Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is close to merging its India media business with Walt Disney with a 51 percent-54 percent stake, a deal that values the US giant’s Indian operations at just $3.5 billion (roughly Rs. 29,043 crore), said three sources with direct knowledge.
The valuation of Disney’s India unit is sharply lower than the $15-$16 billion (roughly Rs. 1,24,475 crore – Rs. 1,32,774 crore) estimated when Disney acquired it in 2019. Disney’s TV and streaming business in India has struggled over the years, with its digital platform facing a user exodus in stiff competition over cricket streaming with Ambani’s platform.
The deal will strengthen Reliance’s hold over India’s $28 billion (roughly Rs. 2,32,351 crore) media and entertainment market, especially after a separate $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,982 crore) merger deal between Japan’s Sony and India’s Zee Entertainment collapsed last week.
The three sources said Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and former top Disney executive, Uday Shankar, is also set to take a stake of around 9 percent in the new merged entity. Disney will hold around 40 percent.
Reliance, Disney and Bodhi Tree did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reliance and Disney, which each have a streaming service as well as 120 television channels between them, have been in talks for months to create an entertainment superpower in the world’s most populous nation.
Under the deal being discussed, Viacom18, the broadcast division of Ambani’s Reliance Industries, will merge with Disney’s India businesses. Viacom18’s shareholders include Paramount Global as well as Bodhi Tree, which invested $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,149 crore) in the Indian company last April. Shankar also serves on Viacom18’s board.
Two of the sources said the final percentage stake numbers could change. The sources declined to be identified because the talks are confidential.
A deal could be closed by mid-February, the sources said. One of the executives said Viacom18 was also likely to infuse some cash in the merged entity.
The third source said the deal talks were in advanced stages and some tax related matters were still being ironed out, though broad contours were almost finalised.
Antitrust, cricket rights
A Disney-Reliance merger could face many antitrust challenges due to the market power they could wield, especially as Sony and Zee were close to a separate merged entity in India.
Those regulatory hurdles may now ease.
“With the collapse of the Zee–Sony merger, the market will now be less concentrated, making it easier for Disney-Reliance,” said Karan Singh Chandhiok, head of competition law at Indian law firm Chandhiok & Mahajan.
In India, despite its large population with growing incomes, the Burbank-headquartered entertainment giant has struggled to make money. Its streaming service makes less than a tenth of its Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) there compared to the United States and other international markets.
The US firm’s streaming service lost nearly 34 percent of its subscribers between October 2022 and August 2023, as Ambani started offering free cricket on his new streaming platform after out-bidding Disney for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament rights.
Several top Disney India executives have joined Viacom18 in recent months.
Disney misjudged Indians’ willingness to pay, Disney sources have said, and the company recently changed tack by offering free cricket on smartphones, hoping the strategy will boost advertising revenue and offset the impact of a subscriber exodus, Reuters reported.
In November, Disney CEO Bob Iger said Disney’s TV channels were doing well in India, but other parts of the business were struggling and it was seeking to “improve the bottom line.”
As is the case for all PlayStation Plus Premium game trials — which also include heavy hitters Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077, and more — all saved data and trophies will carry over if players do decide to purchase the game later.
Spider-Man 2: All The Marvel Easter Eggs and References at Coney Island
Spider-Man 2 continues the story of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they take on a rogues’ gallery of Marvel villains headlined by the big bad Venom. It earned an 8/10 in IGN’s review, as we said: “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 delivers Insomniac’s best tale yet, and despite its open world falling short, is a reliably fun superhero power trip.”
Threads was launched by Meta’s Instagram in July 2023. It is a microblogging platform, similar to X (formerly Twitter). Within the first five days of its launch, the application saw 100 million registered users. However, the platform struggled to retain regular users on the text-based app after the initial rush. Since then the company has introduced several new features on the application aiming to enhance user experience. Threads appears to be gaining its footing back in the game as it saw an increase in the number of new downloads, while competitor X took a tumble.
An app intelligence firm Appfigures claimed in an analysis that Threads had 12 million new downloads on Apple’s App Store and 16 million on Google Play in December 2023. This resulted in the application ranking at number 4 and number 8, respectively on the Most Downloaded Apps list drawn up by the firm. Combined, Threads ranked at number 6 on the list of new downloads.
Threads currently has an estimated 160 million users, according to an online tracker, which notes that it uses “an approximation method based on a sampling of follower counts” since Meta stopped sharing user count numbers on July 11, 2023.
Threads parent Instagram ranked number 1 on the list with a combined new downloads count of 54 million, surpassing TikTok, which was listed with total new downloads of 47 million. Meta-owned Facebook and WhatsApp also made it to the top 10, with combined new downloads of 39 and 38 million, ranking at number 3 and 4, respectively.
A TechCrunch report shared an extensive version of the list, which showed Elon Musk-owned X with an estimated total new downloads of 8.5 million, resulting in the application climbing down to the 36th position. The drop may not be as alarming as it looks as a PCMag report notes that Twitter was launched in 2006 and already has 540 million users.
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Google is working on adding support for Auracast, a feature that is part of the Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) standard, according to a report. If the feature makes its way to the next version of Android, users will be able to “broadcast” audio to nearby devices using Bluetooth LE technology — by scanning a QR code to connect an audio device and bypassing the pairing process. Android 15 could also feature a dedicated settings section to manage audio broadcasts when it arrives later this year.
Android Authority reports that several strings in the Android 14 QPR2 Beta 3 release refer to a new audio sharing feature. These settings options will allow users to enable the audio broadcast feature via a Share audio toggle. Users will be able to connect to a Bluetooth LE audio stream by scanning a QR code, according to the strings uncovered by the publication.
While it wasn’t possible to test the feature for lack of an Auracast-compatible device, the report states that Google has already prepared a settings page to enable and disable the feature. On Android 15, navigating to Connected devices > Connection preferences > Audio streams in the settings app will let users enable and disable the Bluetooth audio broadcast feature.
Some practical implementations of this technology could include listening to music with a friend while traveling together, assuming you both have Auracast-compatible headsets. If Android 15 adds support for the feature, more devices offering the same functionality are likely to arrive later this year.
It is worth noting that even though Android already supports Bluetooth LE features on devices with Bluetooth 5.2 and newer, the arrival of Auracast support could make it easier for two (or more) people to listen to the same music at the same time, without pairing their audio devices.
Apps like Spotify already allow users to start simultaneous listening sessions that are handy when listeners are far away, but Auracast support could allow multiple users to listen to audio from a single device when they are nearby, allowing friends to listen to the same podcast episode or music track wirelessly in the same room.
We can expect to hear more about the audio streaming feature on Android 15 in the coming months, as Google continues to work on Android 15. The beta versions of Android 15 should also give us an idea of how the feature will work — these are likely to arrive in the coming weeks, based on Google’s previous release schedules.
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London, England – Britain is expected to hold a general election in the second half of 2024 and Rishi Sunak, the United Kingdom’s Conservative leader, is under pressure.
The right-wing party that has governed Britain for more than 10 years is far behind the main opposition Labour Party in the polls.
Earlier this month, a YouGov survey of about 14,000 people published by The Telegraph newspaper predicted that Labour could win 385 parliamentary seats. The Conservatives are on track to keep just 169 seats, a sharper loss than in 1997 when Labour’s Tony Blair triumphed over John Major.
On the world stage, observers say Sunak’s decision to join the United States in targeting Yemen’s Houthis in retaliation for their attacks in the Red Sea and his refusal to call for a Gaza ceasefire could affect his approval ratings.
Al Jazeera spoke to Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, about the upcoming election, the challenges facing 43-year-old Sunak, and Labour’s chances.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak leaves following a press conference in Downing Street, London [Stefan Rousseau/Pool via Reuters]
Al Jazeera: Sunak faces several crises. As he struggles with a bid to deport refugees to Rwanda, the Ukraine war is still raging, as well as Israel’s onslaught of Gaza. Is he the right person to manage Britain’s foreign policy and government right now?
Tim Bale: I think you’d have to say he’s a bright guy. He’s a hard-working guy. So he’s probably across all the issues in as much as any prime minister could be.
I think his problem on the world stage is that very few of his interlocutors presume that he will be there by this time next year, which means that his influence is inevitably less than it otherwise would be.
At home, he suffers from the same problem in that I think any of the solutions he proposes, or any of the actions he takes, will always be seen as temporary rather than Britain’s policy going forward.
Al Jazeera: Many British Muslims and pro-Palestinian Britons say they are disillusioned with the two main parties since neither has vociferously called for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza. What impact will this have on the Conservatives, when it comes to the election?
Bale: I think it’s very unlikely that it will have any impact on the Conservatives’ vote because very few people who would be exercised about the war in Gaza, certainly on the Muslim side, will be supporting the Conservatives anyway. Their vote among Muslim voters is generally very low.
It’s possible that were we to be drawn, for example, into a wider conflict involving Yemen and were to start having to commit more forces to that theatre of war, I think the public might react against that and that government very much.
Concerning Labour, there’s a lot written about the threat to some Labour MPs representing constituencies with very high Muslim populations.
But very often, they have very, very big majorities, so even if there are some people in those constituencies who feel very strongly about Gaza and therefore vote against Labour, they’ve probably got a sufficient cushion to survive.
Also, it’s kind of reductive to suggest that voters with an Islamic faith are purely defined by that faith. They also have to operate in an economy that is suffering from a cost-of-living crisis.
Al Jazeera: As the new year gets under way, what are Sunak’s priorities?
Bale: The obvious one is the stop the boats issue and the ability or inability of the government actually to bring an end to people coming across the Channel to claim asylum.
The other issues are perennials [like] the state of the economy. Some people now suggest that Britain will go into a recession before the election, which is never good for a government.
Clearly, inflation is going down, but perhaps not quite as fast as people might want it to.
People are still suffering the cost-of-living crisis that they’ve been in for a year or two now.
The other big issue that the government doesn’t seem to be able to do anything about is the state of the National Health Service, the huge waiting lists and the difficulty in finding a [family doctor].
One possibility, towards the end of the year, will be the US election and the extent Donald Trump does or doesn’t endorse Rishi Sunak.
The possibility that Trump should be elected before we hold an election will make people feel that the world has suddenly become more unstable and, therefore, perhaps more inclined to vote for the current government than for a new option.
Professor Tim Bale [Courtesy of Tim Bale]
Al Jazeera: Election polls signal an election defeat for the Conservative Party, with a loss not seen since 1997. Is this likely?
Bale: It’s very difficult to imagine a government this far behind in the polls at this stage of the electoral cycle, with a PM who is, relatively speaking, very unpopular, presiding over an economy that is at best bumping along the bottom, and an NHS that most people seem to think is falling apart, will be able to win an election.
Obviously, Labour have got a big mountain to climb because they did so badly last time around. They have to win an awful lot of seats in order to win a majority.
But I think that looks now eminently possible. Still, I think forecasts of a landslide are probably over the top.
Al Jazeera: What trends are we seeing from early polling, particularly among the Britons who traditionally voted Labour but switched to the Conservatives in the 2019 election?
Bale: It’s clear that the Conservative Party has lost a lot of support in those seats that it flipped from Labour. Partly because [ex-UK PM] Boris Johnson was quite popular, partly because [ex-Labour leader] Jeremy Corbyn was very unpopular and partly because those seats were heavily in favour of Brexit.
Now that Brexit has, to some extent, disappeared in the rearview mirror, it is less of an issue for those voters, and what matters more to them is the kind of bread-and-butter issues like the economy and the NHS.
One would expect a lot of those seats to return to Labour given how poorly the government is judged to be handling those particular issues.
The government is also in trouble with so-called blue wall seats (which are loyally Conservative).
These are seats in the south and the east, which are rather more affluent. [The Conservatives are] very hard-line on immigration, on “woke”, and all that kind of stuff is not popular among well-educated people who often live in those affluent areas.
Generally speaking, [the trends] show that the government is regarded as exhausted, out of ideas, and too right-wing for many – and that doesn’t really bode well for its electoral chances.
Al Jazeera: What could we expect from a government under Labour’s Keir Starmer and the impact on European politics?
Bale: I think that’s the $64,000 question, in a way, because Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, have presented a very cautious campaign.
They’re not offering far more spending. They’re not really levelling with people [on the] taxation required to help public services recover from the 10 years or so of austerity that we’ve seen.
I suspect that the Labour government would be rather more radical and more inclined to spend money than people think, and raise taxation.
In terms of the impact on European politics, generally speaking, Europe seems to be swinging to the right.
Were a Labour government to be elected, it would at least give some people in Europe the hope that it’s not completely impossible for a centre-left government, a bunch of social democrats, to win power.
Al Jazeera: Will the climate crisis be an election issue?
Bale: What is very urgent is the climate emergency. Although Labour has talked about a kind of big green investment fund, I think they will probably play that down because they’re worried about Conservative criticisms of the cost of that programme.
But if someone were to look back on this election in 50 years, when the planet will be much warmer, and we’re suffering all sorts of consequences as a result of that, they may well say, why were they talking about fairly trivial things when the world’s burning?
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
PlayStation hosted the year’s first State of Play games showcase early Thursday, bringing a host of new announcements, reveals and updates on upcoming releases. Sony presented a deep dive into two of its first-party titles, with extended gameplay trailers for Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade. The latter also finally received a release date — Shift Up’s action-adventure title is arriving April 26. Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin received a detailed gameplay trailer, showing off sword combat, special weapons, and traversal. We also got to know a bit more about the Edo period setting of the game, which takes right in the middle of the Japanese revolution.
The State of Play showcase also brought an in-depth look at Death Stranding 2 with a nearly 10-minute-long trailer that detailed new gameplay elements, the story beyond the first game and new and returning characters. Norman Reedus’ Sam Porter Bridges saved America in the first game, now he must save the world from extinction. Of course, as you’d expect from a Hideo Kojima game, the plot and story details remain cryptic at best. But hey, would you want it any other way? Kojima himself joined PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst towards the end of the State of Play showcase and dropped a surprise. The iconic game director will be working on an action-espionage title (not Metal Gear Solid) for PlayStation, with development on the untitled game beginning after Death Stranding 2.
The showcase saw over a dozen announcements, including updates on the Silent Hill 2 remake, a new story trailer for Ken Levine’s Judas and an enhanced version of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC coming this year. State of Play also showed off a couple of PS VR2 titles, a new remastered Sonic game that brings the best 2D and 2D levels from the series and more. Sony also announced that the next State of Play, scheduled for February 6, will entirely focus on Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth. With that, here’s everything that was announced at PlayStation’s State of Play:
Rise of the Ronin – Gameplay trailer
Team Ninja’s Rise of the Ronin, which releases on the PS5 on March 22, got a 4-minute-long gameplay overview trailer at State of Play, detailed combat mechanics, swordplay, special weapons and seamless traversal. The game, which looks like Ghost of Tsushima’s first cousin, will also feature crucial player choices at key moments in the story that will affect the events going forward.
Set during 19th century Japan, right in the middle of the Bakumatsu period, Rise of the Ronin drops you into a period-accurate Yokohama. The trailer showcased Assassin’s Creed-style seamless urban traversal, with the player utilising their grappling hook to quickly climb up buildings, launch off and glide through the air using the ‘Avicula’ glider, and drop directly on to their horse to ride off. The trailer also detailed Katana combat, which includes attacks, guards and parries, with a focus on breaking enemy stance to deal damage. The grappling hook also lets you pull enemies closer and finish them off with style. Aside from Japanese swords and spears, you can also use Western firearms like handguns, rifles and other special ranged weapons like a flamethrower. While comparisons with Ghost of Tsushima are inevitable, Rise of the Ronin seems to retain the Team Ninja identity, with a focus on fast-paced, punishing and technical combat. The game arrives exclusively on the PS5 on March 22.
Stellar Blade
Stellar Blade finally received a release date at the State of Play showcase, along with a gameplay overview trailer. The game is set to arrive on the PS5 on April 26. Developers Shift Up also confirmed that pre-orders for the game will go live on February 7. Customers who pre-order the game will also receive cosmetic bonuses and in-game currency boosts.
The trailer detailed Stellar Blade’s hack-and-slash action combat and a few other game mechanics. The game puts players in the shoes of Eve, an off-world warrior sent to Earth to take on the Naytibas, monstrous invaders that have taken over the planet. Eve’s character design is bound to cause controversy — it doesn’t really make any sense for an adept warrior sent to defeat dangerous threats on a post-apocalyptic planet to be running around in skin-tight, anime-style apparel. She teams up with two other survivors, Adam and Lily, and sets off on a quest to reclaim Earth.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here and it’s probably futile to even try. First off, DS2 has an official title — Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. The Death Stranding 2 trailer was exactly what one would expect a Death Stranding trailer to be — long, mysterious and completely insane. And of course, it showed off some gorgeous visuals and new environments, clearly showing the expanded ambitions of the sequel.
It’s hard to even describe everything that went down in the trailer. The baby is back. And so are familiar faces like Norman Reedus’ Sam and Léa Seydoux’s Fragile. There’s a new organisation, called the Drawbridge, in the mix now and we see Fragile give Sam a tour of a ship, now the new base of operations. She wants him to help bring the world back together, just like he helped reconnect the United Cities of America, or the UCA in the first game. There’s also a talking puppet now, who accompanies Sam on his hiking trips. The UCA intends to expand its borders and bring new regions under its fold, with Sam tasked with expanding the network.
The trailer shows off new vehicles, more BTs, stunning new environments, and a bunch of new gadgets to help you along the journey. Troy Baker’s Higgs, the main antagonist from the first game returns, too. This time, he’s wearing a metal-ninja armour, donning Joker-style face makeup and wielding an electrifying new guitar weapon. And the sequel will also tell us more about the bridge baby BB-28, or Lou, our companion throughout the whole first game. There’s no official release date for DS2 yet, but it’s due sometime next year.
Sonic X Shadow Generations
Sega revealed Sonic X Shadow Generations at the State of Play showcase, a remastered collection that brings together beloved 2D and 3D levels from Sonic Generations. The platformer will also include new content and an all-new standalone campaign for Shadow the Hedgehog. The game will arrive on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X and the Nintendo Switch in Autumn 2024.
Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill: The Short Message
The Silent Hill 2 remake got a trailer at the State of Play showcase, dropping more gameplay footage from the game. We got to see the game’s third-person combat for the first time, in addition to the atmosphere, setting, some of the game’s horrible monstrosities.
Additionally, as a PT-like surprise, Konami also dropped a free short-form horror game, Silent Hill: The Short Message, which can be downloaded right now. The experimental title plays out from a first-person perspective and features a new protagonist, with commentary focussing on social media and smartphone-oriented lives of young people.
Judas
First revealed at The Game Awards 2022, Judas is an upcoming first-person shooter from Ghost Story Games, led by Bioshock maker Ken Levine. The new State of Play trailer for the game focussed on its story and player choices. The game is set in Mayflower, a spacefaring city, whose inhabitants — as the title suggests — could betray one another at any given moment.
The trailer also showed off the game’s combat, which would seem very familiar to Bioshock fans. Judas is set to arrive on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S/X sometime next year.
Here’s everything else that was announced at State of Play
Zenless Zone Zero, action-RPG from Genshin Impact maker miHoYo, is coming to PS5 this year
Metro Awakening, story-driven first-person VR adventure from Vertigo Games, is coming to PS VR2 this year
Legendary Tales, VR action-RPG from Urban Wolf Games, arrives on PS VR2 on February 8
Until Dawn, the narrative-focussed survival horror PS4 title from Supermassive Games, is getting an enhanced edition for the PS5 and PC this year
Stunlock Studio’s action-RPG survival title V Rising is coming to PS5 this year
Dave the Diver, the contentious indie hit from 2023, is coming to PS5 and PS4 in April, along with a new Godzilla DLC
Foamstars Season 1 content details revealed, arriving February 6
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OnePlus Openwas launched in India in October last year as the company’s first foldable phone. The handset is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and runs Oxygen OS 13 based on Android 13. Now, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer is rolling out Oxygen OS 14 based on Android 14 to the OnePlus Open after extensive beta trials. The stable update brings new features including File Dock, Content Extraction, and Smart Cutout. OnePlus Open users who have participated in the beta programmes will receive the build initially.
The Android 14-based OxygenOS 14 update for the OnePlus Open in India was announced through a post on the OnePlus community forum. The update comes with the firmware version CPH2551_14.0.0.400(EX01).
The update will be first pushed to OnePlus Open users who have participated in the Closed Beta and Open Beta programmes and it will gradually roll out to the regular users. Users are advised to have at least 30 percent battery and 5GB of internal space available on their devices before installing the update.
OnePlus Open Android 14 official changelog
OnePlus Open’s Android 14-based OxygenOS 14 update brings Aqua Dynamics with morphing forms for viewing up-to-date information quickly. It adds a File Dock feature with drag and drop to transfer content between apps and devices. The Content Extraction tool assists in extracting text and images from the screen with one tap, while the Smart Cutout feature lets users separate multiple subjects in a photo from the background for copying or sharing.
The OxygenOS 14 update optimises system stability and animations along with privacy improvements. It brings improvements to Shelf by adding more widget recommendations. The update brings aquamorphic design, aquamorphic-themed ringtones, and revamps the system notification sounds.
As per the official OnePlus community post, the update is being released in a phased manner and will reach all eligible OnePlus Open units running on CPH2551_13.2.0.301 automatically over the air.
OnePlus Open was launched in October last year with a price tag of Rs. 1,39,999 for the single 16GB RAM + 512GB storage configuration. On the specifications front, the OnePlus Open has a 7.82-inch (2,268×2,440 pixels) 2K Flexi-fluid LTPO 3.0 AMOLED inner display and a 6.31-inch (1,116×2,484 pixels) 2K LTPO 3.0 Super Fluid AMOLED cover screen. It runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC with 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM.
The OnePlus Open has a Hasselblad-branded triple camera setup, comprising a 48-megapixel primary camera. It has a 20-megapixel primary selfie camera and a 32-megapixel secondary camera. It is backed by a 4,800mAh battery that supports 67W SuperVOOC charging.
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Human rights advocates warned against sending Bi-2 to Russia where they could be persecuted for opposing Ukraine war.
Thailand has deported members of a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine to Israel after they were detained for performing without a permit.
Members of Bi-2 left “safely” for Tel Aviv on Wednesday night, they said on their Facebook page. Human rights advocates had warned the group would face severe persecution for speaking out against Russia’s war in Ukraine if they were sent back to Russia.
Thai authorities had detained the members of Bi-2 for working at the resort island of Phuket without a permit.
The fate of the band provoked an international outcry, leading Thai immigration officials to give the band the choice of being deported to another destination if they felt unsafe to return to Russia. Thailand’s National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, took charge of the case on Wednesday.
Several members of the self-exiled group, which had been based in Israel in the 1990s, have dual nationalities, including Israeli and Australian.
Deputy Police Chief Surachate Hakparn confirmed the band had requested to be deported to Israel.
Under pressure
The band was detained last week after they played a gig on Phuket, a southern island popular with Russian holidaymakers.
Thai officials said they were held for performing without the correct work permits and transferred to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok.
VPI Event, the organisers of the band’s Thailand concerts – which also included a show in Pattaya – said all the necessary permits were obtained, but the band had been issued tourist visas in error.
VPI accused the Russian consulate of having waged a campaign to cancel the concerts since December and said they had faced “unprecedented pressure” as they sought the band’s release.
War criticism
Bi-2, which was founded in Minsk, Belarus, is popular in Russia.
Russia’s Ministry of Justice labelled lead singer Yegor Bortnick a “foreign agent” after he criticised President Vladimir Putin online last year.
Alexandr Uman of the alternative rock band Bi-2 performs in Portugal, July 6, 2023 [Horacio Villalobos/Corbis via Getty Images]
One of the band’s founders has openly denounced the Putin government, saying it makes him feel “only disgust” and accusing the long-serving leader of having “destroyed” Russia.
Several of their concerts were cancelled in 2022 after they refused to play at a venue with banners supporting the war in Ukraine, after which they left Russia.
Human rights
“Even though they [are] all safe, we still want Thai authorities to respect arrest procedures strictly,” human rights lawyer Pornpen Khongkachonkiet told the AFP news agency.
“It could [have] happened to me, you, and others without international attention as this case got.”
Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had recognised “the importance of upholding human rights principles” by not sending the band to “face persecution” in Russia.
Very good news that all band members of the Russian-Belorussian rock band Bi-2 were able to leave #Thailand, & go safely to #Israel. Appreciate that @MFAThai recognized the importance of upholding human rights principles, & didn’t send them to face persecution & worse in #Russia. pic.twitter.com/JONpMmCRMX
Robertson said that while “Thailand is vulnerable to effective manipulation by larger states pursuing transnational repression”, international pressure – and global economic concerns – had played a significant role.
“Thailand realised that they didn’t need to make a lot of enemies by doing Russia’s bidding in this case.”
WhatsApp introduced a new Chat Lock feature for its Android and iOS users in May 2023. However, the feature was not rolled out for its Web client. Finally, after a long wait, a new report suggests that the instant messaging platform is also working to bring the feature to WhatsApp Web. Earlier, it was reported that Web users would also get a redesigned sidebar. Now, a leaked image of the Chat Lock feature shows a dedicated icon being placed on the new sidebar.
According to a report by WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is working on bringing the Chat Lock feature to allow users to lock individual chat on the web client and place it behind an additional layer of security. This is helpful in case you do not want others to know about a particular conversation or want to send sensitive information. The leaked image shows a padlock icon next to the Archived Chats and Starred Messages icon. This has led to the speculation that the locked messages will feature inside this tab, and a second layer of security can be added to access the tab.
WhatsApp Web Chat Lock feature Photo Credit: WABetaInfo
Since there are no reports on how this feature will function, details about it are not available. However, the Android and iOS counterpart uses passcode, fingerprint, and Face ID authentication as input to unlock the chats. On the Web client, passwords or even passkeys, a passwordless authentication method that lets users log in with biometrics, can be used for this purpose.
Apart from this, WhatsApp Web is also expected to get a redesigned sidebar and a new colour scheme for the dark theme. An earlier report stated that the colour change was done to reduce eye strain in low-light environments, while the new sidebar was added to create design symmetry across all of the company’s platforms.
WhatsApp is also planning several new features for its mobile applications. For iOS, WhatsApp is reportedly working on adding support for passkeys, which was previously added to its Android counterpart. All iPhone models running on iOS 17 are expected to support third-party access to passkeys. This means iPhone XR or newer models with the iOS 17 update would be the only ones to activate passkeys on the WhatsApp app.
On Android, the Meta-owned app is working on a nearby file-sharing feature, as per a separate report. This is expected to work similarly to Android’s Quick Share (previously known as Nearby Share) feature. The WhatsApp feature appears to let users set themselves to be visible to other nearby users without revealing their phone number to non-contacts. It is also expected to be end-to-end encrypted to maintain privacy.
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Entering the last day of the window, Manchester United seem destined to bring in no reinforcements, despite a busy period of departures.
This is according to ultra-reliable Italian sports journalist, Fabrizio Romano who has claimed that “as of now, United are staying with the same squad – the plan is quite clear”.
Speaking on his daily briefing, Romano stated that United’s plan as of now is to loan out Facundo Pellistri, which the club has now confirmed as done, and keep everyone else, including Amad Diallo.
Of more interest to United fans however is the update that the club will not be attempting to bring in a striker despite the numerous links over the month.
A name often heard in the lead up to the window was that of Serhou Guirassy from Stuttgart but no team, including United, ever made a move for him.
Romano said, “I’m hearing about fresh reports on the future of Serhou Guirassy, but from what I understand the release clause of the Stuttgart striker has now expired.
“It’s no longer valid, so if the likes of Chelsea or Manchester United wanted to move for him now, it would be almost impossible – the player is staying at Stuttgart and the clause is no longer valid”.
However, the football transfer expert hardly closed the door for a summer move by stating, “the stories of the last 24 hours are not going in the right direction. I don’t expect any movement. Many clubs wanted him but Stuttgart have been good in talks with the player to convince him to stay and then leave next summer at the right moment”.
The sports journalist also reported that despite other attacking options being linked to the Old Trafford side, nothing will happen in the final moments of the window.
“Man United have been offered multiple names up front, but names like Eric Choupo-Moting and Hugo Ekitike (who is still on the market and can leave Paris Saint-Germain) have been linked even though at the moment nothing is happening in that direction”.
It has been widely reported that INEOS were unprepared to spend this winter due to Financial Fair Play issues and also due to the fact that their deal has not yet been ratified by the Premier League.
United fans will be disappointed that no attacking options has been drafted in to help Rasmus Hojlund, especially with the news of Anthony Martial’s 10 week layoff. However, dreams of a big summer window for INEOS will surely keep fans excited between now and the end of the season.
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