Archaeologists from Johns Hopkins University have unearthed what is believed to be the earliest example of alphabetic writing during an excavation in Syria. The inscriptions were found on small, clay cylinders within a tomb at Tell Umm-el Marra, an ancient urban centre in western Syria. The writing has been dated to approximately 2400 BCE, pushing back the origins of alphabetic systems by 500 years. This discovery raises new questions about the evolution of written communication and its impact on early societies.
Discovery Details and Artefacts
The clay cylinders, found in a tomb alongside pottery, jewellery, and weapons, are thought to have served as labels or identifiers. Dr Glenn Schwartz, a professor of archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, who led the 16-year excavation, noted that the perforated cylinders might have been attached to objects or vessels to convey information. Without the means to decipher the symbols, the exact purpose remains speculative.
The discovery was made in one of the best-preserved tombs at the site, which also contained six skeletons and an array of Early Bronze Age artefacts. Carbon-14 dating techniques confirmed the age of the tomb and its contents.
Impact on Understanding of Alphabet Origins
Previously, it was widely believed that the alphabet was first developed around 1900 BCE in Egypt. However, these new findings suggest that alphabetic systems may have originated earlier and in a different region. According to Dr Schwartz, this evidence challenges long-held assumptions about how and where alphabets emerged, indicating that societies in Syria were experimenting with innovative communication technologies earlier than previously understood.
Details of the findings will be presented by Dr Schwartz at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research, offering further insights into the role of alphabetic writing in the development of early urban civilisations.
Amid rumours of rift with makers of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa 2, composer Devi Sri Prasad said that they ‘have more complaints’ for him than the love.
The makers of Pushpa 2: The Rule organized a grand event in Chennai on Sunday to launch the new song Kissik. Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna and Sreeleela were in attendance, along with music composer Devi Sri Prasad who took to stage to talk about his experience working on the highly-anticipated sequel. Amid rumours of rift with the makers, a report by Indian Express reported that Devi Sri Prasad said the producer(s) have ‘more complaints about me than love.’ (Also read: Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 The Rule will be the ‘best film in recent times’ says Devi Sri Prasad)
Devi Sri Prasad is the music composer of Pushpa 2: The Rule.
What DSP about Pushpa 2 The Rule
There were rumours that the makers of Pushpa 2 were dissatisfied with Devi Sri Prasad after he was unable to deliver the background score on time so they had roped in composers Thaman, Ajaneesh Lokanath and Sam CS instead.
At the event, DSP said, “Ravi (Shankar) sir, you’ve been blaming me saying that I didn’t deliver the song or the background score on time. I know you love me. Where there is love, there are complaints as well. But, I think you have more complaints about me than love.”
‘They asked me to wait to make an entry…’
He went on to address the crowd and said, “Even now, I came to the venue 20-25 minutes ago. They asked me to wait to make an entry for the camera. When I heard the song Kissik being played, I came running. As soon as I arrived, you said, ‘Wrong timing, sir. You’re late’. What can I do? If I had to address these separately, there’s no kick. I am always open.”
Devi Sri Prasad won a National Award for his music in Pushpa: The Rise. Pushpa 2: The Rule is the sequel to Sukumar’s 2021 film. Mythri Movie Makers and Sukumar Writings are producing the movie. Pushpa 2: The Rule will be released in theatres on December 5 in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali.
It has been a tough few days for Microsoft and Xbox. First, the firm’s ambitious and expensive attempt to acquire Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard hit a major hurdle when Britain’s competition regulator blocked the $69 billion (roughly Rs. 5,63,980 crore) deal on April 26, citing cloud gaming concerns. And then, Redfall, Xbox’s first big tentpole exclusive of the year, released May 2 to largely negative reviews that criticised the game over its technical and creative failings. Arkane Austin’s first-person looter shooter is currently sitting at an underwhelming overall rating of 61 on OpenCritic. In the aftermath of the fallout from the botched release and the resulting fan backlash, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has come out and taken “full responsibility” for Redfall’s less than stellar reception. In a wide ranging and revealing interview late Thursday, a visibly dejected Spencer laid out his word on Xbox’s recent failures, the expectations from the community, and the road ahead. “I’m disappointed, I’m upset with myself,” the head of Xbox said on Redfall’s poor launch.
Two days after the dismal launch of Redfall, Spencer came on the Kinda Funny Xcast show and spoke candidly about the failures of Xbox’s latest exclusive. “There’s nothing that’s more difficult for me than disappointing the Xbox community,” Spencer said, adding, “…Just to watch the community lose confidence, be disappointed — I’m disappointed, I’m upset with myself.” Spencer admitted that Redfall’s critical response fell far short of internal expectations and was “not what we wanted” and also volunteered to take accountability for the game’s poor reception. “I also know these games are $70 (nearly Rs. 5,720), and I’m gonna take full responsibility for launching a game that needs to be great,” he said.
Spencer also defended Redfall Developers Arkane Austin over criticism that their latest game was perhaps an ill-advised departure from their regular slate of titles. Arkane is known for critically acclaimed single-player immersive sims like Dishonored and Prey, while Redfall is a co-op looter shooter. “There’s clearly quality and execution things that we can do, but one thing I won’t do is push against creative aspirations of our teams,” he said, adding that the studio had a proven track record, but admitting that they failed to hit “their own internal goals” on Redfall.
Spencer also weighed in on British antitrust regulator Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) move to block Microsoft’s takeover of Activision Blizzard and maintained that the firm intended to appeal the decision that could prevent Xbox from bringing the company’s lucrative portfolio, which includes the sales juggernaut Call of Duty franchise under its umbrella.
Later in the interview, the Xbox chief took on the so-called “console wars,” expanding upon Xbox’s position in the gaming space relative to Sony PlayStation and Nintendo. Spencer admitted that Xbox’s last-gen console, the Xbox One, failed to capture a crucial generation of gamers, most of whom were now tied to their game libraries built over the span of a console generation and thus difficult to sway toward buying an Xbox Series X or Series S. Spencer emphasised that Xbox does not intend to “out-console” Sony or Nintendo and instead focus on its unique services such as Game Pass, cloud and PC gaming.
Redfall released May 2 across PC and Xbox Series S/X and faced flak over its several technical and performance issues, while also drawing criticism for its creative and design decisions, leading to a flurry of sub-par reviews. Its cause wasn’t helped by the fact that the game launched with a 30fps cap on Xbox consoles. Spencer confirmed that Xbox, which owns Arkane-parent Bethesda, will work on improving the game and committed on delivering a 60fps patch on consoles on priority.
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Diljit Dosanjh and his Dil-Luminati tour have got the whole world grooving. As a part of his Dil-Luminati India Tour, Diljit recently performed in Pune, where several fans danced to his tune. Among those fans, a face that stood out was of Bollywood star Nimrat Kaur, the actress who is famous for her work in projects like ‘Dasvi,’ ‘Lunch Box,’ ‘Airlift’ and more. Earlier today, Nimrat took to Instagram to share a series of pictures and videos from the concert, expressing her excitement and admiration for the singer. In her post, she used the line from Diljit’s song ‘Lover’ and shared -“Hona ni main recover…Simply the BESTESSSSSTTTTT concert I’ve EVER been to. @diljitdosanjh chardi kalaan, tuhada koi mukabla nahin!! Wahe guru mehr kare hamesha….#onemanarmy #proudsikh #unforgettable.”
The post has a selfie of Nimrat delivering a cheeky wink, which was then followed by more images where her glee and happiness were too adorable to miss. The videos saw her dancing to Diljit’s popular tracks like ‘Vibe’, ‘Kinni Kinni’, ‘Lemonade’, ‘Naina’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ (title song), ‘Hass Hass’, and much more. Nimrat also shared pics that captured her moments with the security personnel during the concert. Meanwhile, fans, in turn, were able to catch glimpses of her fun and carefree vibe. Nimrat wore a simple yet stylish attire that had a red-and-white printed shirt, blue denim jeans, and white sneakers. She complemented her look with a red-sling bag and curly hair. Fans filled her post with positive reactions, praising her energy and the joy she showed in the clips. “Panjabi ah gye oye,” one fan commented, while another thanked her for sharing lively posts, saying, “Now that’s called living in the moment! Diljit began his ‘Dil-Luminati’ tour with a splashing show in Delhi. He then visited Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Pune. Soon he will be covering other cities – Kolkata, Bengaluru, Indore, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Guwahati.
Google has rolled out an update to Gmail’s Summary Cards feature. With the latest revamp, the Summary Cards in Gmail get a new design and action buttons. The Summary Cards will organise details from all related emails, and they will be categorised into four — Purchases, Events, Bills, and Travel. The new update will let users organise and take actions in their inbox without opening every email. Purchase Summary Cards are currently rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS, while the other three Summary Cards and a new “Happening soon” section will be available in the coming months.
Google Released a Big Update to the Summary Cards Feature
The tech giant announced updates and new features for Summary Cards in Gmail via a blog post. Gmail has long offered Summary Cards inside emails that have provided a snippet of information at the top of emails. Summary Cards will have a new look and action buttons with the latest revamp. The action buttons will let users add an event to their Calendar and invite others or set a bill payment reminder.
As mentioned, the updated Summary Cards in Gmail will show up across Purchases, Events, Bills and Travel categories. The Purchases card will allow users to track packages, view order details, and other information about their orders. With Events, users can quickly find details about upcoming events. Bills can be used to view and pay bills or set due dates while Travel assists in managing reservations and trip details.
Google says the Summary Cards will visually organise important information across all related emails. This would allow users to get details, see the latest status and take action quickly.
Alongside Summary Cards, Google has introduced a new ‘Happening soon’ section at the top of inboxes. It will show purchase Summary Cards, and this section will only show up when it’s relevant.
The updated Purchase Summary Cards are rolling out to Gmail for Android and iOS. The Event, Bill, and Travel Summary Cards as well as Happening Soon are confirmed to be available “in the coming months.”
Malavika Mohanan, the rising star of Indian cinema, has been garnering praise across multiple film industries, including Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi. Known for her versatility, Malavika has impressed audiences with her powerful performances. One of her most talked-about roles came in the critically acclaimed Tamil film ‘Thangalaan,’ where she starred alongside Chiyaan Vikram. Her portrayal of a fierce and magical character, Aarathi, left a lasting impact on both critics and viewers.
In a recent interview with HT, Malavika opened up about the response to her role in ‘Thangalaan’ and the challenges she faced. She expressed her gratitude for the positive reception of her performance, noting that it was one of the most physically and mentally demanding roles she had ever undertaken. “I’m happy that I got an amazing response for my performance. It was one of the hardest roles I’ve ever done,” she shared.
Reflecting on the journey of acting and filmmaking, Malavika emphasized the importance of giving your best while working on a project. She explained, “Every film has its own journey. The more films you do, the more you realize that the only thing you can do is give your best while you’re working on it—give it your all, so that you don’t have any creative regrets.” She added, “But after that, the film is really in the hands of the film gods; you can’t control what happens after the film is released.”
Malavika’s role in ‘Thangalaan’ has been praised for its depth and intensity. As Aarathi, she portrayed a powerful, multi-dimensional character who embodied both strength and mysticism. Audiences and critics alike lauded her performance for its complexity and emotional depth.
Looking ahead, Malavika is set to make her Telugu debut in ‘The Raja Saab,’ where she will star opposite pan-India superstar Prabhas in a horror-comedy directed by Maruthi. She also has a major project lined up with Karthi in the spy-thriller ‘Sardar 2.’ With these upcoming films, Malavika is poised to continue her upward trajectory in the industry.
Thousands of supporters of former PM march to the capital, demanding his release from jail and government’s resignation.
Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan have been detained by police as Pakistan’s capital remains under lockdown in advance of a rally demanding the release of the jailed former prime minister and resignation of the current government.
Shahid Nawaz, a security officer in eastern Punjab province, said on Monday that police have already detained more than 4,000 Khan supporters, including five parliamentarians.
In a news conference, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities will arrest more Khan supporters if they reach Islamabad’s Red Zone, which has been sealed off to protect government buildings.
“Anyone reaching it will be arrested,” he said.
Naqvi said the security measures were in place to protect residents and property, blaming Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for inconveniencing people and businesses.
Earlier on Monday, hundreds of Khan’s supporters started their march to Islamabad, reaching the fringes of the capital, according to officials and his party.
Videos posted on social media showed allies of Khan, rallying the crowd and urging them to march ahead. Convoys of hundreds of cars were also seen.
In Peshawar, supporters of Khan were in a festive mood, with PTI workers dancing, drumming and holding up pictures of their leader as cars set off for Islamabad.
Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and key aide Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, are leading a rally that arrived just outside Islamabad on Sunday night, PTI said.
Khan has been behind bars for more than a year and is facing more than 150 criminal cases. But he remains popular and his party has described the cases as politically motivated.
Authorities have sealed off Islamabad with shipping containers since Saturday and shut down major roads and highways connecting the city with PTI strongholds in Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to prevent Khan’s supporters from reaching Islamabad.
The protest march, which Khan has described as the “final call”, is one of many his party has been holding to seek his release. The party’s last protests in Islamabad early in October had turned violent.
Communications blackout
Earlier, on Sunday, Pakistan suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns”.
But Naqvi, the interior minister, denied suspending mobile phone services, saying only mobile data was affected.
Meanwhile, telecom company Nayatel sent out emails offering customers “a reliable landline service” as a workaround in the areas suffering suspended mobile phone service.
Khan’s supporters rely heavily on social media to rally support for his release and use messaging platforms like WhatsApp to share information, including details of events.
The government, however, is imposing social media bans and targeting virtual private network (VPN) services, according to internet advocacy group Netblocks.
The United States Embassy in Islamabad issued a security alert for Americans in the capital, encouraging them to avoid large gatherings and warning that even “peaceful gatherings can turn violent”.
Khan was voted out of power by parliament in 2022 after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military.
The military has an outsized role in politics and it mostly decides who will rule the South Asian nation of 241 million.
A view of a convoy by supporters of Imran Khan as they head towards Islamabad from Peshawar [Fayaz Aziz/Reuters]
Amazon Great Indian Festival 2023 sale is here with incredible deals on a range of devices from smartphones to computers. Picking the right gaming laptop under Rs. 1 lakh can be a daunting task, not only because of the various options available across different price points, but also because of the limitations that more affordable models will introduce when you want to play more challenging titles. Thanks to the ongoing Amazon sale, you can pick up gaming laptops at discounted rates, while trading your older laptop to get an exchange discount. Meanwhile, using your SBI card to purchase gaming laptops during the sale will grant you an instant discount of 10 percent.
If you’re in the market for a new laptop for gaming and your budget is Rs. 1 lakh, here are some of the top deals on gaming laptops during the ongoing Amazon Great Indian Festival sale.
Powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS processor paired with a 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, this HP gaming laptop sports a large 16.1-inch full-HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It has 16GB of DDR5 RAM and runs on Windows 11 Home out of the box. The HP Fast Charge technology on board the laptop is claimed to charge it from 0 to 50 percent in 30 minutes.
This ROG-series gaming laptop is equipped with a 17.3-inch full-HD display with a 360Hz refresh rate. Under the hood is an octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS processor, along with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 4GB (GDDR6) graphics card. It features 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. You get Windows 11 preinstalled along with Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition, but you can also purchase this laptop without the office productivity suite.
The Dell G15 5520 runs on a 12th generation Intel Core i5-12500H CPU paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card with 4GB of GDDR6 memory. The laptop is equipped with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD. Dell has also touted the Alienware-inspired thermal design of the laptop that includes copper pipes, dual air-intake, and four vents. It featured Windows 11 Home out of the box with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2021, and 15 months of McAfee Multi Device Security.
One of the more affordable options on this list, the Acer Aspire 5 is powered by a 13th generation Intel Core i5-1335U CPU with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU with 4GB (GDDR6) memory. The laptop features 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It sports a 15.6-inch LCD display with up to 170-degree viewing angles, and runs on Windows 11 Home out of the box. It weighs 1.78kg, as per the listing on the e-commerce website.
Equipped with a 15.6-inch full-HD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, the Asus TUF F15 is powered by an Intel Core i5-11400Hntel Core i5-11400H CPU paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU with 4GB of DDR6 memory. This laptop also runs on Windows 11 and has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It has a 48Wh battery and a cooling system equipped with 83-blade fans that are claimed to function at 0dB and offer self-cleaning functionality.
NEW YORK — Barbara Taylor Bradford, a British journalist who became a publishing sensation in her 40s with the saga “A Woman of Substance” and wrote more than a dozen other novels that sold tens of millions of copies, has died. She was 91.
Barbara Taylor Bradford, million-selling novelist known for ‘A Woman of Substance,’ has died at 91
Bradford died Sunday at her home in New York City, a spokesperson said Monday.
Starting with “A Woman of Substance,” published in 1979, Bradford averaged nearly a book a year as one of the world’s most popular and wealthiest writers, her net worth estimated at more than $200 million and her fame so high that her image appeared on a postage stamp in 1999. In 2007, Queen Elizabeth II awarded her an OBE .
Her books were published in 40 languages and sold more than 90 million copies around the world.
With titles like “Breaking the Rules” and ”Act of Will,” she specialized in stories of women fighting for love and power in a man’s world. Her favorite among her books was “The Women In His Life,” inspired by her husband’s escape from the Nazis
Bradford was married for 56 years to German-born film producer Robert Bradford, who died in 2019.
A native of Leeds, West Yorkshire, she was an only child in a working class family who loved books early. As a girl, she had a story published in a local magazine. By age 16, she left school against her parents’ wishes to become a reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post. Over the next 30 years, she would work as fashion editor of Woman’s Own Magazine, cover a variety of beats for the London Evening News and, in the United States, write a syndicated column about interior design.
Although she wrote children’s stories and advice books, novels were her dream. “A Woman of Substance” was a multi-generational chronicle of the travails and triumphs of retail baron Emma Harte, who would be featured in several other Bradford novels. The book has sold more than 30 million copies and was the basis of a 1984 television miniseries starring Jenny Seagrove as a young Emma and Deborah Kerr as Emma late in life.
“And if you want to meet the real Emma, meet me,” Bradford told the Telegraph of London in 2009. “Emma had to be tough and ruthless at times: but then so am I. I have to be, as a businesswoman. And I’m a bloody good businesswoman.”
Bradford and Emma Harte were linked by more than money: both had family secrets. As a young woman, Emma became pregnant by a man who refused to marry her and gave birth to a daughter. Years later, Bradford learned through her biographer that her own mother had been born out of wedlock. It is now believed that Bradford’s maternal grandfather was Frederick Oliver Robinson, the second Marquess of Ripon and the owner of the Studley Royal estate.
Seagrove, who became friends with Bradford after starring in the miniseries, described her as a “powerhouse of glamour and warmth” and a “force of nature” who stayed true to her roots.
“Success never diluted her warmth and humor or her ability to relate to everyone she met, whether a cleaner or a princess,” Seagrove said. “She never, ever forgot that she was just a girl from Yorkshire that worked hard and made good. RIP dear friend.”
Bradford had a strict writing routine: at work behind her IBM Lexmark typewriter by 6 a.m., break around 1 p.m., then back to writing until 6 p.m., at the latest. According to an authorized 2006 biography, Piers Dudgeon’s “The Woman of Substance,” Bradford more than adapted to her midlife fortune, living in a 5,300 square foot apartment overlooking Manhattan’s East River, collecting Impressionist art and enjoying refills of pink champagne poured by her Moroccan butler. When the Bradfords put their apartment up for sale in 2010, the asking price was just under $19 million. .
Over the years, she met many other celebrities. Bradford befriended Sean Connery before he appeared in his first James Bond movie and remembered advising him, thankfully in vain, that he should lose his Scottish accent if he wanted to succeed.
Around the same time, she met a fellow journalist at the Yorkshire Evening Post. He was “lanky and disheveled with acne,” and kept trying to talk to her even after she turned him down for a date at the movies.
He was Peter O’Toole.
“Years later, Keith Waterhouse and I were at an event where the producer Sam Spiegel introduced the star of his new movie,” she told The Guardian in 2021. “Out walked the most beautiful man I’d ever seen, dressed as Lawrence of Arabia. Keith said: ‘Don’t you wish you’d gone to the pictures with him now?’ I never got over Peter’s transformation.”
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
A breakthrough in solar research has been achieved using NASA’s supercomputing technology, revealing new insights into the intricate inner workings of the Sun. The simulations, developed by NASA’s Ames Research Center, showcase turbulent motions within the Sun’s upper layers, using data collected from various Sun-observing spacecraft. These findings aim to enhance understanding of solar activity and its effects on space weather.
Advanced Techniques Reveal Fine Solar Structures
The animated simulations display the vigorous twisting and churning of solar plasma, resembling chaotic flows akin to boiling water. The model demonstrates how materials move within the Sun’s layers, bringing new clarity to solar dynamics. Dr Irina Kitiashvili, a leading scientist at NASA Ames, explained that these simulations incorporate a “realistic approach,” using advanced knowledge of solar plasma to replicate phenomena observed by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.
The research focuses on recreating detailed structures of the Sun’s subsurface layers, capturing features such as shock waves and tornado-like phenomena. These elements, spanning only a few miles, represent details previously unattainable through spacecraft observations alone. However, global models of the Sun remain beyond current computational capabilities. Instead, smaller regions are modelled to yield a deeper understanding of specific dynamics.
The Sun’s activity significantly impacts Earth, influencing seasons, weather, and space weather patterns. Accurate space weather forecasts are critical for safeguarding astronauts and spacecraft, especially during missions such as NASA’s Artemis campaign. The NASA Parker Solar Probe, set to make a record-breaking approach to the Sun in December 2024, will further support these efforts.
Exploring New Frontiers in Solar Research
The simulations were run on the Pleaides supercomputer at NASA’s Advanced Supercomputing facility, generating extensive data over several weeks. As the Sun approaches its solar maximum period, researchers anticipate uncovering additional phenomena, enhancing predictions of solar behaviour.
