At least 60 people were killed in Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, including an attack on a school sheltering displaced individuals and another on a designated humanitarian zone, health officials reported. The strikes come amid faltering ceasefire negotiations in the nearly 10 month-old relentless war on Gaza. The Red Crescent reported 17 fatalities following a bombing near a petrol station in Mawasi, a coastal area densely populated with displaced persons that Israel had previously marked as an evacuation zone. Another 16 individuals perished in a strike targeting the UN-run al-Awda school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to medics at a nearby hospital. In a statement, the IOF claimed that Hamas militants were present at the school. There was no immediate comment on the Mawasi strike, but the IOF confirmed that approximately 40 targets in Gaza were hit on Tuesday, including sniper and observation posts, military facilities, and buildings rigged with explosives. The armed factions of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad reported that their fighters had engaged IOF in various locations using anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. Islamic Jihad’s armed wing claimed missile strikes on Sderot in southern Israel, though no damage or casualties were reported. Over the past fortnight, IOF have conducted some of their most murderous bombardments in months. One of the deadliest strikes targeted Mohammed Deif, Hamas’s military commander, in Mawasi on Saturday, resulting in over 90 deaths. It remains unclear whether Deif, a long-standing target for Israel, was killed in the attack. On Tuesday, the IOF announced that it had eliminated roughly half of the Hamas leadership in Gaza and 14,000 soldiers since the start of its merciless war. The health ministry in Gaza reports that more than 38,400 Palestinians have been killed and 89,097 injured in Israel’s bombardments. A report from British journal The Lancet predicts the total death toll could actually be 186,000, including those still under the rubble. The enclave’s 2.3 million residents are facing severe shortages of food, water, medicine, and shelter as the humanitarian crisis deepens.
Former Sri Lanka U-19 Cricketer Dhammika Niroshan Shot Dead in Gang Rivalry – Investigating Connection to Cricket-Related Murders
In a shocking incident, former Sri Lanka U-19 cricket captain Dhammika Niroshana was shot dead on Tuesday night. A fast bowler who led the Sri Lanka U-19 squad in 2002, Niroshana was shot by an unidentified individual near his residence in Ambalangoda where he started his career as school boy cricketer. Sri Lanka police suspect the killing as a fallout of an underworld gang rivalry. The assailant who had used a 12-bore firearm to kill the 41-year-old ex-cricketer had fled the scene, said police media spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa. Former Sri Lanka U19 Cricketer Dhammika Niroshan Shot Dead Outside His Home.
Investigations are underway to arrest the suspect involved in the shooting which seemed to be a result of a gang rivalry, the police said.
Niroshan, who fled the country for his life after the murder of one of his close friends Dasun Manawadu in the Ambalangoda area, had only returned to the island nation three months ago. Police investigations are underway to find whether there is a link between Niroshan’s killing and the murder of first-class cricketer and former southern region cricket administrator H. Premasiri.
On August 12, 2016, Premasiri, the former President of Galle District Cricket Association, was shot by an unidentified gunman near his residence. It was suspected that the killing of Premasiri was connected to an international match fixing racket for the games played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Sri Lanka, Pakistan Visits Confirmed As New Zealand Reveals Packed Summer Schedule.
Galle is infamous for underworld activities and rival gang killings, including victims related to cricket. Niroshana made his debut for the Sri Lanka U-19 team against Singapore in 2000. Known as a fast bowler who was also useful with the bat, Niroshan maintained a bowling average of under 30 in first-class, List A, and U-19 cricket.
Although he never made it to the senior team, he played alongside several future stars, including Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga and Farveez Maharoof, at the U-19 level.
Google Partners with MeitY Startup Hub to Train 10,000 Startups in AI | India更新
Google said today that it is working with MeitY ‘Startup Hub’ to train 10,000 startups in artificial intelligence (AI), as the tech giant expanded access to its AI models and introduced new language tools for the developers in the country.
At its ‘I/O Connect’ event here, the company unveiled a range of tools, programmes and partnerships to empower Indian developers and startups to be at the forefront of the global AI revolution.
The company said that developers in India now have expanded access to Google’s powerful AI models with the two million token context window in Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemma 2, the next generation of open models.
We’re committed to empowering Indian innovators to harness AI’s full potential, creating solutions that not only address India’s unique needs but also shape the future of AI globally, said Ambharish Kenghe, Vice President, Google.
The opportunities with multimodal, mobile, and multilingual AI are immense, and we’re thrilled to be a part of India’s AI journey, he added.
The fastest way to build with Gemini is through its developer platform Google AI Studio, and India has one of the largest developer bases on Google AI Studio today, said the company.
The Google DeepMind India team has expanded Project Vaani, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), which provides developers with over 14,000 hours of speech data across 58 languages, collected from 80,000 speakers in 80 districts.
The team also introduced IndicGenBench, a comprehensive benchmark to evaluate the generation capabilities of LLMs on Indic languages, and open-sourced CALM (Composition of Language Models).
The company said it is introducing Google Wallet APIs to simplify the integration of loyalty programs, tickets, and gift cards.
For developers using the Google Maps Platform, India-specific pricing is being introduced with up to 70 per cent lower costs on most APIs.
Google is also collaborating with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), offering developers building for ONDC up to 90 per cent off on select Google Maps Platform APIs.
From consumer experiences to agriculture, to social enterprises, AI has the power to address some of the biggest challenges of our time across many sectors and industries, said Seshu Ajjarapu, Senior Director, Google DeepMind.
The company will also soon launch the Agricultural Landscape Understanding (ALU) Research API, a limited availability tool designed to make agricultural practices more data-driven and efficient.
Smell Sensitivity in Space: Enhancing Astronauts’ Dining Experience, Australia
Melbourne, Jul 17 — Astronauts frequently report that the joy of eating diminishes in space, with food that tastes great on Earth becoming bland in orbit. Despite tailored diets designed to meet their energy needs, space travelers often struggle to eat enough. What’s the reason behind this? Experiments carried out on Earth, using virtual reality (VR) and a simulated spacecraft environment, explored how space travel might influence a person’s sense of smell and food experience. The findings, published in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology, showed that some smells become more intense in a space-like environment. This knowledge could help design better space menus, enhancing astronauts’ dining experiences and potentially benefiting individuals in isolated environments on Earth.
High Performance Plastics Market Projected to Reach USD 50.35 Billion by 2031, Led by Polyamides and PEEK
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The high-performance plastics market is characterized by intense competition among industry leaders like BASF SE, DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Solvay, SABIC, and Evonik Industries. These companies are dedicated to innovation, continuously developing new formulations and improving production techniques to meet industry requirements and elevate product performance.
ROH Booking to Receive Revamped Focus in Arlington Residency, US
ROH is set to get more dedicated attention to its booking, according to a new report. Fightful Select reports that the promotion, which is owned and booked by AEW’s Tony Khan, is likely to get more care, at least in the short term, with the upcoming residency for AEW and ROH in Arlington described as a potential turning point in that regard.
ROH will be having dedicated tapings in Arlington with several shows filmed across one day, as opposed to being filed before or after Dynamite and Collision on a weekly basis. One source said that this should lead to more consistent creative. MxM’s signing specifically for ROH was noted as another possible indication of such. When asked if ROH champions would be featured more on ROH TV, it was indicated that it does appear to be the case.
Bat Boy: The Musical – Tale of Love, Mystery, and Acceptance in Belfast, US
‘Belfast Maskers’ ‘Bat Boy: The Musical’ beautifully captures the script’s campy pathos
Can the Bat Boy be tamed and civilized by the love of a family when the townsfolk suspect he’s the reason their cattle and children are dying? All this waif of a boy, who has pointy ears and needs blood to survive, longs for is to belong and be loved.
Let me walk among you. Let me show my face. I could learn to live with you, I can earn my place, the lonely Bat Boy sings in the Belfast Maskers’ latest offering at its Basil Burwell Community Theater.
The community theater company, founded in 1987, again proves that it can harness the talent in Waldo County to produce quality theater to rival some of the professional groups farther afield. While its Bat Boy: The Musical has some technical flaws, its talented cast overcomes them to wring all the campy pathos out of its songs and script.
Bat Boy: The Musical is based on a 1992 story in the defunct tabloid Weekly World News about a half-boy, half-bat found living in a cave in West Virginia. The show premiered five years later at the Actors’ Gang Theatre in Los Angeles with the book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe.
In style and tone, it is a second cousin to Little Shop of Horrors, which closed Sunday after a month-long run at the Bangor Opera House. Both musicals feature blood-thirsty creatures and characters longing to be loved and neither takes itself too seriously.
Bat Boy director Erik Perkins, who also designed the set and ran the spotlight, expertly uses all of the stage in the former Universalist Church on Court Street. Under his direction, this cast forms a fine ensemble that transitions expertly from the campy characterizations to the poignant and conflicting emotions woven into the script and the songs.
Meredith Parker (Maggie Machaiek), veterinarian Dr. Parker (Andrew Lipman) and their daughter Shelley Parker (Olivia West) form the family that takes in Bat Boy (Miles Mailloux). Machaiek, who is among the strongest and finest singers in the cast, gives a layered performance as the traditional wife and mother who strives to understand, educate and protect Bat Boy. Hers is a layered and sincere performance.
As Shelley, West is open, sweet and attracted to Bat Boy. She convincingly defends him to skeptical townsfolk and argues with her mother over her relationship with Bat Boy. West and Machaiek’s duet, Three Bedroom House, is a moving song about the mother and daughter’s desire to run off with Bat Boy and build a new life somewhere else. The women forge a bond that made everyone in the audience Sunday believe they were really mother and daughter and their voices blend beautifully together.
And then there’s Lipman, who at times seems like he’s in a different play than the rest of the cast. The actor is a forceful presence on stage but he wears the character’s insanity like a cheap suit from his opening scene. The plot would be better served if Lipman slipped a bit more slowly into murderous madness. The actor needs to dial back the creepiness in the first act and focus more on the vet’s humanity to fit in with the rest of the family.
The small statured Mailloux is physically perfect as Bat Boy. His transformation from squeaking animal to conversive blood-drinking human transfixes the audience. The actor makes the audience feel Bat Boy’s pain at being unable to reconcile the animal and homosapien sides of his nature. It is a truly mesmerizing performance.
About half the cast of 12 portray multiple characters. Sheriff Reynolds (Gwyneth Sauvage), Maggie (Dakota Wing) and Rev. Hightower (Zachary Field) stand out for their fine comic timing and embrace of the campy elements of the show. Sauvage nicely balances the sheriff’s need to please the town’s voters in advance of an upcoming election while showing compassion for the Bat Boy. She also has a powerful and expressive singing voice.
Wing looks like he played football or soccer in high school, so just putting him in a dress and curly wig induces laughter. As the town’s mayor, he perfectly parodies how many small town politicians run a raucous town meeting. Field flawlessly captures the enthusiasm of television evangelists everywhere.
The pace and the action is slowed a bit by some clunky scene changes. The rotating set piece appears to be awkward to move and is unusually noisy. The other aspects of the show, including the costumes, designed by Kelly Gubbels, lighting by Zafra Whitcomb and choreography by Julia Clapp are great. Music Director Dominic Williams gets the most out of his talented singers with just a keyboard and a drum set.
Bat Boy is a strange and quirky little musical that ventures into the absurdity that was a staple of tabloid journalism. It also highlights the dangers of society and individuals ostracizing and harassing those who are different and shows how love and understanding can, at least for a while, let a freak of nature enjoy being part of a community.
Bat Boy: The Musical will be performed at 7 p.m.Thursday through Sunday and at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Basil Burwell Community Theater, 17 Court St., Belfast. Parental guidance is suggested due to violence, sexuality and other disturbing material. For information, visit belfastmaskers.com.
Rowdy Arrested for Assaulting Class VIII Girl Promising Marriage in Chennai, India
Recent Incidents of Sexual Abuse in India | Chennai News – Times of India
Chennai: A rowdy was arrested under the Pocso Act for sexually assaulting a Class VIII girl after promising to marry her in Royapettah.
On July 12, the 13-year-old girl did not return home in the evening after school. Her parents searched for her at her school, where teachers informed them that the girl was absent that day. The girl’s phone was also switched off.
Alarmed, the girl’s mother inquired with her friends about her whereabouts, when some of her friends informed her that she was in the house of the person who was engaged to her elder sister.
Following this, the girl’s mother filed a complaint at the Royapettah all-women police station on Monday. The police traced the girl and the man, and the two appeared before the investigation officer on Monday evening.
Inquiries revealed that she had eloped with Mani, alias Thikkuvai Manikandan, who was involved in more than 10 cases, including those of assault. She told police that she eloped with him after he promised to marry her. He took her to his friend’s house and sexually assaulted her.
The all-women police arrested Manikandan under the Pocso Act, and he was remanded in judicial custody.
Celebrated Portland Chef Naomi Pomeroy Drowns in Tubing Accident, US
PORTLAND, Ore. – An award-winning chef from Portland, Oregon, drowned in an inner tubing accident, authorities said.
Naomi Pomeroy, 49, drowned in the Willamette River near Corvallis after the group she was tubing with got caught on an exposed snag in the water. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office reported the incident, with Pomeroy trapped by a paddleboard leash tied to her. Despite efforts by rescuers, her body remains unrecovered due to heavy debris in the area.
Pomeroy was known for her renowned restaurant Beast and her James Beard award-winning culinary skills. Colleagues and fans alike mourned her tragic passing, recognizing her significant contributions to the Portland food scene. Rep. Earl Blumenauer described Pomeroy as a remarkable individual whose legacy extended beyond her culinary expertise.
This news has sent shockwaves through the food industry, underscoring the unpredictability of life and the profound impact of Pomeroy’s culinary innovations. Her memory will undoubtedly endure among those she inspired and touched with her talent and creativity.
Researchers Develop Breakthrough Machine Learning Framework for Predicting Phonon Dispersion Relations, US
A revolutionary AI method has been developed to rapidly predict materials’ thermal properties, potentially transforming the efficiency of power generation systems worldwide. The groundbreaking technique, developed by a team of researchers from MIT and other institutions, utilizes machine learning to predict phonon dispersion relations up to 1,000 times faster than previous methods. This advancement could lead to the design of more efficient power generation systems and microelectronics, addressing the global challenge of waste heat. The research, published in Nature Computational Science, showcases the potential of this new approach to revolutionize the field of materials science.
