna Kelce , the mother of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce , also plays a role in the Hallmark original. Film Synopsis: Chiefs superfan Alana [ Hunter King ] tries to win the Fan of the Year Award as a Christmas gift for her family, falling in love with someone in the Chiefs front office [Tyler Hynes] along the way. *** Here’s an entertainment story via the Associated Press: Two new Christmas TV movies have a Taylor Swift connection that her fans would have no problem decoding. “Christmas in the Spotlight” on Lifetime. It stars Jessica Lord as the world’s biggest pop star and Laith Wallschleger as a pro football player, who meet and fall in love — not unlike Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “It’s clearly inspired by Taylor and Travis, but I don’t know them and I don’t know what is going on behind the scenes. I only know what’s been put out there,” said Eirene Tran Donohue, a longtime, devoted fan who jumped at the opportunity to write a script even loosely based on her favorite musician. She was inspired by the couple’s support of each other’s accomplishments, particularly Kelce’s ease with dating the star despite the glare of the spotlight, adding, “I love the way that he celebrates her.” Tran Donohue wants fellow Swift fans to know she wrote the script with them in mind. “There are so many Easter eggs,” she said of little details added that a Swift fan would pick up on. “I put in as many as I could.” Then, on Nov. 30, Hallmark will air “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” Instead of a nod to Swift, it’s an ode to family traditions and bonding, like rooting for a sports team. Hallmark’s headquarters is also in Kansas City, so it makes sense why the company chose the Chiefs to be highlighted. In this story, written by Julie Sherman Wolfe, sparks fly when a new employee for the Chiefs organization (Tyler Hynes) meets a woman — played by Hunter King — whose family’s dedication to the team goes back generations. Sherman Wolfe, a San Francisco 49ers fan, said she got the call a week after Super Bowl LVIII, when the Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22. “I was still nursing my wounds,” she said adding that Hallmark asked, ‘Can you can you separate yourself from the loss and do this movie? I said, ’Absolutely. I mean, I’m a professional,‘" Sherman Wolfe said, laughing. While “Holiday Touchdown” has no mention of Swift or Kelce, it does feature a few Chiefs player cameos and Donna Kelce also has a small role. “I kept botching my line,” Hynes said of working with Mama Kelce. “I was just like, Donna Kelce’s about to speak and I’m beside myself. It was so fun.” The actors also got to film at Arrowhead Stadium and on the field. RECOMMENDED • nj .com Which Kansas City Chiefs stars have cameos in Hallmark’s new Christmas movie? | How to watch ‘Holiday Touchdo Nov. 30, 2024, 6:00 a.m. How to watch the Las Vegas Raiders Black Friday game today (11/29/24) | FREE LIVE STREAM, time, TV channel fo Nov. 29, 2024, 6:00 a.m. “Those were just some of the coolest moments I’ve ever gotten to have working on a movie,” King said. (The Associated Press contributed to this report) Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.Stock exchanges have warned Religare Enterprises for delay in disclosure of senior official in the company. Last November, the company made a disclosure on appoint of Rakesh Asthaana as Additional Director (to be designated as Whole Time Director) subject to approval of RBI. On October this year, the company said RBI in its letter dated May 15 refused the approval for the appointment of Asthaana. Referring to the above, both NSE and BSE in separate letters said it was observed that disclosure regarding the decision of RBI regarding non- approval for the appointment of Asthaana was disclosed by the company on October 24, 2024 after the exchange intervention which was with a delay beyond the timeline prescribed by SEBI. “The aforesaid non-compliance on your part is viewed seriously. You are hereby warned and advised to be careful in future, exercise due caution and initiate corrective steps to avoid recurrence of such lapses so as to ensure due compliance with the applicable provisions of SEBI. Any aberration in future will be viewed seriously and appropriate action would be initiated,” it said. The company was asked to disseminate a copy of the warning letter on the stock exchanges where they are listed and place it before their Board of Directors to avoid such lapses in future, it added. Comments
HOUSTON (AP) — Rockets forward Amen Thompson threw Heat guard Tyler Herro to the floor to trigger an altercation that resulted in six ejections in the closing minute of Miami's 104-100 victory over Houston on Sunday. Thompson and Herro became entangled with Miami about to inbound the ball leading 99-94 with 35 seconds left. Thompson grabbed Herro by the jersey and tossed him, with referee Marc Davis describing it as Thompson “body slams Herro .” “I didn’t see it live, but I re-watched it,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “They were in each other’s face, bumping chests a little bit, and one guy’s stronger than the other.” Herro, Thompson, and Udoka were ejected, as were Heat guard Terry Rozier, Rockets guard Jalen Green, and Rockets assistant coach Ben Sullivan. Davis said Green and Rozier escalated the altercation, while Sullivan was assessed a technical foul and ejected for unsportsmanlike comments as the referee was trying to redirect the Rockets' Alperen Sengun. The altercation occurred after Miami had come from 12 points down in the second half to regain the lead with the help of Houston missing 11 straight shots in the fourth quarter. Herro keyed the comeback, leading all scorers with 27 points and adding nine assists and six rebounds. He believed that's what frustrated Thompson. “Guess that’s what’s happens when someone’s scoring, throwing dimes, doing the whole thing,” Herro said. “I’d get mad, too.” Herro said he had never spoken to Thompson, who did not talk to reporters after Sunday’s game, so there was no previous bad blood between the two. “Just two competitors going at it, playing basketball,” Herro said. “It was a regular game that we were playing throughout.” Houston's Fred VanVleet had been ejected just before the fight, with Davis saying VanVleet made contact with him after being called for a 5-second violation. The win for Miami came 24 hours after losing 120-110 in Atlanta. The Heat were missing second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler for a fifth straight game, so Herro was proud of his team played against one of NBA’s best teams this season. “They’re top two, three in the West,” Herro said. “Very good defense. Got a bunch of young, athletic guys that can really play, so that’s a good win for us. That’s a stepping stone. We go 2-1 on the road. Put ourselves in a position to win yesterday, and I like how it’s going. We just got to continue to keep getting better.”Sherrone Moore’s Behavior After Michigan Upset No. 2 Ohio State Turns Heads
A male was killed in an apparent shooting on South Eutaw Street Saturday afternoon, Baltimore Police said. Central District patrol officers responded to the unit block of South Eutaw Street around 2 p.m. for a report of a shooting, police said. Officers located an unidentified male suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Medics transported the victim to an area hospital where he later died. As of Friday morning, the city had recorded 183 homicides, compared with 239 at this time in 2023. Homicide detectives ask anyone with information to contact them at 410-396-2100 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.One Day After Black Friday, Amazon Crashes MacBook Air M2 and M3 Prices to New Lows
B.C. Premier David Eby says his party has reached an agreement in principle with the B.C. Greens to ensure "stable governance" for the next four years. The agreement, subject to annual reviews, spells out the basis on which B.C. Greens provide "confidence" to the B.C. NDP and areas where the parties will work together. They include healthcare, where the B.C. NDP will support the growth of Community Health Centres, a key proposal of the B.C. Greens during the election campaign. Other key elements include housing with the government actively supporting efforts by various groups to "protect, purchase and build 30,000 units of non-market housing" over the next four years with 7,500 units as a goal by the end of 2025. Electoral reform also makes a return with the establishment of a special commitment to "review and consider preferred methods of proportional representation" as part of deliberations designed to "increase democratic engagement, address increasing political polarization, and improve the representativeness of government." The agreement does "not lay out the full program" of government "nor does it presume support" for "initiatives and other matters not addressed within this agreement" but gives Eby's government more stability once the legislature returns next year. The agreement echoes without replicating the confidence-and-supply agreement of 2017 that allowed the B.C NDP to return after 16 years in opposition as a minority government with the help of three B.C. Greens. The B.C. NDP currently holds 47 seats, enough for a bare majority, while the B.C. Greens hold two seats. More to come...For the fourth straight season, the Michigan Wolverines topped rival Ohio State with a 13-10 victory in Columbus. Michigan’s win over the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes is a signature victory for first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, who succeeded former head coach Jim Harbaugh, who left to take the Los Angeles Chargers head-coaching job after leading the Wolverines to a national championship in January. Saturday’s win seemingly meant more to unranked Michigan, which not only picked up its seventh win of the year but also likely dealt a death-blow to OSU’s College Football Playoffs chances as well. Defeating the Buckeyes is the biggest win of Moore’s career, and he promptly celebrated by mocking some OSU fans in waning seconds of the game, waving bye to them as the clock ticked down — a gesture that didn’t sit right with many people on social media who expressed their dislike for how Moore conducted himself. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Sherrone Moore waves goodbye to Ohio State fans after that Ohio State play pic.twitter.com/N6EtxiEa2h “Stay classy Michigan,” one fan remarked . “Shows no class. Are you surprised?” quipped another . “Immature head coach haha? That’s like grad assistant action,” one user chimed in . “Not exactly a classy man handing winning well,” another added . “Act like you been there. You’re a grown ass man,” another fan wrote . “Michigan deserved the win, but handled the victory with no class, as usual,” one fan proclaimed .
Every facet of AI feels like it's advanced by a decade in the last year, and in the whirlwind of new releases and capabilities, you may have missed something important: interactive video chatbots that can see, hear and converse with you in real time. Look, don't mind me, I'm over here still blown away by how good ChatGPT's advanced voice mode is. Multimodal AIs are proving themselves every bit as capable at expressing themselves in audio and video form as they have in the written word. A couple of years ago, the idea of having a video chat with a fairly lifelike, photorealistic AI would have seemed ridiculously futuristic. Yet here we are in 2024, I've just spoken to five of them, and I'm now so conditioned to immediately accepting new breakthrough technologies that it already feels completely normal. The Good Indeed, I'm about to complain about their current shortcomings. But first, let's talk about what they do well. Speed, for me, has to be top of the list here. You speak, and the video avatar responds with no more lag or latency than you'd get with a voice chat – around 600 milliseconds, according to Tavus. Indeed, I've had plenty of video chats with other actual humans where there's been more lag than this. Of course, the avatars look and sound fantastic – and naturally, their conversational abilities make last-gen models like Siri and Alexa feel like black and white TVs. It's truly stunning how much these models can do in real time – never mind the conversation, the voice, the body language – they can also look back at you through your laptop or device camera, taking stock of your surroundings and incorporating them into the conversation. "I see you've got some guitars and keyboards behind you, Loz," AI agent 'Carter' tells me. "And those sound absorbing panels on the roof ... Looks like you've got a serious music production space there, loving those creative vibes!" These agents can be given personalities, memories, scenarios, habits, tasks, boundaries, interaction goals, scripts, and access to whatever information they'll need to do their job – jobs like automated sales, customer service, information assistants, whatever human-facing tasks can be done over a video chat interface. They can converse comfortably in a range of languages, without losing the essential tone of their voices. They can appear in a range of different environments; walking down the street, driving a car, hanging out at a cafe, or sitting in whatever office you can dream up. And they can look and sound just like you. A single two-minute video upload is all Tavus needs to capture your look and your voice, which it'll then turn into a programmable "digital twin" conversation agent that's your own spitting image. The Bad These things are still very early versions of what's coming steaming down the line at us. The Carter bot doesn't always get its lips perfectly synchronized with its voice. The facial expressions aren't always in the right places. He glitches a little; the eyes seem to reposition themselves on his head now and then, and the video or audio occasionally stutters to reveal his digital nature. And, as with ChatGPT, the conversation is still a bit stunted. You need to take turns, and if you stop to think too long in the middle of a sentence, he'll start replying when a human would (ideally) give you a little more space. AIs are yet to master the art of gentle interruption, prompting, these sorts of things. It doesn't matter. The speed at which this tech advances is truly staggering. In a few months Carter will be old news, and all these gaps will close rapidly. Most of the world only learned about ChatGPT last year – now you're looking at the AI, and it's looking at you, in real-time video conversations. The Ugly Indeed, part of what this thing needs to do to improve is to become better at reading body language, which might help it work out, say, the difference between somebody trailing off, or pausing for thought, or having finished their sentence. And then, of course, it needs to learn how to adjust its own body language in response to yours, and to advance its goals in the communication. And here, for those of you that have followed my thoughts on AI over the last couple of years, you'll start to see some of the scary potential here. Forgive me as we take off into the realm of speculation – but the rapid convergence of technologies in this space makes some things pretty clear to me. Back in April, a study found that – and at the same time, we started seeing the first , capable of reading the tone of your voice and responding to the emotional content as well as the words. Oh, and here's some light reading if you're wondering how much an AI might be able to learn about you from your body language ... Back in 2021, a research review absolutely floored me by outlining So when I look at Carter looking back at me, I'm amazed by the progress and blown away by the technology, but I also see the embryonic form of the most powerful persuasive tool in history. This one might just beat religion, friends. Given just a short scrap of video, a scammer could have an agent video-call you as your own mother, and cold-read you like no human expert ever could, constantly monitoring your facial expressions, tone of voice and body language to keep tabs on whether it's fooling you or not. If you start to cotton on, it could notice almost before you do, and start deploying all sorts of distraction or refocusing techniques to bypass objections, create a sense of urgency, and move you toward its ultimate goal, whatever that is. That's just the criminal side of things ... Imagine trying to get a refund when the customer service agent you're talking to is a master conversational tactician, a superhuman body language expert and voice tone analyst all rolled into one. Imagine how powerful the sell's going to be when you're talking to a galaxy-brained super-salesman who can read you like a book. That's not to mention how effective these things will be as misinformation vectors, virtual girlfriends, divisive political tools ... Perhaps even police detectives or interrogators. They'll be incredibly believable one-on-one interactions, weaponizing our in-built physical tendencies to make our bodies betray us. The balance of power here will be incredibly one-sided, if they can just keep us on the line. In a positive sense, they'll become incredible therapists, doctors, assistants, coaches, mentors, trainers, teachers and probably friends. But it'll be more important than ever to bear in mind the base truth: if you don't own an AI, somebody else does, and it's working for them first, and you second. So be very careful what you choose to reveal, and only deal with companies that you trust ... ... or not. There might be no real way of protecting yourself from this stuff. We, as a species, might just have to adapt to a new reality. You can have a two-minute demo chat with Carter yourself at the . Tell him I said hi. Oh, and you can take a look at what HeyGen is doing in this space as well if you want to see some similar alternatives, although I was less impressed by . Source:
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