The film is one of several new actioners on Millennium's bustling Cannes slate. Nicolas Cage is attached to star in Kill Chain, to be written and directed by Ken Sanzel, producer on Numb3rs and writer of The Replacement Killers. The thriller — one of numerous new titles on Millennium's bustling Cannes slate — is described as a film in the vein of the "greatest detective noirs films." It follows three strangers' lives as they inevitably become entangled in a conflict none of them are prepared for. Paul Hertzberg produces. Other films in Millennium's market catalog include The Hitman's Bodyguard sequel, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, which The Hollywood Reporter exclusively broke news of and for which Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek are rumored to be returning; The Outpost, starring Orlando Bloom; Sylvester Stallone's long-awaited Rambo V; and The Bayou, starring Gary Oldman and Dylan O'Brien. Cage himself is having a predictably busy festival, with #211, also from Millennium, Between Worlds and Mandy among several films being offered to buyers.

The four-time Oscar nominee is appearing in her first superhero movie. Annette Bening is signing on for her first comic book movie. The four-time Oscar nominee is joining Brie Larson in Captain Marvel, Marvel Studios’ first female-led feature film. Mississippi Grind directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck are helming the movie, which is currently in production in and around Los Angeles. (The project also will shoot in Louisiana.) Larson toplines the pic as Carol Danvers, an Air Force pilot whose DNA fuses with that of an alien, sending her headlong into an intergalactic adventure. The character had a major tease in Avengers: Infinity War, although the solo movie is set in the 1990s. The cast already includes Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn and Gemma Chan, as well as Djimon Hounsou and Lee Pace, with the latter pair reprising their characters from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Details on Bening’s character are being kept hidden deep in the Kree Empire, but "scientist" is said to be in her job description. Bening eschews most studio movies, let alone those with caped crusaders and masked marvels. She most recently starred in the period drama Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool and toplines The Seagull, an adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play that also counts Saoirse Ronan and Elisabeth Moss in its cast, which is set to bow Friday.

April joins February 2018 as another record month at the box office with calendar grosses topping $1 billion for the first time ever, improving on 2017's record grosses by nearly $210 million. The result was due, in large part, to the massive opening success of Avengers: Infinity War which made up 27.7% of the month's overall gross despite being in theaters for only four days in April. As a result, Disney dominated the month with $336.6 million from just five films as the studio continues its record pace, generating over $1.2 billion in box office revenue over the first four months of 2018. Led by $282.4 million from Avengers: Infinity War after just four days in release, Disney delivered $336.6 million in April, pushing the studio's yearly total to $1.2 billion in the first four months of the year. On April 27, Disney became the fastest studio to reach $1 billion domestically, doing so in just 117 days, besting their previous record set in 2016 by 11 days. From a global perspective, Disney's international gross at the end of April was a massive $1.5 billion for a worldwide total of $2.68 billion. From there the studio surpassed $3 billion in global ticket sales for the calendar year on May 4, reaching that threshold two days faster than the previous record, also set by Disney on May 6, 2016. Overall, Disney is currently pacing $544.5 million ahead of where they were last year and $315 million ahead of 2016, the year they became the first studio to ever top $3 billion in domestic ticket sales and 2018 has a lot more to offer. Looking ahead at just the summer months, Disney has Solo: A Star Wars Story arriving at the end of May followed by Pixar's The Incredibles 2 in June, Ant-Man and the Wasp in July and Christopher Robin in August, all before a trio of releases over the holiday season hope to deliver another record year for the Mouse House. You can view Disney's full upcoming release slate right here. Finishing second for the month is Warner Bros. with $181.25 million from eight releases. Leading the charge was the late March release of Ready Player One, which brought in $88.4 million for the month, accounting for 66.5% of its $133 million domestic total by the end of April. Overall, April accounted for 47% of WB's total gross for the year so far, which ended April ahead of 2017's gross by a narrow, $4.1 million margin. 2017 went on to become the studio's highest grossing year ever at the domestic box office, topping $2 billion for the first time. Paramount finished April in third place with one of the year's biggest successes thus far in the horror/thriller A Quiet Place. The $17 million production debuted with a massive $50.2 million on April 6 and has since delivered over $160 million becoming the studio's highest grossing release since Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation ($195m) in July 2015. A Quiet Place has out-grossed recent Paramount blockbusters such as Star Trek Beyond ($158.8m) and Transformers: The Last Knight ($130.1m) domestically and helped push the studio's yearly gross over $232 million, $34 million ahead of last year. Unfortunately, that gross total is far from the studio's best, coming in as the 14th highest total over the last 19 years. Though, with only five films in release, the $46.4 million average per film is the fourth best over the same time span. Looking ahead, Paramount is hoping to turn things around after a dismal 2017 with a slate of modestly budgeted films as well as blockbusters including Mission: Impossible - Fallout (7/27) and Bumblebee (12/21) later this year. Universal landed in fourth position for the month with $104.8 million from four films including two new releases. Leading the way was the R-rated comedy Blockers, which brought in $53.5 million on a $21 million budget and the latest Blumhouse production, Truth or Dare, which brought in $35.6 million for the month on a $3.5 million budget. Universal is currently pacing a hefty $488 million behind their 2017 grosses, but with films such as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (6/22), The First Purge (7/4) and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! (7/20) set to hit theaters over the summer months things should begin turning around. In fifth is Lionsgate, which had just two films in release, combining for $35.8 million for the month, pushing the studio's 2018 calendar gross over $133 million, pacing almost $280 million behind last year when films like La La Land, John Wick: Chapter Two, Power Rangers and The Shack were delivering solid grosses for the studio. This year Tyler Perry's Acrimony is leading the studio's stable of releases with $42.3 million putting pressure on the studio's upcoming slate to deliver some bigger numbers. Elsewhere, while Sony finished in 11th for the month, not having released a movie since Paul, Apostle of Christ in late March, the studio's $403.2 million in grosses this year is $173 million ahead of where they were at the end of April last year. Of course, nearly $350 million of that total is attributed to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($235.26m) and Peter Rabbit ($114.57m) while the rest of the studio's 2018 releases haven't fared nearly as well. However, following their CinemaCon presentation high hopes reside on the shoulders of films including Hotel Transylvania 3 (7/13), The Equalizer 2 (7/20), Venom (10/5), Goosebumps 2 (10/12), The Girl in the Spider's Web (11/9) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (12/14). As for the rest of May, while Avengers: Infinity War gave the Spring season a late jolt, helping it become the second largest Spring ever, Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story look to get the official summer box office off to a solid start, while films such as Book Club, Breaking In and Life of the Party may not deliver blockbuster-sized numbers, but should deliver good numbers as solid counter-programming options. Looking at the year overall, the domestic box office stood at $3.875 billion at the end of April, improving on 2017's $3.725 billion at the same point as well as positioned $310.7 million ahead of 2016's record-setting year through the end of April. Finally, a list of selected films that closed out their domestic runs in April is featured below, ordered by cumulative gross. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Disney) - Closed with $620.18M after 126 days in release Coco (Disney) - Closed with $209.73M after 156 days in release Fifty Shades Freed (Uni) - Closed with $100.41M after 56 days in release Darkest Hour (Focus) - Closed with $56.44M after 131 days in release Lady Bird (A24) - Closed with $48.96M after 154 days in release The 15:17 to Paris (WB) - Closed with $36.25M after 63 days in release Annihilation (Paramount) - Closed with $32.73M after 56 days in release I, Tonya (Neon) - Closed with $30.01M after 133 days in release Phantom Thread (Focus) - Closed with $21.02M after 98 days in release Unsane (Bleecker) - Closed with $7.73M after 21 days in release Gringo (STX) - Closed with $4.97M after 28 days in release Samson (Pure Flix) - Closed with $4.72M after 56 days in release 7 Days in Entebbe (Focus) - Closed with $3.21M after 45 days in release Mary and the Witch's Flower (GKIDS) - Closed with $2.42M after 78 days in release Detective Chinatown 2 (WB) - Closed with $1.98M after 49 days in release Operation Red Sea (Well Go) - Closed with $1.54M after 56 days in release

Star Trek: Bridge Crew will soon be getting an expansion that allows players to take the helm of the Enterprise-D. Ubisoft announced today that Star Trek: Bridge Crew The Next Generation is coming to VR and non-VR software this summer, and will feature a number of large updates for the game that includes new gameplay modes and roles for players. Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a game designed to be enjoyed in VR, but can also be played through traditional means on both the PS4 and PC. The game combines typical Star Trek-style adventures in the form of Ongoing Missions with Crew Management, debates on the bridge of a ship that will see multiple players tasked with managing the iconic Star Trek ships that the series has seen piloted by the likes of Captains Kirk and Picard. Star Trek: Bridge Crew‘s expansion will be released on May 22, 2018 for PSVR and PS4 players for $19.99, while it will be made available on July 21 for those on PC with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality, alongside non-VR support. Ubisoft also announced that the new expansion will be playable cross-platform for all devices involved. Star Trek: Bridge Crew The Next Generation will offer two new mission types, Patrol and Resistance. Patrol will see players free-roaming in space while experiencing random encounters, whereas Resistance will task crewmembers with evading a pursuing Borg Cube before battling the villainous Borg in a climatic showdown. The game will also add a new command role, Operations, to Captain Picard’s iconic Galaxy Class U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701D specifically. Operations will have to micromanage the NPC staff of the ship, ensuring that each position is staffed competently to ensure the success of missions. Despite the promise of a VR game based around helming some of the most popular Star Trek ships of all time, Star Trek: Bridge Crew has only found a niche audience thus far. Part of that is undoubtedly due to the fact that VR technology remains expensive, pricing out a number of fans who might be interested in the experience. Additions like Star Trek: Bridge Crew The Next Generation certainly don’t hurt in making the game more palatable to a wider array of fans, though, and it’s a game that always seems poised to break out if the stars align. With the addition of one of the series’ most accessible seasons, later this summer might finally be the time for Star Trek: Bridge Crew to take aspiring ship captains by storm.

E3 2018 is just around the corner but some of the biggest announcements from gaming’s biggest event may have just been leaked. Earlier today Walmart Canada listed several unannounced games on their website including Gears of War 5, a new Splinter Cell title, RAGE 2, and Just Cause 4. All of these announcements would make waves at their respective E3 press conferences, so this leak could have a huge impact. If such major titles are going to be announced soon then E3 2018 would be the place to do so. E3 has been the gaming world’s largest convention for over 20 years takes place next month in Los Angeles from June 12 through 14. Several key companies hold press conferences before the show begins including Bethesda, Electronic Arts (who will be showing the new Battlefield), Microsoft, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Other games that were listed on Walmart’s website include WWE 2K19, Destiny Comet, the heavily teased Borderlands 3, the previously leaked LEGO DC Villains, a new Assassin’s Creed title, Dragon Quest 2, and Forza Horizon 5. While this news is certainly exciting, it’s worth mentioning that none of the games had non-placeholder dates or box-arts displayed. The names are simply all of the information that is available at this time. It’s likely that several of the leaks wind up being real, as it’s never much of a shock when a staple gaming franchise gets a new sequel. Several of the games, such as a Splinter Cell reboot have already been rumored, and the only real out of left field listing is RAGE 2, which would be a sequel to id Software’s open-world first-person shooter. All of the listings have been taken down since being originally spotted, so it’s entirely possible that someone was adding potential E3 announcements to their database early. Some of the names would indicate a guess, as it makes no sense that a Forza Horizon 5 would be announced before the series received a fourth entry (although Microsoft has certainly used confusing naming conventions in the past). Dragon Quest 2 is also most likely referring to Dragon Quest Builders 2, as a console remake of the classic NES title wouldn’t make much sense. Only time will tell if these listings wind up being real or a bust, but the good news is that gamers won’t have to wait long to separate fact from fiction. E3 2018 is just around the corner, and press conferences will begin taking place in early June. Until then, players can place their bets on which rumors will pan out.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DESCRIPTION MoreThan.TV, Also Known As MTV has successfully completed its third year after tracker first launch in 2014 by adding many new features and with a remarkable increase in its members database and content. Tracker name indicates the truth that content covers more than TV shows and that is proven clearly with growing of movies section. Both SCENE and P2P movies resourced from many reputable HD trackers like HDBits.org, AwesomeHD, HD-Torrents, BeyondHD and M-Team TP are being uploaded with very good pre times and very fast speeds. Speeds are very good even for the old torrents thanks to many seedboxes used by faithful members and the tracker itself has a dedicated 40 TB seed server to ensure all members can download with full speed. MoreThan.TV is now a reliable home for many Movies and TV lovers due to many factors such as security, friendly helping stuff, good active community, easy, stylish and modern interface, active forums and above all it is RATIO FREE. Unlike other trackers, MTV rarely suffers from DDOS attacks thanks to good security implemented. It has two internal teams for both Movies and TV shows DRACULA and GBL which are well know for very good quality and since MTV doesn't prohibit uploading its internal to other trackers, many of them are being uploaded to other reputable HD and general private trackers. Immediately after new TV shows are being aired you can grab them from MTV with various qualities like WEB-DL, HD, SD and complete season packs which come unrared. Community is great helpful and very active in both uploading and seeding, also their request section is quite active. Many changes have been done in the past two years that helped the tracker to be among the highest level trackers like moving to Ratio Free system using Gazelle script, developing new invites system, adding new seed servers regularly and not adding too many strict rules.The whole tracker interface is mainly English as well as the forums and they have sub-forums in different languages. You can find many beautiful, attractive and stylish themes to choose from and they add new ones regularly. Forum and WIKI sections are very rich with helpful subjects and very good tutorials covering almost all bit torrent issues. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LOGIN PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOME PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BROWSE PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ COLLAGES ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REQUESTS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SERIES ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BONUS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ UPLOAD PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ WIKI (RULES AND FAQ) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ USER CLASSES ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FORUM ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DONATIONS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RATINGS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DESCRIPTION AceTorrents (AceT) is a private general tracker with cool stylesheets. Lack of leechers/seeders on torrents makes living there isn't cool. If you're heading to a good/active general tracker, then AceT isn't your target! ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LOGIN PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HOME PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BROWSE PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ UPLOAD PAGE ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RULES ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FAQ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ USER CLASSES ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FORUM ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ STATS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RATINGS ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The original Mark III suit that Robert Downey Jr. wore in the first Iron Man movie is reportedly missing. The Los Angeles Police Department is currently investigating. In 2008, Marvel Studios embarked on an ambitious project in creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges as as the villainous Obadiah Stane, this Marvel comics adaptation would lead the charge in spawning an ongoing franchise that would break box office records, receive critical acclaim, and redefine superhero-based movies. Over the course of the franchise, Tony created several versions of the Iron Man suit – including the original Mark I model and the Mark XLIV “Hulkbuster” – but his most iconic look is featured in the very first movie: the Mark III. Unfortunately, that very suit is reportedly missing from the Pacoima, California movie prop storage facility in which it was being stored. LAPD spokesperson Rosario Herrera informed THR that the LAPD is currently investigating the theft, adding that various other items had also been stolen. Reportedly worth up to $320,000, the suit was last seen in the facility in February, but now the suit’s head, chest, leg, and arms are missing. The alleged robbery was reported by the facility’s owners after a routine check, according to CBS Los Angeles. There are currently no leads in the investigation, and the identity of other missing items have not been revealed. Though there haven’t been any other reported cases of missing props from the MCU, Hollywood is no stranger to stolen goods. Dorothy’s ruby red slippers from The Wizard of Oz were reportedly stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota; one of the titular golden gun props from The Man with the Golden Gun was reportedly stolen from Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England; and several Spider-Man suits from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies (which are valued at roughly $50,000 each) were stolen from the Sony Pictures lot. Advanced tech is a hot commodity in the MCU. In last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, the entire foundation of the Michael Keaton’s Vulture might have never come to fruition had his character, Adrian Toomes, never been tasked with cleaning up the abandoned Chitauri wreckage left behind after the Battle of New York in The Avengers. In the final act of the movie, Toomes attempts to steal Stark tech when it’s being transported to the new Avengers facility. In Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer all but steals the entire design and concept of Tony’s technology, manufacturing his own versions of the suit and accompanying gadgets. KEY RELEASE DATES Ant-Man & The Wasp release date: Jul 6, 2018 Captain Marvel release date: Mar 8, 2019 The Avengers 4 / Untitled Avengers Movie release date: May 3, 2019 Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel release date: Jul 5, 2019

Well, now it’s official – the US dumped the Iran nuclear deal with the flick of a pen. RT recalls how six major powers and Iran spent nine years in hard talks trying to build up trust, and finally signing the historic accord. It took nine hours of uneasy talks and days of face-to-face meetings between high-ranking diplomats from Iran and the US, UK, France, China, Russia plus Germany. Finally, the deal was signed – a true success after nearly a decade of diplomatic standoff and confrontation. But one country wasn’t quite happy. This was Israel, whose leader Benjamin Netanyahu did everything he could – from showing a cartoon bomb at the UN in 2012 to a recent theatrical display of Iran’s “top-secret nuclear files” – to derail the agreement. Netanyahu was all on his own until Donald Trump got into the White House with his ‘worst-deal-ever-made’ policy, and finally, the tycoon-turned-president did what he did.

While President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal has been negatively criticized by most of the international community it has brought good news for some. Weapons manufacturers. The stock price of all of the top US weapons manufacturers shot up just as Trump announced he’s pulling his country out of the pact which lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program. Northrop Grumman’s stock price took the largest leap and the aerospace and defense technology company has maintained those gains, rising more than 12 points (3.8 percent) since Trump’s announcement. Lockheed Martin is up 6.4 points (2 percent) while Raytheon’s price rose 5.3 points (2.55 percent). Boeing also gained more than three points, it was unable to maintain those advances however it is still up two points on its price before Trump said the US was exiting the 2015 deal. The uptick wasn’t just limited to weapons manufacturers as oil rose more than three percent to hit its highest level since 2014. The latest price surges are a continuation in rising share prices for weapons manufacturers since Trump entered office promising “historic increases” in military spending. Since January 1 Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and Boeing are all up more than 20 points. Those gains have been fuelled by large surges following several of Trump’s actions including his decision to attack Syrian government targets in April and his appointment of John Bolton as his national security adviser in March. Following the Syria strike Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and aerospace firm General Dynamics gained nearly $5 billion in market value despite the wider market slumping.

Putin welcomes & accompanies WWII veteran after he was pushed away by president’s guard A presidential guard pushed away a decorated World War II veteran to make way for Russian President Vladimir Putin during Victory Day celebrations. The president then welcomed the man and accompanied him to Alexander Garden. The video shows the veteran, dressed in a ceremonial uniform with numerous medals and decorations, receiving inappropriate treatment from a member of Putin’s security staff. As Putin and his guards approached the man, he was unceremoniously pushed aside. The president was on the way to Alexander Garden, located next to Red Square, to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Putin, whose father also fought in the WWII, then paused and approached the veteran to shake his hand. The veteran, presumably a retired major general, is then seen walking next to President Putin and other dignitaries as they entered Alexander Garden.

US President Donald Trump has ruled out meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. The DMZ had been slated as a potential location for the historic meeting.Trump announced yesterday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had met with Kim and set a time and location for the meeting, which will be announced within the coming three days. Pompeo also traveled home accompanied by three American detainees who had been held by North Korea. Late last month Trump tweeted that the Peace House, located inside the DMZ, would be a “Representative, Important and Lasting site” for a meeting with Kim. Seen to be a neutral setting, the Peace House had been the location for Kim’s meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month.

A Yale experiment which reanimated the brains of slaughtered pigs has prompted speculation that human trials could be next, renewing ethical concerns over the pursuit of immortality. As the quest for everlasting life appears to be stepping up a notch, and in alarming fashion, what are the key concerns raised by the pursuit? Disembodied brains Nottingham Trent University ethics researcher Benjamin Curtis says ending up as a disembodied brain might just be a “living hell.” Writing in The Conversation he suggested that living without any actual contact with reality could be a fate worse than death. “Some have argued that even with a fully functional body, immortality would be tedious. With absolutely no contact with external reality, it might just be a living hell,” Curtis wrote. In the Yale University experiments, led by neuroscientist Nenad Sestan, the pigs did not regain consciousness but Sestan acknowledged that restoring awareness is a possibility and that the technique could work on humans, keeping the brain alive indefinitely. Speaking to RT.com Curtis explained that the brain is highly integrated with the rest of the body in both humans and animals. It is constantly receiving and sending signals from and to it. “We have no idea what experiences would occur within a disembodied brain. But those experiences may well be deeply disturbing,” he said. But what is a brain without a body to host it? Renowned neuroscientist Antonio Damasio says without a constant “feedback loop” between brain and body, ordinary experiences and thought are simply not possible. That view was echoed by Dr. Evan Thompson, professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia. Thompson told RT.com that consciousness and mental function require that the brain be functionally integrated with the rest of the body. In other words, it’s not possible for a disembodied brain to house a normal mind. “The brain and body are in constant electrochemical communication with each other with multiple and dense feedback loops. Take that away, and mental function isn’t likely to be possible,” he said. Curtis says that even the promise of eternal life is not worth the risk of subjecting a disembodied conscious human brain to “an existence of hellish tedium, or to the mental torture of inescapable madness.” He said that even if disembodied brains did function more or less as they do now they will still be receiving no input from the outside world whatsoever. "There would be no sights, smells, sounds, or tactile feelings at all. Just an enduring inescapable emptiness," he said to RT.com. "I suppose this might be OK for a short while, but for any length of time I doubt any ordinary person would be able to cope." “One could perhaps tell oneself stories, or write poems in one's mind, but with no-one to communicate them to, I imagine this would be cold comfort. In eternity, one would most likely end up repeating the same kinds of thoughts over and over to oneself, a body-less Sisyphus with no way to bring an end to the futility and meaningless of your situation.” Mind uploading The quest for immortality doesn’t end with a ‘brain in a jar,’ however, and for some the ultimate goal of preserving their brain would be a shot at eternal life. In March, new startup Nectome revealed it is trying to develop technology that would preserve the brain while keeping all memories in tact and then upload these to a server so a person can experience eternal digital life. The team has already managed to fully preserve a rabbit and pig brain. Head transplants Meanwhile, Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero is still determined to carry out the world’s first human head transplant. At the end of last year he claimed he completed the world’s first such operation between two corpses. A 30-year-old Russian man who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffmann disease put himself forward as a volunteer for the transplant in 2015, prompting ethical concerns from the wider scientific community. "I would not wish this on anyone,"said Dr. Hunt Batjer, former president of the American Association for Neurological Surgeons. "I would not allow anyone to do it to me as there are a lot of things worse than death." In their paper‘Operation Frankenstein: Ethical reflections of human head transplantation,’ Joshua Cuoco and John R. Davy from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine argued the procedure could cause substantial psychological difficulty and result in a dramatic alteration of a person’s personality and memories. “The procedure of human head transplantation dangerously presupposes that transplanting an individual’s head will also transplant an individual’s mind including consciousness, personality, and memories." "On the contrary, cognitive sciences have suggested that human cognition does not solely originate within the brain parenchyma; rather, humans exhibit an embodied cognition where our body participates in the formation of self,” the scientists warned. Let’s talk ethics Neuroscientists at the fore of this experimental research are calling for discussion around the ethics of their work but argued that these difficult questions should not halt their progress. In an essay published in Nature, a group of researchers, including Sestan, noted advancements in the field mean tough conversations need to take place: “As brain surrogates become larger and more sophisticated, the possibility of them having capabilities akin to human sentience might become less remote.” For many on social media the prospect of this Black Mirror-esque concept becoming a reality has left them more than a little unsettled.

Avengers: Infinity War breaks another presales record prior to its release in China. Marvel Studios is basking in the glory of Infinity War‘s reception. The film is a critical hit and is being received positively by audiences. The anticipation, great word of mouth, and lack of competition is propelling Infinity War up the all-time box office charts too. After claiming the biggest domestic and global opening of all-time, there’s no stopping the 19th entry in the MCU. The film’s giant box office haul was easy to see coming considering the hype around all of the MCU’s heroes coming together to battle Thanos. But, that anticipation was immediately felt when tickets went on sale and broke a few records in that department too. Infinity War has done all of this without even opening in China yet, and it’s poised to be a major territory for the film based on its presales numbers. THR reports Avengers: Infinity War now holds the record for most presales in China ever. With still a day to go before the film officially opens, the blockbuster has tallied $47.5 million in presale tickets. That just edges out China’s previous record holder Monster Hunt 2, but easily surpasses Fate of the Furious‘ $25M record for films made in Hollywood. Presale tickets continue to become a bigger market as audiences look to secure their seat ahead of walking into the theater. Actual projections for Infinity War‘s China opening are not yet available, but these numbers indicate it will be rather big. Monster Hunt 2 and Fate of the Furious are China’s two biggest opening weekends of all-time after taking in $187.9M and $184.9M, respectively. If Infinity War is outselling them in advance, the flood of general moviegoers could give the movie a chance to be China’s biggest opening ever. Marvel’s biggest opening in China is Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s $155M, which went on to make an MCU best $240M in this market. Infinity War currently sits at just over $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office, and could skyrocket up the charts this weekend again with a strong showing. How well it does in China will be a major factor in determining how high the movie will eventually climb. There are now estimates that put a final gross close to $2 billion for Infinity War, but it still has a long ways to go before that becomes a reality. Luckily, China appears to be eager to see the latest the MCU has to offer, so Avengers: Infinity War should have everything it needs to get there.

Plenty of new content is coming to Star Wars Battlefront II next week with the beginning of Season 2. Star Wars Battlefront II Season 2 content, which will be available from May 16th, will be focused on Han Solo, with quests and challenges inspired by the character and his closest friends. Additionally, a new mode called Hero Showdown will be launched, alongside Starfighter Custom Arcade and Jabba’s Palace "Hero Showdown Alongside The Han Solo Season will be the release of a brand new game mode. Hero Showdown is similar to the much-loved Heroes vs Villains Game Mode, but with a brand-new rule set. In this 2v2 game mode, players will begin the match by picking their Heroes. Should you be defeated you must put all your hope into your teammate and wait until the round is over. If your team is successful and wins the round, you are unable to use the Heroes that you previously used. However, if your team loses the round you’re free to pick any available Hero, including the ones you’ve just used. It’s a best out of five situation, so the first to win three rounds will claim victory. Think carefully about your pick, strategy is everything in this mode. Starfighter Custom Arcade Starfighter Custom Arcade is where you’ll be able to become acquainted with all the Starfighters in the game. Take on AI and learn skills that will serve you well when you venture into Starfighter Assault and take on some of the best pilots in the galaxy. We know that this is something a lot of our community have been requesting so we’re incredibly excited to confirm that it’ll be available as soon as Season Two starts on May 16. Jabba’s Palace Located in the Dune Sea on Tatooine, this sandblasted metal and stone structure strikes fear into anyone that finds themselves on the wrong side of Jabba the Hutt. Jabba’s Palace will be arriving in Star Wars Battlefront II and will be available in both Heroes vs Villains, Blast, and Arcade." The beginning of the new season will also bring the introduction of quality of life changes such as improved menus and new milestones, such as Score Milestones for each Trooper, Hero, and Specials. Troopers will receive three tiers, while Heroes and Specials will have two new tiers. More information on Season 2 can be found by going here. Star Wars Battlefront II is now out on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in all regions.

During this year's MWC in Barcelona, Asus unveiled its flagship phone, the ZenFone 5z but it's yet to release it on the market. The wait might be coming to an end though, if the leaked Geekbench score is to be believed, ZenFone 5z's launch is nearing. Img However, according to the score sheet, the handset has a model number of Z01RD and not ZS620KL number, which is believed to be the correct one of the ZenFone 5z. It could be an alternative designation for a different market or a new device altogether. In any case, the mysterious ZenFone comes with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 chip and slightly outperforms the OnePlus 6. We hope an upcoming Asus announcement will clear the confusion.

Yesterday Google announced Android P alongside a myriad of improvements, updates and new features. And, answering our hopes, Google released the Android P beta right away to a number of supported devices. To help those that want to play around with the first developer preview, Google has created a support page that lists all devices and the respective links to their Beta download, a hot link to report an issue and a support page for that device. To sum up, the devices that support the Android P Beta as for right now are the Google Pixel and Pixel XL, the Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL, the Essential Phone, the Nokia 7 Plus, Oppo R15 Pro, Sony Xperia XZ2, vivo X21 and X21UD, and the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. All of those devices are getting the first taste of Android P thanks to Project Treble. Finally - the Android P Beta should be reasonably stable, but some bugs and malfunctions are still to be expected so you might avoid using it as your daily driver just yet. Android P Beta page

Google is fresh off the stage announcing the latest update to its globetrotting Android platform, the eventual 9.0 version, dubbed lovingly... still P (Google keeps us in suspense). While a lot of the new features that it showed today were simply ones from the latest public beta, explained in more details, there was a certain tension which ones from the beta will make it into the final release, and will there be any surprises. After all, support for the new notch-y design paradigm is not something you liked in a recent poll of ours, and yet we hoped that Google keeps it, since there are plenty of such handsets already on the market, and the implementation of what's shown in the horns is far from perfect still. We are glad to report on both counts - most of the nice features that we already previewed in the beta are carried over for the retail update, but there is some completely new stuff to marvel at as well. We have compiled all of the user-facing new Android 9.0 P features in a convenient list for your viewing pleasure below: Adaptive battery Thаt's not the biggest thing announced today, and is a feature that has been on Android overlays for ages, yet Google implementing it on a system level means is likely to really bring battery life improvements. The system will prevent apps from going rogue on power draw, and Google cited a 30% reduction in CPU wake lock, which is arguably the biggest drag on battery life this side of the display... and Pokemon GO. Navigate with swipes... and a home indicator In a follow-the-trend mentality, upcoming Android phones of the Google Pixel or Android One variety, will have a new home bar indicator at the bottom - you know, like on the iPhone X, but a bit shorter. Recent app button duties are taken over by a swipe-up gesture, again very familiar one. Swiping on the elliptical indicator serves as a scroller, but there is still a back key on the new nav bar. Manual rotation Those annoying auto-rotates can now be a thing of the past. Rotating the screen can be manual now, too, with an indicator at the navigation bar to tap on. App actions App Actions are similar to what Huawei tries to do with the AI on its phones, but taken on an Android system level. The OS predicts what you'll do next, or do most often, and loads it for instant access in the background beforehand. When you connect your headphones to your device, for instance, the system will prompt you to resume your Spotify playlist, for instance, pretty cool, but doesn't work in third-party apps just yet, it seems. Slices Would you like to be able to pop a part of an app right when you need it most? Slices do just that, giving you an even deeper look into your favorite apps, says Google. The example given was with ride-sharing. Search for "Lyft," and a Slice will surface that gives you the price and time for a trip to work, and you can even tap on it to finish the booking. Digital wellbeing From the makers of one of the most addictive digital products, namely YouTube and Android, comes the so-called Digital Wellbeing project in Android P. It consists of Dashboard that shows you how you use your device, like time spent in apps, phone unlocks, or notifications that demanded your attention, so you know where to cut. The App Timer option can set a timer for app usage, even discoloring the icon when your limit is exhausted. There's a fresh DND regime mode that stops all call or notification sounds, and even the pop-up previews that appear when you get new ones. The Wind Down feature does all three - turns on Night Light at the evening, rushes in the DND mode, and even gets your display in grayscale when nappy time approaches. There's a gesture for all that, too - turn your phone over on a surface, and it will automagically enter the Digital Wellbeing mode, sweet.

Amid the announcements that took place today at Google I/O about Android P, Qualcomm announced that it has worked with Google to get early access to Android P so that the chip maker could ensure readiness for OEMs’ devices to be updated to Android P. "We are excited to work with Google to pre-integrate our software with Android P, making it production ready for OEMs… Google and Qualcomm Technologies are set to expand the market for Android and make it easier for OEMs to launch based on Snapdragon… - Mike Genewich, director and product manager at Qualcomm" Qualcomm has optimized Android P to work smoothly with the Snapdragon 845, 660, and 636 while Project Treble has made it possible for much easier Android updates. Both Qualcomm and Treble are to thank for the extended list of Beta test devices available to developers for Android P. Check out the Android P announcement post to check out what’s new in Android P and which devices are supported at the starting gate. These include devices from Sony, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Google, and OPPO.

The Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018) have been spotted on the website of Wi-Fi Alliance. What's news-worthy here is the 'operating system' entry in the certifications shows Android version as 8.0. Img That's good news as it means the Oreo update for these devices is in the final stages before roll out. Sadly, it's difficult to predict exactly when Samsung will begin pushing the update, but it's reasonable to assume it isn't far now.

Nokia X, HMD Global's first foray into the notch display design, is expected to go official in China on May 16. However, the handset was showcased early this month at an exhibition in Beijing where HMD had all its smartphones on display for everyone to see and try. Unfortunately, the Nokia X showcased at the event was locked and no details about specifications were made available. The good news is the smartphone recently paid a visit to the Chinese Telecommunication Agency and much of the hardware inside has been revealed in the listing. Apparently, the mid-range smartphone will sport a 5.8-inch display with FHD+ resolution (2280 x 1080 pixels) and 3,000 mAh battery. On the inside, the Nokia X has been confirmed to pack a 1.8GHz octa-core processor, paired with 3GB, 4GB or 6GB RAM. As far as the storage goes, Nokia X will be available in two variations based on the amount of internal memory – 32GB and 64GB, but both will feature microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 128GB). The 16-megapixel dual-camera might not include Zeiss lenses as we initially thought, but they might be added to the international model. Finally, the Nokia X will run Android 8.1.0 right out of the box and will be available in three colors: Black, Blue, and Silver White.

Today, Xiaomi proudly announces that its latest flagship device, the Mi Mix 2S, is part of the Android P Developer Preview program. Starting today, you can download the Android P preview that is built specifically to test on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. This work is thanks to Project Treble, which totally separated the Android ROM partition from the OEM's modifications, thus shortening the turnaround time for OTA updates. This developer preview has no trace of MIUI and is intended for developers to test and develop apps for Android P. You can even simulate a notch in the display if you wanted to test what your app would look like with this dreaded design feature. "Xiaomi today announced its participation in the Android P Developer Preview program. This provides developers and early adopters a chance to experience the latest Android release on Mi MIX 2S, allowing them to try out the latest features, and test apps they have developed, ensuring that they work on the upcoming Android P." If you have a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (any variant), you can head to http://www.mi.com/en/androidppreview/ and download the preview. It weighs in at about 1.4GB and you'll need to flash it via fastboot. We don't recommend you use this build as a daily driver, as Xiaomi mentions several issues with the preview in its first build. We also don't recommend you try to flash this if you don't know what "fastboot" is. Here are the known issues with the preview: Play Music crashes when trying to navigate to the music library Video editor is unresponsive UI issues for landscape Phone hangs when trying to access voicemail Voice search crashes in the Settings app Inability to edit local video Internet connection isn't shown in the status bar Remember to back up data before trying the preview/Beta on any device. If/when you revert back to the public release, your data will be deleted. Xiaomi has always been a strong supporter of giving its users: both enthusiasts and developers alike, the opportunity to prepare any device for flashing aftermarket ROMs or participate in Beta testing for its MIUI builds. Xiaomi has even gone as far as developing MIUI for non-Xiaomi smartphones. The Mi Mix 2S is among the lower-cost devices eligible for the Android P developer preview. It will depend, however, on how easily you can find one. The phone is already available in China for about $520 and will be available soon in Xiaomi's other markets.

Today, Xiaomi proudly announces that its latest flagship device, the Mi Mix 2S, is part of the Android P Developer Preview program. Starting today, you can download the Android P preview that is built specifically to test on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S. This work is thanks to Project Treble, which totally separated the Android ROM partition from the OEM's modifications, thus shortening the turnaround time for OTA updates. This developer preview has no trace of MIUI and is intended for developers to test and develop apps for Android P. You can even simulate a notch in the display if you wanted to test what your app would look like with this dreaded design feature. "Xiaomi today announced its participation in the Android P Developer Preview program. This provides developers and early adopters a chance to experience the latest Android release on Mi MIX 2S, allowing them to try out the latest features, and test apps they have developed, ensuring that they work on the upcoming Android P." If you have a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S (any variant), you can head to http://www.mi.com/en/androidppreview/ and download the preview. It weighs in at about 1.4GB and you'll need to flash it via fastboot. We don't recommend you use this build as a daily driver, as Xiaomi mentions several issues with the preview in its first build. We also don't recommend you try to flash this if you don't know what "fastboot" is. Here are the known issues with the preview: Play Music crashes when trying to navigate to the music library Video editor is unresponsive UI issues for landscape Phone hangs when trying to access voicemail Voice search crashes in the Settings app Inability to edit local video Internet connection isn't shown in the status bar Remember to back up data before trying the preview/Beta on any device. If/when you revert back to the public release, your data will be deleted. Xiaomi has always been a strong supporter of giving its users: both enthusiasts and developers alike, the opportunity to prepare any device for flashing aftermarket ROMs or participate in Beta testing for its MIUI builds. Xiaomi has even gone as far as developing MIUI for non-Xiaomi smartphones. The Mi Mix 2S is among the lower-cost devices eligible for the Android P developer preview. It will depend, however, on how easily you can find one. The phone is already available in China for about $520 and will be available soon in Xiaomi's other markets.

Share AR worlds and play multiplayer games, no matter what platform you're on. MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF.—Google is launching a new version of its augmented reality platform for Android, ARCore 1.2. Version 1.2 adds support for wall detection, launching an AR experience via image recognition, a new "Sceneform" framework, and a "Cloud Anchors" feature that enables shared experiences not just across Android devices—it works on top of iOS' ARKit, too. Google launched ARCore version 1.0 in February as its big reboot of the Project Tango augmented reality project. Where Tango was focused on special hardware with extra sensors and cameras, ARCore tries to replicate some of that functionality on a normal smartphone. ARCore doesn't work on every single Android phone; instead, it works on a model-by-model basis (mostly on flagships) and requires some work from the device manufacturer. Most of the major Android OEMs, like Samsung, LG, and OnePlus, are signed up though, and today ARCore has a supported install base of more than 100 million devices. Any developer who wants to can make an ARCore app, which will usually involve 3D objects overlaid on a video feed. The goal of ARCore (and any AR app, really) is to do enough detection of the world to make the 3D object seem like it exists as a real object inside the video feed. On the other side of the aisle, Apple's AR framework is called ARKit. While Google started the whole AR thing first with Project Tango all the way back in 2014, Apple first brought AR to a mainstream device by rolling ARKit out for the last few years of iPhones in 2017. Unifying AR with cloud anchors The big news is the addition of "cloud anchors," which, for the first time, can enable multiplayer AR experiences. Cloud anchors will sync the location of a virtual item in 3D space (the anchor) up to the cloud, and then send it back down to other devices. So if you and a friend have the same AR app open on two different devices, you could both see the same virtual object in the same location. This could enable things like a multiplayer game using a virtual tic-tac-toe board or whatever else a developer wants to cook up. The real kicker is that cloud anchors don't just work across different Android devices; Google is also building a library for iOS devices. ARCore is still an Android-only augmented reality framework, but a special cloud anchor library can run on top of iOS' ARKit. On iOS the system would use all the built-in ARKit functionality, like motion tracking and environmental estimation, and just sync that data to the cloud. Assuming a developer builds the same app for both platforms, you can sync AR data between Android and iOS to share an experience no matter which platform you're on. ARCore's motion tracking works by identifying the corners of a plane and creating a sparse point cloud. Cloud anchors would store that information in Google's cloud and give the developer an ID for that information. That ID could be shared with other users, which would compare the two private-point clouds and stick the AR object in the same spot. Cloud Anchors are only meant to be used as an initialization of an AR world—they will sync the location of AR objects across devices and not much else. From there a developer can use its own multiplayer networking system over local Wi-Fi or the Internet. The normal multiplayer networking stack could handle updating an object's location, status changes, progression, and anything else you would normally need in a multiplayer experience. The Cloud Anchor system will handle the initial AR world sync in a few seconds, and from there the latency is just whatever the latency of a normal multiplayer network would be. Wall support, image detection, and an easier SDK ARCore 1.0 could only detect horizontal planes, but with version 1.2 it can now detect walls and vertical surfaces. This will be great for things like placing virtual furniture against a wall in a house, hanging a picture on a wall, or opening a portal to another dimension in your doorway. It's also keeping pace with ARKit, which announced vertical plane detection back in January. Full wall occlusion support is still missing, but there is enough to detect if an object is on the wrong side of a wall and display something to the user. "Augmented Images" is a new feature that can launch an AR experience by pointing the phone camera at an object. This is more than the usual QR codes and AR markers—it is also a general image-recognition system. Developers can specify up to 1,000 2D images for their app, allowing ARCore to detect things like a product box or movie poster without the clunky square AR markers. Aiming the phone at one of these objects could do something like bring the movie poster to life or show assembly instructions for a product. Google is also making the Android developer side of the AR equation easier with the release of the Sceneform SDK. Augmented reality, since it requires the 3D display of objects, also requires developers to basically become game developers. Jumping into the world of the Android NDK, OpenGL and game engines like Unity can be a little daunting for Android's 2D Java developers. So the Sceneform SDK is an Android Studio plugin and runtime API that allows developers to easily create an AR experience without having to deal with the whole 3D development stack. Sceneform includes lots of common 3D user interface widgets so users can select an object or move things without the developer having to reinvent the wheel.

Firefox 60.0 release overview Mozilla plans to release Firefox 60 Stable and Firefox 60 ESR later today. The new version of the web browser moves the Firefox ESR channel from version 52.x to 60.x. That's a major move considering that Firefox 52.x is a pre-Firefox 57 release that still supports legacy add-ons. Firefox 60.0 ESR does not support legacy add-ons anymore and there are other fundamental differences between 52.x and 60.x such as dropped support for Windows XP or Vista, and no support for Java or Silverlight anymore. Work on WebExtensions APIs continues and Mozilla added or improved several APIs that Firefox add-on developers may use to create extensions. Note: I was asked to reboot the Windows PC to complete the Firefox 60 installation. This did not happened in the past. Executive Summary Firefox 60 is available as a new Extended Support Release (ESR). Check out our article on the differences between Firefox 60 and Firefox 60 ESR and Firefox 52 ESR and preparing for Firefox 60. Firefox 60 ESR does not support Windows XP or Vista, Java, or Silverlight. Policy Engine added for Enterprise environments. Quantum CSS renders browser UI. Sponsored Stories may appear on New Tab Page for Firefox U.S. users. Firefox 60.0 download and update Mozilla will release Firefox 60.0, Firefox ESR 60.0 and Firefox ESR 52.8 on May 9, 2018. Most Firefox users get the update through the automatic update functionality of the web browser but downloads for all supported versions are available on Mozilla's website as well at the time of publication. You can run a manual check for updates with a click on Menu > Help > About Firefox. Firefox runs an update check then and will download and install any new version that is returned as part of the check. If you prefer to download Firefox manually, use the following links that point to Mozilla to do so. Firefox Stable download Firefox Beta download Nightly download Firefox ESR download Firefox unbranded builds information Firefox 60.0 Changes New Policy Engine for Enterprise Environments In time for the release of the next Extended Support Release for Firefox comes a new Policy Engine that Mozilla has been working on. Designed specifically for deployment in Enterprise environments, the new engine can be used in home environments as well for the most part. You can download policy template files from Mozilla's GitHub website. It is likely that they will be offered on the official Firefox ESR website as well. You can use the policies to configure Firefox automatically on deployment. Sponsored stories for some U.S users on New Tab Page Firefox users from the United States may see sponsored stories by Pocket on the New Tab Page. Mozilla promises that no-personal data is collected and that its approach was privacy-conscious. You can turn off sponsored stories with a click on the cogwheel icon on the New Tab Page. There you find the "show sponsored stories" option listed which you can uncheck. Other changes Symantec certificates issued before June 2016 are distrusted. The Reader View shortcut was remapped to F9 for "better compatibility with keyboard layouts that use AltGr". Cookies and Site Storage section redesigned in preferences. New Tab Page uses a responsive layout so that more content is displayed to widescreen display users. Highlights on the New Tab Page may show websites saved to Pocket. Additional options to reorder sections and content on the page. Bookmarks don't support multiple keywords for the same URL unless different POST data is used. Skia graphics library update to 66. Improved WebRTC audio performance and playback on Linux. Support for locale Occitan (oc). Firefox 60.0 Issues Just one issue listed. When you disable sponsored stories on Firefox's New Tab Page, the next time you open a new tab page may still show a sponsored tile. Developer Changes Mozilla removed the dom.workers.enabled preference. In other words: Workers cannot be disabled anymore (see 1434934). Debugging and development improvements. Proxy API improvements. Aboutreferences highlights if extensions control proxy preferences. ECMAScript 2015 modules enabled by default (see 1438139). The Web Authentication API is enabled (see 1432542). The WebVR API is available on mac OS X now (see 1438044). Tab API improvements. Theme API improvements. Support for application cache on insecure sites is deprecated. Firefox 60.0 for Android Firefox 60.0 for Android gets the new parallel CSS engine known as Stylo. Firefox Desktop users got Stylo with the release of Firefox 57, and Android users get it now with the new release. The new rendering engine improves page rendering time significantly. Mozilla added a View Page Source option to the Page Action menu. Security updates / fixes Will be added once Mozilla releases the information. Outlook The next Firefox release is on June 26, 2018. Firefox Stable will move to Firefox 61, and Firefox ESR will be offered as Firefox ESR 52.9 and Firefox ESR 60.1. Firefox 52.9 is the last version of Firefox that supports the legacy add-on system and Windows XP or Windows Vista. Additional information / sources Firefox 60 release notes Firefox 60 Android release notes Add-on compatibility for Firefox 60 Firefox 60 for Developers Site compatibility for Firefox 60 Firefox Security Advisories Firefox Release Schedule