Title rivals bring upgrades to first Grand Prix in Malaysia since 2017 on a demanding but well liked circuit

While the byzantine nomenclature of this weekend’s “Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia” will have Formula One’s statisticians muttering darkly under their breath for years to come, the import of the sport’s return to the Sepang circuit remains all too straightforward at the sharp end. Complicated only perhaps by a Red Bull resurgence and an enthused Max Verstappen, determined to make his mark on the championship run-in.

The return to Malaysia for its first race since 2017 has been welcomed in F1. It is a much-liked circuit among drivers, albeit with the high temperatures and humidity making for an enormous physical challenge.

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US says ship thought to be using common ‘dark fleet’ tactics was boarded and taken to Mexico as embargo continues

The US Coast ⁠Guard has announced that it intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Cuba, as the ⁠Trump administration’s crippling ⁠oil embargo against ​the island nation continued.

The vessel named Grace was stopped on 5 September in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba ⁠and Mexico while using tactics to evade authorities, the Coast Guard said. The New York Times reported that the ship ⁠was 91 metres (300ft) long.

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Kathy Hochul briefs journalists with state attorney general Letitia James, who will be taking over the entire case

• Letitia James appointed special prosecutor in alleged gang-rape at Cornell

Kathy Hochul, New York’s governor, said on Friday that she would “ensure” that all the facts of the alleged gang-rape in a fraternity house at Cornell University “are brought into light” while harshly criticizing the institution for how they handled the 2024 case.

Hochul, a Democrat, said the woman in the case, was “failed” by people obligated to protect her, including the police and the county prosecutor.

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Australians are conversing less every year, with a recent study showing we lost an average of 338 spoken words each day between 2005 and 2019

We talk a lot about losing our ability to write as a result of AI. I’m convinced our greatest loss might be our ability to listen. Listening to different views and entering into different worlds is integral to our humanity.

But Australians are conversing less every year. While rapidly evolving AI tools and chatbots promise faster responses and so-called “empathetic” listening, a recent study showed we lost an average of 338 spoken words each day between 2005 and 2019. That adds up to a staggering loss of 120,000 spoken words per person, compared with the year before.

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From pillboxes and boaters to bicornes and buckets, characterful hats are making their way from the catwalk to the high street

“Here goes – an order for a million hats,” wrote Jackie Kennedy to Bergdorf Goodman before moving into the White House in the early 1960s. It’s a line that could have been uttered by any number of people working in fashion today, because the hat – and not just the ubiquitous baseball cap – has been enjoying a very characterful resurgence.

This season at the turbo-high-end brand Loro Piana, whose clothes are beloved by tech bros and Kendall Roy, almost every model was wearing a hat. At Thom Browne, straw boaters came shrouded in colourful mesh. At Chloé there were see-through hats to match see-through trenchcoats and white sailor hats atop all-white outfits. Courrège’s hats were space-age, Burberry had big buckets, Bottega Veneta had hats brimming with charisma.

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Try a millionaire’s martini, a Campari that couldn’t be simpler and a booze-free blackberry fizz (plus an Aperol that doesn’t need a spritz)

I make a variation on this year-round. Bring on the autumn.

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ajpscs has added a photo to the pool:

LOST NIGHT
© ajpscs

ajpscs posted a photo:

LOST NIGHT
© ajpscs

Ja, ook ik moest heel diep zuchten toen woensdag het verdrietige bericht kwam dat de bijzondere en eigenzinnige Paulien Cornelisse was overleden.

De muziek van Ca7riel en Paco Amoroso voelt live alsof je door een TikTok-feed scrollt. Met zo’n sterke band en zo’n slim uitgekiende show werkt dat uitstekend.

De scholierenprotesten in Frankrijk zijn gekaapt door geharde relschoppers – én door de politiek. Een half jaar voor de presidentsverkiezingen staat de rol van het uiterst linkse La France Insoumise ter discussie.

Optimisme kun je niet manifesteren, schrijft Floor Rusman. "Zeggen dat je dingen aanpakt, is niet hetzelfde als dingen aanpakken."

A California business owner was arrested on Thursday after being charged with allegedly smuggling Nvidia hardware to China without the proper export licenses. Keeping the highest-end GPUs out of Chinese hands has been a priority for the US government. Greg Lui, 38, allegedly tried to export around $300 million worth of Nvidia kit - typically used for artificial intelligence (AI) development - via US-based freight businesses and Malaysian transshipment companies. Prosecutors allege that Lui used his company, Earthmade Computer Inc, to order the products in the US, which consisted of servers containing high-powered Nvidia components, including A100, H100, PNY GE Force RTX 4090, and GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs. Lui would then send them to Malaysia and Singapore, two countries that do not require licenses from the Commerce Department, and companies there would forward them to China in an effort to circumvent US export controls. His alleged crimes violate regulations prohibiting the sale of economically sensitive equipment to adversarial countries, such as China, in the interests of national security. In lay terms, the US doesn’t want its own tech companies’ high-end hardware being used to accelerate China’s push for dominance in the race for the world’s most capable AI. Or, as it’s referred to in the US nowadays, “super intelligence (SI).” “SI is the defining technology of the era,” said John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security. “The National Security Division will protect the American advantage in the chips that power this technology, a product of our unparalleled innovation and hard work, from illegal diversion by our economic and military adversaries.” According to court documents [PDF], the scheme began in or around October 2023 and continued until at least August 12, 2026. Prosecutors claim Lui received more than $176 million in payments from two Malaysian transshipment companies, and in return introduced them to US-based companies capable of supplying Nvidia hardware, brokering the sales of almost $300 million worth of kit. The US government accuses Lui of being fully aware of the legal implications of his alleged actions, and that US export laws restricted the shipments of advanced Nvidia chips to China to license-holders. Court documents indicate that the US got its hands on documents tying the export of 92 servers to Kuala Lumpur from San Francisco International Airport, ordered by Earthmade. The documents also list the consignee for the onward re-shipment from Malaysia to Hong Kong as a Chinese customer. The indictment includes claims that Lui instructed a US front company to fraudulently list the recipient of a shipment as Jackie Lui, the supposed CEO at “Topmost,” a company registered in California by the CTO of one of the Malaysian transshipment businesses. Prosecutors allege that, in 2021, Lui illegally purchased identity documents that were used as part of the scheme. Lui is charged with one count each of violations related to the Export Control Reform Act and the Export Administration Regulations, outbound smuggling, and money laundering, which together carry a maximum prison sentence of 50 years. “The FBI’s investigation revealed that Lui allegedly sold the Chinese government hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of American Super Intelligence technology, in clear violation of US export control laws,” said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director at the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “Controlling the export of advanced SI technology is critical to safeguarding our national security and defending the homeland, and the FBI will keep fighting for America’s businesses and economic security. We’re grateful to our partners across the US government and private sector for their assistance, and we’ll continue holding accountable anyone who violates US export laws to enrich themselves and help our adversaries.” The Register contacted Earthmade and Nvidia for comment. ®

NEW YORK (ANP) - Gouverneur Kathy Hochul van New York wil wetgeving aanscherpen na een vermeende groepsverkrachting op de universiteit Cornell. Een vrouw zou daar urenlang zijn misbruikt door een groep mannen terwijl ze zwaar onder invloed was.

"Als iemand te beneveld is om consent te geven, maakt het niet uit of ze ervoor kozen om drugs of alcohol te gebruiken. Vrijwillige intoxicatie is geen vrijbrief voor seksueel geweld of groepsverkrachting. Punt uit", zei Hochul tegen de pers.

De zaak op Cornell zorgde de afgelopen tijd voor grote verontwaardiging. In een groepschat van een dispuut zou een studente in 2024 zijn aangeboden om seks mee te hebben nadat ze drank en drugs had gebruikt.

Niet vervolgd

De vrouw stapte naar de politie, maar de mannen zijn niet vervolgd. Experts stellen volgens CNN dat zoiets lastig kan zijn als het vermeende slachtoffer vrijwillig verdovende middelen gebruikte.

Hochul spreekt over een maas in de wet. Ze heeft inmiddels haar procureur-generaal Letitia James op de zaak gezet.

DEN HAAG (ANP) - Mensen hebben in de afgelopen week iets meer dan 1600 kilo vuurwerk ingeleverd. Dat kon bij speciale inzamelpunten van de overheid. Volgens cijfers van het ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid kwam 528 kilo binnen in Zwolle, 342,1 kilo in Amsterdam, 254 kilo in Haarlem en 179,5 kilo in Leiden.

De inlevercampagne loopt sinds begin september. In een maand tijd hebben mensen nu bijna zes ton aan vuurwerk weggebracht. De komende week staan de inzamelpunten nog in Alkmaar, Groningen, Leeuwarden, Heerenveen, Zoetermeer en Hoorn. Daarna eindigt de campagne.

De hoeveelheid vrijwillig ingeleverd vuurwerk valt overigens in het niet bij hoeveel vuurwerk in beslag wordt genomen. Sinds het begin van dit jaar hebben douane en politie meer dan 45.000 kilo vuurwerk onderschept, en in heel 2025 meer dan 142.000 kilo. Het is niet bekend hoeveel vuurwerk onontdekt blijft.

Bij de komende jaarwisseling is consumentenvuurwerk landelijk verboden. Mensen mogen alleen nog klein siervuurwerk afsteken, zoals sterretjes.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

The new tram bridge over South Road. Black Forest/Glandore, South Australia

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Gilbert Place, Adelaide CBD

Quelltaler House is a heritage-listed landmark located at 20–22 Gilbert Place, Adelaide, South Australia. Originally constructed in 1867 as the Gilbert Buildings, this impressive multi-level bluestone structure is celebrated for its deep historical ties to South Australia’s early wine industry and its long-standing evolution as a central hub for the city's hospitality and nightlife scene.

Sparta heeft vrijdagmiddag een besloten oefenwedstrijd gelijkgespeeld tegen FC Utrecht. Op een leeg Kasteel werkten de Rotterdammers een 2-0 achterstand weg. Doelpunten van Milan Zonneveld en Shedrach Ebite bepaalden de eindstand op 2-2.

The comments come as Belarus has been attempting to improve ties with the United States after years of isolation and Western sanctions.