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  • Comparative susceptibility of wild and laboratory-reared Aedes and Anopheles larvae to ivermectin | Malaria Journal

    Comparative susceptibility of wild and laboratory-reared Aedes and Anopheles larvae to ivermectin | Malaria Journal

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  • What Microsoft said on shutting down its 25-year-old operations in Pakistan: We follow this …

    What Microsoft said on shutting down its 25-year-old operations in Pakistan: We follow this …

    Microsoft recently shut down its operations in Pakistan after 25 years. The news of Microsoft closing down its operations in Pakistan was first revealed in a LinkedIn post by Jawwad Rehman, the founding head of Microsoft Pakistan. However, the move is said to be in the offing for sometime as only a liaison office with around five employees remained in Pakistan. Microsoft has now confirmed the complete closure of the company’s operations in the country. The Redmond-based company told TechCrunch that it is changing its operational model in Pakistan. The report further added that Microsoft did not have any engineering resources in Pakistan. This is unlike Microsoft’s operations in India and other growing markets.The closure comes amid broader company restructuring of Microsoft’s operations globally.

    What Microsoft said on closing operations in Pakistan

    “Our customer agreements and service will not be affected by this change,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement. It added that the company will now serve its customers through resellers and “other closely located Microsoft offices.” the spokesperson added, “We follow this model successfully in a number of other countries around the world. Our customers remain our top priority and can expect the same high level of service going forward.” The decision will reportedly impact the five Microsoft employees in Pakistan. These employees reportedly sold Azure and Office products in the country

    What Microsoft Pakistan country head said on the exit

    In a post titled ‘End of an Era… Microsoft Pakistan’, the company’s first-ever country head in Pakistan Rehman wrote, “Today, I learned that Microsoft is officially closing its operations in Pakistan. The last few remaining employees were formally informed and just like that, an era ends… Exactly 25 years ago, in June 2000, I had the honor of launching and leading Microsoft Pakistan.” He added, “Today’s news forces reflection. This is more than a corporate exit. It’s a sobering signal of the environment our country has created.. one where even global giants like Microsoft find it unsustainable to stay. It also reflects on what was done (or not done) with the strong foundation we left behind by the subsequent team and regional management of Microsoft.” He further said that it is time for Pakistan to reflect on what has changed. “We must ask: What changed? What was lost? What happened to the values, leadership, and vision that once made it all possible?” he wrote. “Allah grants honor and opportunity to whom He wills.. and takes it away from those who lose sight of it. But if your work leaves behind impact, integrity & inspiration.. then know that Allah’s favor was with you,” the post added.


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  • ICC issues warrant for Taliban’s supreme leader for persecution of women | Global development

    ICC issues warrant for Taliban’s supreme leader for persecution of women | Global development

    The international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls.

    In a statement, the ICC said on Tuesday there were “reasonable grounds to believe” the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and Afghanistan’s chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani, had ordered policies that deprived women and girls of “education, privacy and family life and the freedoms of movement, expression, thought, conscience and religion”.

    Afghan human rights activists have called for the Taliban’s system of depriving women and girls of rights and freedoms and enforcing segregation to be recognised as gender apartheid.

    The Taliban’s chief justice, Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

    Tahera Nasiri, an Afghan women’s rights activist now living in Canada, said the arrest warrant was an acknowledgment of the abuses Afghan women faced. “For four years, the Taliban have told us to stay silent, stay at home, cover our faces, give up our education, our voices and our dreams. Now, an international court is saying: ‘Enough. This is a crime.’

    “Even if Akhundzada and Haqqani never sit in court, they now carry the mark of international criminals,” she said. “They are no longer just leaders of Afghanistan, they are wanted men.”

    The court said the alleged crimes had taken place since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021 until January 2025, when the ICC’s chief prosecutor first sought the warrant.

    Since returning to power, the militant Islamists have banned women from paid work and girls from secondary education, as well as issuing a series of edicts that ban women from many areas of public life, including walking in parks and even speaking in public.

    Human rights groups have called on the international community to support the ICC in enforcing the arrest warrants. Liz Evenson, Human Rights Watch’s international justice director, said: “Senior Taliban leaders are now wanted men for their alleged persecution of women, girls, and gender non-conforming people.”

    In June, the UN accused the Taliban of removing legal protections for women and turning the justice system into a tool for entrenching an “institutionalised system of gender oppression, persecution and domination”. The UN report also highlighted the suspension of a law on violence against women that included protections against rape and forced marriage.

    When announcing that he was seeking a warrant in January, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said the two leaders were “criminally responsible” for gender-based persecution in Afghanistan and that he would also be seeking warrants for the arrest of other Taliban leaders.

    “Our commitment to pursue accountability for gender-based crimes, including gender persecution, remains an absolute priority,” he said.

    Amnesty International has also called on the international community to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international law.

    Parwana Ibrahimkhail Nijrabi, a former Taliban prisoner now living in Germany, said: “Arresting these men won’t be easy, especially with some countries still engaging with the Taliban. But I hope member states of the ICC take this seriously and act to arrest them.”

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  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA 2K26 cover athlete

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA 2K26 cover athlete

    Take a look a the top highlights and moments from the 2025 NBA Finals MVP SGA!

    Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the cover athlete of NBA 2K26 following his MVP and title-winning season, the video game’s developer announced Tuesday.

    Last season’s scoring champ and Finals MVP will be featured on the game’s standard edition. He averaged 32.7 points, 6.4 assists and five rebounds per game, leading the Thunder to a 68-14 record.

    The Thunder outscored teams by 12.9 points per game, the biggest margin in league history. They beat the Indiana Pacers in seven games to win the NBA title. Gilgeous-Alexander was awarded last week for his stellar season with a record-setting 4-year, $285 million extension.

    A release date for NBA 2K26 has yet to be announced. The game is expected to launch in September.

    The NBA 2K cover athlete last year was Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who was also featured after his team won the championship.

    The cover athlete announcement comes after 2K Games teased its plans to get back into the college basketball gaming market. It wasn’t clear whether the developer wants to revive its long-dormant college basketball franchise or incorporate college hoops into its NBA franchise.

    “2K is the undisputed home of basketball gaming,” 2K Games said in a statement to The Associated Press last week. “We have a strong history with college hoops and are exploring exciting new ways to bring athletes and schools to life. Class is in session.”

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  • Leaked video gives us a glimpse at Apple’s iPhone 17 Air

    Leaked video gives us a glimpse at Apple’s iPhone 17 Air

    With WWDC now firmly behind us, the collective eyes of the tech world are now laser-focused on September and Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. While Apple’s iPhone releases in years past have followed a familiar pattern, the company’s iPhone 17 lineup will be a bit more exciting. Specifically, Apple this year is poised to release the iPhone 17 Air, an incredibly thin device that will naturally be priced at a premium.

    If you’re curious about what Apple’s incredibly svelte new smartphone is going to look like, Majin Bu recently leaked a video depicting a dummy model of Apple’s iPhone 17 Air.  The video aligns well with previous iPhone 17 Air leaks we’ve seen. And seeing that we’re just two months out from September, there’s a reasonable chance that the device in the video below is an accurate representation of what its final form factor will be.

    As for specific dimensions, the device will reportedly be just 5.5mm thick. This would make it the thinnest iPhone ever produced. As it stands now, the thinnest iPhone to ever hit the market is the iPhone 6, which is 6.9mm thick. Suffice it to say, the iPhone 17 Air will be markedly thinner than anything we’ve seen from Apple ever before. Note, though, that the 5.5mm measurement doesn’t encompass the camera bump.

    With respect to weight, rumors point to the device weighing 145 grams. As a point of comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro weighs 199 grams and the iPhone SE 2 weighs 148 grams. In other words, the iPhone 17 Air will be about as powerful as the iPhone Pro models but will be markedly lighter.

    A new color

    As part of Apple’s effort to differentiate the iPhone 17 Air from the rest of its lineup, we’ve seen reports claiming that the device will ship in a color completely distinct from all the color options on other iPhone models. And while nothing is for certain until Apple announces it on stage, rumblings from the rumor mill suggest that the color will be a variant of blue.

    Other iPhone 17 Air specs

    As for other rumors, we’ve seen reports that the device will ship with Apple’s A19 Pro processor and 12GB of RAM. Put differently, the ultra-thin iPhone 17 will be more akin to a trimmed-down iPhone 17 Pro than the base-model iPhone 17. Consequently, expect Apple to charge a premium for the iPhone 17 Air.

    Lastly, the device will reportedly boast a 6.6-inch 120Hz ProMotion display, a titanium-aluminum hybrid frame, and perhaps the Apple-designed C1 modem that debuted on the iPhone 16e earlier this year.

    Apple hasn’t announced its iPhone event just yet, but if history is any indication, we can expect it to be unveiled sometime during the first half of September.

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  • Pret a Manger launches salad revamp – and one starts at £12.95 | Pret a Manger

    Pret a Manger launches salad revamp – and one starts at £12.95 | Pret a Manger

    Pret a Manger prompted social media outrage two years ago with its £7.15 “posh” cheese and pickle baguette, so it may be bracing itself for a possible backlash after launching a new “premium” lunchtime salad that costs “from £12.95”.

    The sandwich chain told the Guardian that in response to “a shift in what customers want from lunch”, it was launching four new “supersized” salad offerings. Three cost more than the purported psychological £10 “maximum price” that many are willing to pay for a takeaway lunch.

    With growing numbers of employers increasing their office attendance requirements, the “grab and go” lunch market is bigger business than it has been in recent years.

    Pret’s new Super Plates salad range will be available at more than 250 shops nationwide from Wednesday, and the priciest of the four is the “miso salmon” version, which includes roasted salmon, avocado, black rice and quinoa, broccoli and edamame soya beans. This will cost “from £12.95”, which presumably reflects the fact that those eating in rather than taking away typically pay more because of VAT, but may also be linked to the differing prices across its outlets.

    The starting prices for the other three salads, centred on chipotle chicken, butternut squash and shawarma chicken, are £9.95 or £10.95.

    It is understood Pret’s most expensive takeaway salad until now was a salmon and mango one that can be picked up in at least some central London outlets for £7.95.

    Weighing in at about 450 grams-plus, Pret said the new items were almost 60% larger on average than its existing salad range and “will meet the growing demand we are seeing for more substantial, protein-rich salads”.

    Pret a Manger’s Super Plates salad range. Photograph: Jamie Orlando Smith/Pret a Manger

    A spokesperson for Pret said the use of more premium ingredients “reflects the growing trend of workers ‘treating’ themselves to a more filling lunch the days they are in the office”.

    Ingredients used include “hand-massaged kale”. Asked what that meant, the chain said: “Our kale comes destemmed and sliced and is lovingly hand-massaged by our teams in our iconic French dressing for 45 seconds in our shop kitchens. This helps to soften the kale and keeps the minerals and nutrients in.”

    After years of cost of living pressures that millions are still facing and that have resulted in retailers battling to win over price-conscious shoppers, it may seem counterintuitive for a major chain to focus on a range where the prices are several pounds above what people typically pay. However, Pret is continuing a trend begun by the supermarkets, which have increasingly been launching pricier “premium” lunchtime meal deals that sit alongside their standard offerings. Pay a bit more and you can now grab a poké pot, a pack of baos or a Mexican burrito bowl instead of a prawn mayo sandwich or pasta salad.

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    Some of this may be because of hybrid working, with many workers seemingly happy to spend more on an office-day lunch because they are “saving” money on the days when they are at home and can have something out of the fridge.

    The retail industry publication The Grocer has talked of “an increasing willingness to spend among hybrid workers”, while the high street sushi chain Itsu has previously highlighted how those splitting their time between the office and home “are willing to spend more on lunchtime food-to-go occasions”.

    The enthusiasm among some workers for more premium offerings may also be a response to concern about ultra-processed foods.

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  • Save over 50% on the HP Omen 16L with promo code

    Save over 50% on the HP Omen 16L with promo code

    I chose the HP Omen 16L as the best gaming PC under $1,000. It features an affordable, robust, Intel-based build, a 14th-generation Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, and a 512GB SSD. Right now, when you buy directly from HP, you can save 52% with code LEVELUP20, bringing the price to just $575

    Also: The best gaming PCs you can buy

    • Current price: $575
    • Regular price: $1,070

    With a 14th gen Intel Core i5 processor and Nvidia RTX 3050, you’ll have plenty of power for tackling popular indie and triple-A game titles, with plenty of room to expand memory and storage.

    Show more

    This configuration is an almost ideal build for kids and younger teens looking to get their first gaming PC, or adults needing a decent PC that can double as both a workstation and a gaming rig. The 512GB SSD is more than enough storage space, and the RTX 3050 graphics card has plenty of power to handle the most popular titles like Fortnite and Minecraft, and even a few more graphically intense games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remake or Claire’s Obscure: Expedition 33.

    Also: The best cheap gaming PCs you can buy

    And for parents worried about the build becoming obsolete in a few years as new components come out, the HP Omen 16L supports up to 32GB of RAM and has three slots for M.2 style solid state drives. This means you can swap out individual components or add storage drives if they fail or your needs change. With a few premium features, like support for 5.1CH surround sound, you can fully enjoy your favorite games, movies, and shows with more immersive sound. 

    Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

    How I rated this deal 

    While already an affordable option with specific configurations, this 52% markdown on a more robust build gives you an incredible value on a gaming PC that bridges the gap between entry-level and midrange. That’s why I gave it a 5/5 Editor’s deal rating.

    Deals are subject to sell out or expire at any time, though ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best product deals for you to score the best savings. Considering this offer is for a refurbished product, inventory is even more important than timing, so keep an eye out for the stock of the model that interests you the most.

    Our team of experts regularly checks in on the deals we share to ensure they are still live and obtainable. We’re sorry if you’ve missed out on this deal, but don’t fret — we’re constantly finding new chances to save and sharing them with you at ZDNET.com.

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    We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech. 

    In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor’s deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.

    At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members’ expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts. 

    Also: How we rate deals at ZDNET in 2025

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  • ‘Bridgerton’ star Luke Newton to play Lee Alexander McQueen off Broadway

    ‘Bridgerton’ star Luke Newton to play Lee Alexander McQueen off Broadway

    The new play about the late fashion designer will be the first production at The Mansion at Hudson Yards, a new venue in midtown Manhattan, starting in August.

    Bridgerton star Luke Newton is set to star in the title role of House of McQueen off Broadway, a new play about fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. Performances begin August 18 ahead of a September 9 opening, in time with New York Fashion Week.

    In addition to starring as Colin Bridgerton in the Netflix series adapted from Julia Quinn’s novels, Newton is a veteran of the London stage, having appeared in the musical The Book of Mormon and Neil LaBute’s play The Shape of Things there.

    Written by Darrah Cloud and directed by Sam Helfrich, House of McQueen takes audiences through McQueen’s life and key relationships, beginning with his early years and showing how he built the globally renowned Alexander McQueen fashion house, up to his death in 2010. The production will feature a “highly produced landscape complete with floor-to-ceiling LED panels designed to shift environments on stage,” according to the official summary.

    Gary James McQueen, nephew of the late designer, serves as creative director. House of McQueen is the first production at the new midtown Manhattan venue The Mansion at Hudson Yards.

    Check back for information on House of McQueen tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

    Photo credit: Luke Newton. (Photo by YellowBellyPhoto)

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  • High Frequency Gravitational Waves Could Be Detect By Changing The Angle Of A Mirror

    High Frequency Gravitational Waves Could Be Detect By Changing The Angle Of A Mirror

    Gravitational waves come in all shapes and sizes – and frequencies. But, so far, we haven’t been able to capture any of the higher frequency ones. That’s unfortunate, as they might hold the key to unlocking our understanding of some really interesting physical phenomena, such as Boson clouds and tiny block hole mergers. A new paper from researchers at Notre Dame and Caltech, led by PhD student Christopher Jungkind, explores how we might use one of the world’s most prolific gravitational wave observatories, GEO600, to capture signals from those phenomena for the first time.

    GEO600 is a gravitational wave observatory based in Germany, and has been in operation for more than 20 years. However, we recently reported on an update to the laser and data collection system that upgraded the observatory’s capabilities, and which the operators will be taking through its paces over the rest of this year. But there’s another aspect of GEO600 that Mr. Jungkind and his co-authors think could improve its sensitivity, especially at higher frequencies – its mirrors.

    One of the primary features of GEO600 is its signal-recycling mirror (MSR), which, under normal operation, creates a signal-recycling cavity that amplifies the gravitational wave (GW) signal. Typically, it is set to amplify GWs with frequencies between 10s to 1000s of Hz. However, according to the paper, a slight modification can make the entire system much more sensitive at higher frequencies.

    Video describing the GEO600 gravitational wave detector. Credit – Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics YouTube Channel

    That modification is changing the angle of the MSR – more commonly referred to as the “detuning” angle. As the angle changes, the frequency the cavity amplifies changes as well. So, at least in theory, GEO600’s operators could sweep across a wide range of higher frequency amplifications simply by making small adjustments to the detuning angle.

    To prove their point, the authors turned to every theoretical physicist’s favorite tool – a simulator. In this case, that is the Finesse 3.0 software package, whereby added sources of noise, such seismic noise from the Earth and quantum noise from radiation pressure, while still considering the upgraded laser capabilities of the GEO600. They found a significant increase in the detector’s sensitivity that moves along with the increasing detuning angle.

    In particular, GEO600 would become more sensitive than advanced LIGO (aLIGO) , a competing ground-based GW detector that is an upgrade from the LIGO observatory that first detected GWs back in 2016. GEO600 would be more capable of detecting GWs with a frequency above 6K Hz, according to the study.

    Even 9 years ago, GEO600 scientists were talking about advanced LIGO. Credit – Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics

    But what does that mean in practice? Simulations showed that it would be better at detecting gravitational waves from a specific kind of Boson cloud, known as a vector boson cloud. Unfortunately, another type of Boson cloud, known as a scalar boson cloud would be much harder to detect. Despite both being named after concepts from calculus, the two types of boson clouds are composed of different hypothetical fundamental particles, which cause different types of GWs when surrounding a black hole. The frequency that the black holes at the center of these boson clouds emit GWs is directly proportional to the mass of the bosons that make up the clouds. GWs created by vector boson clouds vibrate at a frequency up to 31.5kHz, which is at least theoretically in the detectable range for the improved GEO600 with detuning. However, scalar boson clouds produce much weaker signals, even if they are much longer lasting, making it unlikely that GEO600 would be able to detect them.

    The other physical phenomena that would be of interest would be the merger of sub-stellar mass black holes. While GEO600 using detuning could detect these, according to the simulations there wouldn’t be much, if any, of an advantage over other detectors like aLIGO, as most of the signal comes in lower frequencies while the two black holes are spiraling into each other.

    So, at least for some physical phenomena, a slight tweak to the mirror controls of GEO600 could provide dramatically improved insight into the features of some types of boson clouds. However, updating that control scheme can be difficult, as it requires a feedback loop between the sensor itself and the actuator driving the mirror angle. That’s something the engineers would have to work on, if GEO600’s operators decide to do so. For now, at least, simulations are the best we’ll be able to get in terms of improving high-frequency GW detection.

    Learn More:

    C. Jungkind et al – Prospects for High-Frequency Gravitational-Wave Detection with GEO600

    UT – The GEO600 Gravitational Wave Detector is Getting a Big Upgrade

    UT – Astronomers Detected a Black Hole Merger With Very Different Mass Objects

    UT – Gravitational Waves Could Give Us Insights into Fast Radio Bursts

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  • Did Cardi B, Stefon Diggs split? Instagram sparks speculation

    Did Cardi B, Stefon Diggs split? Instagram sparks speculation

    Cardi B, who wonders “Am I the Drama?” on her upcoming album, now faces a different question from curious fans: Did she split with Stefon Diggs?

    The Grammy-winning “Bodak Yellow” rapper sparked breakup chatter this week after eagle-eyed followers noticed she had taken down photos featuring NFL star Diggs from her Instagram page. Cardi B, 32, and Diggs, 31, hard-launched their relationship during the NBA Playoffs in May and made things Instagram official in June.

    Representatives for Cardi B and Diggs did not immediately respond to The Times on Tuesday.

    In June, Cardi B flaunted her relationship with the New England Patriots wide receiver, sharing very intimate photos from a steamy boating trip in a since-removed Instagram carousel. “Chapter 5 ……Hello Chapter six,” Cardi B captioned the collection of photos, which is no longer publicly visible on her profile.

    Cardi B and Diggs first sparked dating rumors in February, when TMZ published video of the pair arriving at a Miami hotel during Valentine’s Day weekend. In April, they were spotted together again partying it up at a Manhattan nightclub. Photos of the rapper dancing on the athlete’s lap spread online and even got a thumbs-up from the musician’s estranged husband, Migos rapper Offset.

    Cardi B reportedly filed to divorce Offset in 2024. Since then, their relationship has been far from friendly as the pair — who share three young children — continue to spar on social media.

    While Cardi B’s Instagram does not currently feature any photos of Diggs, it’s worth noting that they still follow each other on the app. Cardi B and Offset, on the other hand, are no longer Instagram mutuals.

    Speculation about the status of Cardi B’s romantic life surfaced as she arrived at Paris Fashion Week sans Diggs. She appeared at the Schiaparelli showcase at Petit Palais wearing a body-hugging gown with a dramatic neckline and fringe. A live crow was perched on the “W.A.P.” artist‘s right hand, evoking imagery from her forthcoming album.

    Cardi B revealed in late June that her long-anticipated sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” is set to drop Sept. 19, seven years after her debut, “Invasion of Privacy.” Her social media announcement included a look at the theatrical album cover: She wears an abstract red body suit and matching fishnet stockings, grabbing one heel as a dark bird rests on her shoe and more of them swarm around her.

    Before the announcement, Cardi B reflected in a teaser on “seven years of love, life and loss” and trading in grace for hell.

    “I learned power’s not given. It’s taken,” the Bronx native says in the video. “I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back. I’m beyond.”


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