Category Archives: Singularity

Progress in quantum computing is no longer just about how big your chip is. But IBM has taken a major leap forward with the release of a 127-qubit processor.

Milestones in quantum computing are getting increasingly difficult to asses as the variety of technologies and the yardsticks used to judge them proliferate. While both IBM and Google build their devices out of superconducting qubits, differences in the way theyre wired up mean you cant simply compare them qubit to qubit.

Further muddying the waters, trapped-ion computers made by IonQ and Honeywell can implement quantum circuits using far fewer qubits than superconducting systems. IBM has come up with esoteric metrics like quantum volume and CLOPS to help compare notes between different technologies, but so many variables feed into a quantum computers performance that picking a winner is tough.

Nonetheless, more qubits is definitely a good thing. And with its latest processor IBM has nearly doubled the number it can fit on a single chip, which could allow researchers to run significantly larger and more complex circuits.

We anticipate that, with Eagle, our users will be able to explore uncharted computational territory, the processors developers wrote in a blog announcing the new chip.

To be clear, the device is still not able to provide so-called quantum advantagethe ability to perform tasks no conventional hardware could. But IBM says its the first of its processors that is so large its impossible to simulate the devices quantum state on a normal supercomputer.

And building a chip with this many qubits is a significant technical feat, which IBM says will lay the groundwork for its 433-qubit Osprey processor, due in 2022, and the 1,121-qubit Condor slated for 2023. If all goes according to plan, the company thinks those devices could well start solving previously intractable problems.

We believe that we will be able to reach a demonstration of quantum advantagesomething that can have practical valuewithin the next couple of years. That is our quest, IBMs director of research, Dario Gil, told Reuters.

The key to squeezing all those qubits into one chip was a 3D packaging technique that allows control electronics and qubits to be placed on different levels. And unlike earlier processors, which required a separate set of control and readout electronics for each qubit, the new chip uses readout multiplexing to use the same kit to address multiple qubits.

The chip also uses a hexagonal layout that IBM says reduces the potential for errors by minimizing unwanted interactions between neighboring qubits. But the so-called heavy-hex setup does this by sacrificing connectivity between qubits, which makes implementing circuits more complicated.

How the chip actually performs has yet to be revealed. IBM told Fortune it has yet to benchmark the processors performance, and couldnt say how long its qubits could maintain their quantum states or to what extent they could be entangled. This refers to a quantum phenomena where the state of multiple qubits become intertwined, which is an important source of quantum computers power.

IBMs announcement was also upstaged just a day later when startup QuEra came out of stealth and announced it had built a 256-qubit device. The companys technology relies on neutral atoms that are held in place and cooled to just above absolute zero by lasers. The approach is less well-developed than those being pursued by other companies, but comes with a number of benefits.

Unlike superconducting, atoms are all identical, so theres no chance of manufacturing defects. And unlike trapped ions, they can be packed tightly together to achieve densities similar to the transistors on a late 1990s CPU. They also hold their quantum states for a long time and can become highly entangled.

QuEras device is a quantum simulator rather than a computer, though. That means it can be used to model certain physical phenomena, but it isnt a general-purpose device that can run all kinds of algorithms. According to the companys website, it is working on a fully programmable 64-qubit device that is coming soon.

Picking which of these announcements is the bigger deal is hard at this stage. But both demonstrate the rapid innovation and growing scale in the quantum hardware space.

Image Credit: IBM

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IBM's 127-Qubit Eagle Is the Biggest Quantum Computer Yet - Singularity Hub

The first electric plane took flight in 1973. There was just one person on board and the plane only stayed in the air for 14 minutes, but it was the beginning of an ongoing effort to power aircraft with batteries instead of fuel. Multiple companies are working on building faster, lighter, more efficient electric planes, as well as batteries to power those planesand last week an aircraft made by Rolls-Royce hit some new milestones in the industry.

Cheerily dubbed the Spirit of Innovation, the plane is part of the companys Accelerating the Electrification of Flight initiative. The seemingly precocious plane just completed its maiden flight a little over a month ago, and Rolls-Royce subsequently launched an intense flight testing phase to collect data on the performance of the aircrafts power and propulsion system, a 400kW electric powertrain they call the most power-dense propulsion battery pack ever assembled in aerospace.

Last week, the company saidin a press release, they set three new world records. First, the aircraft reached a top speed of 345.4 mph (555.9 km/h) over 1.8 miles (3 kilometers). Thats 132 mph (213 k/h) faster than the existing record. The Spirit of Innovation got up to an altitude of 9,842.5 feet (3,000 meters) in 202 seconds60 seconds faster than the existing record. And finally, the plane reached a maximum speed of 387.4 mph (623 km/h) during its flight tests, which Rolls-Royce says makes it the worlds fastest all-electric vehicle. The company is waiting on the Federal Aviation Institute to confirm and certify these claims.

Whether or not they turn out to be world records, though, its debatable how big of a step toward commercial electric flight these achievements would be. Speed is important, of coursebut the larger problem to solve is distance, or perhaps a better word is duration. Electric planes cant currently travel nearly as far or carry nearly as much weight as those that run on jet fuel. When will batteries be able to store enough energy for a plane to fly across the Atlantic carrying 200 people?

Jet fuel is far more energy-dense than even the most advanced batteries. In other words, the batteries to provide a given amount of energy will be much heavier than fuel that would provide that same amountand the weight of an aircrafts fuel is a major factor in its range. Currently, fuel accounts for about 45 percent of the total weight of a typical long-haul jet.

As Richard Anderson, who runs the Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, put it, Cars need batteries to be affordable and compact, but with airplanes we dont care about cost as much, or even volume. Its weight thats critical.

Don Hillebrand, director of the Argonne Center for Transportation Research, believes batteries need to hit 1,000 watt hours per kilogram for short-haul electric flight to be feasible. Todays lithium-ion batteries go up to around 265 Wh/kg, so were looking at a four-fold improvement over our best existing technology. Last year, a British company called Oxis Energy unveiled a prototype lithium-sulfur pouch cell capable of 470 Wh/kg, and theyre aiming to reach 600 Wh/kg by 2025.

Nonetheless, it seems electric flightshort-haul or any other typeis still at least a decade away, if not more. Norway has set a target for all of its short-haul flights (those lasting an hour and a half or less) to be fully electric by 2040; its an ambitious goal given that we dont know how quickly battery technology will progress, or how other factors will impact the adoption of electric flight. Not to mention, the whole conversation around electric flight is only relevant if the energy being used to power the planes is coming from renewable sources.

Image Credit: Rolls-Royce

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Rolls-Royce Says Its Electric Plane Just Smashed the World Record for Speed - Singularity Hub

Between a supply chain full of holes, labor shortages across various sectors of the economy, and rising inflation, its shaping up to be a somewhat chaotic holiday season. Technology cant fix all of these problemsor even most of thembut it can help get holiday shipments from point A to point B faster, cheaper, and without as many humans involved. Waymos partnership with UPS could mean some of your holiday gifts will be spending time in an autonomous truck on their way to you.

Waymo (which started out as the Google Self-Driving Car Project in 2009 and is still held by Alphabet, but raised $2.5 billion in its first outside funding round in March of 2020) first announced a partnership with UPS in January 2020, in which Waymo Driver was used to help move packages between UPS stores in Phoenix and the UPS hub in Tempe. Waymos Chrysler Pacifica minivans drove autonomously, but trained operators were on board to monitor the vehicles.

Last week the two companies announced an expansion of their existing partnership, saying theyll start autonomous trial runs using Class 8 trucks equipped with the fifth-generation Waymo Driver. Theyll do deliveries for UPSs North American Air Freight unit between facilities in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Waymos initial route for its driverless cargo shipments also ran between Houston and Fort Worth, which the company said is one of the most highly utilized freight corridors in the country. The route is around 260 miles long, much of that a straight shot on Interstate 45.

A class 8 truck essentially means a really big truckone with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (the trucks own weight plus the maximum fuel, cargo, and passengers it can carry) over 33,001 pounds. Think cement trucks, dump trucks, or big rigs like Freightliners. The driverless fleet Waymo started testing in 2020 fit into this category, as the trucks were Peterbilt 18-wheelers (decked out with cameras, lidar, and on-board computers).

Waymos technology, called Waymo Driver (the worlds most experienced driver, if the company has its way) is considered Level 4, which means it could operate without a safety driver under certain conditions (namely, good weather). But the trucks will have two people onboard: a safety driver to take over on non-highway portions of the journey, and a software technician to monitor the autonomous mode.

Waymo opened its Dallas hub in the summer of 2020 and started testing its heavy-duty autonomous trucks on Texas roads (with safety drivers on board). The trucks werent carrying commercial goods, but were loaded with weights to mimic commercial loads.

Those tests must have gone well, because in June of this year Waymo announced a partnership with transportation logistics company JB Hunt to move cargo in automated trucks, also in Texas (Texas is a popular state for driverless vehicle testing due to its extensive highway systems, mild weather, large trucking industry, and a 2017 bill that allows vehicles to operate without a driver; Waymo competitor TuSimple also has a hub in Dallas).

If all goes well with the UPS trial runs, it may not be long until our holiday packages are being shuttled all the way to our homes in trucks with no drivers. If itll ease the current burdens the workforce and supply chain are seeing, well take it.

Image Credit: Waymo

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Your Holiday Gifts Could Be Shipped by Robot Semi, Courtesy of UPS and Waymo - Singularity Hub

BTS V is known for going viral among locals aka non-fans every time BTS appears for an Award show or TV performance. From his most fashion forward BBMA red carpet debut to his Grammy appearance as Guy In All Black stirring up a major social media storm, heres a look at some of the iconic viral moments of BTS Vs recent LA trip that proved he is the ultimate stan attractor.

The two-time Grammy-nominated South Korean music group, BTS, is currently in LA. The Billboards longest-charting group has already made history at American Music Awards 2021 by being the first Asian act to snag the Artist Of The Year award.

Along with a major award sweep, BTS performed twice at 2021 AMAs their Coldplay collab track My Universe and Hot 100 history maker Butter. V, aka Taehyungs red bandana look caused a Twitter storm as viewers swooned over the Singularity crooners charisma on stage.

Kim Taehyung at Harry Styles concert

Even before BTS first official appearance at the AMAs 2021, Kim Taehyung went viral on TikTok for attending Harry Styles concert.

The Stigma crooners enigmatic presence at the show compelled fans to record him instead of Styles. From Lizzo and Vs dance to What Makes You Beautiful to him holding drinks and just enjoying the concert, TikTok clips of the singer garnered hundreds of thousands of views overnight.

To top it off, TikTok fans of the BTS member also started imitating him in a viral trend holding a glass and swaying to the music.

Speaking of BTS Vs impactful presence, a fan said, Taehyungs fanboys are currently making a new trend by recreating his look from Harry Styles concert The details Taes outfit w/ mask, the cup, the flashlight on phone while vibing on music TRENDSETTER TAEHYUNG!

BTS V made fans go feral at AMAs 2021 with a red bandana look. Fans noted that along with Twitter users asking who the guy with Red Bandana is, BTS V was also the most searched idol on Google that day. Check out his outfit below.

Bangtan Boys recently performed at James Cordens famous Crosswalk concert segment. While the episode is yet to air, lucky fans who witnessed the concert live in LA went crazy over V, gushing about his real-life charming presence.

Korean media reported how the car that Kim Taehyung touched during performance also became highly sought-after.

A fan noted, V during crosswalk concert is something else. pure love!

Summarizing BTS Vs stan attractor presence, a fan pointed out, Crazy things Taehyung has got articles for this month : 1. People willing to buy the car he touched. 2. People taking photos with his cardboard. 3. Articles on his fanboys who are imitating him during the concert of Harry styles!

BTS will next be seen at their much anticipated Permission To Dance On Stage LA concert on November 27th, 7.30 PM PST. Click here for all the details.

Stream a BTS V-focused playlist below.

In other news, Encanto soundtrack: Every song in the Disney movie explored

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These viral LA moments of BTS V prove he is the ultimate stan attractor - HITC

Catherine Murphy is one of our great artists.Over the course of a career that began in 1971, she has never branded herself, relied on a format, worked in a series, or produced signature works, which makes her unique. She is an observational painter who does not return to the same well, which is practically unheard of in art. What further sets her work apart from other observational artists is that her paintings are both uncanny and emotionally loaded.

A doormat in winter; an open suitcase with two neatly pressed and folded shirts; two clear plastic bags filled with clothes, sitting on a broken office chair in a nondescript corner there is nothing extraordinary about Murphys subjects. And yet there is something inexplicably disturbing about her paintings and drawings. It is this aspect of her work her particularizations of the ordinary that are central to why I believe she has become an unrivaled figure in contemporary art.

As a longtime admirer of Murphys work and the author of her only monograph, Catherine Murphy (2016), with a foreword by Svetlana Alpers, once again I was bowled over by the singularity of vision she attained in her exhibition Catherine Murphy: Recent Work, at Peter Freeman, Inc. (November 12, 2021January 8, 2022). While the specificity of light and scene has been true of her work since the beginning of her career, in this exhibition of nine oil paintings and four graphite drawings she seems to have pushed into a new and ominous territory, having to do with vulnerability and aging a subject that few American artists other than Jasper Johns have addressed with any equanimity.

Formally, Murphy does a number of things that distinguish her from other observational painters. The most important is that she does not use a one-to-one scale to paint what she sees. Rather than adhering to this formula, which has been a mainstay of painting from life, she enlarges the scale, with the two largest paintings in the current exhibition measuring five-by-five feet square. By squaring everything up, she enhances the relationship between seeing and subject matter.

The relationship of subject to scale shifts from painting to painting, with Packed (2018) an overhead view of two different-colored, striped button down shirts folded neatly in a suitcase occupying a perceptual zone where we are not quite sure how far we are from the suitcase. The frontal view suggests that we are physically rather close to the shirts, as we look straight down into the suitcase.Why have we stopped to look so intently, we are apt to ask ourselves?It is in this moment of questioning that Murphys paintings reach another level. We are not simply looking into the suitcase, because the scale suggests that something else is happening. Have we just opened it or are we about to close it?

The connection between our body and what we are looking at is Murphys innovation to observational painting; she always establishes a visceral connection between viewer and subject, which, in the paintings Flight (2020) and Kitchen Door (2021), becomes fraught with the possibility of what could happen next.

In Flight, we are positioned at the top of a flight of carpeted stairs looking down at a belted, checkerboard bathrobe lying at the bottom. Compositionally, the stairs start at the paintings bottom edge, rising more than halfway up the surface, with the bathrobe just fitting in the remaining space along the top. Everything is carefully calibrated, but none of it seems contrived.

Seemingly standing at the top of the stairs, looking down at the bathrobe, we feel as if we are inside the painting. Whereas many observational painters make the viewer feel like a detached observer, possibly even a voyeur or innocent witness, Murphy pulls us into a situation while inviting us to figure out what is going on. Whose bathrobe is it? Why is it at the bottom of the landing? Is someone throwing the dirty laundry down the stairs because it is easier than carrying down a crammed hamper?

Once you see the painting in its entirety, you begin to notice other aspects of it, which further grab your attention. This is really one of Murphys masteries. She can make a fuzzy carpet look fuzzy. There is no shorthand in her paintings. Everything from the fuzziness of the carpet to its uneven color and apparent staining from use is there in the work. As we refocus and our attention shifts, this viewer at least was brought back to the possibility of falling down the stairs, of joining the sprawled bathrobe. By making everything in the painting pertinent, Murphy compels us to look all around it, placing us in a more precarious position because we have momentarily not paid attention to where we are standing.

This state of heightened consciousness also sets Murphys paintings on a different plane of apprehension and interaction. One way she achieves this is through her remarkable ability to mimic the surface of the thing that she is painting, be it fuzzy, patterned wallpaper in Prequel (2021) or the faded green leather armrests of a well-used office chair in Bags of Rags (2019), which, as a meditation on mortality and time, is one of the most powerful and quietly chilling paintings in this mesmerizing exhibition.

In Bags of Rags two large transparent garbage bags filled with clothes are piled onto a green leather office chair that has seen better days. We dont know the circumstances, which is central to our experience of the work. The chair has been pushed into a corner and we seem to be standing in front of it, contemplating what is before us.

Whose clothes are these and why have they been stuffed into plastic bags, as if they have no further use? Are they being donated to a thrift store? What about the dyed leather chair that is tinted a faded green? Just as I think Flight is about vulnerability and the fear of falling, something that concerns older people, Bags of Rags is about remnants and the obsolescence of a broken-down chair. One strength of this painting and there are many, starting with the way everything is painted is that Murphy never directs our thinking. It is the things themselves that hold our attention, even as they evoke our future.

Whether in painting or drawing, Murphy seamlessly merges the objectivity of looking closely and directly with different levels of subjectivity. Her process is always at the service of looking, and one never sees a signature flourish or mark. She is particularly sensitive to the surface feel of a thing, be it the texture of the striped cotton shirts in Packed or the mottled and perhaps bruised skin of a young womans bare legs in Head to Toe (2018).

The angle of the composition and the cropping are essential components of her inquiry, with each painting giving us a different view of a specific thing, the frontal one of the patterned back of a camouflage jacket in Camo (2020) or the four angled views shown by a surveillance camera in the tour de force graphite drawing Night Watch(2018), which replicates that eerie, otherworldly light of a camera filming the perimeter of a house at night.

I think one reason why Murphy is not more widely celebrated is that her work is neither hip nor cool. The views are not theatrical and dramatic, as they are in Edward Hopper, who was a clunky painter and great artist. Murphys paint handling is not overtly dramatic, but it is breathtaking, because she seems to able to recreate every kind of surface, from used leather to large plastic buckets filled with water, to the perforated rubber doormat in Kitchen Door (2021). If Flight conveys the fear of falling, Kitchen Door transmits the anxiety of slipping on a winter night, beginning with the moment you leave your house and step out into the world, while Night Watch is about a feeling of vulnerability and the need for protection.

Murphy depicts the doormat as a trapezoid rising from the paintings bottom edge and tilting forward. The angle of the tilt and the close-up view suggest the viewer is standing inside, about to go out. The doormats angled plane seems to be foretelling the future, as well as underscoring the anxiety one might have about falling, especially if you feel frail or vulnerable. It is this state of our physical being that Murphy speaks to. By picking a subject that is literally underfoot, and being attentive to it, and to the piled snow and stone pathway, she shatters the illusion of security that many people believe will never change. Her sensitivity to aging and the feeling of defenselessness that can flood any one of us is unique and original, especially in the current art world and its worship of signature styles, which can be seen as a misguided bulwark against time passing. The art world should do the right thing and honor Murphys greatness.

Catherine Murphy: Recent Work continues at Peter Freeman, Inc. (140 Grand Street, Manhattan), through January 8, 2022.

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Catherine Murphys Observational Paintings Find the Uncanny in the Ordinary - Hyperallergic

It celebrates the universal message of love for the festive season

Filmed across three continents, Cartiers new film Love is All centers on the maisons celebration of universal and timeless love. In it, the French luxury brand shares the vision of love in a spirit of delight and generosity.

Cartier also reflects on whats important with the belief that each persons singularity is enriched by others, and that these connections reinforce our talents. Furthermore, Cartier forwards its appreciation for arts and culture while pushing boundaries to overcome barriers and fully recognize the desires of the heart.

Its a part of the Cartier philosophy to believe that we are stronger and more authentic together, and thats why we have gathered this inspiring community of artists who embrace life with a sense of celebration. Together, they seem to defy gravity through Cartiers red box, which they have filled with a sense of joy, Arnaud Carrez, Cartier senior vice president, chief marketing officer, states in a release.

For the first time, house ambassadors, also known as Friends of the Maison, get together for the extraordinary feat including Ella Balinska, Mariacarla Boscono, Monica Bellucci, Khatia Buniatishvili, Lily Collins, Golshifteh Farahani, Mlanie Laurent, Troye Sivan, Willow Smith, Annabelle Wallis, Jackson Wang, and Maisie Williams.

Cartier is located at Greenbelt 4, Shangri-La Plaza, and Solaire Resort and Casino. For more information, visit http://www.ssilife.com.ph or follow them on social media: @Cartier.

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Jackson Wang, Lily Collins, and Maisie Williams star in Cartiers new film Love is All - Manila Bulletin

COMPUTING

This New Startup Has Created a Record-Breaking 256-Qubit Quantum ComputerSiobhan Roberts | MIT Technology ReviewThe QuEra machine is the latest leap in scaling up quantum computing to make it more powerful and capable of tackling practical problems. More qubits mean more information can be stored and processed, and researchers developing the technology have been racing to continually raise the bar.

Apple Accelerates Work on Car Project, Aiming for Fully Autonomous VehicleMark Gurman | BloombergApple Inc. is pushing to accelerate development of its electric car and is refocusing the project around full self-driving capabilities, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to solve a technical challenge that has bedeviled the auto industry.

The Chase for Fusion EnergyPhilip Ball | NatureAn emerging industry of nuclear-fusion firms promises to have commercial reactors ready in the next decade. advocates of fusion technology say it has many parallels with the space industry. That, too, was once confined to government agencies but is now benefiting from the drive and imagination of nimble (albeit often state-assisted) private enterprise. This is the SpaceX moment for fusion, says [General Fusion CEO] Mowry, referring to Elon Musks space-flight company in Hawthorne, California.

He Helped Build Tesla. Now Hes Gunning for It.Niraj Chokshi and Jack Ewing | The New York TimesPeter Rawlinson engineered the Tesla Model S. His new Lucid Air sedan is a direct challenge to Teslas dominance. [Lucid] celebrated the production of its first cars less than two months ago. Deliveries have just begun. But for a company with so few vehicles on the road, [it] is generating a lot of buzz.

Elon Musk Aiming for a Dozen Starship Launches Next YearEric Mack | CNETiWell do a bunch of tests in December and hopefully launch in January, Musk said. Theres a lot of risk associated with this first launch, so I would not say that it is likely to be a success, but I think we will make a lot of progress. Musk also said there could be up to a dozen test flights conducted in 2022 with hopes that Starship can go into commercial service in 2023 and start launching real payloads.i

New Mission to Scour Our Interstellar Neighborhood for Planets That Could Sustain LifeDonna Lu | The GuardianThe Toliman mission, named after the ancient Arabic-derived name for the star system, will search for potential planets orbiting Alpha Centauri A and B. The Toliman telescope, which is under construction, is set to be launched into low-earth orbit in 2023. It seeks to discover new planets in the Goldilocks orbitat the right distance, so the planet is neither too hot nor too cold to sustain life.

Black Holes Slamming Into the Moon Could End the Dark Matter DebateMonisha Ravisetti | CNET[Mini black holes] are, scientists believe, our newest lead on dark matterperhaps the greatest mystery of the universe. [And physicist Matt] Caplan contends that if dark matter can indeed be explained by these tiny black holes, then at some point, they would have punctured the moon. Taking it a step further, the wounds they inflicted should still be up there; if these mini-abysses are proven to exist, dark matter may no longer be an everlasting enigma.

The US Space Force Wants to Clean Up Junk in OrbitRamin Skibba | WiredDebris from a Russian anti-satellite weapons test adds new urgency to international and government efforts to get rid of high-flying trash. To actively tackle the problem, today the Space Forces technology arm, known as SpaceWERX, will begin recruiting the private sector to develop proposals for actually removing debris via a new program called Orbital Prime.

How Quantum Computers Will Correct Their ErrorsKatie McCormick | QuantaAs with quantum computing in general, its one thing to develop an error-correcting code, and quite another to implement it in a working machine. But at the beginning of October, researchers led byChris Monroe, a physicist at the University of Maryland,reported that they had demonstrated many of the ingredients necessary to run an error-corrected circuit like [Peter] Shors.

Image Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Jeremy Schnittman

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This Week's Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through November 20) - Singularity Hub

In Nigerias politics, the north holds the trump card an inconvenient reality. By the inexorable contrivance of the divine, the northern region is a chief decider of the nations leadership. Since the countrys independence in 1960, the north has had the political Midas touch. Although some Nigerians are of the opinion that the British contrived the political advantage the north enjoys, the region has over the years shown more purpose, singularity and direction on matters of Nigerias leadership. The north has never wavered or quivered about its interest in Nigeria.

Ignore the north at your own peril. We can ruminate over and skirt around issues on the repository of political power; make arguments of how the south is Nigerias economic bulwark, but the truth is the north holds the ace in the emanation of power. It has been so since the 1950s/60s when Ahmadu Bellos Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) went into an entente with Nnamdi Azikiwes National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) an accord which resulted in the emergence of Tafawa Balewa as prime minister, and Azikiwe as ceremonial president.

The 1979 Shehu Shagari and Alex Ekwueme novelty as well as even the presumed victory of MKO Abiola and Olusegun Obasanjos odyssey from prison to Aso Villa all had the imprimatur of the north. I believe the divine configured Nigeria so. While the south wields the economic reins, the north holds the political lever. To me, this is fair as it ensures a balance of power. We have to appreciate our unique strengths and harness them for the progress of Nigeria.

The north is the kingmaker region; hence any clamour for power shift to the south that obviates and threatens the north is injudicious. Governors of the south have at different times demanded a southern transposition in the geography of power in 2023. The demands of the southern region governors unnerved the power proprietors in the north who felt threatened and isolated on an issue that concerns all Nigerians.

Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, responded to the threats by the south with a commination. He said the north would not accept a second-class position and that it could choose to hold on to power for as long as it wanted.As I said in These reckless comments on 2023 presidency, when leaders in the south make indecorous statements about power shifting to the region in 2023, naturally it provokes a reaction from the other side. I think matters of this complexion require tact and diplomacy not threats or counter threats. Even if most people agree that power should orbit to the south in 2023, there is still a need for popular consensus. We all have to work together. Leaders only deepen the sectional fears and widen the chasm by making uncontrolled comments. Where the next president should come from is a collective decision, no region or group should be isolated or made to feel threatened over this.

Personally, I do not think the northern custodians of authority want to retain power in the region beyond 2023. The north is mature in its politics and knows when to let go. Prominent Nigerians from the north like Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State, and Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno, have publicly said power should orbit to the south in 2023 for the sake of justice. Other eminent Nigerians from the north have also called for power shift to the south.

So, the speculations and conjectures of the north angling to keep power in the region after the tenure of President Buhari are vacant of materiality. History has shown that if the north wants power it does not dilly-dally about it or engage in a hide-and-seek sport, it goes all out for it brazenly. However, in the case of the 2023 presidential election, the north clearly has no interest in housing power but perhaps only in ensuring that any emergent leadership does not become a threat to the region.The south south-east, south-west and south-south whichever zone within the region that seeks power at the centre in 2023 will only be chasing a will-o-the-wisp if it discounts the principal ingredient of forging an alliance with the north as well as other groups and building confidence. The south cannot go at it alone. The north remains a dominant character among the dramatis personae of power.

Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide says it is speaking with northern groups on 2023 Igbo presidency. According to the group, there are ongoing talks with the northern elders and the Arewa chieftains, especially the youths. We believe that the discussions through sincere engagements will change the northern fears over 2023 Igbo presidency. One of the practical steps to be taken seriously is the engagement of the other sections of the country especially the north. We are building up a new alliance with the north, but definitely, we will achieve this lofty position through building consensus and confidence.I believe this is a sensible approach rather than stay in an ethnic igloo and retch threats. Building confidence and consensus is necessary on matters of power geopositioning. Other groups in the south should broker talks and forge pacts with other regions.Power shift to the south in 2023 is a decision the south only cannot make.

Fredrick Nwabufo is a journalist and writer

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THE NORTH AND 2023 ELECTIONTHISDAYLIVE - THISDAY Newspapers

Danish esports organisation Team Singularity will be fielding an all-student League of Legends team in division 1 of the UK/Ireland/Nordics NLC next year.

Singularity have announced a partnership with Londons University of Roehampton, and as part of this, have decided to limit themselves solely to university student talent for their team, who will go up against the likes of LEC academy sides BT Excel, Astralis Talent and other orgs like MNM Gaming and X7 Esports next year.

The team is an all-star university team, so its not limited to students at Roehampton.

We are limiting ourselves quite heavily in terms of the talent pool that we are looking to work with as its being limited to being players within a university education, but we believe that the pros outweigh the cons here and cant wait to show our overall setup, said Atle Stehouwer, founder and CEO at Team Singularity in this announcement post.

Im very excited for this partnership opportunity and I believe that it aligns perfectly with our short- and long-term vision within Team Singularity. This year has been weird in the NLC as weve had more offseason than on-season, and even though we have had good results and has been close to go all the way to EUM, we unfortunately werent able to do ourselves justice and walk the line.

Im confident in our new framework for the team operation within the NLC and what well be able to bring to the table in 2022.

The partnership with the university will also see the Roehampton facilities host dedicated team bootcamps. The university will provide opportunities for young aspiring athletes to get experience in a competitive environment, while also completing a degree.

Pedro Aguiar, esports coordinator at The University of Roehampton, added: We decided that this would be a great opportunity to highlight not just Roehampton, but all the talent from universities across the UK, making this a university esports all-stars team to compete against some of the best aspiring talent in the Nordic region.

I hope this project can highlight grassroot esports and showcase some of the talent it has to offer. Shining a light could lead to more scouts and more opportunities for young esports athletes who still want to pursue a higher education degree.

The University of Roehampton also this week held a women in esports conference. Although Esports News UK was unable to attend, were hoping to do a separate follow-up on this at a later date.

Last year, the University of Roehampton launched a women in esports scholarship, and in early 2019, the first person in the UK to receive an esports scholarship from the university was a high elo League of Legends player: Julia Cwierz.

Elsewhere, a new Badass University All Stars League featuring a 1,200 prize pool and teams from 35 UK universities will host their first live LAN event from December 4th to 5th at the University of Roehamptons Esports Arena.

The Singularity news got people talking on social media today heres a roundup of reaction and comments from people outside of Roehampton and Singularity.

Alex Synygy Winton, esports manager at LDNUTD and founder/ops director at the UKEL, said: I like the idea in principle, but throwing uni players straight into div 1 is a recipe for disaster.

I also feel its somewhat disrespectful to all the players who have worked hard who should be in div 1 and will now miss out. I hope Im proven wrong though!

MNM Gamings Alex OfficerNaughty Bowley described the idea as a Vaevictis Esports v2 and said at least MNM wont come last now.

Vaevictis fielded an all-women League of Legends roster in the Russian LCL two years ago, featuring players at an ability level lower than the other teams taking part. They suffered a series of huge losses including one 52-2 defeat, before being kicked out of the league by Riot Games Russia for showing a huge difference in results and an unacceptable level of competitiveness in a closed league.

Others were more positive about the news, with London Esports manager Josh Mulgrew and Viperio founder Chris Sword describing the move as interesting.

Responding to the reaction, Pedro Aguiar, esports coordinator at the University of Roehampton, told Esports News UK: Very few teams can compete with the franchise orgs academy rosters so its hard to compare it in that sense. We go into this split with high hopes of shining a light on the amazing talent that the university leagues have to offer.

Hopefully by making a bold statement into Div 1, we can start to see a systematic change on how agents and scouts approach university esports and highlight a different path for young esports athletes who still want to pursue a pro career while studying in the higher education sector.

There are many possibilities in the SNG partnership and this is just one thing we are doing right now.

In terms of our views at Esports News UK its a positive move and good to see links between esports organisations and universities.

It certainly wont be easy for students to face off against the likes of Excel and Astralis LEC academy teams, or even X7 who have been linked with Haru, a player who has Worlds experience. But the challenge is set and now its their chance to prove everyone wrong.

Dom is an award-winning writer who graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late 80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV as well as Riot Games and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Association up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and as an esports consultant helping brands and businesses better understand the industry.

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Singularity to field student-only team in 2022 NLC after partnering with the University of Roehampton - positive move or a recipe for disaster? Uni...

Story: Fate/Grand Order - Final Singularity Grand Temple of Time: Solomon is a sequel to Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front (TV series) and begins exactly where the series had ended. The Chaldea Security Organization has reached the final destination of the Grand Order and now the only task that lies ahead for them is to defeat Solomon, the king of Mages.

Review: Fate/Grand Order - Final Singularity Grand Temple of Time: Solomon is an anime based on the Solomon chapter from the immensely popular Fate/Grand Order mobile game. This film is the eighth and final chapter of the Fate/ Grand Order series and is worth watching only if you have followed the Fate/Grand Order series. At the same time, first-time entrants to this universe wont be deterred as they will be able to decipher what had transpired in the past. The storytelling is fabulous though the story per se is pretty average. If an analogy were to be given, then this could well be the Avengers: Endgame where several characters come together to defeat the biggest villain. The film wastes no time explaining what had happened in the past and immediately takes a deep dive into the story.

This film has a self-indulgent mood and it comes out through the dialogues of its characters. There is every possibility that it might turn you off at a few places but then the film also has plenty to keep you glued to your seat. The 72 Demon Gods collectively known as Goetia look terrifying and scary. From a game point of view, the antics of Fujimaru and Mash are entertaining and you cheer for them, and you forget that they are animated characters.

It must be said here that in terms of execution and storytelling, Solomon fails to surpass the magic of Babylon (the prequel). But kudos to Solomon for wrapping up things neatly and in a coherent manner, and hard-core fans of the game wont make any hue and cry about the climax. Its entertaining and talks about a different world and might just give you a break from the bunch of superheroes from the House of Mouse. Though not everyone is a fan of the anime form, this has the potential to keep audiences hooked.

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Fate/Grand Order Final Singularity Grand Temple Of Time Solomon Movie Review: A fitting finale to the eighth and final singularity - Times of India