The emptiness of the courts is noticeable on Centre Court and Court One, where the vast space behind the baseline is now occupied only by the ball kids.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie said it “looks cool” with the line umpires in place and contributes to the “tradition” of the tournament.
“Obviously there’s a lot of jobs and people that love tennis, which will definitely be missed from them,” he said.
But while many players agree line judges are part of the spectacle, few can argue with the accuracy of the calls.
“As a player it’s pretty black or white with the calls,” added Norrie.
“In, out… there’s no mistake, nothing happening. Definitely you’ve got to feel for those linesmen and those people. That’s a bit tough for them, but it’s pretty black or white with the calling.”
The theatre of players challenging the calls has also been a notable absence with fans unable to get involved with the drama of a close call being replayed on the big screen.
American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe said he would have liked to see Wimbledon keep line judges.
“I actually like [it] with them [line judges] on the court, because I think for fanfare it’s better,” he said.
“If I were to hit a serve on a big point, you go up with the challenge, is it in, is it out? The crowd is, like, ‘ohhh’. There’s none of that.
“If I hit a good serve now and they call it out, you may still think it’s in, but it doesn’t matter. I think that kind of kills it.”
The skies were grey. Then moody. Then, miraculously, golden. As the clock struck five on Saturday evening, the clouds over Lake Montauk parted and the sun beamed down—just in time for Loro Piana’s chic cocktail gathering at the Crow’s Nest.
Among the first to arrive were Alexandra Daddario and Jon Hamm—two of the evening’s most star-studded guests. Daddario, dressed in a pale seafoam pleated skirt and soft white knit, made herself right at home at the backgammon table, diving into a match with a fellow guest as though it were the most glamorous tournament in town. Hamm, fresh off the news that his Apple TV+ series had been renewed, held court near one of the beachside lounge setups, trading stories and charming absolutely everyone within reach. His wife, Anna Osceola, stood nearby in a minimalist ivory dress and slouchy sweater, a study in coastal polish.
To toast the season (and subtly debut its Resort 2025 and new eyewear collections), Loro Piana transformed the lakefront stretch of sand into an elevated playground. Wicker lounges sat atop woven seagrass carpets, white-upholstered sofas flanked by the brand’s signature Art of Good Living touches—cashmere-lined backgammon sets and leather-trimmed Connect Four games artfully arranged for play.
Naturally, Loro Piana had dressed many of the evening’s guests, turning the crowd into a softly sunlit palette of beige, greige, and perfectly pleated linen. And when the sun made its theatrical entrance, the brand’s new sunglasses—gifted to attendees—ensured no one was left squinting.
As DJ Bec Adams spun a breezy set and spritzes were passed around, guests like Will Arnett, Cynthia Rowley, Carolyn Tate Angel, Iana Godnia, Casey Fremont, and Alejandra Alonso Rojas settled in to enjoy the scene. With the tide gently rolling in and the sky streaked pink and lavender, the evening captured what Loro Piana does best: quiet elegance with a sense of place.
Any Halo fans hoping to hear something about what’s next for the long-running Xbox franchise should tune into Halo World Championship 2025. That’s according to the Halo Studios team, which shared an update via Halo Waypoint on Monday.
“We don’t usually comment on such matters, but this time we want to enter the chat and share a little more perspective for Halo fans who might be on the fence about whether to attend this year’s event,” the team says, addressing recent speculation surrounding when exactly something will be seen.
At last year’s championship, Halo Studios shared that it was rebranding away from its prior name, 343 Industries, while also unveiling an Unreal Engine 5 teaser called Project Foundry that served as an exploration of the Halo universe using the new technology.
The studio confirmed that it was switching to Unreal Engine 5 for future projects, abandoning the Slipspace engine that was used to build Halo Infinite and had served as a successor to the Blam! engine of the original Halo games.
“Speculation is always fun, but if you want the official scoop on what Halo Studios has been working on, you won’t want to miss this year’s Halo World Championship. We really hope you’ll join us in Seattle this October!”
What projects is Halo Studios working on?
Will we see a return to Halo: Combat Evolved? (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
It’s interesting to me that Halo Studios continues to emphasize “multiple projects” as opposed to just saying the team’s next game. There are a couple of different possibilities worth mentioning.
Rumors abound that Halo: Combat Evolved is getting a remaster or remake of some kind, which would line up with the assets seen in the Project Foundry teaser, as well as comments from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
During the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, Spencer noted that 2026 would see a “new Fable, the next Forza, Gears of War E-Day, and the return of a classic that’s been with us since the beginning.”
While Halo wasn’t mentioned by name, it’s hard to imagine exactly what other classic Spencer would be referencing.
Project Foundry focused on the Pacific Northwest, snowy mountains, and Flood-infested biomes. (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)
If this does pan out, then I sincerely hope it leans more toward a remake rather than a remaster. Halo: Combat Evolved was already remastered and can be played on Xbox and PC as part of the Master Chief Collection.
Perhaps Halo Studios could take a page from Capcom’s Resident Evil remakes, reimagining scenarios and level design while keeping the same story and tone?
As for other projects, it feels safe to suggest another game would be the next actual mainline entry in the series. I’d certainly hope that this would be a sequel to Halo Infinite and not yet another soft reboot, but we’ll see.
If there’s anything else in the pipeline, I hope the team isn’t afraid to explore various genres. A third-person shooter that’s essentially Helldivers 2 in the Halo universe would be awesome.
I’d also love to see Halo Wars 3. I know 2017’s Halo Wars 2 didn’t light sales charts on fire, but the story and characters were well-received, so much so that the Banished enemy faction was then used in Halo Infinite.
No matter what, I’ll be tuning into the Halo World Championship this year with a fair bit of interest. Halo is special to me, and I’d like to see it roar back in a big way.
The championship is being held Oct. 24 through Oct. 26, and will be available to watch live on Twitch and YouTube.
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
The Earth will reach its farthest point from the sun on Thursday, July 3, according to Timeanddate.com
This event, known as aphelion, happens once per year typically around two weeks after the summer solstice in June. Although the Earth’s distance from the Sun does not affect the seasons, aphelion does influence the length of summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
Because Earth moves in an elliptical orbit around the sun, being further away means it travels slower along its orbit. This increases the time it takes to get from the solstice, the beginning of summer, to the equinox, the end of summer, effectively making the season longer in the Northern Hemisphere, according to Timeanddate.com.
On Thursday, Earth will be over 94.5 million miles away from the sun. On average the planet sits at 93 million miles away, according to Earthsky.com.
The federal government has announced a price hike for petroleum products, raising the cost of petrol by Rs8.36 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs10.39 per litre, according to a notification issued by the Finance Division late Monday night.
The price of petrol has increased from Rs258.43 to 266.79 per litre, while HSD now costs Rs272.98 per litre, up from the previous Rs262.59. The new rates came into effect immediately from July 1.
This adjustment follows recommendations from the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and relevant ministries. The government stated that the rise in fuel prices is a result of fluctuating international market trends, which have impacted global oil prices.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are reviewed fortnightly, with adjustments based on changes in international oil prices and the local currency exchange rate.
Also Read: Petrol prices likely to rise by Rs11 per litre
On June 15, the government also increased the prices of petroleum products by up to Rs7.95 per litre.
Based on the recommendations of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and relevant ministries, the price of petrol was raised by Rs4.80 per litre, while the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) went up by Rs7.95 per litre.
On the other hand, OGRA has also officially issued a notification for a significant increase in gas prices for domestic and other consumer categories, with the new rates coming into effect from July 1, 2025.
The move brings further financial pressure on inflation-hit citizens, as domestic gas tariffs have been revised upward by up to 50% in certain categories.
According to the official notification, domestic gas prices have been revised substantially. For household consumers, the new rates will range from Rs200 to Rs4,200 per MMBTU. In addition to the unit-based charges, OGRA has introduced fixed monthly charges for domestic users.
Gavin Adcock’s album My Own Worst Enemy is in the top five on Apple Music’s country albums chart, but he’s not too happy that Beyoncé‘s 2024 album Cowboy Carter is currently above his own ranking.
In a video of footage from one of Adcock’s recent concerts, the singer/songwriter gave some harsh, unfiltered opinions about the fact that Cowboy Carter sits at No. 3 on Apple Music’s country albums chart, while his own project follows closely at No. 4. (Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem reigns at No. 1, while Parker McCollum’s self-titled project is at No. 2.)
In the clip, Adcock is discussing the albums that are ahead of his on the chart. “One of them’s Beyoncé — you can tell her we’re coming for her f—in’ a–,” Adcock said, eliciting roaring cheers from his audience.
“That sh– ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music,” he continued, raising his bottle of alcohol in the air and pointing to the crowd.
From there, Adcock said, “We’re about to play y’all some Southern f—in’ rock,” telling his band, “Y’all hit that sh–, boys,” before launching into the next song in his set.
On June 30, Adcock posted a video on his Instagram page, adding context to his comments, but also doubling down on his sentiments.
“I’m gonna go ahead and clear this up,” he said in the video. “When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I’ve heard a ton of Beyonce songs and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick-a– back in the day. But I really don’t believe that her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top, just because she’s Beyoncé.”
Billboard has reached out to Beyoncé’s rep for comment.
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter has garnered both praise and criticism since it arrived last year, but also earned several impressive feats. The project won album of the year and best country album at the 2025 Grammy Awards, while the album’s “II Most Wanted” with Miley Cyrus earned best country duo/group performance. The album also topped the all-genre Billboard 200 for two weeks, marking Beyoncé’s eighth album to top that chart. Cowboy Carter also stayed at the pinnacle of the Top Country Albums chart for four weeks. The album’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” spent 10 weeks atop the Hot Country Songs chart, though the song didn’t fare as well on the radio-based Country Airplay chart, reaching No. 33.
One of Bey’s admirers includes country icon Dolly Parton, whose hit “Jolene” was covered on the album. “I’m a big fan of Beyonce and very excited that she’s done a country album,” Parton wrote on social media after “Texas Hold ‘Em’s” country chart feat. “So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single.”
Cowboy Carter featured an array of artists, including Black country music trailblazer Linda Martell, stars including Parton, Willie Nelson, Cyrus and Post Malone, and rising Black country artists including Brittney Spencer, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hitmaker Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy and Tanner Adell.
Meanwhile, Adcock has earned an RIAA-certified platinum single with his track “A Cigarette,” as well as RIAA-certified gold singles with “Four Leaf Clover,” “Run Your Mouth” and “Deep End.” His album My Own Worst Enemy will release in August, bolstered by already-released songs such as “Last One to Know,” “Never Call Again” and “Morning Bail.”
Adcock was arrested on May 21 in Wilson County, Tennessee, and charged with reckless driving, speeding, open container, driver’s license and registration violations. On July 11 and 12, he’ll open two shows on Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem Tour.
The countdown to the new season is officially under way as our new Dragons arrived at Rodney Parade this morning for day one of pre-season – and we were there to capture all the latest images.
New players Fine Inisi, Fetuli Paea, Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Thomas Young, Tinus de Beer, Levi Douglas, Seb Davies and Mackenzie Martin all arrived at their new home for onboarding, meetings and to pick up kit ahead of day two at USW.
Watch the new Dragons this season at Rodney Parade. Season Memberships are available NOW. Call 01633 670690 during office hours or click HERE to buy online!
Relationships between university professors and their students often aren’t explicitly against the rules – but they aren’t quite right, either. For her second nonfiction book, Madison Griffiths spent a year interviewing four women who’d had relationships with their university teachers to hear how they feel about those romances now (spoiler alert: not good!) and explore the ethics around them.
It’s a personal topic for Griffiths: at age 21 she began dating her former uni tutor, a romance that, now aged 31, she has complicated feelings about. Don’t expect linear narratives; instead Griffiths has produced academic and often poetic meditations on sex, power and desire. – Katie Cunningham
Ruins by Amy Taylor
Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99
A summer in Athens? Check. Millennial malaise? Check. A steamy affair that upends everything? Check. Amy Taylor’s second novel has all the hallmarks of popular contemporary fiction, imbued with her signature tenderness and intelligence. London couple Emma and Julian are at a crossroads, and welcome the younger Lena into their relationship. Her presence teases out some tricky questions, all while the stifling Greek heat reaches feverish, claustrophobic heights.
Taylor mixes literary musings with juicy plot twists and plenty of interpersonal drama – this is a moreish reading experience, the type of book you’ll want to gulp down in one breathless sitting. – Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
What Kept You by Raaza Jamshed
Fiction, Giramondo, $32.95
Raaza Jamshed’s debut novel is short in length but layered with complex meaning. The narrative opens in death – literal and figurative – captured through the image of eucalyptus trees, which Jahan, the novel’s protagonist, has been told will regenerate. But, despite her pleas, no signs of life emerge from the seeds that she has painstakingly cared for.
This opening holds the promise of the novel as a whole – the deep poetry of the language, the complexity of the setting (under threat from bushfire), and the central themes of loss and regeneration. A powerful, promising new voice. – Bec Kavanagh
Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé
Cookbook, Hardie Grant, $60
If you don’t recognise Christopher Thé by name, you may recognise his famous creation: Black Star Pastry’s strawberry watermelon cake, or “Australia’s most Instagrammed cake” as the New York Times called it in 2019. Thé sold Black Star Pastry six years ago, opening Sydney cafe Hearthe with a new focus on baking with native Australian ingredients.
These 80 intricate recipes reflect his latest creations. There’s saltbush scones with desert lime marmalade, Illawarra plum clafoutis, Geraldton wax cheesecake and “flowering” wattleseed biscuits. Though there are easier projects, such as his 12-year-old daughter’s choc chip biscuits, it’s best suited to a confident baker. Those up to the challenge of making layered paperbark cake, with smoked chocolate ganache and blue gum salted caramel, will be rewarded with MasterChef-worthy desserts proudly rooted in Australian flavours. – Emma Joyce
The Immigrants by Moreno Giovannoni
Fiction, Black Inc, $36.99
Moreno Giovannoni’s The Immigrants is an intensely personal story following members of one Italian family living and working in Australia. After arriving from Tuscany in the mid-1950s, Ugo is determined to make the most of the plentiful work opportunities in agriculture. His wife, Morena, who is supposed to stay in Italy and wait for Ugo to return, sails to “the colony” to be with her husband. The pair move to rural Victoria, grow tobacco and are surrounded by a vibrant community of fellow immigrants.
This book is written with such tenderness and clarity, you’ll be instantly drawn into the suffering and joy of these lives. – Joseph Cummins
Cure by Katherine Brabon
Fiction, Ultimo, $34.99
Katherine Brabons’ Cure explores the social aspects of illness in the family with reflective poise. Vera and her adolescent daughter Thea both experience chronic pain and fatigue. Vera has an ambivalent relationship to traditional medicines, turning to an online community for possible cures and symptom relief, while Thea retreats into the private world of her journal.
In this gentle and unassuming narrative, the pair journey to Italy to seek an obscure man who promises to heal people of their illnesses – a trip Vera has taken before. Capturing the difficult intimacies between a mother and daughter, Cure questions the stories they tell about their bodies, wellness, healing and memory. – Isabella Gullifer-Laurie
The Occupation by Chloe Adams
Fiction, Penguin, $34.99
Chloe Adams’ debut novel draws on a seam of family history stretching back to the second world war and its brutal Pacific front. Twenty-nine-year-old Mary escapes looming spinsterhood and the banality of middle-class female life by enlisting as part of Australia’s postwar operations in Japan.
The novel opens in 1949 with Mary back home in Melbourne, pregnant but unmarried, then cuts to a year earlier as she arrives in Hiroshima prefecture. Adams’ writing is assured and absorbing as she conjures this new world through Mary’s eyes, and her interior life as illusions are eroded. Seventy-five pages in, it’s looking promising. – Dee Jefferson
Your Friend and Mine by Jessica Dettmann
Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99
Your Friend and Mine is a sliding doors story in which Margot, a fortysomething restaurateur, is unexpectedly lifted out from her routine when a letter from a long-dead friend arrives.
The letter from Tess, Margot’s best friend 20 years prior, transports her to a time when their lives had seemed rich and full of potential. As a stipulation (or a provocation, perhaps) of her will, Tess invites Margot on a fully funded trip to the UK to meet her old friend’s family, and to finish Tess’s bucket list. Jessica Dettmann’s third novel balances humour and pathos with ease, as Margot undertakes a journey to reconnect with her old friend, and herself. – BK
Microsoft has revealed details of an artificial intelligence system that performs better than human doctors at complex health diagnoses, creating a “path to medical superintelligence”.
The company’s AI unit, which is led by the British tech pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, has developed a system that imitates a panel of expert physicians tackling “diagnostically complex and intellectually demanding” cases.
Microsoft said that when paired with OpenAI’s advanced o3 AI model, its approach “solved” more than eight of 10 case studies specially chosen for the diagnostic challenge. When those case studies were tried on practising physicians – who had no access to colleagues, textbooks or chatbots – the accuracy rate was two out of 10.
Microsoft said it was also a cheaper option than using human doctors because it was more efficient at ordering tests.
Despite highlighting the potential cost savings from its research, Microsoft played down the job implications, saying it believed AI would complement doctors’ roles rather than replace them.
“Their clinical roles are much broader than simply making a diagnosis. They need to navigate ambiguity and build trust with patients and their families in a way that AI isn’t set up to do,” the company wrote in a blogpost announcing the research, which is being submitted for peer review.
However, using the slogan “path to medical superintelligence” raises the prospect of radical change in the healthcare market. While artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to systems that match human cognitive abilities at any given task, superintelligence is an equally theoretical term referring to a system that exceeds human intellectual performance across the board.
Suleyman, the chief executive of Microsoft AI, told the Guardian the system would be operating perfectly within the next decade.
“It’s pretty clear that we are on a path to these systems getting almost error-free in the next 5-10 years. It will be a massive weight off the shoulders of all health systems around the world,” he said.
Explaining the rationale behind the research, Microsoft raised doubt over AI’s ability to score exceptionally well in the United States Medical Licensing Examination, a key test for obtaining a medical licence in the US. It said the multiple-choice tests favoured memorising answers over deep understanding of a subject, which could help “overstate” the competence of an AI model.
Microsoft said it was developing a system that, like a real-world clinician, takes step-by-step measures – such as asking specific questions and requesting diagnostic tests – to arrive at a final diagnosis. For instance, a patient with symptoms of a cough and fever may require blood tests and a chest X-ray before the doctor arrives at a diagnosis of pneumonia.
The new Microsoft approach uses complex case studies from the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
Suleyman’s team transformed more than 300 of these studies into “interactive case challenges” that it used to test its approach. Microsoft’s approach used existing AI models, including those produced by ChatGPT’s developer, OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, Anthropic, Elon Musk’s Grok and Google’s Gemini.
Microsoft then used a bespoke, agent-like AI system called a “diagnostic orchestrator” to work with a given model on what tests to order and what the diagnosis might be. The orchestrator in effect imitates a panel of physicians, which then comes up with the diagnosis.
Microsoft said that when paired with OpenAI’s advanced o3 model, it “solved” more than eight of 10 NEJM case studies – compared with a two out of 10 success rate for human doctors.
Microsoft said its approach was able to wield a “breadth and depth of expertise” that went beyond individual physicians because it could span multiple medical disciplines.
It added: “Scaling this level of reasoning – and beyond – has the potential to reshape healthcare. AI could empower patients to self-manage routine aspects of care and equip clinicians with advanced decision support for complex cases.”
Microsoft acknowledged its work is not ready for clinical use. Further testing is needed on its “orchestrator” to assess its performance on more common symptoms, for instance.
