First Fortnite World Cup champion wins $3m

Last night, a US teenager who goes by the name Bugha – real name Kyle Giersdorf – became the Fortnite World Cup Champion. The 16-year-old beat 99 other players in the brightly coloured Battle Royale game, fighting his way to a $3m victory.

The competition began months ago. A total of 40 million people attempted to qualify for the World Cup, the first esports event of its kind for the mega-hit Fortnite, one of the world’s most popular video games. The 100 who made their way to New York this weekend represented 30 different countries.

 Bugha pulled ahead in the very first round, racking up nine eliminations and surviving all the other players.

Though his performances in future rounds were less attention-grabbing, his consistency meant that he stayed in first place throughout. He ended up with almost double the score of the second-place competitor

The American competitor's family was in the stadium to watch and congratulate him. So, too, were approximately 16,000 other attendees, with millions more tuning in online.

Many viewers of the Fortnite World Cup had favourite players that they supported throughout the tournament. The most popular competitor at the World Cup was likely Turner Ellis Tenney, better known as Tfue, who regularly broadcasts his matches to a dedicated community. Playing Fortnite is already his career, both as a competitive player in tournaments and as a streamer on Twitch, entertaining his fans on a daily basis.

But many of the 100 competitors were ordinary teenagers, who practise on their home computers or consoles.

Sixteen-year-old Bugha represents the average age of a competitor, while others, including fifth-place finalist Thiago “King” Lapp from Argentina, were as young as 13. They were competing for a slice of the World Cup’s $30m prize pool, currently the biggest in esports history – and the same amount awarded to teams in the recent women’s football World Cup.

One 15-year-old British player, Jaden Ashman, took home over $1.3m by placing second with his partner in the duos version of the competition on Saturday. He told the BBC "I will probably save half of it and put quite a lot of it into a house and my family”.

His mother admitted that she had been “quite against his gaming”. But with Ashman, King, Bugha, and others taking home life-changing amounts of money, and every competitor in the final 100 earning at least $50,000, it’s clear that professional gaming can be an incredibly lucrative career for those few who are lucky, talented, and hardworking enough to make it.

From The Guardian (edited)

Modern medieval castle (video)

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Paris Tourist Buses

There is probably no more efficient way to see the sights of Paris than from the top of a tourist bus.

All the big hitters—the Eiffel tower, the Louvre museum, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, the Champs Elysées—one after another, like beads on a string. And all you have to do is sit, snap a few pictures, and possibly hop off (and back on again). It’s a dream, especially for those who are short on time or have limited mobility.

Dozens of these buses shuttle across the center of Paris every day. But for all they benefit travelers, locals find them a pain, clogging up traffic channels and roundabouts, and generally getting in the way.

If the Paris mayor has its say, however, these tour buses may not exist for much longer. Earlier this week, deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire revealed a plan to remove them from the city’s hotspots altogether.

“We no longer want tourist buses as they are now, wreaking total anarchy throughout Paris. Visitors will use public transport like everyone else. Current tour guides will be able to run cycle tours or lead walking groups with audio guides”,  Grégoire added.

The initiative is part of a city-wide fight against overtourism, which has driven up rents and left tourists queueing for hours at a time to see the city’s sights. Right now it is impossible to get an afternoon ticket to visit the Eiffel tower at any point in the next three weeks. Visitors must book as much as three months in advance to make sure they are not disappointed.

Overtourism is an issue for EU countries and some European cities feel increasing pressure to impose clamp-down measures on their visitors. Rome, which has nearly 10 million international visitors per year, in December 2018 banned the practice of dressing up as historical figures and posing with tourists, and limited where tour buses can go and how many can visit the city center. 

From Quartz

French submarine found 50 years after disappearance (captions)

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Wallets and honesty (audio)

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Money rain

Part A . Please choose the right option

In – On   Tuesday before sunset a side door of an armored Garda truck suddenly opened in – on  an Atlanta highway.  A swirl of cash — and a lot of it — blew - blows through the air and bought - brought traffic to a halt and people into the street.

About $175,000 in bills spilled out and was - were carried away by the wind over a section of Interstate 285, which encircles – encircled  Atlanta. The bills scattered to the shoulder of the six-lane westbound section of the highway.  Bills blow - blew into the woods or sank - sought into storm drains.

More that - than a dozen commuters scooped up bills from the pavement and returned to their vehicles with fistfuls, and sometimes armloads, of cash.

Police officers received a 911 call around 8 p.m. in – on Tuesday about people “frantically” scooping up money near the exit along the highway, which is bordered by creek beds, trees and office towers.

In - By the time officers arrived, people who had pulled over to grab the loot was - were nowhere to be seen.

“People likely saw the police lights came - coming over the highway,” Sergeant Parsons said. “‘Oops, time to go! Police are here! Party’s over!’”

About $200 was - were retrieved from the highway and surrounding woods — a small fraction of the estimated $175,000 believed to have gone missing, or into people’s pockets.

Detectives were trying to – were trying contact drivers by looking up -for license plate numbers . in – on cellphone videos that had been posted on – in social media. But Sergeant Parsons said that the authorities had any - no intention of prosecuting anyone - no one who returns the money.

“No harm, no foul,” he said. “But you need to turn that money out - in. While we certainly understand the temptation, it’s still theft and the money may - should be returned.”

Part B . Ask questions so as to get the underlined answers

 “I just saw a cloud full of what looked like leaves,” Randrell Lewis, 26, an Uber Eats driver said in an interview. “No, it was money. I could not believe my eyes. I am not going to lie. The first thing I did was to pull over and then I started picking up some money. Everybody started pulling over and it was crazy. If the temptation is there, and you see money falling from the sky, most people would probably take the money”.

The police said that on Wednesday he returned $2,094 in singles, fifties and hundreds. 

 “I just wanted to really make sure I am not going to get in trouble for this,” Randrell Lewis said.

The nation’s highways have been accidentally generous before. In 2004, an armored truck carrying $2 million flipped over on the New Jersey Turnpike during the evening rush, spilling tens of thousands of dollars in coins.

Last year, the back door of a Brink’s armored truck swung open during the morning rush on Interstate 70 near Indianapolis, losing an estimated $600.000 in cash onto the highway.

Randrell Lewis, center, with Sgt. Robert Parsons, left, and Chief of Police Billy Grogan at the Dunwoody Police Department.CreditDunwoody Police Department

Article from The New York Times (edited)

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Teen vaping is not risk free (audio)

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Building an Arm with Lego (video)

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Netherlands tries to control tourism boom

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Barriers and advertising banners are being erected around fields in the tulip bulb region of the Netherlands in an attempt to deter a growing number of tourists from flattening the flowers to take selfies.

Tourists have been seen jumping above the tulips to secure the perfect picture, or lying down in the middle of fields, squashing the plants.

Simon Pennings, a grower near the town of Noordwijkerhout in the bulb region of south-west Netherlands, was the first to erect a barrier in his field, emblazoned with the slogan of a pilot campaign backed by the local tourist board: “Enjoy the flowers, respect our pride.”

Now, with as many as 42 million people forecast to visit the country annually by 2030, up from 18 million in 2018, the Netherlands tourist board is moving its focus from promoting the country as a tourist destination to trying to manage the huge numbers coming in by plane, train and automobile.

A country of 17 million people can have too much of a good thing, it is suggested.

Such is the nuisance factor of some tourists in parts of the Netherlands that the tourist board is even encouraging regions to take up a policy that might require actively dissuading people from visiting certain areas.

 Some cities and regions are very busy. Giethoorn, a small village with a lot of windmills and about 2,500 inhabitants is usually explored by boat through its network of small canals and visited by an estimated 350,000 Chinese tourists every year.

Amsterdam, home to 1.1 million people, attracts more than 17 million visitors a year.

The local municipality is seeking to halt the growth of hotels, souvenir shops, ticket sales outlets and cheese shops. Amsterdam Schiphol airport’s capacity will be capped and passenger vessels will be moved out of the city’s center.

Tourism earns the Dutch economy €82bn (£70bn) and in 2018 accounted for about 761,000 jobs – one in 13 jobs in the Netherlands.

Europeans remain the most likely to visit the Netherlands, with Germans and Belgians making up 42% of all tourists.

The ‘Iamsterdam’ sculpture – a popular photo spot – was removed from the square in front of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam last year

From The Guardian (edited)

Photograph: Merten Snijders/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

New technology is helping anthropologists (video)

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Former Argentine President De La Rua Dies at 81

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Former Argentine President Fernando De la Rúa, who attracted voters with his image as an honest statesman and later left the country plunged into its worst economic crisis, died Tuesday at age 81.

President Mauricio Macri sent a tweet expressing regrets at the death of de la Rúa and saying, "His democratic trajectory deserves the recognition of all Argentines." The Telam state news agency said he died of cardiac  complications.

De la Rúa served from 1999 to December 2001, when he infamously escaped by helicopter from the rooftop of the pink presidential palace. It came after days of violent protests against his handling of the crisis amid rioting that caused dozens of deaths across Argentina.

De la Rúa graduated with a law degree and was politically active from his youth in his native province of Cordoba. At the age of 36, he ran as vice president on the ticket with Ricardo Balbín in a 1973 presidential election that was won by the leader and founder of Peronism, Juan Domingo Perón.

De la Rúa then lost against Raúl Alfonsín in the first presidential election held after Argentina returned to democracy following the 1976-1983 military dictatorship.

After serving in both houses of Congress, he was elected as the first mayor of Buenos Aires in 1996. The Argentine capital had achieved its autonomy from federal control two years earlier following a constitutional reform.

De la Rúa launched his successful presidential candidacy amid economic turmoil that began under President Carlos Menem and frustration by Argentines over what they believed was Menem's tolerance of  corruption.

He took office in December 1999 with a popularity rating above 70 percent and a pledge to  improve the economy. But he was forced to order tax hikes, salary cuts for public workers and other unpopular measures and he left office with ratings in the single digits.

His image for transparency was tarred in 2000 when a journalistic investigation revealed allegations of bribes to opposition senators to pass a law weakening worker protections. The scandal caused the resignation of Vice President Carlos Álvarez and weakened the governing coalition.

In an effort to curb the economic and governance crisis, De la Rúa appointed Domingo Cavallo as economy minister. The Harvard University-trained economist was widely credited with turning around Argentina economy during his first stint in 1991-1996 by pegging the Argentine peso one-to-one with the U.S. dollar. But in 2001, his belt-tightening policies, along with his decision to partially freeze bank accounts, proved highly unpopular, and he was also forced to step down in December 2001.

The crisis in 2001-2002 was devastating. One of every five Argentines was jobless and some reported going hungry. The peso, de-linked from the dollar, lost nearly 70 percent of its value. Banks were barricaded behind sheet metal as thousands of protesters unsuccessfully tried to withdraw their savings.

At least 27 people died in protests and looting that swept Argentina in December 2001 and the country eventually defaulted on a record debt of more than $100 billion. After De la Rúa left, Argentina saw a revolving door of five presidents over two weeks.

The final image of de la Rúa's as president was his helicopter lifting off from the presidential palace rooftop as the sun set behind a haze of tear gas and a raging crowd hurled insults from the capital's historic Plaza de Mayo.

From The New York Times (edited)

Belgian vegan parents and their children

How about filling in the blanks with the following words? 

·         as	·         although
·        anyway	·        as long as
·        due to the fact that	·        however
·        since	·        yet

The Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium published a legal opinion arguing that veganism is 'unsuitable for unborn children, children, teenagers, and pregnant and lactating women'.

One of the professors behind the report, Georges Casimir, says that parents who choose to raise children on a vegan diet should be prosecuted                            , in his opinion, vegan parenting qualifies as 'non-assistance to a person in danger' - a criminal offense that carries a prison sentence of up to two years. Casimir claims children need 'higher requirements for protein and essential fatty acids.                              the body 'does not produce them' naturally, nutrients must be 'brought in via animal products'.

                          , the American Dietetic Association states: "Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes                                 they are well planned."

Animal rights group PETA reacted angrily to the ruling of the Belgian medical association. "Nutritionists confirm that a meat- and dairy-based diet can strike people down in adulthood –                                 it can lead to hardened arteries that cause stroke, brain aneurysms, and heart attacks.                         , a well-planned vegan diet is perfect for babies and children.

"Kids, including my own, thrive on a balanced vegan diet.                         as with any dietary regime, it's the parent's responsibility to ensure their child is getting all the necessary nutrients."

Heather Russell, dietitian at The Vegan Society, said: “Nutritional planning is important for everyone, not just vegans.                          it’s possible to provide all the nutrients needed for growth and development without animal products.”

A survey published last year found that 44 percent of Belgians  had  cut their meat consumption                              they are very fond of Flemish beef stew and frites cooked in animal fat.  Sixteen percent of Belgians said they eat mostly vegetarian.

 From The Telegraph

Smartphone zombies

In South Korea smartphone cases come with rings mounted on the back, to prevent clumsy owners from dropping them. This makes people look like they are literally married to their phones. In many of Seoul’s most Instagrammable coffee shops, couples on dates spend vastly more time looking at their screens than at each other. The ramifications go beyond the potentially dire consequences for romance.

Walk around the streets of Seoul or any other South Korean city, and there is a real risk of bumping into people whose eyes are glued to their smartphone screens. Insurers estimate that around 370 traffic accidents annually are caused by pedestrians using smartphones. That figure does not include those who bump into lamp posts and the like while perusing the latest cat videos.

The government initially tried to fight the “smombie” (a portmanteau of “smartphone” and “zombie”) epidemic by distributing hundreds of stickers around cities imploring people to “be safe” and look up. This seems to have had little effect even though, in Seoul at least, it recently replaced the stickers with sturdier plastic boards.

Instead of appealing to people’s good sense, the authorities have therefore resorted to trying to save them from being run over. Early last year, they began to trial floor-level traffic lights in smombie hotspots in central Seoul. Since then, the experiment has been extended around and beyond the capital. For the moment, the government is retaining old-fashioned eye-level pedestrian lights as well. But in future, the way to look at a South Korean crossroads may be down.

From The Economist

The 40-year journey of the Sony Walkman (audio)

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1979 - The first Sony Walkman went on sale

Forty years ago this month, a paperback-sized rectangle of blue and silver metal  with buttons and attached to headphones, transformed the way we listen to music. On July 1, 1979, Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp. unveiled the Sony Walkman TPS-L2. Until then, entertainment had been a shared activity involving family or community. The Walkman changed this, ushering in an era of individualism and personalisation that is the norm today.

The gadget’s origins are usually attributed to Sony’s co-founder Masaru Ibuka’s wish to listen to his favourite operas on long flights. He asked designer Norio Ohga to build a prototype based on an existing Sony cassette recorder called the Pressman.

The rest is history. Upon its introduction, the Walkman sold 50,000 units in Japan within two months and went on to sell 4 million more over the next three decades. 

The Walkman though had its share of detractors. Many believed that a tape player without a record function would never prove popular. There were also fears of a negative health impact, with specialists warning that prolonged exposure to loud music on headphones could cause hearing loss. Moreover, the sight of youngsters walking around with their Walkmans, oblivious to the goings-on around them, had social commentators pointing to the alienating effects of the technology. 

The Walkman certainly had a huge impact on our relationship to technology. It was the precursor to the personal devices — mobile phones, iPods, laptops — of contemporary life. 

The portable device was also a symbol of the 1980s: a time of new freedoms against a global landscape in which Japan was increasingly ascendant.

However, the fortunes of the Walkman mirrored those of Japan’s. The late 1990s saw the collapse of Japan’s bubble economy  and the beginning of years of economic stagnation. The Walkman too was past its prime; the introduction of the iPod in 2001 brought about the end of its popularity.

Over the years, Sony tried to adapt the Walkman to changing technologies. In the 1990s there was the CD-playing Discman and the new millennium saw Walkmans going digital, featuring touch-screens and Wi-Fi functions. But these have never matched the popularity of the original mode.

From The Hindu

Brazilian musician João Gilberto has died (audio)

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German Coto and Aston Martin’s First Residential Project

The building is designed to look like a windsail

ASTON MARTIN RESIDENCES MIAMI

This week the first residential building project for luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin saw the initial few hundred drum loads of cement being poured for its 66-story building in downtown Miami.

In partnership with G & G Business Developments, Argentina's largest global property developer run by supermarket magnate German Coto, the building will bring 391 condos to Biscayne Boulevard, nearly 50% of which have already sold.

According to reps for the project, it is the tallest residential development south of New York City and will have the largest concrete foundation pour to date for Miami.

One of the main features of the development will be its superyacht marina, the only deepwater yacht marina in downtown Miami. Due to its unique windsail design the upper floors will have seven different penthouses, all of which will have their own private pool. One of them, the nearly 2,000 square meter triplex-level penthouse asking $50 million, will come with the last of only 24 Aston Martin Vulcans ever made, valued at around $3 million.

Here's a photo of the Aston Martin Vulcan that comes with the sale. It is made from carbon fiber, with carbon ceramic brakes and a 6-speed sequential transmission. The original design debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.

Aston Martin Vulcan valued at $3 million comes with the penthouse.

ASTON MARTIN MIAMI RESIDENCES

Designers for the building will borrow from Aston Martin as inspiration. The reception desks will be made from carbon fiber and doors will have Aston Martin handles, The buyer of the triplex penthouse can also have personal design consultations with Aston Martin's Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, to customize the final touches on the condo.

The amenities for the rest of the building include an optional personal butler service, fitness center, art gallery, spa and barber station, chef's kitchen, kids rooms, two cinemas, infinity pool, Sky Lounge and direct access to the Bay via the marina. Pictured below is one of the indoor pools.

Indoor pool

ASTON MARTIN RESIDENCES MIAMI

The building is expected to be completed in 2022. Current units start at $750,000 up to $50 million for the penthouse. For more info head to Aston Martin Residences Miami information page.

From Forbes (edited)