Maruti Suzuki India begins production at 4th Gujarat plant, e VITARA to roll out first (Image: Maruti Suzuki India)
New Delhi, (IANS): Maruti Suzuki India Limited on Thursday commenced commercial production at its fourth manufacturing plant at Hansalpur in Gujarat, taking the facility's annual production capacity to one million vehicles and making it the country's largest passenger vehicle manufacturing complex at a single location.
With this, the site's annual production capacity increases from 7.5 lakh units to 10 lakh units.
The commissioning of the fourth plant makes Hansalpur the first Suzuki manufacturing facility globally to achieve an annual production capacity of one million vehicles at a single location.
It also becomes India's largest passenger vehicle manufacturing facility at one site.
With the addition of Plant D, Maruti Suzuki's total manufacturing capacity across India has increased to 2.9 million units per annum.
The company has made a cumulative investment of Rs 25,288.7 crore at the Hansalpur facility, including an estimated Rs 3,900 crore invested in the newly commissioned plant.
The new facility will initially manufacture the company's flagship battery electric vehicle (BEV), the e VITARA, supporting Maruti Suzuki's entry into the electric passenger vehicle segment.
Hansalpur currently manufactures popular models such as the FRONX, Baleno, Swift and the e VITARA.
The facility has also emerged as a key export base for the automaker, accounting for nearly 47 per cent of Maruti Suzuki's total overseas shipments during FY2025-26.
The company has also strengthened sustainable logistics at the Gujarat plant. In March 2024, Maruti Suzuki commissioned India's first in-plant railway siding for automobiles at the Hansalpur facility under the Prime Minister's GatiShakti programme.
Since railway dispatches began in March 2023, the company has transported more than 7.5 lakh vehicles through the network, helping reduce carbon emissions, fuel consumption and road congestion.
In another milestone, the Gujarat in-plant railway siding became the world's first modal shift transportation project to be registered under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) programme in February 2026, recognising its contribution towards reducing transportation-related emissions.
A photograph from the dancer and her avatar’s December performance at OBA Theater in Amsterdam – credit, Dentsu Lab, supplied to the BBC
Brain interface technology allowed a dancer suffering from ALS to project her imagination onto the stage in the form of a mixed reality avatar that pranced around a theater in Amsterdam as part of a first-of-its-kind performance.
Whether tense or free, timid or morose, the avatar encapsulated all the long years of training that saw Breanna Olson become a successful dancer before the disease confined her to a wheelchair.
The incredible moment gave Olson a chance to dance again, something she had not been able to do for years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common form of motor neuron disease.
“I never dreamed that I would be able to dance on stage again,” she said. “It was just a beautiful and memorable moment I will remember for the rest of my life.”
ALS affects the nerves, brain, and spinal cord, weakening and stiffening them over time which can lead to difficulty talking, breathing, and swallowing. There is no known cure and the disease is fatal.
Breanna Olson – credit, Dentsu Lab
A subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Dentsu, Dentsu Lab gave Olson the opportunity to become involved in its “Waves of Will” project that sought to use advanced brain interface technology to help those living with disabilities recapture their personal expression and identity.
Their new brain interface which the Lab developed in concert with a data tech firm NTT uses an electroencephalogram headset that captures the brain activity of Olson, and translates certain electrical signals into dance moves. Olson envisions how she would execute a movement, and the interface delivers it through normal computer instructions to a projected avatar which then performs the motion.
Olson told the BBC that it requires extreme focus and concentration to imagine the precise details of any particular movement for the avatar. She said that it did exactly what the project’s aim was: to give personal expression back to someone like her who had lost that freedom.
India's auto sales hit record July high, passenger vehicle dispatches jump 34.3 pc: SIAM (AI Image/IANS)
New Delhi, (IANS): India's automobile industry recorded its strongest-ever July sales performance with passenger vehicle, two-wheeler and three-wheeler dispatches posting robust double-digit growth, according to data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Thursday.
According to the SIAM data, domestic passenger vehicle dispatches from manufacturers to dealers rose 34.3 per cent year-on-year to 4,57,810 units in July compared with 3,40,772 units in the same month last year.
Meanwhile, two-wheeler sales increased 22.6 per cent to 19,23,483 units last month from 15,69,120 units a year earlier, while three-wheeler dispatches also registered strong growth and rose 33.4 per cent to 92,560 units against 69,403 units in July 2025.
Commenting on the performance, SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said the industry delivered its strongest-ever July sales, supported by broad-based growth across segments.
"India's auto industry delivered its strongest-ever July sales, with robust double-digit growth across Passenger Vehicles, Three Wheelers and Two Wheelers. Passenger Vehicle sales rose 34.3 per cent to 4.58 lakh units, Three-Wheeler sales grew 33.4 per cent to 0.93 lakh units and Two-Wheeler sales increased 22.6 per cent to 19.23 lakh units compared with July 2025," Menon said.
He added that the positive momentum, sustained over several months, has continued as the industry enters the festive season, with expectations of strong consumer sentiment supporting demand.
In addition, in the two-wheeler segment, scooter sales climbed 23.7 per cent to 7,98,190 units, while motorcycle sales grew 20.7 per cent to 10,74,796 units.
Air quality continues to improve across Europe, with emissions from most of the major pollutants declining by significant amounts.
“The overall picture remains positive,” according to the annual Assessment Report on European Air Quality 2025, released by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), an EU program that has monitored changing air pollution levels for over ten years.
“Air quality continues to improve in Europe, with emissions of key air pollutants declining across the continent as a result of long-standing air quality policies, technological improvements, and cleaner industrial and transport systems,” said the report.
In the past decade, CAMS monitoring shows that emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides have fallen by approximately 3-5% per year, across the European Union.
The most significant reductions have been achieved in industry (like smokestack emissions) and road transport (like car emissions).
Since 2015, industrial emissions of sulphur oxides have fallen by 59%, while nitrogen oxide emissions from industry have declined by 39%.
Road transport emissions have also fallen substantially, with reductions of 40% for nitrogen oxides and 34% for fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
Each colored line represents a major pollutant in 10-year trend:
Courtesy of CAMS / Copernicus
The CAMS Air Quality report provides a clear indication that air quality policies are working. At the same time, a deeper dive into the report demonstrates that year-to-year variations in weather conditions can significantly influence pollution levels, even as long-term trends continue to improve.
Physical touch may be an important evolutionary tool to help manage social tension and keep the peace. Left: Jake Brooker/Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust; Right: Zanna Clay/Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, CC BY-NC-ND
During an eight-month-long research trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, we studied consolation: the way bonobos and chimpanzees comfort each other after conflicts and distress. But early on, we kept noticing something that didn’t quite fit.
The animals were exchanging a lot of friendly physical contact, embracing, touching and kissing, in competitive situations before any clear conflict or distress signals had broken out. We started wondering what all that touching was actually for.
Our new research into how great apes manage social stress suggests it could be quite important, and that this behaviour dates back at least 6 million years, long before our species evolved. Like us, our closest ape cousins, the bonobos and chimpanzees, also navigate stressful and competitive situations every day.
One example is when they discover a tree laden with ripe fruit. Everyone wants to eat and conflicts of interest can often lead to fights. But something else caught our attention. More often, apes reach out to one another with friendly touch: embracing, patting and making gentle contact.
Our colleague Edwin van Leeuwen, a Dutch biologist, had developed a feeding task to measure social tolerance across great ape groups. This task is called the peanut swing. It involves filling a bamboo trough with peanuts and swinging it over the fence so the food lands in front of the apes. This spreads peanuts evenly across a small area while researchers record who gets food, and how much. We used this test to measure whether groups could share resources peacefully in close proximity.
Because the apes watched the trough being filled, we could observe how they behaved as anticipation built. Friendly touch clustered in the minutes just before the food arrived. Previous researchers called this celebration behaviour. But discovering food is not just a cause to celebrate. It is also tense and risky.
Could friendly physical contact be helping to keep that tension at bay?
To find out, we measured a five-minute anticipation period before the food was released. We watched everything the apes did: friendly contact like kissing, embracing and patting, as well as aggression and threats. Over several months, we filmed 116 apes from five groups across 60 sessions at two African sanctuaries, Lola ya Bonobo in the DRC and Chimfunshi in Zambia.
In both species, the answer was clear. Bonobos and chimpanzees who engaged in more reassuring friendly contact before the food arrived spent significantly more time feeding peacefully alongside others afterwards. This pattern held across most groups and was strongest in the most tolerant ones. Researchers consider tolerance – the willingness to share space without aggression – to be the foundation of cooperation and social learning across the animal kingdom. Our findings suggest that pre-emptive friendly touch may be part of how that tolerance is maintained.
The patterns followed the social structure of each species. In bonobos, female-female pairs were the most likely to show friendly reassurance. This reflects how bonobo society works: females form strong alliances to counter male aggression and occupy high status positions. In chimpanzees, it was males who reassured each other most, reflecting the importance of male coalitions in their societies.
For both apes, these patterns were clearest in the more tolerant groups. In groups with more authoritarian leaders, the pattern disappeared.
Some of the most striking behaviour we saw were among the chimpanzees. During tense moments, they placed fingers, hands and other body parts inside each other’s mouths. They also held each other’s genitals. For a species known for lethal aggression, these are extraordinarily risky things to do.
Perhaps the vulnerability is itself the signal of trust. You only offer a risky contact if you are confident the other animal won’t bite. And this communicates something important about how you see the relationship.
Hand-in-mouth between male Sims (left) and female Careen: a vulnerable contact which is common during tense competitive periods in chimpanzees. Jake Brooker/Chimfunshi Wildlife Orphanage Trust, CC BY-NC-ND
Research across five European cultures published in 2015 found that the area of the body you’ll let someone touch maps almost directly onto the strength of your emotional bond with them. There’s plenty of cultural variation though. Brits are famously more guarded about casual contact than other Europeans, and touch between men in many western contexts carries particular social weight.
Perhaps most strikingly, touch before competition makes a difference. A study of negotiators found that pairs who shook hands before bargaining cooperated more, lied less and reached better joint outcomes, even in situations where cooperation came at a personal cost. A handshake may signal something important about intent before a word is even spoken.
But physical contact matters even during competition. A 2010 study of all 30 teams in the US National Basketball Association during the 2008-09 season found that the teams who touched more during games early in the season, through fist bumps, hugs and high fives, performed better and played more cooperatively later. This held even after controlling for player salaries and preseason expectations. In another 2024 study of women’s college basketball, players who received more physical contact from teammates after missing their first free throw were more likely to score on the second.
We see the same thing in genuinely high-stakes situations too. Research analysing street conflicts using CCTV found that witnessing a fight increased anxiety in bystanders. But, those who then engaged in physical contact with others showed reduced anxiety afterwards. A separate study of consolation after street robberies found that the way bystanders approached and touched victims closely mirrored the post-conflict consolation we observe in chimpanzees.
Humans, bonobos and chimpanzees all use reassuring touch but our evolutionary lineages split over 6 million years ago. The simplest explanation is that reassuring touch predates all three of us, and is certainly far older than our own species. So let’s not forget that we hold within us powerful and ancient behaviour that can help us manage our social worlds and maintain peace.
Posted by Harry Baldock: For more than two decades, the World Communication Awards (WCAs) has set the global benchmark for excellence, innovation, and leadership across the telecoms industry. Recognised worldwide as one of the sector’s most prestigious honours, the WCAs celebrate the companies and individuals driving meaningful change and shaping the future of global communications.
The WCAs is judged by an independent panel of more than 100 industry experts and every entry undergoes a rigorous review process to ensure the awards recognise genuine innovation, measurable impact, and outstanding achievements,
From 5G, AI, cloud and cyber security to submarine networks, sustainability, crisis response, customer experience and beyond, there is a category for every part of the telecoms ecosystem.
Think you could be a winner? Make sure you get started on your entry today! Enter all nominations before the deadline on Friday 19th June 2026. Top tip: you can part complete your entry and come back to it later.
Winners from the World Communication Awards 2025
5G Award
Winner: Singtel, in partnership with Ericsson, for Singtel 5G+
(Silver Award: KT, AICT Company)
Access Innovation
Winner: Ericsson and Telstra for the world’s first 5G triple-band FDD Massive MIMO
(Silver Award: Rakuten Symphony, Rakuten Site Management’s Fiber Manager)
AI Innovation
Winner: Jio Platforms for JioBrain
(Silver Award: Chunghwa Telecom)
Best Digital Transformation Programme
Winner: Ericsson and IOH for their Digital Monetization Platform
(Silver Award: Jazz and Huawei)
Best Network Evolution Initiative
Winner: Colt Technology Services for their global Optical network
Harare: India's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays a shot during the third T20I match between India and Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Sunday, July 26, 2026. (Photo: IANS/X/@BCCI)
Harare, (IANS) Spearheaded by teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s sublime 81 and a clinical three-wicket haul from speedster Mayank Yadav, India outclassed Zimbabwe by 35 runs in the third and final T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday, and clinch a 3-0 series sweep.
Having arrived on the back of disappointing series defeats in Ireland and England, India produced a clinical all-round performance to assert their dominance. Sooryavanshi set the tone early with a sparkling 81 off 49 balls to lift India to a formidable 192/5 on a slow pitch.
In defence of the total, Mayank was clinical in using short of good length and short balls to ensure Zimbabwe were never in the hunt. Despite a sloppy display in the field that saw five chances being dropped, India restricted Zimbabwe to 157/7 to wrap up a comfortable series win.
Electing to bat first, India rode on Sooryavanshi’s calculated brilliance, as the young opener abandoned his typical all-out aggression for a more mature, paced knock and showed willingness to rotate strike via 19 singles and three twos. Blending power with precision, he hammered the Zimbabwean attack - whenever they erred - across the park for hitting eight fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 165.31.
Though India fell just eight runs short of the 200-mark, Sooryavanshi also shared stands of 75 and 50 with Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer before Rinku Singh provided the finishing touches with 14-ball 25. For Zimbabwe, though Brad Evans was the standout bowler with 2-41, the bowlers were majorly expensive and gave away 17 extras – 15 of which were wides.
Zimbabwe's decision to open the bowling with skipper Sikandar Raza backfired instantly as Sooryavanshi carved the first ball past short third man for four before bringing out the lofted drive for another boundary in a 17-run opening over. But Blessing Muzarabani quickly came in and reasserted his dominance over Abhishek Sharma.
For the third time in the series, the towering pacer had the opener’s number - inducing a thick edge as Abhishek attempted to smash him over cover, and an easy catch was taken by the keeper for just two. Unfazed by the early setback, Sooryavanshi muscled a hook into the parking lot off Muzarabani for six before edging him past third man for another boundary.
Sooryavanshi displayed equal dexterity against fuller balls - repeatedly opening the face of his bat to squeeze out yorkers from Newman Nyamhuri and Brad Evans through the off-side for boundaries. On the other end, Kishan settled into his groove by slicing and muscling Brad Evans for consecutive boundaries before muscling Wellington Masakadza over mid-wicket for another four.
Sooryavanshi also launched Masakadza over mid-wicket for another towering six before bringing up his second T20I fifty in 31 balls when he calmly cut Wessly Madhevere to deep point for a single. Though Kishan was castled by Raza for 29, Sooryavanshi continued to show his range - smoking Madhevere down the ground before reverse-sweeping him for another boundary.
With skipper Iyer hammering Madhevere for consecutive boundaries, Sooryavanshi continued to dish out towering sixes, including a 102-m hit down the ground, before his attempt to go downtown again ended in Brad Evans pulling off a sensational low diving catch at long-off to finally dismiss the teenager for 81.
Though Shreyas Iyer holed out to deep mid-wicket off Brad Evans for 27, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh hit four boundaries collectively before the latter holed out to deep cover off Evans on the last ball of the innings. By then, India crossed 190-mark, thanks to Sooryavanshi’s measured blitzkrieg and 40 runs coming from overs 17-20.
Chasing 193, Zimbabwe’s reply got off to a disastrous start as Mayank struck with the very first ball of the innings – just like he did in the first T20I. The express pacer produced a 147kph thunderbolt that nipped away and drew an edge from Brian Bennett, which Vaibhav Sooryavanshi caught sharply at first slip.
Yash Thakur’s double-strike in the fourth over effectively derailed Zimbabwe’s chase. Thakur first outsmarted Dion Myers (19) with a clever 125kph bouncer, which the batter tamely chipped to Shreyas Iyer. On the very next ball, Thakur produced a moment of magic - getting a 143kph delivery to take skipper Sikandar Raza’s leading edge before diving dynamically in his follow-through to pluck a sensational one-handed stunning catch.
Though Ryan Burl denied Thakur a hat-trick with a crisp drive to the boundary, India seized complete control of the contest by taking three scalps in power-play. Ryan Burl and Ben Curran tried resurrecting the innings with a 31-run stand, before the latter reverse-swept to short third man off Ravi Bishnoi.
Burl and Wessly Madhevere tried reducing Zimbabwe’s pressure after four boundary-less overs with some lofty hits - the former carted Sharma for a four and six while the latter gave the same treatment to Thakur.
The 60-run partnership ended when Mayank had Madhevere pulling to mid-wicket (and later had Brad Evans caught out at cover) and once Ashok Sharma sent Tadiwanashe Marumani’s off-stump for a walk to get his first international wicket, the writing was on the wall for Zimbabwe, with the result entirely in India's favour, despite Burl hitting an unbeaten fifty off 42 balls.Brief Scores: India 192/5 in 20 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 81, Ishan Kishan 29; Brad Evans 2-41, Blessing Muzarabani 1-33) beat Zimbabwe 157/7 in 20 overs (Ryan Burl 54 not out, Wessly Madhevere 28; Mayank Yadav 3-29, Yash Thakur 2-45) by 35 runs 3rd T20I: Sooryavanshi’s 81, Mayank’s 3-29 power India to 3-0 sweep over Zimbabwe | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
New York, (IANS) France captain Kylian Mbappe has won the Golden Boot for FIFA World Cup 2026, retaining the title of tournament top scorer which he claimed at Qatar 2022.
The France forward took his tally to ten with a double in Les Bleus’ 6-4 defeat by England in an enthralling and end-to-end Bronze final in Miami on Saturday. Having struck eight times to finish top scorer at Qatar 2022, Mbappe became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice.
The 27-year-old was the first man to reach double figures for World Cup goals since Gerd Muller for West Germany in 1970. Only Just Fontaine, who hit 13 for France in 1958, and Hungary's Sandor Kocsis with 11 in 1954, have scored more individual goals in a single tournament.
Mbappe opened his scoring account in France's opener by netting a spectacular brace against Senegal, thus becoming the top scorer in his national team's history. He scored another two goals against Iraq and two more against Sweden in the round of 16. He then scored the winning goal against Paraguay in the round of 16 and found the net again against Morocco in the quarterfinals.
To cap off his outstanding tournament and secure the trophy, he scored 2 goals in the third-place match against England. Lionel Messi was the second-highest scorer with 8 goals, and Jude Bellingham finished third with 7.
Mbappe, who is now the all-time leading scorer in FIFA World Cup history, has been in electric form throughout June and July, leading France to the semi-finals, where they were beaten 2-0 by Spain.
The 27-year-old, who scored four times as his nation lifted the trophy at Russia 2018 and added eight more as they reached the final four years later, bagged braces in the group games against Senegal and Iraq and again in the Round of 32 success against Sweden.
His double-figure haul ensured he took the crown ahead of Lionel Messi, who he had traded places with at the top of the Golden Boot standings several times, as the Argentina legend ended his campaign with eight goals.Mbappe, who also claimed the Bronze Ball for his performances, then fired home the crucial penalty to overcome Paraguay and hit the opener in France’s 2-0 quarter-final success against Morocco, drawing a blank against La Roja before adding two more in the defeat by England. Mbappe becomes first player to win Golden Boot twice | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Deepfake faces generated via artificial intelligence (AI) have become so realistic that they routinely fool people, with some research suggesting there may be US$40 billion worth of deepfake-related fraud annually by 2027.
Not only do most people struggle to spot AI faces, but as long ago as 2023 we discovered some AI faces are “hyperreal” – they look more real than actual human faces. We also found people are overconfident they can spot AI faces, with the most confident people making the most errors.
But it turns out most people can learn to spot AI faces with an hour or so of practice. In new research published in PNAS, we show there’s a straightforward way to improve detection of deepfakes, by training people to pick up the tell-tale clues through experience rather than direct instruction.
The difference between human and AI faces
In our early research, we discovered a key difference between AI and human faces. AI faces are hyperaverage.
This means AI faces tend to be more symmetrical, proportional and attractive than human faces. But they’re less expressive and memorable – less likely to stand out in a crowd.
Intriguingly, people can accurately and reliably judge these qualities, but frequently misinterpret the clues. For example, people often think that faces that look a bit odd are AI-generated, when in fact human faces are more likely to have distinctive, unusual features.
Compared to real faces (left), AI faces (right) tend to be more symmetrical, attractive and proportional, but less distinctive, memorable and expressive. Nightingale / OSF, CC BY
Although most people struggle to decide whether a face is AI or real, there is one group who are naturally good at picking up on these clues. So-called super-recognisers, who have exceptional human face perception, seem to be attuned to hyperaverageness, making them better at spotting AI faces.
This made us wonder if, for those of us who aren’t super-recognisers, AI detection abilities can be trained like other forms of perceptual expertise.
Learning to spot AI
In our first study, we invited 45 participants into our lab at the Australian National University, and asked them to rate around 100 faces on six qualities that can be used to tell AI faces apart from real ones: distinctiveness, memorability, proportionality, symmetry, attractiveness and expressiveness.
We didn’t tell participants how these clues might help them distinguish an AI face from a real one – they had to figure that part out for themselves.
We told participants which faces were AI and which were human, but we didn’t tell them that the AI faces were more symmetrical or less expressive, for example. They had to learn these clues through experience rather than direct instruction.
Before and after training, we tested participants’ ability to tell AI faces apart from human ones with new faces that were not used in the training.
Training works
In one test, participants were shown three faces – two human and one AI – and asked to select the face that was AI. On this task, average accuracy doubled from 40% before training to 80% afterwards.
Impressively, all participants improved in their AI detection abilities and several achieved close to 100% accuracy. Participants also became faster and more confident in their correct judgements.
With training, people get much better at picking AI faces out of a group with human faces. In this example, the middle face is AI generated. Nightingale / OSF, CC BY
To test the robustness of these findings, the Different Minds Lab at the University of Victoria in Canada conducted a replication of the AI detection training with Canadian participants.
The Canadian lab obtained results that were as strong as those reported in the original Australian study. This shows the training is reliable and can work for different groups of people.
The training was also just as effective when it was administered online rather than in person, which suggests it could be a cost-effective remote intervention in deepfake detection.
A promising start
But this doesn’t mean we’ve solved the AI detection problem. Our training used faces produced with one particular generative AI model, called StyleGAN3.
This is one of the most realistic face generators available, but the technology is advancing rapidly and there are many other models.
Our method has potential to adapt to new models by updating the training images and using multimedia, but we don’t yet have evidence that this will work.
The clues we found for spotting AI faces may shift for other models. And other important questions remain: do the training benefits hold up over time? Is the training effective for people of all ages, including older adults or children?
How to improve your chances of spotting AI faces
If you want to get better at recognising AI-generated faces, looking at a lot of examples is a good start. You can see plenty at websites such as Which Face Is Real or This Person Does Not Exist.
While you’re looking, bear in mind the six key factors we identified:
how distinctive is the face?
how memorable is it?
how proportional is it?
how symmetrical is it?
how attractive is it?
how expressive is it?
This exercise may improve your deepfake radar. But the more important takeaway is that AI deepfakes are improving very quickly – they can easily fool us, even if we think we can spot them.
The clues are no longer obvious: they are not based on specific details but on facial impressions which people form rapidly and naturally, but which can be misleading.
At the same time, there is hope. We have shown it is possible to train people to detect AI faces. By combining our human-centred approach with algorithmic detection, we may yet keep up in this cat-and-mouse game of advancing technology.
Interested in undertaking the AI face detection training? You can register here.
Keith Thomas (left) and Professor Chad Bouton (right) – credit, Feinstein Insitutes, released
A man who was paralyzed from the chest down is now regaining hand and arm control thanks to a double neural bypass surgery—by using a computer to connect his brain with the nerves in his hand and arms.
Hardly doomed to becoming a wheeled internet node for the rest of his life, the man has continued to regain feeling and function that persists even when the computer is turned off.
The result speaks volumes about the potential for this technology to improve the lives of those suffering from paralysis in the US and abroad.
Such hope and progress unfortunately begins with tragedy and loss, in a very familiar way.
Keith Thomas from Massapequa was just hanging out next to the pool during the summer of 2020, when he decided to dive in “aggressively as usual.” The next thing he knew, he was in a helicopter being transported to the hospital.
Just 3 months after breaking his neck at the bottom of the swimming pool, Thomas was contacted by the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research asking if he were interested in enrolling in a 3-year medical trial for what they called double neural bypass surgery, with the paralyzed nervous system between the brain and the arms being that which is bypassed.
It uses electrodes implanted into Thomas’ brain to detect when he wants to move his arms. The signals are then routed to his arms and hands to move them. The “double” part refers to sensors embedded in his fingers which detect the presence and form of objects in his hands, performing another transfer of information to the brain via the electrodes.
Not only does it allow Thomas to move his arms and hands, feel the fur of his dog or the touch of his sister’s hands, but detect whether he’s holding a ball, a coffee cup, or an egg, and adjust pressure and control accordingly.
Training with the system for 35 weeks, the strength in his atrophied arms has increased: 86% in his right arm and 62% in his left, while also experiencing an increase in his range of motion. Having previously not been able to lift his hand above his neck, he can now scratch his nose and wipe his mouth. The progress was recently presented in a paper published in Nature.
“For me this is an incredible moment,” said Professor Chad Bouton, leader of the team at Feinstein that developed the technology.
“For years, we have been wanting to really tackle the restoration of movement and the sense of touch and bring those together and we’ve also wanted to create lasting effects,” Bouton said in a video release. “I think we’re going to continue to see progress and I think it’ll be applicable to the millions of folks around the world who really need this technology.”An interesting thing about the technological ensemble restoring Thomas’ capabilities of touch and movement is that it’s unclear just how much more he’ll be able to recover. Where will he be after another 35 weeks? Paralyzed Man Can Feed Himself and Pet His Dog Again Thanks to Double Neural Bypass Surgery
New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Lionel Messi has hit back at critics alleging FIFA favouritism toward Argentina, asserting that reaching a second consecutive World Cup final proves his side is among the best in the world and that their success is "not by chance."
Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez, with the help of two Messi assists, struck the late goals in a dramatic turnaround in Atlanta after Anthony Gordon's 55th-minute goal to take Argentina closer to retaining their world crown.
Argentina's journey to defend their title has been filled with controversies as referees made several debatable calls that seemed to favour them. But Messi completely dismissed the claims that the tournament was biased in their favour.
"It hurts whoever it hurts… We've been the best for the last four years, whether people like it or not, no matter what they say. Once again, we're among the two best in the world, and that shows that everything we've done isn't by chance and nobody gave us anything. Reaching two consecutive World Cup finals is something few achieve, and this group did it," the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner stated, taking a clear jab at the critics.
"If we had lost to England, people would have come out and said some nonsense, and we didn't give them the chance. We knew that we were better than them in terms of football , but a lot is at stake in a match of this magnitude, where historic events happen in these games," he added.
Messi also dedicated the win to the legendary Diego Maradona, who had famously headlined the clash between Argentina and the Three Lions in the World Cup quarter-final 40 years ago."Without a doubt, Diego is enjoying this immensely from up there because today was a very special day for him; to be able to give him this joy and for him to experience it however he wants from up there. Let him enjoy it because it’s a gift for him too," he concluded. 'Nobody gave us anything…': Messi slams critics after reaching WC final | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Guwahati, (IANS): In another milestone for wildlife conservation, the latest bird survey in Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) has recorded 30 species of raptors with 217 individual birds and six species of storks with 266 individual birds, officials said on Saturday.
The survey highlights Kaziranga's rich avian biodiversity and reinforces the protected area's significance as a vital habitat for several species of birds, including birds of prey and wetland-dependent storks.
KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that, in a significant step towards science-based wildlife management, the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve authority, in collaboration with research scholars from different universities in Assam, conducted a comprehensive stork and raptor survey during February-March this year.
The survey report was released on World Environment Day on Friday.
“The survey recorded a total of 30 species of raptors with 217 individual birds and six species of storks with 266 individual birds,” Ghosh said. She said that the rapid survey was conducted by a team of 10 expert enumerators between the last week of February and the first week of March 2026, across all administrative ranges under the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division of KNPTR. Nesting locations identified during the current year were also included in the overall analysis.
The official said that the national park supports a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal raptors, including eagles, falcons, vultures, buzzards and owls. Its vast network of wetlands is also home to numerous resident and migratory stork species. A total of 112 species of raptors have been recorded in India, of which nearly 50 species are found in Kaziranga National Park and its adjoining landscape.
Assam’s rich wetlands and the foothills of the Himalayas provide critical habitats for these birds of prey.
“Globally, there are 20 species of storks, primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions. About 50 per cent of them, or eight species, have been recorded in India. All these eight species are also found in Assam and the Kaziranga landscape. The region’s vast network of wetlands and tall trees provides them with safe nesting and feeding grounds,” the KNPTR Director noted.
The latest survey conducted across Kaziranga Tiger Reserve revealed a remarkable diversity of raptors and storks spread across its three administrative divisions. Kaziranga National Park recorded the highest diversity with 21 species of raptors and five species of storks, followed by Biswanath Wildlife Division with 20 species of raptors and six species of storks. Nagaon Wildlife Division recorded 14 species of raptors and five species of storks.
According to the senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, among the stork species, the Asian Openbill was the most abundant, with 92 individual records across all divisions, while the Greater Adjutant was the rarest, with only three individual sightings. Among the raptors, the Himalayan Griffon Vulture was the most commonly sighted bird of prey, with 69 individual records. The Booted Eagle and White-tailed Eagle were the rarest species, with only one sighting each.
Kaziranga’s landscape also serves as a vital stronghold for the globally threatened Pallas’s Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus).
In a remarkable example of international wildlife research, the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre of Mongolia confirmed that a male Pallas’s Fish Eagle named ‘Ider’ was tagged at Buuntsagaan Lake in central-western Mongolia on August 21, 2020. Since then, the bird has returned to Kaziranga National Park every year for breeding, changing its nesting location only once, the official said.
She added that during the non-breeding season, from June to September, the bird consistently returns to Buuntsagaan Lake in Mongolia.
A survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in January 2020 reported 10 active nests of Pallas’s Fish Eagle in Kaziranga, making it the protected area with the highest number of known breeding sites for the species anywhere in the world. These findings underline Kaziranga’s global importance for the conservation of the species and highlight priority areas for action, including protection of nesting and floodplain habitats, mitigation of powerline electrocution, continued telemetry monitoring, and strengthened international collaboration to secure the species’ remaining populations, Ghosh said.
The findings, she said, would contribute significantly to ongoing efforts to protect threatened raptor and stork species and further enhance conservation management across the park’s diverse habitats. Most of these species are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which provides them the highest degree of legal protection in India.
The latest survey underscores the importance of preserving Kaziranga’s unique and diverse landscape and highlights the critical ecological role played by raptors and storks in maintaining the health and balance of the ecosystem, the KNPTR Director said.
Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, India's seventh UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the famed ‘Big Five’ wildlife species.
Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain poses with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup during the 2026 Australian Open men's champion media opportunity at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, Australia, Feb. 2, 2026. (Xinhua via IANS)
New Delhi, (IANS) World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has pulled out of both Wimbledon and the Queen's Club Championships while he continues to recover from a persistent right wrist injury, marking a significant setback for the grass-court season and the year’s third Grand Slam.
The Spaniard confirmed the decision in a message posted on X, saying he was still not physically ready to return to competition despite progress in rehabilitation.
“My recovery is going well, and I feel much better, but unfortunately, I'm still not ready to be able to play, and that's why I have to withdraw from the grass-court swing at Queen's and Wimbledon. They are two really special tournaments for me, and I'll miss them a lot. We keep working to return as soon as possible"! Alcaraz wrote.
The withdrawal continues a frustrating spell on the sidelines for the 23-year-old, who has not played competitively since his injury concerns intensified during the clay-court season earlier this year. Alcaraz had already pulled out of the Italian Open in Rome as well as the French Open, where he had been due to defend the title he won in dramatic fashion last season.
The Spaniard lifted the French Open trophy in 2025 after defeating world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in an epic five-set final that lasted five hours and 29 minutes, widely regarded as one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in recent years.
However, concerns over his fitness had been building for weeks before this year’s French Open. Alcaraz withdrew from the Barcelona Open after receiving treatment on his right wrist and forearm during his opening-round match, before also skipping the Madrid Open.
At the 2026 Laureus Awards earlier this year, where he was named Sportsman of the Year, Alcaraz appeared wearing a brace on his right wrist, further fuelling doubts over his immediate playing future. He later confirmed that medical evaluations had forced him to step away from competition in order to avoid aggravating the injury.
“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland-Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court. This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger,” Alcaraz had said in a statement in April.
The latest setback means Wimbledon will become only the third Grand Slam tournament Alcaraz has missed in his career. Before sidelining himself from the upcoming French Open, the Spaniard had withdrawn from the Australian Open back in 2023 because of a hamstring injury.With Alcaraz now sidelined for the entire grass-court swing, attention is likely to shift even more heavily towards Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and other leading contenders as the tennis calendar moves deeper into the Grand Slam season. Alcaraz pulls out of Wimbledon and Queen’s owing to lingering wrist injury | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Atlanta, (IANS) After securing an unforgettable 3-2 Round of 16 victory with a late winner against Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 last-16 tie, Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez said he has been "longing for this goal since the World Cup in Qatar".
Fernandez, who memorably scored in Argentina’s crucial 2-0 win over Mexico four years ago, hadn’t yet played a leading role in the FIFA World Cup 2026 until he made his presence felt in the third minute of stoppage time to head in a perfect cross from Lautaro Martinez, sending the Argentina crowd into a frenzy on Tuesday.
“It’s the most important goal of my career,” said Fernandez after the match. “It’s first, and the second is the Mexico one. I’ve been longing for this goal for about three years, ever since the World Cup in Qatar. To be able to experience moments like this — honestly, I thank God. I feel privileged."
“When the ball went in, I thought of my whole family up there in the stands, of everyone in the stadium, and of the people back in Argentina. Honestly, my heart was filled with emotion and pride. We know that all Argentines are rooting for us, and that’s absolutely crucial for us," he added.
Fernandez and Co. showed great character by rallying from a deficit for the first time in a World Cup match in the Scaloni era. Egypt were in control, leading 2-0 until the 79th minute, when Cristian Romero pulled one back with a header. Then, Lionel Messi equalised in the 83rd minute before the winner from Fernandez, whose goal was the 3,000th in FIFA World Cup history.
India holds crown as fastest-growing economy with IMF projecting 7 pc growth in current calendar year. (IANS Photo)
United Nations, July 8 (IANS): Astutely navigating the shoals of global economic uncertainties, India is holding on to its crown as the world’s fastest-growing major economy with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting it to grow at 7 per cent during the current calendar year.
The World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update released on Wednesday projected India’s gross domestic product to moderate in the next calendar year to 6.4 per cent.
The Indian economy’s projected performance is "supported by strong momentum in private consumption and services activity", the report said.
The report gave two sets of projections based on time periods for India -- for the fiscal year in the main chart and for the calendar year in a footnote explanation to the chart.
The projections on the basis of India’s fiscal year starting in April used in the report’s main chart and in the text put the growth at 6.4 per cent for the current fiscal year and rising to 6.7 per cent the next fiscal year.
India keeps the fastest-growing major economy rank on the fiscal year projections also.
The WEO Update reduced the fiscal year projection made in the main WEO in April by 0.1 per cent for the current fiscal year but increased it by 0.2 per cent for the next.
The fiscal year basis of growth was 7.7 per cent in 2025-26 before the Iran war had its impact, according to the WEO Update.
India’s growth projections are more than twice the global numbers.
The report gave a 3 per cent projection for the world economy’s growth this year, and expected it to rise to 3.4 per cent next year.
But it presented a relatively positive outlook for the world.
"The global economy as a whole has, so far, weathered the shock from the war better than feared," the IMF said.
"Movements in and repercussions from the main channels of transmission -- commodity prices, inflation expectations, and financial conditions -- have been relatively limited," it said.
“The effects of the war in the Middle East (are) being partly offset by accelerated demand-driven momentum in the global technology cycle thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and its adoption," it added.
China, which is the second fastest-growing economy, was projected to grow by 4.6 per cent this year and lose a half point, falling to 4.1 per cent next year.
The US ranked third with a projected growth of 2.3 per cent this year and 2.2 per cent next year.
US President Donald Trump in a recent TV interview indicated that India’s high growth rate could be a benchmark for the US.
"You have a couple of countries, India is one, doing very well, but it's at 7, 8 per cent," he said.
But the US, Trump said, is being held back from an ambitious growth target by a conservative Federal Reserve that is keeping the interest rates high.
The European Union’s growth projection is a paltry 0.9 per cent this year and1.2 per cent the next.
The IMF’s rating of India’s growth is within the ranges set by several other organisations and banks, all of which mark India as a high-flyer.
The World Bank, in a report last month, said India was expected to grow by 6.6 per cent this fiscal year, rising to 7.2 per cent the next.
The UN said India was expected to grow by 6.4 per cent this year.
"We have seen structurally very robust growth in India, which has been driven by consumer demand, by public investment, but also by strong performance in services exports," Ingo Pitterle, the UN’s senior economist heading its Global Economic Monitoring Branch, said when the report was released last month.
The Reserve Bank of India, also last month, set this fiscal year's growth at 6.6 per cent.
Seattle, (IANS) Charles De Ketelaere's first-half brace, Hans Vanaken's first World Cup goal and a late strike from substitute Romelu Lukaku send Belgiium through to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over co-hosts USA at Seattle Stadium.
USA became the final co-hosts to exit the tournament after Canada and Mexico had already bowed out in the Round of 16.
Belgium has not lost a match since March 20, 2025, a 3-1 defeat against Ukraine in the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League promotion/relegation play-offs and head coach Rudi Garcia’s first match in charge. Since then, Belgium has accrued an eye-popping 12 wins and six draws record across all competitions (FIFA World Cup, UEFA World Cup qualification, UEFA Nations League play-offs, friendlies), buoyed by a +40 goal differential in those 17 matches.
The USMNT has faced the Red Devils on seven prior instances. The first meeting—the United States’ lone victory—came in the form of a 3-0 victory at the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Montevideo, Uruguay. The loss on Tuesday maked USA's have lost seven consecutive matches against Belgium.
The warning signs were there for Mauricio Pochettino's side when Timothy Castagne's 18-yard strike forced Matt Freese into a flying save at the end of Belgium's first meaningful attack.
Youri Tielemans then went within inches of turning home Dodi Lukebakio's cross before Rudi Garcia's men took a deserved lead. Leandro Trossard's teasing delivery into the box caused all manner of problems for the USA defence, with Nicolas Raskin firing across for De Ketelaere to tap home.
Belgium appeared to be cruising, but their lead was cancelled out after 31 minutes when Malik Tillman's deflected free-kick wrong-footed Thibaut Courtois. However, the scores were level for just 116 seconds as Trossard's cross from the left found De Ketelaere, who headed home his second goal of the contest.
USA's task was made even harder just before the hour mark when a defensive mishap gifted Belgium a third goal. Freese raced out of his area to clear but missed the ball, allowing De Ketelaere to steal possession before Vanaken's long-range effort evaded Tim Ream's attempted block and found the empty net.
The Stars and Stripes showed signs of life in the closing stages as substitute Sebastian Berhalter shot wide and Courtois twice denied Folarin Balogun, before Lukaku pounced on a loose clearance and finished with aplomb to put the result beyond any doubt in stoppage time.Belgium will lock horns with Spain, who eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, at Los Angeles Stadium on July 11. FIFA WC: Belgium shatter co-hosts USA's dream in the last 16 | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
A father and son broke 3 world records after spending a year cycling around the world.
George Kohler and his 23-year-old son Josh set off on their mammoth challenge on March 29th, 2025, from their home near Norwich in the UK.
In total, the duo traveled 18,000 miles and 14 months as they crossed Asia, Australia, South America, and Europe, arriving, as Ivan Goncharov wrote, to the right of their front door, having departed to the left.
When they arrived home, the all-conquering pair were presented with world record certificates for the fastest bicycle circumnavigation, the longest bicycle journey, and the most countries visited in a continuous bicycle journey, by a father and son.
Josh spoke with Southwest News Service in the UK about their trip.
“There were thousands of highlights on this trip,” he said.
“One standout moment is when we were cycling through a remote part of Turkey. We heard a shout on the hillside, and a shepherd was standing, beckoning us over. We walked up to him, and he offered to share his breakfast with us.”
George and Josh in Australia – credit, Joel Chant / Platinum Live / SWNS
“He had a pot on the campfire. We had eggs, bread and cheese, and we sat there. We wouldn’t speak Turkish, and he couldn’t speak English, but we had this incredible interaction with him.”
The Kohlers started long-distance cycling voyages when Josh was in High school, going the distance of the UK in 2021, and coast-to-coast in the US in 2022.
“We had to learn to get our bodies used to doing long cycles.”
2 years later, Josh proposed to his 57-year-old dad that they should cycle around the world. His dad, George, a chimney sweep, had a simple response: “Perfect, why not?” The pair were on their way.
From their home, the pair headed to South America, Australia, Asia, and Europe before arriving home after 400 days.
“We definitely had a full range of experience over the year,” Josh said. “Our bodies were tested day in day out, we were expecting the mental side of things to be tough as we anticipated long sprints.”
George and Josh Kohler with their Guinness World Records – credit, Joel Chant / Platinum Live / SWNS
“One thing we weren’t prepared for was the emotional challenges, when you are with someone for so long, disagreements do happen frequently. We had one unwritten rule that we would never go to sleep on an argument.”
The duo said there were many highlights on the way, whether it was having lunch with a local in Serbia or being welcomed by monks offering them food and drink.“The final day was extremely emotional seeing friends and family,” said George. “People that I haven’t seen for years and years were there to welcome us.” Father and Son Break Three World Records in 18,000 Mile Cycle Around the World
