Nearly six years after introducing its original smart swim googles, Form has announced an upgraded version called the Smart Swim 2. The goggles carry forward the same features as the original, including a built-in 72 x 40-pixel display showing a swimmer’s various performance metrics. However, they’re now smaller and lighter, and while battery life is a little shorter, it’s because of new features like a digital compass and heart rate tracking.
The Smart Swim 2 goggles are available starting today through Form’s online store for $279. The company also offers a Pro version for $329 with upgraded lenses made from Corning’s Gorilla Glass 3 that are more scratch resistant.
The display and small pod that hang off the side of the googles containing the rechargeable battery, optical heart rate sensor, and other electronics are now 15 percent smaller, according to Engadget, and can be worn on either side. Being able to see your heart rate in real time during a swim (in addition to metrics like distance, stroke count, and calories burned) is another new feature that will appeal to athletes and competitive swimmers.
For those who prefer swimming in open bodies of water, the Smart Swim 2’s digital compass, which shows your current bearing on the goggle’s display, can help keep you swimming in a straight line or towards a specific destination without constantly having to break your stroke to check your progress. However, that SwimStraight feature is locked behind Form’s optional $9.99 per month Premium subscription, which also unlocks additional features that will appeal to athletes, such as guided workouts and training plans.
As a result of the new features, battery life maxes out at up to 14 hours for the Smart Swim 2, while the original version offered up to 16 hours. But given the smaller design, which potentially makes the new version more comfortable to wear, that feels like a minor trade-off.
Last year sales of power generation products for the data center segment grew almost 50%. As much as $1 trillion is expected to be spent globally on AI data centers, components and associated infrastructure over the next few years. In addition to data centers, Rolls-Royce provides high performance backup generators to power critical U.S. infrastructure including hospitals, municipalities and government installations.
Since the start of production in 2010, Rolls-Royce’s Aiken campus has been the site of continuous innovation and expansion. It now encompasses a 395,000 square foot campus with state-of-the-art production capabilities, an engine testing facility, office space, a research and development center, four large engine test stands and a remanufacturing and overhaul center. In 2017, the company added a 1.35 MW ground-mounted solar array on approximately 7 acres and has an additional microgrid that generates enough solar power from panels on its covered parking lot to supply its entire administration building.
The Aiken facility pioneered a nationally recognized High School Apprenticeship Program which was the first-ever vocational apprenticeship program for high school students in the state, training more than 70 students since its inception in 2012. Modelled after the German dual-education system to help cultivate the next generation of skilled manufacturing professionals, successful graduates earn certifications recognized by both the U.S. Department of Labor and Apprenticeship Carolina.
Rolls-Royce’s transformation program is enabling it to deliver on its strategic choices. The investment in Aiken is an example of that transformation in action, as it supports the company’s strategic initiative to grow its power generation business.
WASHINGTON — In a new mouse study, researchers have used optical coherence tomography (OCT) to uncover new insights into how the fallopian tube transports preimplantation embryos toward the uterus for pregnancy. These findings help lay the foundation for understanding certain causes of infertility and pregnancy complications in people.
The fallopian tube, also known as the oviduct, is a tubular structure that connects the ovary and the uterus. It is responsible for several critical processes that lead to pregnancy, including transporting eggs and sperm, hosting fertilization and transporting preimplantation embryos as they develop.
“Most of the oviduct’s functions — including moving early embryos toward the uterus — haven’t been observed in their natural environment, and we don’t yet know what biological mechanisms ensure they work properly,” said research team leader Shang Wang from Stevens Institute of Technology . “This lack of information is a key reason why the causes of tubal ectopic pregnancy and oviduct-related infertility remain largely unknown.”
In the Optica Publishing Group journal Biomedical Optics Express , the researchers report results from using advanced OCT imaging approaches to capture the oviduct dynamics with the preimplantation embryo inside. This mouse study revealed that the oviduct uses a previously unknown pumping mechanism to drive embryo movement during preimplantation development.
“OCT was ideal for this study because it provided label-free 3D imaging at a scale that resolved structural details throughout the oviduct’s inner space while capturing images fast enough to visualize tissue and cell dynamics,” said Huan Han, a doctoral candidate in Shang Wang’s laboratory. “This research is just the beginning of uncovering how the oviduct supports pregnancy and early embryo development, which could ultimately lead to better strategies for clinical care of ectopic pregnancy and certain forms of infertility.”
Peering into the oviduct
One of the focuses in Wang’s lab is on developing imaging techniques to study the biomechanics of reproductive and developmental processes that occur in the oviduct. “Little is known in this critical area, due to the technical difficulty in studying it,” said Wang. “We applied advanced OCT-based in vivo imaging methods in the mouse model, opening a unique window into the embryo movement and the early stage of embryo development inside the fallopian tube.”
To visualize processes in the mouse oviduct, the researchers used an implantable window to bypass the mouse’s skin and muscle, providing direct optical access to the area. Since the motile hair-like cilia that line the oviduct’s luminal surface are too small to be captured with OCT, they measured the cilia beat frequency by analyzing fluctuations in the OCT intensity signal. They also assessed the oviduct’s muscular activity by performing 4D (3D+time) OCT imaging of the oviduct and measuring the cross-sectional luminal area. This also provided information on how contraction waves propagated through the oviduct.
The oviduct has two main parts: the ampulla, where fertilization occurs, and the isthmus, closer to the uterus, where embryos develop and move bidirectionally during preimplantation. To investigate the pumping mechanism underlying this bidirectional embryo movement, the researchers initially only focused on the isthmus for imaging and analysis, which did not reveal how the movement took place.
Leaky peristaltic pump
Suspecting a broader mechanism, the researchers then used 4D OCT to image both the ampulla and the isthmus. This revealed contraction waves that originated in the ampulla and propagated through the isthmus, along with relaxation and embryo movement. Quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of this full view uncovered how the oviduct drives bidirectional movement to transport the embryo toward the uterus.
The ability to image and analyze both oviduct regions together revealed that the oviduct operates as a leaky peristaltic pump — contraction wave pushing fluid forward and relaxation at earlier contraction sites pulling fluid back — when transporting the preimplantation embryo in the isthmus. The researchers also found that constricted lumen at the oviduct turning points can stop the backward embryo movement at times, producing net displacement of embryos in the isthmus toward the uterus.
“Although the advanced imaging methods we used have been demonstrated and reported previously, this is the first time they have been applied to study how the oviduct transports preimplantation embryos in the mouse model,” said Wang. “Now that we understand the normal process of how the embryos are transported, it is possible to investigate the abnormal processes underlying related disorders and diseases.”
Building on this work, the researchers plan to perform imaging studies to understand abnormal transport that occurs when embryos remain inside the oviduct, which can lead to a tubal ectopic pregnancy.
Paper: H. Han, T. Fang, A. Mukhamedjanova, S. Wang, “In vivo dynamic imaging reveals the oviduct as a leaky peristaltic pump in transporting preimplantation embryo toward pregnancy,” Biomed. Opt. Express, 7, (2025).
DOI: 10.1364/BOE.565065
About Optica Publishing Group
Optica Publishing Group is a division of the society, Optica , Advancing Optics and Photonics Worldwide. It publishes the largest collection of peer-reviewed and most-cited content in optics and photonics, including 18 prestigious journals, the society’s flagship member magazine, and papers and videos from more than 835 conferences. With over 400,000 journal articles, conference papers and videos to search, discover and access, our publications portfolio represents the full range of research in the field from around the globe.
About Biomedical Optics Express
/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.
The researchers collaborated with the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust, bringing together an advisory panel to guide the study.
RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has developed a 3D-printed implant that helps repair spinal cord injuries.
Spinal cord injury is a life-altering condition that can lead to paralysis, loss of sensation and chronic pain. In Ireland, more than 2,500 people are living with spinal cord injury.
However, no treatment currently exists that can effectively repair the damage.
To find a solution, RSCI’s Tissue Engineering Research Group (TERG) teamed up with the Research Ireland Centre Advanced Materials and Bioengineering Research (AMBER).
The team used ultra-thin nanomaterials from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Chemistry and the AMBER Centre, which are normally used for applications such as battery design. This material was then integrated into a soft gel-like structure using 3D printing techniques.
The resulting implant mimics the structure of the human spinal cord with fine mesh of tiny fibres that can conduct electricity into cells.
Researchers found that by stimulating neurons and stem cells for seven days with electrical signals from the implant, they were able to enhance their ability to grow and repair. The study was published today (15 July) in the Wiley Advanced journal.
“Promoting the regrowth of neurons after spinal cord injury has been historically difficult, however, our group is developing electrically conductive biomaterials that could channel electrical stimulation across the injury, helping the body to repair the damaged tissue” said Prof Fergal O’Brien, the deputy vice chancellor for research and innovation and professor of bioengineering and regenerative medicine at RCSI and the head of RCSI TERG.
“The unique environment provided by the AMBER Centre which sees biomedical engineers, biologists and material scientists working together to solve grand societal challenges provides a major opportunity for disruptive innovation such as this”.
Dr Ian Woods, a research fellow at TERG and the lead author of the study said, “These 3D-printed materials allow us to tune the delivery of electrical stimulation to control regrowth and may enable a new generation of medical devices for traumatic spinal cord injuries.”
“Beyond spinal repair, this technology also has potential for applications in cardiac, orthopaedic and neurological treatments where electrical signalling can drive healing.”
The researchers collaborated with the Irish Rugby Football Union Charitable Trust on the project, bringing together an advisory panel that would oversee and guide the study. This panel included injured rugby players, clinicians, neuroscientists and researchers.
“Through their expertise, the advisory panel helped deepen our understanding of the lived experiences of individuals with spinal cord injuries, their treatment priorities and emerging treatment approaches” said Woods.
“Our regular meetings allowed for a consistent exchange of input, ideas and results.”
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Tánaiste Simon Harris says the impact of 30% tariffs from the United States would be “extraordinary”
A framework agreement on trade between the United States and the European Union (EU) was “tantalisingly close” before US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on imports from the EU, Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Simon Harris has said.
In letters to the EU and Mexico, Trump warned he will impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decide to retaliate.
Harris said that when the letter threatening the tariffs came, “there was surprise because, genuinely from a European perspective, there was an expectation that a deal was in there”.
He added that there was and “remains absolutely space for a deal”, Irish broadcaster RTÉ News reports.
Earlier, the tánaiste said Ireland is “now at a moment of major economic challenge”.
Speaking on his way into Government Buildings in Dublin, Harris said the impact of 30% tariffs would be “extraordinary”.
He said Ireland is working alongside European partners to prepare for “every eventuality”.
“We’re going to have to pull together in the hours and days ahead as we try to navigate our way through the latest scenario in relation to trade tariffs,” the tánaiste said.
“There were moments last week where I believe it was almost palpable that there was an agreement nearly in place, and really what needs to happen in the hours and days ahead is a renewed effort to arrive at an agreement that can protect jobs, can protect economic stability in Ireland, in Europe and in the United States.”
Getty Images
Trump has warned he will impose even higher import taxes if either of the US trading partners decide to retaliate
Harris added that he believes Trump’s threats of tariffs are an effort to negotiate and apply pressure on other countries for a US trade deal.
“If you arrived in a scenario where there were 30% tariffs, the impact to that is extraordinary,” he said.
Mr Harris said it would “completely and utterly alter the trading relationship between Ireland and the United States”.
“You’d go from a situation at 10% tariffs where you’re seeing a slower rate of new job growth, to a situation of 30% where inevitably, you’ll be seeing job losses.”
Progress
The EU has been a frequent target of Trump’s criticism.
On 2 April, he proposed a 20% tariff for goods from the bloc, as well as dozens of other trade partners. He then threatened to raise the EU import taxes to 50% as trade talks stalled.
Washington and Brussels had hoped to reach an agreement before a deadline of 9 July, but there have been no announcements on progress.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU remained ready “to continue working towards an agreement” by 1 August.
Seeking diverse research proposals towards realizing the Creative Entertainment Vision
TOKYO, July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Group Corporation (Sony) announced today that it will begin calling for research proposals for the Sony Research Award Program on July 15, 2025. The Sony Research Award Program is an open innovation program for universities and research institutions such as government research institutes and nonprofit organizations in the U.S., Canada, 17 European countries*1 and India. This year, we are seeking research proposals that support “Creative Entertainment Vision,” the long-term vision for where Sony wants to be in 10 years.
The Sony Research Award Program is comprised of two awards – the Faculty Innovation Award and the Focused Research Award. It provides sponsored research funding for projects on cutting-edge technologies in collaboration with Sony Group’s own research groups.
The Faculty Innovation Award grants up to $100,000 USD to principal investigators for one year*2, for diverse research projects including AI, that may fall within three broad subject categories (Information Technology, Device Technology, and Entertainment) relevant to Sony’s general research interests.
The Focused Research Award provides support for up to $150,000 USD for one year*2, to research themes more focused on Sony’s immediate areas of interest. There will be 11 themes this year, focusing primarily on AI technologies that unleash creators’ creativity and lead to the creation of new value.
Sony will continue to advance research and development and promote innovation through partnerships with universities and research institutes around the world.
For more information about the awards, as well as the submission guidelines, please visit https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/research-award-program/ .
*1 European countries included in the program are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom. *2 With the possibility of an extension.
Comment from the award recipient in 2023: Professor Laurie Heller, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, U.S.) “With support from Sony, my colleagues and I are investigating ways to use machine learning and large language models to generate perceptually better interpolation between environmental sounds. This has relevance for creative arts, sound designers, and the scientific study of sound categories. We have also explored vision-and-language models for sound categorization. Sony has offered their expertise and resources to support our research. With the support of Sony, we hope to advance generative sound technology that can be applied in a multitude of ways.”
Comment from the award recipient in 2022 and 2023: Professor Alan Marshall, University of Liverpool (Liverpool, U.K.) “The past two Sony Research Award Program collaborations have proven to be transformative for my group’s research. The opportunity has allowed our group to develop and investigate new approaches to multi-sensory immersion, including the olfactory sensory channel as well as more traditional haptic, aural, and visual channels. More importantly, the close relationships formed with Sony researchers have opened up new thoughts and possibilities. These collaborations have accelerated our research into how to implement and measure levels of immersion and presence in multi-sensory environments, as will be encountered in the next generation metaverse.”
After the fire and fury of liftoff, when a spacecraft is sailing silently through space, you could be forgiven for thinking the hard part of the mission is over. After all, riding what’s essentially a domesticated explosion up and out of Earth’s gravity well very nearly pushes physics and current material science to the breaking point.
But in reality, getting into space is just the first on a long list of nearly impossible things that need to go right for a successful mission. While scientific experiments performed aboard the International Space Station and other crewed vehicles have the benefit of human supervision, the vast majority of satellites, probes, and rovers must be able to operate in total isolation. With nobody nearby to flick the power switch off and on again, such craft need to be designed with multiple layers of redundant systems and safe modes if they’re to have any hope of surviving even the most mundane system failure.
That said, nobody can predict the future. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, there will always be edge cases or abnormal scenarios that don’t get accounted for. With proper planning and a pinch of luck, the majority of missions are able to skirt these scenarios and complete their missions without serious incident.
Unfortunately, Lunar Trailblazer isn’t one of those missions. Things started well enough — the February 26th launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 went perfectly, and the rocket’s second stage gave the vehicle the push it needed to reach the Moon. The small 210 kg (460 lb) lunar probe then separated from the booster and transmitted an initial status message that was received by the Caltech mission controllers in Pasadena, California which indicated it was free-flying and powering up its systems.
But since then, nothing has gone to plan.
Spotty Communications
According to NASA’s blog for Lunar Trailblazer, Caltech first heard from the spacecraft about 12 minutes after it separated from the second stage of the Falcon 9. At this point the spacecraft was at an altitude of approximately 1,800 kilometers (1118 miles) and had been accelerated by the booster to a velocity of more than 33,000 km/h (20,500 mph). The craft was now committed to a course that would take it away from Earth, although further course correction maneuvers would be required to put it into its intended orbit around the Moon.
The team on the ground started to receive the expected engineering telemetry data from the vehicle, but noted that there were some signals that indicated intermittent issues with the power supply. Around ten hours later, the Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft went completely silent for a short period of time before reactivating its transmitter.
At this point, it was obvious that something was wrong, and ground controllers started requesting more diagnostic information from the spacecraft to try and determine what was going on. But communication with the craft remained unreliable, at best. Even with access to NASA’s powerful Deep Space Network, the controllers could not maintain consistent contact with the vehicle.
Tumbling and Off-Course
On March 2nd, ground-based radars were able to get a lock on Lunar Trailblazer. The good news was that the radar data confirmed that the spacecraft was still intact. The bad news is that the team at Caltech now had a pretty good idea as to why they were only getting sporadic communications from the vehicle — it was spinning in space.
This might not seem like a problem at first, indeed some spacecraft use a slight spin to help keep them stabilized. But in the case of Lunar Trailblazer, it meant the vehicle’s solar arrays were not properly orientated in relation to the sun. The occasional glimpses of sunlight the panels would get as the craft tumbled explained the sporadic nature of its transmissions, as sometimes it would collect just enough power to chirp out a signal before going dead again.
Lunar Trailblazer was designed to scan the lunar surface for signs of water from an altitude of 100 km (62 miles).
But there was a now a new dimension to the problem. By March 4th, the the spacecraft was supposed to have made the first of several trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) to refine its course towards the Moon. As those TCMs never happened, Lunar Trailblazer was now off-course, and getting farther away from its intended trajectory every day.
By now, ground controllers knew it was unlikely that Lunar Trailblazer would be able to complete all of the mission’s science goals. Even if they could reestablish communication, the vehicle wasn’t where it was supposed to be. While it was still theoretically possible to compute a new course and bring the vehicle into lunar orbit, it wouldn’t be the one that the mission’s parameters called for.
A Data-Driven Recovery Attempt
The mission was in a bad place, but the controllers at Caltech still had a few things going in their favor. For one, they knew exactly what was keeping them from communicating with the spacecraft. Thanks to the ongoing radar observations, they also had highly-accurate data on the velocity, position, and rotation rate of the craft. Essentially, they knew what all the variables were, they just needed to figure out the equation that would provide them with a solution.
Over the next couple of months, the data from the radar observations was fed into a computer model that allowed ground controllers to estimate how much sunlight would hit Lunar Trailblazer’s solar array at a given time. Engineers worked with a replica of the spacecraft’s hardware to better understand not only how it operated while in a low-power state, but how it would respond when it got a sudden jolt of power.
The goal was to find out exactly how long it would take for the spacecraft to come back to a workable state when the solar array was lit, and then use the model to find when the vehicle and the sun would align for long enough to make it happen.
It was originally believed that they only had until June for this celestial alignment to work in their favor, but refined data allowed NASA and Caltech to extend that timetable into the middle of July. With that revised deadline fast approaching, we’re eager to hear an update from the space agency about the fate of this particularly tenacious lunar probe.
Global life expectancy increased by an astonishing five years between 2000 and 2019. And then since the COVID-19 pandemic, it slid backwards by almost two. More than 110 million children have entered school since 2015 – but by 2023, 272 million children still had no access to the classroom.
The UN’s key Sustainable Development Goals Report released Monday by Secretary-General António Guterres, chronicles both progress and setbacks – showing that the world has made significant advances but is still drastically off-track to achieve its development goals by 2030.
Seize the day
“This report is more than a snapshot of today. It’s also a compass pointing the way to progress. This report shows that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are still within reach, but only if we act – with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve,” Mr. Guterres said.
The release of the report coincides with the first day of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development which will convene over the next ten days in New York in the hopes of answering the UN chief’s call to action.
‘A global development emergency’
In 2015, the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda, which outlined 17 Sustainable Development Goals – including ending poverty and ensuring that everyone had access to healthcare and quality education.
The ambitious SDGs were to be achieved by prioritising future generations through sustainable and climate-friendly initiatives.
“The 2030 Agenda represents our collective recognition that our destinies are intertwined and that sustainable development is not a zero-sum game but a shared endeavour that benefits us all,” said Li Junhua, UN Under Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
Ten years after this commitment, the agenda is facing increasingly strong headwinds, including a $4 trillion funding shortfall for the developing world and increasing geopolitical tensions which are undermining multilateralism.
“The problem is that the Sustainable Development Goals do not include the instruments that would be necessary to make them happen,” Mr. Guterres said.
In light of these challenges, only 18 per cent of the SDGs are on track to be met by 2030. Around 17 per cent are experiencing moderate progress. But over half of the goals are moving too slowly – and 18 per cent of the goals have gone backwards.
“We are in a global development emergency, an emergency measured in the over 800 billion people still living in extreme poverty, in intensifying climate impacts and in the relentless debt service,” the Secretary-General said.
Real lives transformed – and left behind
Between 2015 and 2023, maternal death rates and death rates of children under the age of five dropped by approximately 15 per cent. During this same period of time, 54 countries eliminated at least one tropical disease, and 2.2 billion cases of malaria were averted as a result of prevention areas.
“These victories are not abstract statistics – they represent real lives transformed, families lifted from poverty and communities empowered to build better and more resilient futures,” Mr. Li said.
However, just as some have had their lives transformed, many people around the world have been left behind.
One in 10 people still live in abject poverty and one in 11 experience food insecurity. Over 1.1 billion people live in slums or informal settlements without basic services, including access to clean water and sanitation. And in 2024, one person lost their life to conflict every 12 minutes.
In short, while many lives were transformed in the past ten years, many lives were not – and some were actually worsened or lost.
“What we have learned since then is that sustainable development is not a destination but rather a journey of innovation, adaptation and commitment to human dignity,” Mr. Li said.
Caption: A young girl in Guatemala holds herbs from a kitchen garden.
Reliable data is what underpins sustainable development, according to the Secretary-General’s report. It is what enables the UN, State governments and civil society leaders to understand what progress has been made and how to target increased investments for areas which require more work.
When the 2030 Agenda was first adopted in 2015, only a third of the SDGs had sufficient data and over a third lacked internationally agreed upon methodologies. Today, 70 percent of the SDGs are well-monitored and all indicators have internationally established monitoring mechanisms.
However, the progress made in monitoring development progress is, like all parts of the development agenda, under increasing threat.
“This report tells the SDG story in numbers, but it is, above all, a call to action,” Mr. Guterres said.
Multilateralism is non-negotiable
The Secretary-General said that the SDGs cannot be achieved without significant reforms to the financial architecture, which must begin with an investment in multilateralism.
“This year’s HLPF is a crucial moment that gives us hope and encourages us to think collectively outside the box,” said Lok Bahadur Thapa, Vice President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at the meeting which opened the HLPF.
This forum is an acknowledgement that the work is not yet done – the goals require more investment and more commitment in the next five years in order to ensure that the world does not leave more people behind.
“This is not a moment for despair, but for determined action. We have the knowledge, tools, and partnerships to drive transformation. What we need now is urgent multilateralism – a recommitment to shared responsibility and sustained investment,” Mr. Li said.
This week, 19 LIV Golf members will be among the 156 players competing in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The 7,381-yard, par-71 course will be a true links test for players this week. The difficulty of Royal Portrush will be largely dependent on the wind and weather conditions.
The 19 players representing LIV Golf will look to bring the League its first major championship of 2025.
Here are the power rankings going into the week:
1. Jon Rahm
Best Open Championship Finish: 2nd (2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool)
Legion XIII’s Jon Rahm is my pick to win the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush, so of course, he tops the power rankings.
Rahm has been spectacular throughout his career in Ireland. He’s won the Irish Open twice (2017 and 2019) at Portstewart and Lahinch, respectively. Rahm’s game has translated beautifully to links golf, and he also has experience at Royal Portrush, where he finished T11 at the 2019 Open Championship.
At LIV Golf Andalucía, Rahm spoke about playing golf in Ireland. “Every week I’ve had in Ireland has been such a wonderful experience. Whether it’s the golf course, the tournament, the people, I don’t know. I really couldn’t tell you exactly what it is. But every time I’ve gone it’s been overwhelmingly positive, so I think that’s led to me playing good.”
Last week, Rahm charged up the leaderboard on Sunday at Valderrama, coming up just short of Talor Gooch and finishing in second place. After the round, Rahm expressed extreme confidence in his current form.
“Honestly, I probably hit it better than I have in the last year and a half. Started seeing some shots that reminded me of some other good weeks, and once I got it going today and I felt comfortable on the greens.”
Rahm’s major performances have been strong so far in 2025. He finished T14 at the Masters, T8 at the PGA Championship and T7 at the U.S. Open. I will be extremely surprised if the Spaniard isn’t in contention come Sunday.
2. Tyrrell Hatton
Best Open Championship Finish: 5th (2016 U.S. Open at Royal Liverpool)
Tyrrell Hatton is arguably one of the best links players in the world. The Legion XIII standout has amassed eight victories on the DP World Tour, including three wins at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
Hatton enters the week in good form. He’s also coming off the best major championship finish in his career at the U.S. Open (T4). Although his last hole at Oakmont didn’t go according to plan, the fact that he was able to contend and make meaningful shots at the final round of a major will provide invaluable experience.
In what should be a windy and difficult week, Hatton is the type of player who can grind out a solid score in tough conditions.
3. Patrick Reed
Best Open Championship Finish: 10th (2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush)
Recent Form: T10 (LIV Golf Andalucía), MC (BMW International Open), 1st (LIV Golf Dallas)
Historically, Patrick Reed hasn’t been an outstanding Open Championship player; however, his best career finish in an Open came at Royal Portrush. The 4Aces GC standout enters the week in good form with a win just a couple of starts ago in Dallas, and extremely confident. Reed knows what a win would mean for his Ryder Cup chances and spoke about the subject prior to last week’s start at LIV Golf Andalucía.
“I think it all comes down to next week at The Open. Obviously play well here, but go ahead and win the Open Championship, and I believe I’d be inside the top 6 on points, so I think that would lock it in and allow me to be on the team.”
Thousands of Afghans have moved to the UK under a secret scheme which was set up after a British official inadvertently leaked their data, it can be revealed.
In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan were leaked.
The previous government learned of the breach in August 2023 when some of the details appeared on Facebook.
A new resettlement scheme for those on the leaked list was set up nine months later, and has seen 4,500 Afghans arrive in the UK so far.
But the existence of the leak and relocations were kept secret after the government obtained a super-injunction stopping it from becoming public.
Details of the major data breach, the response and the number of Afghans granted the right to live in the UK as a result only came to light on Tuesday after a High Court judge ruled the gagging order should be lifted.
The leak contained the names, contact details and some family information of people potentially at risk of harm from the Taliban.
The government also revealed on Tuesday:
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes 600 Afghan soldiers included in the leak, plus 1,800 of their family members, are still in Afghanistan
The scheme is being closed down, but relocation offers already made to those who remain in Afghanistan will be honoured
The secret scheme – officially called the Afghan Relocation Route – has cost £400m so far, and is expected to cost a further £400m to £450m
The breach was committed mistakenly by an unnamed official at the MoD
People whose details were leaked were only informed on Tuesday
Speaking in the House of Commons, Defence Secretary John Healey offered a “sincere apology” to those whose details had been included in the leak, which came to light when some appeared on Facebook.
He said it was as a result of a spreadsheet being emailed “outside of authorised government systems”, which he described as a “serious departmental error” – though the Metropolitan Police decided a police investigation was not necessary.
Healey said the leak was “one of many data losses” related to the Afghanistan evacuation during that period, and contained the names of senior military officials, government officials and MPs.
The MoD has declined to say how many people may have been arrested or killed as a result of the data breach, but Healey told MPs an independent review had found it was “highly unlikely” an individual would have been targeted solely because of it.
He said that review had also judged the secret scheme to be an “extremely significant intervention” given the “potentially limited” risk posed by the leak.
In a High Court judgement issued on Tuesday, Mr Justice Chamberlain said it was “quite possible” that some of those who saw the Facebook post containing the leaked personal data “were Taliban infiltrators or spoke about it to Taliban-aligned individuals”.
An email has been sent to those impacted by the breach, urging them to “exercise caution”, and take steps like protecting their online activities and not responding to messages from unknown contacts.
Healey said those who have been relocated to the UK have already been counted in immigration figures.
Tuesday’s disclosure dates back to the August 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, which saw the Taliban retake power and quickly surround the capital Kabul.
The leak involved the names of people who had applied for the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme, which the UK government set up to rapidly process applications by people who feared reprisals from the Taliban and move them to the UK.
The evacuation – which saw 36,000 Afghans moved to the UK – has already been heavily criticised in the years since it was launched, with a 2022 inquiry by the Foreign Affairs Committee finding it was a “disaster” and a “betrayal”.
When the government set up a new relocation scheme last year in response to the leak, members of the press quickly learned about the plans.
The government asked a judge to impose an injunction on the media. The court then imposed a type of order which prevented outlets from reporting any detail of the leak, or even that the injunction itself existed. Healey said he was not aware of any other similar injunctions being in place.
He told the House even he had been prevented from speaking about the breach because of the “unprecedented” injunction, after being informed while still shadow defence secretary.
Reading a summary of his judgment in court, Mr Justice Chamberlain said the gagging order had “given rise to serious free speech concerns”.
He continued: “The super-injunction had the effect of completely shutting down the ordinary mechanisms of accountability which operate in a democracy.
“This led to what I describe as a ‘scrutiny vacuum’.”
Court documents disclosed on Tuesday revealed then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace “personally” applied for the stringent injunction in order to give the government time to do “everything it reasonably can to help those who might have been put at further risk by the data compromise”.
The injunction was extended in November 2023 on the basis the Taliban may not have been aware of the leaked data’s existence.
However, Mr Justice Chamberlain decided to lift it on the ground the MoD’s internal review found the Taliban “likely already possess the key information in the dataset” and confirmation of its existence is “unlikely” to “substantially” raise the risk” faced by those impacted.
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, who was in government when the secret scheme was established, said “this data leak should never have happened and was an unacceptable breach of all relevant data protocols”.
Erin Alcock, a lawyer for the firm Leigh Day, which has assisted hundreds of Arap applicants and family members, called the breach a “catastrophic failure”.
Earlier this month, the government confirmed it had offered payouts to Afghans whose information had been compromised in a separate data breach.
