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Ukraine says it carried out the world's first evacuation of a wounded soldier by aerial drone, using a heavy-lift hexacopter after enemy drones and landmines made conventional ground evacuation too dangerous. NBC News reports: Shared by the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade on Monday, the video shows the soldier strapping himself into a large drone and being flown at what appears to be relatively low altitude over blurred-out territory. The drone carefully lowers him, and the drone operator greets him with "Welcome back to the ground!" The video also shows blurred faces of drone operators who carried out the mission.
The post said the unidentified infantryman was wounded at his position. "Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible," the brigade said. "At that point, the specialists in our unit took it upon themselves to attempt something that had never been done before: evacuating a serviceman using an aerial drone," it added.
The craft was a heavy-lift hexacopter, it said, originally designed as a bomber by a Ukrainian manufacturer. It looks about twice the size of the soldier in the video. The specialists working on the mission had to ensure the drone could carry a human being without flipping over or swaying excessively, according to the unit.
The post said the unidentified infantryman was wounded at his position. "Due to intense enemy drone activity and the presence of landmines, evacuation using conventional unmanned ground vehicles was impossible," the brigade said. "At that point, the specialists in our unit took it upon themselves to attempt something that had never been done before: evacuating a serviceman using an aerial drone," it added.
The craft was a heavy-lift hexacopter, it said, originally designed as a bomber by a Ukrainian manufacturer. It looks about twice the size of the soldier in the video. The specialists working on the mission had to ensure the drone could carry a human being without flipping over or swaying excessively, according to the unit.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Sony has revived its Walkman lineup with three Android 16-powered high-end music players ranging from $1,900 to $5,900, topped by the gold-plated NW-WM1ZM3 with 256GB of storage. The Register reports: The Japanese giant named the new models the NW-WM1ZM3, NW-WM1AM3 and NW-ZX900. All can store and play many codecs, including MP3s, WMA, and FLAC files, plus others like Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Apple Lossless, which use various tricks to avoid nasty artefacts accruing during the digitization process. Sony also says it has used "key components made from oxygen-free copper" because that apparently delivers "uncompromising sound quality."
The machines also include "screws featuring a low-resistance gold-plated treatment ... providing a stable ground connection that delivers powerful bass, an expansive soundstage and smooth, extended high frequencies." Sony claims even the cabling it's used in the devices "further reduces noise and preserves signal integrity for rich, detailed sound." They're also housed in carefully-milled slabs of copper -- gold-plated in the case of the NW-WM1ZM3 -- because that apparently improves sound, too.
And then Sony's gone and spoiled it all by offering Bluetooth connectivity, a notorious music-mangler, in addition to wired headphone ports. Sony's US site lists all three devices, which run Android 16 and include Wi-Fi so they can access streaming music services. All are USB-chargeable and Sony claims their batteries allow 30-odd hours of music playback.
The machines also include "screws featuring a low-resistance gold-plated treatment ... providing a stable ground connection that delivers powerful bass, an expansive soundstage and smooth, extended high frequencies." Sony claims even the cabling it's used in the devices "further reduces noise and preserves signal integrity for rich, detailed sound." They're also housed in carefully-milled slabs of copper -- gold-plated in the case of the NW-WM1ZM3 -- because that apparently improves sound, too.
And then Sony's gone and spoiled it all by offering Bluetooth connectivity, a notorious music-mangler, in addition to wired headphone ports. Sony's US site lists all three devices, which run Android 16 and include Wi-Fi so they can access streaming music services. All are USB-chargeable and Sony claims their batteries allow 30-odd hours of music playback.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
iain.davidson100 has added a photo to the pool:
SpaceCadet37 has added a photo to the pool:
Walking among the beautiful bamboo trees at Crystal Castle today, surrounded by silence, nature and a wonderful sense of peace.
And somewhere between those towering trees, my thoughts wandered towards my next great adventure.
After walking **321 kilometres on the Camino Primitivo in Spain**, I discovered that some journeys take us much further than any destination on a map.
They teach us to slow down, embrace solitude, appreciate the present and listen to ourselves.
Now, another journey is quietly taking shape.
At 54, I'm still curious, still dreaming and still grateful for every opportunity to explore this beautiful world.
**Because sometimes the most meaningful journeys begin long before we take the first step.** 🌿❤️
SpaceCadet37 has added a photo to the pool:
Walking among the beautiful bamboo trees at Crystal Castle today, surrounded by silence, nature and a wonderful sense of peace.
And somewhere between those towering trees, my thoughts wandered towards my next great adventure.
After walking **321 kilometres on the Camino Primitivo in Spain**, I discovered that some journeys take us much further than any destination on a map.
They teach us to slow down, embrace solitude, appreciate the present and listen to ourselves.
Now, another journey is quietly taking shape.
At 54, I'm still curious, still dreaming and still grateful for every opportunity to explore this beautiful world.
**Because sometimes the most meaningful journeys begin long before we take the first step.** 🌿❤️
Me: "The internet was a mistake."
* Monkey paw curls *
Me: "Well, fuck."
Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.
OSLO (ANP/AFP) - De Amerikaanse speciale gezant Steve Witkoff heeft woensdag een ontmoeting met de Russische president Vladimir Poetin in Moskou, meldt persbureau AFP op gezag van een Amerikaanse regeringsfunctionaris. Jared Kushner, schoonzoon van president Donald Trump, neemt via een videoverbinding deel aan het gesprek.
De ontmoeting tussen Witkoff en Poetin is bedoeld om "voort te bouwen op de vooruitgang" die dinsdag in Oslo is geboekt en om de weg vrij te maken voor rechtstreekse driepartijengesprekken tussen Kyiv, Moskou en Washington, aldus dezelfde functionaris.
Witkoff sprak in de Noorse hoofdstad met de Oekraïense president Volodymyr Zelensky. "Oekraïne kwam met nieuwe ideeën en voorstellen die in detail zijn besproken", aldus de functionaris. "De partijen hebben zinvolle vooruitgang geboekt in het afstemmen van een gezamenlijke aanpak voor het contact met Rusland en het bevorderen van het diplomatieke proces."
Washington en Kyiv proberen een breuk te herstellen, die onder meer was ontstaan na Trumps aankondiging van een dieseldeal met Rusland en zijn druk op Zelensky om een einde te maken aan de oorlog.
xthylacine has added a photo to the pool:
With Godzilla in the background . . .
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
The straight-talking PM’s ability to manage Trump and stand up to China have endeared her to the public, but she may need friends closer to home to survive
The visitors squeezed into the kiosk near Japan’s national diet building snap up souvenirs bearing the face of Sanae-chan, the affectionate nickname for the country’s leader: chocolate biscuits, dango sweets, stickers and document files proclaiming that “Japan is back”.
“The Takaichi range is incredibly popular,” says a member of staff.
Continue reading...Case in Africa’s most populous country was detected in a woman who had travelled from Uganda
Nigeria has confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said.
The woman began showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.
Continue reading...
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