A TENAA listing for the OnePlus 6 was just published and as is the tradition with the Chinese authority it confirmed most of the specs of the yet-to-be-announced smartphone. The phone itself is coming on May 16, but now we have a pretty good idea of what to expect. TENAA confirms the latest Snapdragon 845 with 4x 2.7 GHz Kryo 385 Gold and 4x 1.7 GHz Kryo Silver cores is behind the wheel paired with Adreon 630 GPU and at least 6GB of RAM for the standard version and 8GB for the upgraded variant. You get either 64 or 128GB of internal storage. As expected, the display will be 6.28" in size with 1080x2280 pixel resolution, which means 19:9 aspect ratio and just like its predecessor, it will sport an AMOLED panel, or as OnePlus likes to call it - Optic AMOLED. We get a solid confirmation of the camera specs as well - 20MP + 16MP dual setup at the back and a 16MP front-facing shooter. All of the hardware will be housed by a 155.7x75.35x7.75 mm body tipping the scale at 177 g.

In a major realignment from fighting terrorism to great power rivalry with Russia, the US Navy is re-establishing its Second Fleet. The command had been responsible for the North Atlantic Ocean before it was deactivated in 2011. Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral John Richardson made the announcement on Friday, during a change of command ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia. “Our National Defense Strategy makes clear that we're back in an era of great power competition as the security environment continues to grow more challenging and complex,” Richardson said. “That's why today, we're standing up Second Fleet to address these changes, particularly in the north Atlantic.” Richardson was referring to the strategy drafted by Defense Secretary James Mattis and published in January. It envisions a leaner, meaner Pentagon, more oriented towards state adversaries such as Russia and China. Once a major naval command, covering both the northern and the southern Atlantic, the Second Fleet was stood down in 2011, and its remaining personnel, assets and responsibilities merged into US Fleet Forces (USFF) in Norfolk. Reactivation of the Second Fleet was one of the recommendations in the recent report on problems plaguing the US Seventh Fleet in the Pacific. The revived command will be stood up on July 1, and will initially have eleven officers and four enlisted personnel. That staff will eventually expand to 85 officers, 164 enlisted and seven civilians, according to the US Naval Institute. The revamped Second Fleet will focus solely on the North Atlantic, as the south was assigned to the Fourth Fleet in 2008. And in that vast blue expanse, there is only one potential foe: Russia. “Russian submarines are prowling the Atlantic, testing our defenses, confronting our command of the seas, and preparing the complex underwater battlespace to give them an edge in any future conflict,” Vice Admiral James Foggo III, commander of the US 6th Fleet, wrote in 2016. Foggo is now the commander of US naval forces in Europe and Africa. Though smaller than in the days of the Soviet Union, the modernized Russian Navy has demonstrated previously unknown capabilities over the past several years. It confirmed some of Foggo’s fears in March, when it was made public that several of its nuclear submarines had approached the east coast of the US and departed undetected, as part of a regular exercise. Russian navy ships and submarines have also taken part in the fighting against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists in Syria since October 2015, firing cruise missiles and delivering supplies through the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia. The most notable naval deployment was in November 2016, featuring the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and the heavy missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great), the largest ship of her class in the world. In June 2017, Moscow announced it would keep a 15-ship task force in the Eastern Mediterranean, operating out of Syria.

A massive military exercise called Siil 2018 is underway in Estonia, with 15,000 troops from over a dozen nations participating. Estonia rallied one percent of its population for the drill, the largest draft in its modern history. The majority of the troops taking part in the exercise, which started on Wednesday and will last till Sunday next week, were provided by the host country. In addition to the regular and reserve military service members, Estonia’s paramilitary Defense League, the Women’s Home Defense Organization, and police and rescue workers are all taking part in Siil 2018, totaling over 13,000 people. Estonia’s entire population is estimated at just over 1.3 million. The exercise scenario involves defending against an attack on Estonia by the fictitious nation of Murinius and its allies. According to maps of the drill, the attack comes from Russia and Belarus, who have sent observers to the event. The 2,000 visiting troops at the exercise were provided by the US, the UK, Denmark, Germany, Poland, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Georgia, Ukraine and Ireland. NATO heavyweights also brought in some hardware for Siil 2018, including American UH-60 Black Hawk attack helicopters, British Lynx Wildcat AH1 attack helicopters, French Mirage 2000 fighter jets and Poland’s veteran Sukhoi Su-22 fighter-bomber planes. The host nation provides Robinson R-44 utility helicopters and Aero L-39 Albatros jet trainers for the drill. Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas described the training as an event involving the entire nation. The exercise “confirms that the people of Estonia are prepared to defend their nation. Just as the slogan of the drill says, every spine counts,” Ratas said, referring to the name of the exercise, which is translated as “hedgehog”. “There are few nations in the world capable of rallying over one percent of its total population for an exercise. This is the proof that people living in Estonia have a drive for defense, for what we call ‘broad-based defense’ here.” Siil 2018’s combat training will take place on May 8-12. NATO has been holding record-breaking exercises in various Eastern European countries and training to rapidly deploy tanks and troops at Russia’s border since 2014. Members of the military bloc claim it is necessary to reassure countries like Poland and the Baltic states, including Estonia, that the more militarily capable allies would protect them from a Russian aggression. The presence of Americans, it is claimed, would serve as an additional deterrence to Moscow. Russia denies having any aggressive plans towards NATO and perceives such actions as a threat. It responds by increasing the number of troops deployed in western Russia and holding military exercises on its own. Moscow’s moves are inevitably cited by the allies as proof of Russia’s hostility. For instance, last year’s joint Russian-Belarus Zapad drill was portrayed by many politicians and officials in NATO as a possible preparation for an all-out invasion of the Baltics. No such act of aggression materialized, however, which is probably explained by the non-victims as yet another proof of Moscow’s duplicity.

The NSA has tripled its surveillance of Americans’ phone chatter, collecting over 534mn phone call records and text messages last year, despite pressure for more restrictions and transparency, a new official report has revealed. Over the course of 2017, the National Security Agency (NSA) collected some 534,396,285 call detail records (CDRs), representing a dramatic increase over the previous year when, the agency gathered details of 151,230,968 calls, according to the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). A call detail record contains various attributes of the call, such as the source number, destination number, and the call duration, but does not include the “content of any communication, the name, address, or financial information of a subscriber or customer, or cell site location or global positioning system information,” the report states. The data is collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The report also noted that the NSA collected records from some 129,080 'non-US persons' which is a rather minor increase from 106,469 records collected the year before, under FISA Section 702. The highly controversial Section 702 does not require that an individual surveilled be a suspected terrorist, spy or foreign agent, nor does it demand judicial approval to target someone. Information gleaned by such data collection can be kept for years and may be used for purposes that do not have to be related to national security. The NSA’s bulk collection of domestic telephony metadata was first revealed in 2013, through the leaked documents supplied by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. Among the leaks, Snowden revealed details of the PRISM program, which exploited Section 702 as a legal basis for collecting both content and metadata stored by several major internet companies that pertain to specific selectors, such as an email address. Another program, called Upstream, was also used by the NSA to intercept telephone and internet traffic that is pulled from internet data routes that travel through the US, the leaked Snowden documents revealed. The revelations ignited public outrage over the NSA's global and domestic reach, prompting US lawmakers, tech companies and millions of Americans to demand transparency and reform of FISA. While some limits on the bulk collection of telecommunication data on US citizens by American intelligence agencies were imposed by the 2015 USA Freedom Act following Snowden's revelations, in January US lawmakers renewed the 2008 FISA Amendments Act, reauthorizing Section 702 for another six years. Despite the massive increase in surveillance, the ODNI defended its use of such activity under its mandate. “The government has not altered the manner in which it uses its authority to obtain Call Detail Records pursuant to FISA. Rather, the NSA has found that a number of factors may influence the number of Call Detail Records that NSA receives,” Tim Barrett, a spokesman at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, told the Hill. “These factors include the number of Court-approved selection terms — like a phone number — that are used by the target; the way targets use those selection terms; the amount of historical data that providers retain; and the dynamics of the ever-changing telecommunications sector.”

North Korea has adjusted its time zone to match Seoul, in a move that Pyongyang's official news agency calls an early step towards “becoming one” with the South. The Saturday change saw North Korea set its clocks 30 minutes ahead, doing away with “Pyongyang Time,” which was created in 2015. The move was fulfilled through a decree of the country's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. The North's official KCNA agency called the move the “first practical step” to “speed up the process for the North and the South to become one and turn their different and separated things into the same and single ones.” KCNA previously reported that Kim wanted to change Pyongyang's time zone to match Seoul because it was “a painful wrench to see two clocks indicating Pyongyang and Seoul times hanging on a wall of the summit venue,” referring to the historic April 27 meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. At the time of its creation, the North said that Pyongyang Time was aimed at pushing back against Japanese colonial rule, which took place from 1910 to 1945 and saw the clocks in Korea changed to match Tokyo time. The gesture comes after Kim and Moon held a historic meeting, making progress towards achieving peace on the peninsula. The North Korean leader now awaits a meeting with US President Donald Trump, which is expected to take place in the coming weeks.

China’s Sinopec will cut its June imports of crude from Saudi Arabia by 40 percent for the second month in a row because of unjustified high prices, an official from the top Asian refiner, Unipec, told Reuters. Saudi Arabia raised the price for its Arab Light to a four-year high, and according to the Unipec official, the grade is now considerably overvalued compared to other Middle Eastern crudes. Last month, a Unipec official told Reuters, “Our refineries think these are unreasonable prices as they do not follow the pricing methodology.” Besides Sinopec, a source from another two refineries in northern Asia said they will be cutting their imports from Saudi Arabia by ten percent as oil buyers have a hard time grasping how the Kingdom is calculating the price for its most popular grade. The price increase came as a surprise to the biggest market for crude in the world. However, it is likely that Sinopec will be penalized for the reduction as the usual sales contracts with Saudi Arabia are on a take-or-pay basis, with leeway of up to ten percent only. Sinopec imported an average of 730,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Saudi crude during the first quarter, down from 845,000 bpd a year earlier, but imports by other state-owned refiners increased by 120,000 bpd, or 73 percent on an annual basis as they expanded their refining capacity. This month, Sinopec will carry out regular maintenance across its refineries, so the lower import volumes will not urgently need a cheaper replacement, but the refineries will be back into normal operation by July, and will need more crude. Saudi Arabia said last year it would reduce the amount of crude it exports to below seven million bpd, and last month the energy ministry reiterated that it is sticking to this target, which could explain the higher prices.

Idaho State University is facing a $8,500 fine from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for losing a gram of radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium. While the amount is too small to make a nuclear bomb, it could be used to make a radioactive dirty bomb, according to federal officials who recommended the fine on Friday. “The NRC has very rigorous controls for the use and storage of radioactive materials as evidenced by this enforcement action,” said agency spokesman Victor Dricks, according to AP. It turns out the university has been unable to account for the plutonium since they were asked to dispose of the chemical element in 2014. The inexplicable loss was down to poor paperwork, said vice-president for research at the university, Dr Cornelis Van der Schyf. “Unfortunately, because there was a lack of sufficient historical records to demonstrate the disposal pathway employed in 2003, the source in question had to be listed as missing,” he said. “The radioactive source in question poses no direct health issue or risk to public safety.” The plutonium is about the size of a US quarter coin and was one of 14 one-gram pieces loaned to the university by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The sample was scheduled to be sent back to the INL in 2003, when it was discovered during a routine leak test that the plutonium had experienced a loss-of-integrity and was removed from active use. The INL didn’t want to accept the sample back into their inventory and subsequently asked the university to dispose of the sealed source instead. The university then deleted its record of the plutonium from their database without recording where it went. In October 2017, a university worker noticed that the radioactive material was missing, and reported the lost plutonium to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a week later. “We suspect that it ended up in a landfill for radioactive materials,” Dricks told Live Science. The university has 30 days to pay or dispute the fine, and has been asked to turn over their remaining 13 plutonium sources for a review of their protocols.

Paris police to deploy 2,000 officers to ensure security at Saturday’s anti-govt protest About 2,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure security in the French capital during an anti-government protest on Saturday, according to the head of Paris police. Prefect Michel Delpuech told reporters on Friday that a “powerful and consistent” effort will be made, four days after May Day protests turned violent in the city. Delpuech said “there is every reason to think” violent individuals will try to disturb Saturday’s protest. The march, supported by far-left party France Insoumise (“Rebel France”), aims to denounce French President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms, AP said.

If you happen to be in New Jersey this month, get yourself a TRS-80 and a boxed copy of Zork for it. Bill Loguidice, who has written for PC Gamer about PC gaming history and his massive gaming collection in the past, is selling his hoard of vintage computers and games later this month. The auction is being run by Bodnar's Auction, and will happen on May 31 at the The New Jersey Convention & Expo Center. Other items will be on sale, but I'd expect the gaming auction to take up a good part of the venue. It's that big. Check out a small sampling of what Loguidice has on offer, some of which there are multiples of: Atari 400 Atari 1040Ste Atari Falcon 030 Computer System Atari 5200 SuperSystem Atari 7800 ProSystem Atari XE Game System (XEGS) Atari 2600 Video Computer System BBC Master 128 Amstrad CPC6128 plus APF Imagination Machine Mattel Aquarius Panasonic: JR-200U Personal Computer Compaq Deskpro Magnavox Odyssey 300/ Odyssey2 Sinclair ZX Spectrum +2/ ZX Spectrum +3/ ZX80/ ZX81/ ZX81 (custom) TRS-80 Model 4/ TRS-80 Model 4P/ TRS-80 Model I/ TRS-80 Model III (parts only) Sord Creative Computer M5 Packard Bell Platinum Spectravideo CompuMate Memorex Spongebob Media Player (get your paddle ready for this one) That isn't even close to half of what's up for auction, which includes many more systems, as well as a bunch of boxed games, such as Ultima III: Exodus for DOS and Zork for the TRS-80 (neither will go cheap, if they're in good condition). You can see the listing at the auction website, along with tons more photos. And there's even more to come beyond what's listed there, Loguidice told Kotaku, as well as a selection of items which will be auctioned online (though you've got to be in NJ for most of it).

It turns out that Steam users in Asian cyber-cafes were being over-counted. A surprising resurgence in the popularity of Windows 7, and a marked drop in Windows 10, was reflected in the November 2017 Steam Hardware and Software Survey. At first glance it looked like gamers were ditching the (relatively) new version of Windows for the tried-and-true stability of good ol' Win7, but Paul suggested a different theory: That the explosive popularity of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds in China had thrown the balance out of whack. He was mostly right. It wasn't just an influx of Chinese users that caused the sudden surge, however, but an "over-counting" of people accessing Steam via "cyber cafes" in Asia. "Historically, the survey used a client-side method to ensure that systems were counted only once per year, in order to provide an accurate picture of the entire Steam user population. It turns out, however, that many cyber cafes manage their hardware in a way that was causing their customers to be over counted," Valve explained in a message posted above the most recent survey results. "Around August 2017, we started seeing larger-than-usual movement in certain stats, notably an increase in Windows 7 usage, an increase in quad-core CPU usage, as well as changes in CPU and GPU market share. This period also saw a large increase in the use of Simplified Chinese. All of these coincided with an increase in Steam usage in cyber cafes in Asia, whose customers were being over counted in the survey." A fix has since been deployed, and users counting should now be accurate. And it appears to be working: The March 2018 survey (via the Wayback Machine) indicated that 57 percent of Steam users were using Windows 7 64-bit, followed by 36 percent on Windows 10 64-bit. The current survey basically flips those numbers: Windows 10 64-bit is back on top at 53 percent, while Windows 7 is back in second place at 36 percent.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame gets some rather important new additions, with particular interest shown in Final Fantasy VII and the original Tomb Raider. Over the years, the Hall of Fame has had some impressive inductees, as it tries to keep a record of the most influential and important video games in the history of the medium. As such, it’s no surprise to see both Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII added to its collection. Tomb Raider was one of the games that helped revolutionize 3D movement and platforming, alongside introducing the memorable character of Lara Croft. Meanwhile, Final Fantasy VII is one of the most important RPGs of all time, and stands as one of the best games of the 1990s in part thanks to its wonderful storytelling and memorable villain Sephiroth. Now, the pair have had their success officially recognised by The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York. The home of the Video Game Hall of Fame has introduced both games into its collection alongside a pair of other hugely important games in John Madden Football and Spacewar! The games join such other classic titles as Tetris, DOOM, and Super Mario Bros in an extensive collection. The Strong Museum @museumofplay Which of the inductees to the World Video Game Hall of Fame are your favorites? #videogamehall http://museumofplay.org/press/releas...ctees-revealed … 1:30 PM - May 3, 2018 Spacewar! may not be a game that sticks out to modern gamers, but its place in the history of video games is unquestionable. First developed back in the early 1960s, the game is a part of video game folklore, playing a major role in early video game programming circles and going on to help influence the likes of Asteroids. Meanwhile, John Madden Football‘s place as the foundation of a huge franchise and a serious step up in the quality and validity of sports-based video games. What sets Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII out, however, is that both franchises as a whole have the ability to change and adapt over time. Tomb Raider‘s reboot has brought a new lease of life to the series, and this year will see the release of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which is certainly looking interesting based on those early gameplay impressions. Indeed, the game is also going to have a crossover with Final Fantasy XV. Final Fantasy VII, too, is going to have a new lease of life in the form of a highly-anticipated remake, meaning that these two games will continue having an impact long beyond their initial release. However, that doesn’t take away from the importance of the original games, as shown by their induction into the Hall of Fame.

Enjoying Battletech takes time and patience. Born from the decades-old tabletop game of the same name (which also gave birth to the Mechwarrior series of games), the Harebrained Schemes version of Battletech places the universe into the genre most suitable to its origin: turn-based tactical strategy. It's a successful endeavor in that playing Battletech very much feels like playing a complex board game, both for better and worse. There are deep systems to be found in its meaningful mech customization, detailed combat scenarios, and enjoyable fantasy of running an interplanetary mercenary outfit. But reaching the point of thoroughly enjoying Battletech requires the willingness to weather its steep learning curve and laborious pace, which can sometimes veer into excruciating territory. Individual missions in Battletech are protracted, plodding conflicts, averaging around 45 minutes in length. You command a group of four battlemechs, each piloted by unique and specialized pilots, with the goal of either blowing something up or keeping something safe against outnumbering forces composed of hostile mechs and vehicles of warfare. The enormous mechs of this universe are the lumbering, industrial behemoth kind, bulky tanks with legs characterized by ugly chassis and weapons overtly fused to their limbs. They are graceless, unwieldy machines, and Battletech doesn't hesitate in belaboring their nature as they slowly trudge through the game's vast, sprawling maps like pieces on a military sand table. Observing a unit's actions play out can be a quite a process. You'll watch them steadily stomp to a point on the topological grid-based terrain, leisurely rotate their torsos to their designated angle, wait for their weapons to spin up, watch the weapons fire, and wait again for a few moments as the damage report comes in to assess the aftermath. Mech animation speed aside, there are often pauses during this string of actions that feel unnecessarily egregious, and given the number of turns that need to be played out, long missions have the capacity to feel never-ending. There are more exasperating examples, too--during escort missions you'll find yourself watching up to four autonomous convoy vehicles taking turns to crawl through the map, slowly and one at a time, and the display is nothing short of agonizing. At the time of writing, there is a debug mode you can use to help artificially alter speed, but these are not officially endorsed options. By default, Battletech debilitating pace, combined with the game's lacking tutorials, firm difficulty, complicated UI, and persistent technical stammers mean the experience of Battletech's early hours can be tough to brave. But it's worth it. Growing acclimated to Battletech's attrition-focused warfare and making enough of your own critical mistakes to get a handle on its systems feels liberating, when it eventually happens. Being able to parse initially obtuse information allows you to internalize and appreciate the suite of mechanical nuances and helps you recognize the game's detailed and hard-nosed approach to strategy. Like any great tactical game, each decision requires multi-faceted risk analysis for the best possible outcome. But the joy of good choices in Battletech doesn't come from bombastic maneuvers where your team precisely eliminates a whole enemy squad without a scratch, as it might in XCOM or Into the Breach--that's an impossible scenario here. Being truly successful in Battletech relies on being prepared to get into scrappy, aggressive fighting, and coming to terms with what an acceptable loss might be to you at the time, whether that's an objective, a limb, or the lives of multiple pilots. With only four mechs to eliminate a larger number of adversaries in a turn-based ruleset, with no allowances for mid-combat repair, learning how to maneuver your mechs in order to endure a reasonable amount of damage becomes one of the most gripping aspects of decision making--how far do you push yourself to take on enormous odds? On the battlefield, this might mean something as simple as studying the impressively varied terrain in each map and finding the most advantageous spot to hunker down, or using buildings, forests, and mountains as cover during an advance. But on a more advanced and necessarily specific level, it might mean rotating your mech to present a fully-armored side to an attacking foe and obscure a side already damaged. Taking additional damage to a body part stripped of armor can result in structural damage or loss of limb, requiring replacement and repairs at significant cost, on top of running an increased risk of having your mech pilot permanently killed. Similar considerations are always on your mind when you're on the offensive. You might decide to temporarily switch off some of your weapons when attacking to avoid overheating your mech, which can cause immediate, all-over internal damage. One of your mechs might be out of ammo but has the option of using its jets to leap off a mountain and crash onto an enemy below to knock it down--but can you afford the risk of breaking both your legs and being floored yourself? With a complete understanding of how each unit can affect another at different locations, with various skills, weapons, and modifiers at play, your perception of unfolding battles becomes one of utter fascination at the minor details and outcomes of each strike. Seeing the battlefield in a different way in order to devise your own alternative approaches and formulating creative backup plans are things that begin to occupy your thoughts, instead of the tempo. Conflicts are still lengthy, and some drawn-out maneuvers still feel unnecessary, but with the time devoted to each turn, you start to use it to observe and internalize what exactly is happening and why. Pivotal turning points in a battle can be narrowed down to the exact action, which can become tactical learnings for future use. There are still a few random elements that can occur, attributed to the probabilities that drive attack calculations--lucky headshots that instantly injure your pilot regardless of armor durability are the prime unfair example--but regardless, the increased focus and time spent on each distinct action means that the anxious feelings that come with even the most trivial of anticipated hits and misses are amplified tenfold. Battletech also gives you an interesting ability used to preserve your squad--when a mission becomes overwhelming and dead pilots are almost certain, you can choose to immediately withdraw from a mission, at the cost of sullying your reputation with the factions that hired you and surrendering your paycheck. The latter is an especially vital consideration, because money quickly becomes a huge concern in Battletech's campaign and begins to affect all your decisions, both on and off the battlefield. The dynamic between the tactical battles and logistical management means almost every decision you make feels like it has rippling, tangible consequences elsewhere. The campaign sees your custom character rise to the leadership of a mercenary company which has accrued an enormous debt, with monthly repayments to meet every month. Naturally, everything costs money, from post-mission repairs, mech upkeep, pilot salaries, ship upgrades and even travel costs--this is a game about business management as much as it is about commanding a squad. Accepting missions allows you to negotiate a contract to determine what your fee should be in relation to your post-battle salvage rights (valuable for maintaining and upgrading your mech configurations as well as unlocking new models) and faction reputation, which opens up more lucrative opportunities. Request too little money on a mission you take carelessly, and the cost of mission-ready repairs afterward might send you into bankruptcy. Without enough salvage and spare cash to play around with, you're impeded in your ability to play with one of the most vital and enjoyable parts of Battletech: building and customizing individual mechs to improve the combat capabilities of your squad. There are close to 40 different models of stock mechs, varying in tonnage and intended purposes. But the joy of spending time in the mech bay is experimenting with different configurations using the parts you have on hand. Every alteration you make on a mech is at the sacrifice of something else--you can carry more weapons and ammo at the expense of dropping things like heatsinks and additional armor plating, for example. Taking the time to fine-tune that balance and seeing your decisions translate into a more efficient unit on the battlefield feels exceptionally worthwhile. The lore and epic narratives of the Battletech universe are as important as the mechs themselves, and this game puts a heavy emphasis on them. The main plot begins with the coup of the head of a parliamentary monarchy--your custom character's childhood friend--and continues as you regroup years later to rally forces and take back the throne. The recorded details of the fictional history and politics between factions are unsurprisingly scrupulous--glossary tooltips for universe-specific concepts litter the game's text. But there are enough broad strokes and familiar feudal parallels to enjoy it at face value, and the comprehensive presentation--well-written and diverse characters, beautiful 2D cutscenes, inspired soundtrack, crunchy sound design and convincing radio chatter--do more than enough to completely sell this brand of mecha fantasy. Battletech is a game that selfishly takes its time to be meticulous in every respect, and pushing through the density and idiosyncrasies of its many, slow-moving parts can be tough. But if you have the will to decipher it, albeit, at a deliberate and punishingly plodding pace, you can find yourself completely engrossed in its kinetic clashes. Battletech's intricate components ultimately foster a fascinating wealth of nuanced systems that build a uniquely strenuous, detailed, and thoroughly rewarding tactical strategy game.

This is a major version bump purely because there was a ton of code commits from the last one. There a new v2 WebAPI now, but v1 is still supported too. The Windows 32-bit installer now uses Qt 5.6.3 instead of 5.7.1. The 5.6.3 version is an LTS release and newer than the 5.7.1 version. The 5.7.x series don't offer something useful for our usage. FEATURE: Add "Coalesce reads & writes" checkbox in advanced options (Chocobo1) FEATURE: Smart Filter for RSS (Stephen Dawkins) FEATURE: Possibility to configure at which speed a torrent is considered slow (thalieht) FEATURE: When creating a torrent you can choose to preserve the file order (toster, Chocobo1) FEATURE: A new, redesigned and refactored WebAPI (glassez) BUGFIX: Redefine CacheStatus.readRatio field. (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Clarify some terms in stats dialog (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Fix possible crash when using both share limits (thalieht) BUGFIX: Disable options when Disable connections not supported by proxies is enabled (Thomas Piccirello) BUGFIX: Add link to an explanation of Disable connections not supported by proxies (Thomas Piccirello) BUGFIX: Fix typo in a log message (Andrei Stepanov) BUGFIX: Fix loading very large torrents. Closes #8449. (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Fix reverting backslashes to slashes in run external program. Closes #7800 (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Use https for documentation links (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Use original scheme when downloading favicons (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Parse URL query string at application level (glassez) BUGFIX: Properly reply to announce request (embedded tracker) (glassez) BUGFIX: Add Tags parameter to "Run External Program" (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Fix various typos (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Refactor filesystem watcher. Delay before processing new files. (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Don't strip empty arguments passed to external program. Closes #8454. (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Stop creating Download folder on start (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Avoid data corruption when rechecking paused torrents (sledgehammer999) BUGFIX: Fix crashes due to invalid iterator use (Luís Pereira) BUGFIX: Fix renaming completed files (Chocobo1) BUGFIX: Fix path separator in log messages (Chocobo1) WEBUI: Switch built-in Web UI html to HTML5 (glassez) WEBUI: WebUI Save user's resized window sizes (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Make download + upload windows resizable (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Add option to show/hide webui status bar (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Add "Use proxy only for torrents" option to webui (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Various fixes in the html code (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Don't unselect selected torrents after a few seconds (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Enable Http/1.1 persistence connection (Chocobo1) WEBUI: Format Read cache hits as percentage (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Re-order and rename stats (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Right align stat values (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Enable Statistics window to be scrolled and resized (Tom Piccirello) WEBUI: Save WebUI Statistics window size (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Make WebUI iframe windows scrollable on iOS (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Remove unused CSS from WebUI login page (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Consolidate CSS into style.css (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Resolve JavaScript errors (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Fix spacing in login form(Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Update WebUI to be more compliant with HTML5 standard (Chocobo1) WEBUI: Update clipboard.js to v2.0.0 (Chocobo1) WEBUI: Remove unused JavaScript library (Chocobo1) WEBUI: Fix setting preferences via WebAPI (glassez) WEBUI: Rename property to match its definition (Thomas Piccirello) WEBUI: Add Limit Share Ratio context menu option (Thomas Piccirello) RSS: Disable Auto TMM when RSS rule has save path (glassez) RSS: Process loaded RSS articles in case of error (glassez) RSS: Resolve (X)HTML entities in RSS content (glassez) SEARCH: Improve Search handling (glassez) SEARCH: Calculate supported categories based on selected plugin (Thomas Piccirello) SEARCH: Fix memory leak (Chocobo1) COSMETIC: Use spinbox suffix to display rate/time units (thalieht) COSMETIC: Avoid showing an empty row in AdvancedSettings (Chocobo1) OTHER: Various code optimizations and fixes (Luís Pereira, Chocobo1) OTHER: Fix build when using Clang under CMake (Luís Pereira) OTHER: Allow to disable Stacktrace support (Nick Korotysh) OTHER: Use RNG provided by OS (Chocobo1) You can download it here : https://www.qbittorrent.org/download.php

In the UK, Internet providers offer site-blocking tools to their subscribers, so they can filter harmful content from the web. While these tools can be helpful to some, there are some rather peculiar blocks which show that they're far from perfect, to say the least. Over the past several years we have regularly written about court-ordered blockades of pirate sites in the UK. Today, we take a closer look at another type of blocking, the Internet safety filters UK ISPs offer. These filters, which are sometimes enabled by default, help subscribers to block harmful content, especially for their children. With help from the Open Rights Group’s Blocked initiative, which documents the scope of various ISP filters, we took a look at how these perform. The first results are as expected. Many porn sites are blocked and so are sites that are clearly oriented at a mature audience. That’s more or less what these filters are meant for, so no issues there. We also noticed that many proxies and VPNs are not accessible. While this may seem broad, as they’re not offensive, these tools could allow clever sorts to bypass parental controls, so there’s an argument to be made for their inclusion. Oddly enough, the Tor browser, which can do the same, is freely accessible. But let’s not digress. What really stood out to us is that some sites which are targeted at kids, or at least useful to them, are blocked too. One prime example is the official UK Disney website, located at disney.co.uk, which is blocked by BT’s Strict filters. That seems a bit cruel. The same is true for disneymoviesanywhere.com, which is not very useful, but certainly doesn’t seem harmful to us either. Apparently, BT doesn’t want children to visit these Disney sites. No Disney https://torrentfreak.com/images/disneyblock.png The parental control filters are supposed to make the web a safer place for kids. While this is a laudable aim, the execution is not always perfect. For example, several ISPs including BT, Plusnet and Virgin Media, are blocking the internetsafetyday.org website. Admittedly, the site is targeted at parents, but since these will often be behind the same filters, they’re missing out on some good tips and tricks on how to educate their children. No safety https://torrentfreak.com/images/safetyblock.png Talking about education. It’s always good when kids start to experiment with coding at a young age. This is also one of the core messages of the non-profit organization Kidsandcode.org. “Everyone should have the opportunity to learn how to code,” the site reads. This makes sense, you’d think, but for kids who are trapped behind the BT Strict or BT Light filters, this is not an option. What can kids do nowadays then? Play a few simple games? Ideally educational games such as the ones playkidsgames.com offers. As you may have guessed by now, that’s not an option either, at least not behind BT’s Strict filter. Maybe kids should stick to more boring stuff. Perhaps finish that school project on Vikings, that should be doable, right? Well, it is, as long as you don’t look up vikingsword.com, a historical and educational side dedicated to Viking swords. Both Three and Sky have blocked the site, with Sky explaining that it’s placed in the “Weapons, Violence, Gore and Hate” category. Ancient Weapons https://torrentfreak.com/images/weapons.png Perhaps we’re too insensitive, but I think that most children can handle grainy drawings of swords. After all, the average cartoon is more violent nowadays. And yes, it’s true that decades-old Viking swords are weapons, but Three and Sky are not very consistent as the website of today’s largest weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin appears to pass through all parental filters just fine. Luckily, the Open Rights Group allows us to check for these odd results, and report sites which are inaccurately blocked. Interested in checking if your favorite website is blocked? You can do so here. Feel free to report any unusual findings in the comments. — Open Rights Group is currently looking for donations and other means of support to keep its Blocked project up and running. More information is available here.

BEAUTIFULLY-BRED mare Anatola gave replacement rider Robbie Fradd the perfect farewell gift in staging a brilliant frontrunning performance to win Saturday’s Silk Stocking. Fradd announced on Saturday he has taken up a contract to ride in Mauritius, effective immediately. He leaves on Monday night and expects to ride on Saturday for his contracted trainer Gilbert Rousset. Offers for Fradd to return to Mauritius started after he had success at the international meeting last December. Initially the offers didn’t meet Fradd’s requirements, but they upped the ante in a bid to secure the South African. “Before the international meeting, it was 24 years ago that I was there,” he said. “That’s a bit scary isn’t it?” Fradd won a premiership during his previous stint in Mauritius. The contract will see him in Mauritius almost to the end of this year. Fradd was offered the Anatola ride after Josh Parr was injured at a midweek meeting in Sydney. Earlier, he was out of luck on Hollindale favourite Comin’ Through, but he still rated the Doncaster runner-up disappointing. HARRISON MAKES A DREAMS RETURN POPULAR jockey Tegan Harrison announced her comeback in style with an all-the-way win on Dreams Aplenty in the newly named Gold Coast Cup. Previously known as the Prime Minister’s Cup, the $100,000 feature was Harrison’s first stakes success since taking the Silk Stocking on Eloping on the same card two years ago. She broke her collarbone last December and spent longer on the sidelines than initially was planned, only returning to riding on April 11. “I broke my collarbone in four or five different places and had to have surgery on it to put it all back together,” she said. “The surgeon told me I would be out for three months and up to that point everyone else had said six weeks, so I just made the most of it. “The good thing is I gave it the time it needed. Since I came back it has not given me one issue. A common mistake is that we come back too early but I kept stressing to my surgeon I’m not in a rush to get back. I wanted to have no pain when I came back. “The first three weeks I couldn’t take any more than five rides. I had to ease back into it and I found that a bit difficult to get my fitness back. “I needed to have a few hit-outs in a row and I felt it was only this week I started to regain the fitness. I had a heap of trials on Tuesday and pulled up good after them.” Dreams Aplenty has won seven of his 20 starts and almost $400,000 in prizemoney for owner Evan Hartley. Trainer John Zielke is keen to get Dreams Aplenty back up over a mile and that’s why he hasn’t targeted any of the big winter sprints. BATTLE FOR THE BIKE KRIS Lees might have trouble extricating his prize for winning the Bat Out Of Hell from caretaker trainer Mel Eggleston. Lees’ Guard Of Honour proved too classy in the 900m scamper to beat Snoopy and Tiyatrolani, earning the trainer a new $30,000 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. On Friday Lees joked he might leave the bike with Eggleston should he win it and the Gold Coast trainer thought that was a good idea, even though Less had issued different instructions prior to Saturday’s race. “Kris said to just put the bike in the spare spot on the float next to the horse and send it home,” Eggleston said. “I’ve got an old Honda 90 at home with a puncture and a flat battery. So I might put that on the float and tell him that’s all they gave me and keep this one!” Perhaps Damian Browne could put his hand up for the bike. It was a masterly ride. He eased out of the speed battle from the gates, pinched ground on the inside, secured the run when he needed it and bided his time before pushing the ‘go’ button. INQUIRY DATE SET THE fate of trainer Mark Currie and two stablehands from the stable of his son Ben will be determined at a QRIC stewards’ inquiry on Friday. The three have been called to appear at the inquiry following an investigation that began on Weetwood day, April 7. Mark Currie has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges issued by stewards alleging race day treatment of horses on April 7 and also March 24. Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett said analysis of CCTV footage seized from the Toowoomba stables is “now complete.” However, the inquiry into Ben Currie is ongoing. “As previously stated I expected this investigation to be a protracted one and almost a month out it is still ongoing. I anticipate it will continue on for several more weeks,” Barnett said. “The investigation is examining the involvement of any and all persons involved in race day treatment at those stables contrary to the rules of racing. “Trainer Ben Currie has appeared before an inquiry which has been adjourned and will resume once the results of ongoing investigations are known.” Meanwhile, Currie was hit with a $3000 fine by stewards last week for working horses at Clifford Park on Good Friday, when the track was closed. Currie pleaded not guilty before being found guilty. HOUTZEN SIZZLES LAST year’s Magic Millions winner Houtzen attracted glowing praise from Jeff Lloyd after a blistering exhibition gallop in between races at the Gold Coast. Official times from the gallop included a 31.65 last 600m and home her last 400m in 20.63 seconds ahead of the filly’s tilt on Saturday’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000. “It was the best she’s ever worked,” Lloyd said. “The blinkers were always a risk, but she switched off in them and concentrated. She was always going to run fast time with the wind behind her and only running a half mile (800m), so it’s just a matter of her doing it over 1200m. But she’s come back from Sydney in great order.” Lloyd is booked for the ride on Care To Think in the Doomben 10,000, with XXXX to ride Houtzen. WIGGINS ON A ROLL RYAN Wiggins had quite the 24 hours to kick-off the long weekend, maintaining a faultless record at three different venues. He landed a double at the Sunshine Coast on Friday from his two rides before making his way to the Gold Coast to team with Denbern in the opening event. He then hit the road again, this time to Ipswich, where he guided Wanna Blue home a winner for Peter and Will Hulbert. CHEAP THRILLS BOOMSARA gave her new ‘owners for a day’ a big thrill with his second in the Ken Russell Classic. Trainer Chris Munce has teamed with radio station Nova and UBET to bring the raceday experience to a new group of people. Nova has run a competition for people to get all the privileges of an owner — and the prizemoney sponsored by UBET — over the horse’s winter campaign, which will continue next in the BRC Sires and then the Group 1 JJ Atkins. “I was happy to be involved because it’s a great way to bring new people into the game and show them just exciting racing a horse can be,” Munce said. ON THE MONEY MARKET movers proved lethal early in the day at the Gold Coast, with Denbern and Tyzone monster market movers through Saturday morning and right up to their respective races. In the case of Tyzone, the move for him coincided with the alarming drift of Mr Marbellouz. The Kevin Kemp-trained runner was as short as $1.40 in some places on Saturday morning, but official prices opened him at $1.85 and the drift kept going all the way out to $2.35. Kemp told stewards Mr Marbellouz would now be spelled.

LIKE Jordan Childs, Lachlan King understands what it is to exist in the shadows of a high achiever. Childs, son of Greg, already has a Group 1 scalp. King, whose Melbourne Cup-winning father Steven was also a highly accomplished rider, is yet to scale those giddy heights. But his journey has started, accelerating significantly on Saturday with his first Flemington winner aboard Sherlock Holmes. The ownership connection is irresistible. Lloyd Williams raced Zone, who provided Steven King with his first winner at Sandown in 1988. The leviathan owner also has an interest in Sherlock Holmes, whose victory in the $120,000 Living Legend Efficient Handicap — a race named after Williams’ 2007 Melbourne Cup winner — was more than a milestone. “Mr Williams actually said to me prior to the race that Dad got his first winner in these colours,” King, 19, said. “I’ve only been riding in town a short period, so to get a chance like this and obviously be able to repay the faith in these colours is an excellent way to kick it off. “I really appreciate the ride. The whole Williams family, Liam (Howley, trainer) and the whole team up at Macedon Lodge and Dad’s really helped. We talked through the form pretty intensely last night.” King cajoled Sherlock Holmes to an overdue victory, the import having tasted defeat at his previous two starts as favourite. The 2800m race was disrupted early when Sin To Win unseated rider Cory Parish — who was hospitalised with lower back pain — and raced on towards the head of the field. Undaunted, King maintained impressive composure to pilot Sherlock Holmes ($4.80) home ahead of Charlevoix ($9) and Sly Romance ($31). “I was very confident coming to the bend,” King said. “Liam actually rang me during the week and said, ‘Just make sure that last furlong is your best’ and he was just travelling too well.” Part-owner, Williams’ son Nick Williams, praised King’s handling. “He couldn’t have ridden it any better,” he said. “It was a very messy race with the loose horse there. It was great to see a King riding a winner at Flemington.” Chief steward Terry Bailey said officials were ready to direct the remaining runners around Parish if he could not be moved from the track, near the 300m mark. “I had my finger on the button ready to call it off,” Bailey said. * SYNDICATOR Darren Dance is becoming something of a fixture at the Werribee quarantine centre while running the rule over various imports. Having chanced desperately close to Melbourne Cup glory with ill-fated Heartbreak City, Dance notched a significant milestone when Crack The Code claimed the $100,000 Graham Salisbury Plate (1100m). Crack The Code is the first horse to sport Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s vivid yellow colours for Mick Price. SUNDAY FIX IN A NUTSHELL THE Darren Weir juggernaut rolled on at Flemington with the premier trainer taking honours with Lipstick Lover, Land Of Plenty and Iconoclasm. The treble followed another dominant Warrnambool carnival and, most poignantly, Group 1 success with Harry Coffey and Sopressa in the Australasian Oaks at Morphettville. Weir undoubtedly will be a factor again in Adelaide next Saturday for the SA Derby. James Cummings also chimed in at Flemington with a double through Barbeque and Tarquin. ■ THE Living Legends race day might not have had Headquarters heaving at the seams, but it was a reminder of what makes racing irresistible. Rising talent, enduring professionals and emotional owners helped pay homage to a raft of racing’s great contributors. The Victoria Racing Club’s admirable initiative recognised the champion equine athletes and also a cluster of revered industry participants. Chief among them was ailing Graham Salisbury, whose community service with Subzero has helped project the sport out of its traditional heartland. Others to be acknowledged were John ‘Patto’ Patterson, Mick Mallyon, Midge Didham, Tommy Hughes and Akke van Den Dolder. DID YOU SEE/HEAR? VICTORIAN Civil and Administrative Tribunal president Greg Garde has ordered Racing Victoria and trainers Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh to bear their own costs in the latest chapter of the long-running cobalt saga. Justice Garde ruled “there was nothing done by RVL in the conduct of the proceedings that would merit an award of costs against it”. He also noted: “Nothing I say is intended to affect any civil claims that the applicants (O’Brien and Kavanagh) may have against (vet) Dr (Tom) Brennan or the Flemington Equine Clinic.” O’Brien on Saturday won the Living Legend John ”Patto“ Patterson Handicap with promising mare Another Bullseye. ■ WARRNAMBOOL’S hugely successful carnival is regularly associated with tales of betting coups. This year was no different, with claims a notorious racing figure, now based in Queensland, capitalised on the “strong mail” provided by an associate. BACK ME ARISTIA: Charged from the tail of the field to finish fourth behind Crack The Code, clocking 22.51sec over the last 400m. Will be even better over more ground. GALAXY RAIDER: Headed Another Bullseye and shaped to win before losing by the narrowest margin. Clocked the quickest sectionals in seven different categories from the 1400m. SOVEREIGN NATION: Steamed late. Not far off another win. BOOM TIME: Lumped 60kg, sat three wide and was only just nailed by a brilliant Dan Stackhouse ride on Tarquin. SACK ME ALOFT: Fred Kersley reported the import was travelling beautifully and then threw in the towel, prompting owner Nick Williams to declare: “He has a mind of his own.”

DAVE Reynolds’ giant-killing start to the season is not enough to make him a crown-contending Supercars heavyweight, V8 immortal Jamie Whincup believes. Whincup said competition leader Scott McLaughlin was still his biggest rival despite trailing Reynolds by 82 points in the drivers’ championship. Holden’s man of the moment and fan favourite is in great form after bagging a Phillip Island double podium and looking to build on his shock season start heading into Saturday’s Perth SuperSprint. “It is very difficult to be a contender,’’ Whincup said. “I don’t think (Reynolds) is there yet. “It is a real tough one, too, because he is a real good guy so I hope he is there at the end. “But I can’t see anything at the moment to guarantee he will be.’’ Reynolds has emerged as this year’s dark horse, with the driver best known for throwing flowerpots and drinking out of his shoe scoring three podium finishes to trail only DJT Team Penske driver McLaughlin on the championship ladder. Self described as an “odd ball’’, Reynolds has been known to fall asleep on the grid while waiting for race starts. And Whincup refused to say whether his opinion had anything to do with Reynolds’ perceived lack of mental strength. “I am not sure (if he has the mental strength to win the championship),’’ Whincup said. “I can’t answer that one. That is up to Dave. “But certainly they have shown good consistent pace to this point.’’ Whincup is vying to win an unprecedented eighth title after he continued his record championship streak by beating McLaughlin to the crown last year in an epic finale in Newcastle. The Red Bull Holden Racing driver lost the championship lead last round when he went from first to fifth in a Phillip Island disappointment. “We have had two poor rounds and two good rounds,’’ Whincup said. “And we are currently fifth in the championship. “It hasn’t been the greatest start but then again neither was last year. The big positive is that we have had some pace in the car and that is what it is all about.’’ Whincup said McLaughlin was winning this year’s war after his Ford dominated the field to record a Phillip Island clean sweep. “The championship is about consistency and being there,’’ Whincup said. “And car No. 17 has been the most consistent. Scott can claim the win so far and I can’t make any statements being back in fifth. “We are confident we will be there at the end of the year. We just have to keep on improving the car.’’ Fighting with the all-new ZB Commodore, Whincup is confident of resuming a top-of-the-table war with Ford. “It is such a long year and that can change,’’ Whincup said. “There is so much water to run under the bridge. It is about being in contention when it counts. “We are still in contention and we will just go through the rollercoaster of what is the championship.’’

SCOTT McLaughlin’s road to redemption continued on Saturday with the DJR Team Penske pilot blitzing the field to claim a Perth victory. In the year’s most dominate performance, McLaughlin flogged the field by more than five seconds at Barbagallo Raceway to make it three race wins in a row. Leading from start to finish in his Ford, the heartbreak of losing last year’s title in a nightmare Newcastle finale continued to fade with McLaughlin extending his championship lead to 119 points. “That is three in a row now,’’ McLaughlin said. “That was a good win and very nice for our championship. It was nice to know we had the tyre pace to gap them and I will take it because they don’t come along too often.’’ McLaughlin set up the win by blasting a 54.63 to steal pole position from Ford’s Cameron Waters with last-ditch flyer. Forced to strap on a fresh rubber and go out for a second run after Waters surprised the big guns by going quickest, McLaughlin made it three qualifying wins in a row by knocking off the fellow Ford with his second attempt. Fabian Coulthard gave DJR Team Penske a double chance by qualifying in third. McLaughlin was hard on himself after having to use a second set of tyres. “I absolutely made a meal of it,” McLaughlin said. “I didn’t give myself a big enough kick up the backside after practice, I need to go back and look at it. “I’m a bit annoyed with myself. I feel like I could have done that one the first set, but anyway, it’s good for the team, we’re third and first.” There were no mistakes on the start line for McLaughlin with the man of the moment flawless as he powered his way to turn one. “I was a bit worried a bit for a while,’’ McLaughlin said. “When I came out of the pitstop there were cars everywhere. They were battling away and it got a bit hairy for a while. We got a good start and I trucked on. At the start we wanted to gap them a little bit and we found we had a very good car. They attacked and tried to undercut us but we stayed out and I knew I would get there in the end.’’ Mark Winterbottom followed McLaughlin home to make it a Ford one-two and break a podium drought for Tickford Racing. “That is the first podium for the team this year,’’ Winterbottom said. “And it is a nice feeling to get it. We had a really good car then and it is great considering where we have been. I wasn’t driving any different today and it is down to the hard work the team has done. I really appreciate all the effort and to get back on the podium is fantastic.’’ Reigning champion Whincup was forced to fight from the back after failing to qualify in the top-ten in a rare miss for Red Bull. The record breaker worked his way back into the battle with an early stop strategic play sending him to third. But Whincup was slapped down by a penalty for turning Chaz Mostert and finished 11th to continue his poor run. Fellow Red Bull Holden Racing driver Shane van Gisbergen fought his way to third after following Whincup with his own qualifying fail. “We missed it in qualifying,’’ van Gisbergen said. “But that is OK. It was awesome to come through in the end.’’

THE Warriors have reasserted their NRL credentials with an emphatic 26-4 win over the Wests Tigers in Auckland but the result may have come at a heavy cost. Bouncing back from last week’s 50-10 humiliation at the hands of Melbourne, the hosts on Saturday night handed the Tigers their third straight loss and their biggest defeat of the season. Dampening any major celebrations was the sight of key playmakers Issac Luke (arm/shoulder) and Shaun Johnson (leg) escorted from the field in the second half. That veteran hooker Luke was even playing was remarkable given the club had initially said his knee injury suffered against the Storm required a four-week break. His replacement, Karl Lawton, made the most of his first game for the club, darting over for two late tries to cap a compelling team display. The result means the Warriors are assured of finishing round nine in second place with a 7-2 record while the Tigers (5-4) will slip from fifth to a mid- table berth. The Tigers’ previous losses had been by two points but they were a distinct second-best on Saturday, with their cause not helped by two players spending time in the sin bin. Winger David Nofoaluma was dispatched in the first half for a professional foul while Elijah Taylor was marched after halftime in a ruling that was contested furiously by Tigers co-captain Benji Marshall. The Warriors capitalised on their man advantage on both occasions, through respective tries to winger Ken Maumalo and Johnson. Maumalo scored down the vacant flank through a perfectly floated pass from the excellent Blake Green while Johnson started and finished a sweeping 60m try down his team’s potent right edge. Competition leading try-scorer David Fusitu’a was first on the scoresheet for the Warriors, giving him 11 for the season. Fusitu’a was bowled out of the way when equally hulking opposite Mahe Fonua crossed to leave the Tigers trailing 12-4 at the break. NZ WARRIORS 26 (K Lawton 2 D Fusitua S Johnson K Maumalo tries S Johnson 3 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 4 (M Fonua try) at Mt Smart Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Grant Atkins.

THE NBA can wait for now, Cameron Bairstow has unfinished business with the Brisbane Bullets. The ex-Chicago Bulls forward and Rio Olympian has re-signed with the Bullets for the next two NBL seasons after overcoming a horror knee injury. The No.49 pick in the 2014 NBA draft was the marquee signing for the Bullets when they re-entered the NBL but his first campaign in the singlet he adored growing up in Brisbane, ended prematurely and painfully. He crashed to the floor in December 2016 during an overtime loss to Illawarra, damaging both his ACL and MCL. Bairstow had to wait six weeks for the MCL to heal before he could undergo his knee reconstruction. The 27-year-old says he never doubted that he would return to basketball and his love for the game pushed him through the long rehabilitation process. After a delayed start to his first season at the Bullets due to a shoulder injury from the Rio Olympics, Bairstow says Brisbane and the NBL never saw the best of him. But the “Bear’’ plans to change all that and has stripped eight kilograms off his 206cm-tall frame to take pressure off his knee. Bairstow – who will switch from singlet No.41 to the No.8 he wore as a junior - still has aspirations to return to the NBA but repaying the faith of Brisbane is the first priority. “If the opportunity ever presented itself (with the NBA), of course I would look at it but right now my focus is to have a great season with the Bullets,’’ Bairstow said. “That’s the only thing that’s on my mind. I don’t think too much about what the future holds outside of that. “I’m excited to be back playing basketball. Being out of the game for so long was very difficult and really makes you appreciate what you have as a professional athlete. “My love for the game is definitely there. I’m excited to be back amongst it with the boys. “I don’t think I was able to show what I was capable of doing in the NBL last time. I had that shoulder injury from Rio and I was struggling to find a rhythm then I did my knee so it was a tough year.’’ Bairstow is back on court doing everything bar contact which he expects to incorporate in the next month or two, in time for Bullets pre-season training. He said the return of Boomers teammate Andrew Bogut to the NBL was a real coup for the league. “It reinforces how tough the NBL is now. When you improve the talent level with a player like him, it’s a huge boost for the league and for Sydney,’’ Bairstow said. “It takes time to adjust to the different style of play, the FIBA rules and the shorter games but you find a way to be affective.’’ He said with Australians like Ben Simmons, Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes enjoying success in the NBA, the national program was also booming. “Everyone wants to be a part of that Boomers team for Tokyo. Having the USA come to Australia next year (before the World Cup in China) is also really exciting for the sport in this country,’’ he said. The signing of Bairstow completes the local quota for the Brisbane roster for the 2018-19 NBL season which starts in October.

BEN Simmons admitted that his performance in Game 2 was the worst he’d played all season, and part of his rebound effort was to talk things through with a Philadelphia 76ers legend. Allen Iverson, one of the best and most renowned guards in the NBA’s history, had a desire to talk with Simmons after the Australian scored just one point in the 76ers’ Game 2 loss against the Boston Celtics. So, before shootaround on Saturday (AEST), Simmons reached out to Iverson; the two guards having a fruitful chat ahead of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals. “I spoke to AI before I came here today,” Simmons said after shootaround. ”He just said, “play the game; you know how to play,” and that’s just second nature to me. “I heard he wanted to talk to me and I got on the phone with him this morning, and spoke with him. He gave me some words of encouragement.” Simmons refused to give the Celtics’ defensive schemes too much credit for his rough showing, instead pointing to his own mentality as a reason why he struggled throughout the night. The 21-year-old expanded on what he meant when he said he was ‘overthinking’ on Friday. “Just thinking too much,” Simmons laughed. “About everything, every play on the floor. I think I’m looking at it in too much detail, and not just playing.” Despite the self-described worst game of his professional career, Simmons has still put together an impressive debut postseason. The Melbourne-native is averaging 15.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game, and is confident he’ll continue that level of play. “I’m a very confident person every time I step on the floor, so that’s not gonna change,” Simmons said. “It’s just the worst I played all year. That’s about it. Gotta look ahead, look forward, and get ready for tomorrow.” Game 3 of the 76ers-Celtics series is on Sunday (AEST). ***

THE ‘coaching carousel’ has hit the NBA, and history is already set to be made. At this point, the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, and Atlanta Hawks are looking to fill their respective head coaching positions, and the list of potential candidates is coming in fast. One of the more exciting names to enter the conversation, with regards to the Bucks’ search, is Becky Hammon. The Bucks plan to interview Hammon, the San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, for their head coaching opening, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday (AEST). Hammon, the first woman to serve as an assistant coach in the NBA, would be the first woman to interview for a head coaching position in the league. Citing league sources, reported that Hammon is among at least 10 possible candidates for the job and “isn’t considered a frontline candidate”. “...but Milwaukee ownership and general manager Jon Horst were intrigued enough to ask the Spurs for permission to speak with her.” In 2015, Hammon served as head coach of San Antonio’s summer league team and led the squad to the summer league title. She became the first woman to be hired as a full-time assistant coach in a major men’s American pro sports league four years ago when she joined Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich’s staff. Hammon played 16 years in the WNBA and also played for teams in Spain and Russia. She won a bronze medal playing for the Russian national team in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Michael Jordan is getting closer to hiring his next NBA coach. The Jordan-owned Hornets are narrowing their search after interviewing several candidates, people familiar with the situation said Friday. The people said the list of coaches who have interviewed include Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse, Spurs assistants James Borrego, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka and Blazers assistant David Vanterpol. Former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale also interviewed but has since been hired by the Knicks. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Hornets haven’t discussed the coaching search. Larranaga, Nurse and Borrego may be the most experienced candidates, but with Fizdale out, the search remains fluid. The 43-year-old Larranaga would be a popular hire with so many Celtics fans in the area and that he is a Charlotte native. The son of Miami Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga, he was born here while his father was working at Davidson College in the mid-1970s. He spent 12 seasons playing overseas before landing a job in the NBA’s developmental league with the Erie Bay Hawks. He parlayed that into an assistant coaching position with the Celtics, and his now back in his second stint with the franchise. Nurse also spent time overseas, coaching 12 years in Europe mostly in the British Basketball League and is very familiar with the talent overseas. He joined the Raptors in 2013. Borrego has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2003 with stints with San Antonio, New Orleans and Orlando. Larranaga and Nurse are both currently coaching in the NBA playoffs. The new coach will inherit a Hornets team that went 36-46 last season and has point guard Kemba Walker, centre Dwight Howard and guard Nic Batum as its best three players. The Hornets fired Steve Clifford in April after five seasons as head coach. The Hornets had missed the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, including the last two. MAGIC SECURE INTERVIEWS The Magic fired Frank Vogel after he spent two seasons with the team, and have set up interviews to fill the position. The team plans to interview Jerry Stackhouse, coach of Raptors’ G League team, according to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania, as well as David Vanterpool and Ime Udoka, according to the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins. HAWKS ALSO ON THE PROWL After parting ways with Mike Budenholzer, the Atlanta Hawks are also among the teams looking to fill the position. The team received permission to interview Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Nate Tibbetts, as well as Golden State Warriors assistant coach Jarron Collins, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. ESPN also reported that the Hawks will interview Hornets assistant coach Stephen Silas.

Joe Ingles lost his golden shooting touch as the Utah Jazz imploded in the face of a dominant Houston Rockets in game three of their NBA Western Conference semi-final series. The Rockets led by as much as 38 points in the 113-92 rout in front of a shell-shocked Jazz crowd in Salt Lake City on Friday. It was a crucial away win for the Rockets, who take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, with game four also at the Jazz's arena on Sunday. "Credit Houston," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "They did what they can do and we didn't play well." Ingles, in the first 20 seconds of the game, hit a three-pointer well beyond the arc. It appeared he would continue his career-best form after scoring 27 points, including seven three-pointers, in the Jazz's game two win in Houston on Wednesday. But Ingles went cold, missing his next six shots. His team-mates were also off target and the Rockets had a commanding 70-40 lead at halftime. Ingles finished with just six points, missing eight of 10 field goal attempts, and suffered five turnovers. "I thought our defence was superb and we were hitting shots all over the place," Jazz coach Mike D'Antoni said. The Jazz's other Australian, Dante Exum, was also not as effective in guarding Houston's leader James Harden, who controlled the game with 25 points and 12 assists. Exum had six points from 14 minutes on the court. A day after the Philadelphia 76ers' Australian rookie Ben Simmons had the worst game of his career, scoring just one point in a loss to the Boston Celtics, his rival for the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award, the Jazz's Donovan Mitchell, also floundered with 10 points and three turnovers. Mitchell missed 12 of his 16 shots. In the other Western Conference semi-final series, the New Orleans Pelicans thumped the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors 119-100 in game three. The Pelicans, however, trail 2-1 against the Warriors in the series. Pelicans' centre Anthony Davis dominated the game in New Orleans with 33 points, 18 rebounds and four steals and was well backed up by Jrue Holiday's 21 points and veteran point guard Rajon Rondo' 21 assists. The usually accurate Warriors were off with Klay Thompson scoring 26 points, but missing 13 of 22 shots, and Stephen Curry missed 13 of 19 shots 19 points. Golden State shot a poor 38 per cent from distance while the Pelicans buried , 14 of 31, or 45 per cent of their three-pointers. Game four is in New Orleans on Sunday.

THERE is no surprise Giants Netball is favoured to claim this year’s Super Netball crown. Just rattle of the names in the Sydney team and it is loaded with international stars from the attack end to defence. Jo Harten, Susan Pettitt and Serena Guthrie were involved in the gold medal playoff at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Kim Green is a dual World Cup champion and Bec Bulley was with the Diamonds when they claimed the 2015 world title. This class-stacked outfit prepared by highly respected coach Julie Fitzgerald fell just short in the inaugural SN season last year when beaten in the grand final. It is a loss which is always in the back of the Giants’ mind, more so for not bringing their A-grade game to the contest. Captain Green missed the premiership decider, sidelined after rupturing her ACL, but she is back this season and will lead the Giants against Adelaide Thunderbirds in Mile End today. There is no bigger challenge in the game for the new-look Thunderbirds, coming off an 18-goal loss to West Coast Fever when the margin failed to reflect their fight and encouraging qualities. Shooter Shimona Nelson showed she is a star of the future. “If you look at the Giants, there is not a chink in their armour,” Thunderbirds coach Dan Ryan said. “There is depth, experience and weoponary in every position and they have a lethal bench as well. “But we are excited about the contest. We have a lot of young kids in our line-up and to be the best you have to beat the best. “We will embrace the challenge and see what we can do against arguably the strongest team across the court. The young players are not overawed and the way they performed in the first round is indicative of what they are capable of. “It is all about perspective and we are looking for gradual improvement from the youngsters week to week. The kids have been exposed to this level now and they are hungry to learn.” Ryan was satisfied with the volume of entries into the goal circle against the Fever. However, he wants his side to tidy up the defensive component. The Thunderbirds will start at long odds to conquer the Giants. But they need to bring the intensity and enthusiasm they showed against the Fever, and keep building a solid future.

Pascal Gross scored the goal which sank Manchester United 1-0 to guarantee Premier League football for Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan's Brighton side next season. The German midfielder, Albion's undisputed player of the year, fittingly hit his seventh goal of the season to take the Seagulls to the magic 40-point mark. United arrived on the south coast knowing a win would all-but seal second place for them, but a desperate disappointing display means they will have to wait to secure the runners-up spot. But Chris Hughton's side can now look forward to another season in the top flight having assured they are mathematically safe ahead of trips to Manchester City and Liverpool. Jose Mourinho did make six changes to a United side which was missing Romelu Lukaku, as expected, but the absence of Alexis Sanchez, also through injury, set alarm bells ringing 15 days before they play Chelsea in the FA Cup final. It meant rare chances in attack for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in a line-up which also included Sunday's match-winner against Arsenal, Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian, whose future remains uncertain with his contract almost up, had the ball in the net after only three minutes but he was offside when he turned home Rashford's free-kick. That was about as good as it got in a horribly disjointed display from United. Paul Pogba was back to his laid-back worst and Juan Mata's passing was horribly out of kilter. Brighton began to sense it might be the night to get the win they needed and David De Gea had to be alert to keep out a low Gross shot. The hosts, aside from one Lewis Dunk slip which Rashford was unable to take advantage of, were well on top but could not find the breakthrough before half-time. But Brighton got the goal they deserved in the 56th minute when Izqueirdo skipped past Matteo Darmian and stood a cross up towards the far post. De Gea pushed the ball onto the head of Gross and although Marcos Rojo hooked it clear from underneath the crossbar goalline technology confirmed it had crossed the line. United belatedly rallied but Ryan saved from Rashford and Jesse Lingard fired wide as Brighton held out for a memorable and thoroughly merited win.