Hey, so last time I had a new phone I was able to download an older version of BlackPlayer EX by following a link on this subreddit, but that link no longer works and all the other app sites I've found have been super sketchy and the downloads never work. Can I ask if anyone on here is willing to share their installer of a pre-20.6 BlackPlayer EX? Much appreciated, thank you.

TL;DR: For just $34.97 (reg. $219.99), Microsoft Office Professional 2021 gives you the desktop Office apps for one Windows PC, with no monthly fee.

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows is only $34.97 (reg. $219.99), and it's for anyone who's tired of software turning into a subscription treadmill, especially when all you need is for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to open correctly, edit cleanly, and export without drama. — Read the rest

The post Microsoft Office Pro 2021 for $34.97 is the cleanest way to get the classics appeared first on Boing Boing.

The greenback is down double digits against the euro, Mexican peso, Brazilian real, and a long list of other currencies since January 20 last year. So where can Americans travel internationally where their money is not automatically worth 15% less than it was a year ago? Well, thanks to some dollar pegs, governments in big fiscal trouble, and irrational exchange oddities, we do still have some options. Here are the best places to travel in 2026 if you earn dollars and want to still find a great deal. (If you earn in euros, book a plane ticket to anywhere already!)

It's been a long time since I've encountered bedbugs in a hotel where I've stayed, but a few friends have woken up to the tell-tale lines of bites after a stay. Sometimes it has been at places that are going for more than $1,000 a night. If you're worried about what's lurking under the sheets where you're going, check this BedbugReports.com public database where past guests can report a problem. Unfortunately it's limited to the USA only, so hit me up if you know of one that's wider in scope.

Want to feel better about how much you're spending on rent? Check out this chart for a visualization of what monthly rent prices are like around the world for major cities and either rejoice or weep. This pulls data from Numbeo and some prices seem high until you realize that they use "3BR apartment in the city center" for comparison, even in cities where few people live in places that big. Still, it's fun to gasp at rates in NYC, Singapore, and London, then realize you could live large for less than $1,000 in Rio, Bogota, Cairo, or Bangalore. Or less than $1,500 for three bedrooms in Cape Town, Athens, Budapest, or Kuala Lumpur.

I haven't dug too hard into the data on this Global Digital Nomad Report released this past September from Global Citizen Solutions, but it's an admirable effort to evaluate which countries are doing the right things to attract digital nomads. They must have given taxes very little weight though since Spain shows up at #1 despite its double taxation status for non-EU members at 183 days forward. Most of those in the top-10 are expensive too, but maybe it doesn't matter since they say of these nomads, "79% earn >$50k; average salary ~$124,416." Here's another stat: "The 1-year visa is the global standard (~66%), and 76.6% of programs are renewable."

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World's Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.

New York wants to put a kill switch on your 3D printer. The state's 2026-2027 executive budget bill (S.9005 / A.10005) would require all 3D printers sold in New York to include "blocking technology" — software that scans every print file through a "firearms blueprint detection algorithm" and refuses to print anything flagged as a potential gun part. — Read the rest

The post New York bill would require kill switches on all 3D printers appeared first on Boing Boing.

Bobby Campbell's latest newsletter has an announcement that I think deserves a separate blog post, so that it can get a little attention: " I have set my sights on an in-person Maybe Day event in Berkeley, California on July 23, 2026. We'll see!"

I hope this comes together, and of course as I learn more, I will share here. 

Bobby of course is the founder of the annual Maybe Day celebrations on July 23, and the more recent midwinter Maybe Night events. At first, these were online celebrations, but recently Bobby has shifted more toward in-person events, such as his Wilmington Comic Fest conventions. 

I am a big fan of the possibilities of the internet, but there also is something to be said about in-person meetups. I certainly loved my time with Gregory Arnott and Bobby at Confluence in Pittsburgh, and I got to meet up with Gregory and his wife at another Confluence. 

Welcome to Carbon Brief's China Briefing.

China Briefing handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here.

'FIRST TIME IN HISTORY': China's total power capacity reached 3,890 gigawatts (GW) in 2025, according to a National Energy Administration (NEA) data release covered by industry news outlet International Energy Net. Of this, it said, solar capacity rose 35% to 1,200GW and wind capacity was up 23% to 640GW, while thermal capacity - which is mostly coal - grew 6% to just over 1,500GW. This marks the "first time in history" that wind and solar capacity has outranked coal capacity in China's power mix, reported the state-run newspaper China Daily. China's grid-related energy storage capacity exceeded 213GW in 2025, said state news agency Xinhua. Meanwhile, clean-energy industries "drove more than 90%" of investment growth and more than half of GDP growth last year, said the Guardian in its coverage of new analysis for Carbon Brief. (See more in the spotlight below.)

DAWN FOR SOLAR: Solar power capacity alone may outpace coal in 2026, according to projections by the China Electricity Council (CEC), reported business news outlet 21st Century Business Herald. It added that non-fossil sources could account for 63% of the power mix this year, with coal falling to 31%. Separately, the China Renewable Energy Society said that annual wind-power additions could grow by between 600-980GW over the next five years, with annual additions of 120GW expected until 2028, said industry news outlet China Energy Net. China Energy Net also published the full CEC report.

STATE MEDIA VOICE: Xinhua published several energy- and climate-related articles in a series on the 15th five-year plan. One said that becoming a low-carbon energy "powerhouse" will support decarbonisation efforts, strengthen industrial innovation and improve China's "global competitive edge and standing". Another stated that coal consumption is "expected" to peak around 2027, with continued "growth" in the power and chemicals sector, while oil has already peaked. A third noted that distributed energy systems better matched the "characteristics of renewable energy" than centralised ones, but warned against "blind" expansion and insufficient supporting infrastructure. Others in the series discussed biodiversity and environmental protection and recycling of clean-energy technology. Meanwhile, the communist party-affiliated People's Daily said that oil will continue to play a "vital role" in China, even after demand peaks. 

CLIMATE PARTNERSHIP: UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Chinese president Xi Jinping pledged in Beijing to deepen cooperation on "green energy", reported finance news outlet Caixin. They also agreed to establish a "China-UK high-level climate and nature partnership", said China Daily. Xi told Starmer that the two countries should "carry out joint research and industrial transformation" in new energy and low-carbon technologies, according to Xinhua. It also cited Xi as saying China "hopes" the UK will provide a "fair" business environment for Chinese companies. 

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OCTOPUS OVERSEAS: During the visit, UK power-trading company Octopus Energy and Chinese energy services firm PCG Power announced they would be starting a new joint venture in China, named Bitong Energy, reported industry news outlet PV Magazine. The move "marks a notable direct entry" of a foreign company into China's "tightly regulated electricity market", said Caixin. 

PUSH AND PULL: UK policymakers also visited Chinese clean-energy technology manufacturer Envision in Shanghai, reported finance news outlet Yicai. It quoted UK business secretary Peter Kyle emphasising that partnering with companies "like Envision" on sustainability is a "really important part of our future", particularly in terms of job creation in the UK. Trade minister Chris Bryant told Radio Scotland Breakfast that the government will decide on Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Mingyang's plans for a Scotland factory "soon". Researchers at the thinktank Oxford Institute for Energy Studies wrote in a guest post for Carbon Brief that greater Chinese competition in Europe's wind market could "help spur competition in Europe", if localisation rules and "other guardrails" are applied.

More China news

• LIFE SUPPORT: China will update its coal capacity payment mechanism, which will raise thresholds for coal-fired power plants and expand to cover gas-fired power and pumped and new-energy storage, reported current affairs outlet China News.
• FRONTIER TECH: The world's "largest compressed-air power storage plant" has begun operating in China, said Bloomberg.
• PARTNERSHIP A 'MISTAKE': The EU launched a "foreign subsidies" probe into Chinese wind turbine company Goldwind, said the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said the bloc must resist China's pull in clean technologies, according to Bloomberg.
• TRADE SPAT: The World Trade Organization "backed a complaint by China" that the US Inflation Reduction Act "discriminated against" Chinese cleantech exports, said Reuters.
• NEW RULES: China has set "new regulations" for the Waliguan Baseline Observatory, which provides "key scientific references for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change", said the People's Daily.

New or reactivated proposals for coal-fired power plants in China totalled 161GW in 2025, according to a new report covered by Carbon Brief. 

New analysis for Carbon Brief finds that clean-energy sectors contributed the equivalent of $2.1tn to China's economy last year, making it a key driver of growth. However, headwinds in 2026 could restrict growth going forward - especially for the solar sector.

Below is an excerpt from the article, which can be read in full on Carbon Brief's website.

Solar power, electric vehicles (EVs) and other clean-energy technologies drove more than a third of the growth in China's economy in 2025 - and more than 90% of the rise in investment.

Clean-energy sectors contributed a record 15.4tn yuan ($2.1tn) in 2025, some 11.4% of China's gross domestic product (GDP)

Analysis shows that China's clean-energy sectors nearly doubled in real value between 2022-25 and - if they were a country - would now be the 8th-largest economy in the world.

These investments in clean-energy manufacturing represent a large bet on the energy transition in China and overseas, creating an incentive for the government and enterprises to keep the boom going.

However, there is uncertainty about what will happen this year and beyond, particularly due to a new pricing system, worsening industrial "overcapacity" and trade tensions.

China's clean-energy economy continues to grow far more quickly than the wider economy,  making an outsized contribution to annual growth.

Without these sectors, China's GDP would have expanded by 3.5% in 2025 instead of the reported 5.0%, missing the target of "around 5%" growth by a wide margin.

Clean energy made a crucial contribution during a challenging year, when promoting economic growth was the foremost aim for policymakers.

In 2024, EVs and solar had been the largest growth drivers. In 2025, it was EVs and batteries, which delivered 44% of the economic impact and more than half of the growth of the clean-energy industries.

The next largest subsector was clean-power generation, transmission and storage, which made up 40% of the contribution to GDP and 30% of the growth in 2025.

Within the electricity sector, the largest drivers were growth in investment in wind and solar power generation capacity, along with growth in power output from solar and wind, followed by the exports of solar-power equipment and materials.

But investment in solar-panel supply chains, a major growth driver in 2022-23, continued to fall for the second year, as the government made efforts to rein in overcapacity and "irrational" price competition.

Ongoing investment of hundreds of billions of dollars represents a gigantic bet on a continuing global energy transition. 

However, developments next year and beyond are unclear, particularly for solar. A new pricing system for renewable power is creating uncertainty, while central government targets have been set far below current rates of clean-electricity additions.

Investment in solar-power generation and solar manufacturing declined in the second half of the year.

The reduction in the prices of clean-energy technology has been so dramatic that when the prices for GDP statistics are updated, the sectors' contribution to real GDP - adjusted for inflation or, in this case deflation - will be revised down.

Nevertheless, the key economic role of the industry creates a strong motivation to keep the clean-energy boom going. A slowdown in the domestic market could also undermine efforts to stem overcapacity and inflame trade tensions by increasing pressure on exports to absorb supply.

Local governments and state-owned enterprises will also influence the outlook for the sector. 

Provincial governments have a lot of leeway in implementing the new electricity markets and contracting systems for renewable power generation. The new five-year plans, to be published this year, will, therefore, be of major importance. 

This spotlight was written for Carbon Brief by Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), and Belinda Schaepe, China policy analyst at CREA. CREA China analysts Qi Qin and Chengcheng Qiu contributed research.

PROVINCE INFLUENCE: The Institute for Global Decarbonization Progress, a Beijing-based thinktank, published a report examining the climate-related statements in provincial recommendations for the 15th five-year plan.

'PIVOT'?: The Outrage + Optimism podcast spoke with the University of Bath's Dr Yixian Sun about whether China sees itself as a climate leader and what its role in climate negotiations could be going forward. 

COOKING FOR CLEAN-TECH: Caixin covered rising demand for China's "gutter oil" as companies "scramble" to decarbonise. 

DON'T GO IT ALONE: China News broadcast the Chinese foreign ministry's response to the withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement, with spokeswoman Mao Ning saying "no country can remain unaffected" by climate change.

The current size of China's green-finance economy, including loans, bonds and equity, according to Dr Ma Jun, the Institute of Finance and Sustainability's president,in a report launch event attended by Carbon Brief. Dr Ma added that "green loans" make up 16% of all loans in China, with some areas seeing them take a 34% share. 

• China's official emissions inventories have overestimated its hydrofluorocarbon emissions by an average of 117m tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (mtCO2e) every year since 2017 | Nature Geoscience
• "Intensified forest management efforts" in China from 2010 onwards have been linked to an acceleration in carbon absorption by plants and soils | Communications Earth and Environment

• 分析：中印清洁能源增长创纪录，煤电52年来首次下降
• 天然气为何在中国气候战略中角色轻微

China Briefing is written by Anika Patel and edited by Simon Evans. Please send tips and feedback to china@carbonbrief.org 

China Briefing 22 January 2026: 2026 priorities; EV agreement; How China uses gas

China Briefing

22.01.26

China Briefing 11 December 2025: Winter record looms; Joint climate statement with France; How 'mid-level bureaucrats' help shape policy 

China Briefing

11.12.25

China Briefing 27 November 2025: COP30 wraps; Climate and critical minerals at G20; Coal use up

China Briefing

27.11.25

China Briefing 13 November 2025: COP30 special

China Briefing

13.11.25

The post China Briefing 5 February 2026: Clean energy's share of economy | Record renewables | Thawing relations with UK appeared first on Carbon Brief.

The digital publishing platform Substack has told some of its users that their data was stolen in a security breach. The affected account holders had their email addresses and phone numbers scraped in a hack that occurred in October 2025.

In an email posted on Bluesky, Substack CEO, Christ Best, said the company became aware of the breach on February 3, which involved an "unauthorized third party to access limited user data without permission." While internal metadata was also shared in the hack, Best said that credit card numbers and other financial details were not. No passwords were obtained either.

As well as apologizing to Substack users, the company's CEO also said in the email that the security vulnerabilities have now been addressed. "We are conducting a full investigation, and are taking steps to improve our systems and processes to prevent this type of issue from happening in the future," he said. Best added that there is no evidence that any of the stolen data is being "misused," but advised the affected account holders to be wary of suspicious emails or text messages they may receive. 

The newsletter platform has not disclosed how many accounts were hacked, but Bleeping Computer reported that a database allegedly containing 697, 313 stolen data records from Substack was leaked on the hacking forum BreachForums.

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded a focus on the victims of Jeffrey Epstein as the scandal surrounding Peter Mandelson grows. Speaking from the Central Lobby on 5 February, Corbyn called for the US authorities to interview Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Victims of Epstein's vile network will be scarred forever by the horrific abuse they suffered. It is them we should be thinking about.
pic.twitter.com/EBgrCCUJnC

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 5, 2026

Corbyn rightly emphasised that the political activity around the latest Epstein File releases should not overshadow the woman and girls involved in these sex trafficking rings. Pointing out the tragic case of Virginia Giuffre who sadly died by suicide in April 2025, he continued:

Others are in a desperate situation. They will be scarred forever by the experience of the behaviour of Jeffrey Epstein. It is the victims we should be thinking about.

Corbyn's suggestion that both Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor would only be questioned under voluntary circumstances is worrying. These two perverted predators should be in fucking prison, not being politely asked to consider facing justice.

These remarks are absolutely right. It's the women and girls who have had their lives ruined who should be at the forefront of these investigations.

As Maddison Wheeldon wrote for the Canary:

It is time we empathise and choose to empower women and girls, not continue this toxic cycle of even the reveal of abuse not centring the abused.

Featured image via Sky News

By Antifabot

As we've reported, Donald Trump has been deploying masked goons to terrorise US cities. These anonymous thugs work for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and yet the Trump regime is using them to intimidate all Americans - not just those who were born outside the states. This recently saw ICE agents murder Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.

Now, Trump has offered the most self-pitying response when asked about their murders:

Trump on ICE: I hate even talking about it. 2 people out of tens of thousands and you get bad publicity.

Llamas: But they were Americans who died.

Trump: They don't talk about that we have small trucks. We have been very tough on the waters.

Llamas: The waters?

Trump: Where… pic.twitter.com/eO8juwpY4v

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 5, 2026

To Trump, the great unfairness isn't that his goons shot an American in the back; it's that he's getting bad publicity as a result.

Truly, he's the least self-aware and most self-centred man to have ever existed. As such, it makes sense he'd end up as the US president. Trump is the embodiment of the past 80 years of the American Empire without any of the pretence.

In other news, Trump has defended Bill Clinton:

Trump: It bothers that they're going after Bill Clinton. I like Bill Clinton.

Reporter: What do you like about him?

Trump: He got me. He understood me. pic.twitter.com/wNowPvORka

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 5, 2026

If you're wondering why they're "going after" Clinton, it's because - like Trump himself - he features heavily in the Epstein Files. Once again, it's a case of 'poor me' from Trump, although this time he's extended his definition of 'self' to include the other degenerates who enjoyed Epstein's company.

It's obvious Trump isn't thinking about Epstein's victims at all. Sadly, he isn't alone in this, as Maddison Wheeldon wrote for the Canary:

"flawed redactions" of the Epstein Files have made nearly 100 survivors vulnerable, with the women's lives "turned upside down." However, the mainstream media circus around the release of the files is conveniently diminishing both the horror and scrutiny of these atrocious crimes, as well as the accountability of the powerful figures responsible for them.

In this clip, Trump is defending his decision to sue the US Inland Revenue Service:

Trump: Essentially, the lawsuit has been won. I guess I won a lot of money. I'll give 100% to charity.

Reporter: You're taking it out of the system.

Trump: No, I'm putting it back into the system. I'm giving it to charity.

Reporter: 38 trillion in debt and we're taking 10… pic.twitter.com/ylhbRG4Vg1

— Acyn (@Acyn) February 5, 2026

On this topic, AP reported:

In 2024, former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn, of Washington, D.C. — who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, a defense and national security tech firm — was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to leaking tax information about Trump and others to two news outlets between 2018 and 2020.

The outlets were not named in the charging documents, but the description and time frame align with stories about Trump's tax returns in The New York Times and reporting about wealthy Americans' taxes in the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica. The 2020 New York Times report found Trump paid $750 in federal income tax the year he first entered the White House and no income tax at all some years thanks to reported colossal losses.

Regardless of the precise details, it's obviously not sustainable to have a country in which the leader is suing his own governmental departments.

For readers in the UK, it's worth bearing in mind that both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch have both spoken about importing ICE-style policing to the UK. These same leaders have also done more than their fair share of sucking up to the US president. As such, we need to ask ourselves: is this pathetic, declining mess of a country really what we want to emulate in the UK?

Featured image via NBC

By Willem Moore

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is among the many powerful people who appear in the Epstein Files, which detail (among other things) their meetings and communications with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. For Bill, they also describe unpleasant outcomes, including a sexually transmitted infection, a putatively diseased penis, and a suggestion (from Epstein) that Bill considered feeding his then-wife, Melinda Gates, medication without her knowledge. — Read the rest

The post Bill Gates explains the lesson of Jeffrey Epstein appeared first on Boing Boing.

Back in 1817, philosopher Jeremy Bentham created a table showing how the same human impulse could be described in wildly different ways depending on your perspective. In one column, he'd write "gluttony" - harsh and judgmental. In the next, "love of the pleasures of the social board" - suddenly it sounds rather civilized, doesn't it? — Read the rest

The post The 1817 table that reveals how words manipulate our thinking appeared first on Boing Boing.

Famed actress Lauren Bacall was the longtime face of High Point instant coffee, a decaf brand from Folgers, and appeared in numerous advertisements volubly enjoying it. The clip below compiles the moments of maximum appreciation.

Instant decaf enjoyers haven't been able to get High Point since the 1990s, but here you can watch all seven TV spots in their entirety. — Read the rest

The post Lauren Bacall enjoying coffee appeared first on Boing Boing.

Well, here's something you don't see every day — an opera-singing doggo! Meet Charlie, a Golden Doodle, who goes by "Super Famous Charlie" on social media (where he's described as "Your Fav Singing Goldendoodle"), who sings opera alongside his human mom, who is a bona fide opera singer herself. — Read the rest

The post Watch as this opera-singing doggo tackles famous arias appeared first on Boing Boing.

This June, Oni Press is releasing Mind MGMT: New & Improved #1, a fresh, stand-alone gateway into Matt Kindt's paranoid psychic-espionage universe.

Former Mind MGMT agents (the ones who survived the extra-governmental agency) are living quiet, fabricated lives underground. — Read the rest

The post Matt Kindt's paranoid psychic-espionage comic book series "Mind MGMT" returns this June appeared first on Boing Boing.

I came across the stunning sea urchin photography of Anders Hallan. The way all the urchins are lined up in a grid makes them look like delicately painted confections. Hallan also has incredible close-up photos on his page, showing delicate details of sea urchins you wouldn't normally see this clearly. — Read the rest

The post Photographer shows sea urchins as ocean gemstones appeared first on Boing Boing.

This video shows a baby giraffe with a serious case of the zoomies. Nothing's cuter than a wobbly baby giraffe running around at full speed. If you need a palette cleanser after reading grim news, this video is pure silliness and joy. — Read the rest

The post Watch an adorable baby giraffe who has a case of the zoomies appeared first on Boing Boing.

Painter Jan Van Kessel didn't slack off when it came to his signature. His name becomes the entire subject of this painting, shared by the PDR. The painting features his name spelled out by beautifully rendered worms, bugs, and snakes that twist and contort into each letter. — Read the rest

The post Painter Jan Van Kessel signed his name in bugs appeared first on Boing Boing.

Todd Howard made a surprise appearance at the end of Thursday's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase to share updates about a few Bethesda Game Studios that are coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this year. The first of those is Fallout 4: Anniversary Edition, which will hit the console on February 24.

This version of Fallout 4 debuted on PC, Xbox and PlayStation in November. It includes the base game and all DLC, as well as Creation Club mods. It'll land on Switch 2 just a few weeks after the second season of the Fallout TV show wrapped up. A Switch 2 version was previously announced, but we didn't have a release date until now.

In a few months — on May 12, to be exact — you'll be able to play the fantastic Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on your Switch 2 (a port of that game for Nintendo's system was also announced last year). And then, later this year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered will arrive on the console. Let's just hope Bethesda has properly optimized that for Switch 2.

Of course, these aren't the first Bethesda games to land on Nintendo systems. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has long been available for the Switch. A Switch 2 version arrived in December.

Aspiring Starlink competitor Logos Space Services has secured FCC clearance to launch more than 4,000 broadband satellites into low Earth orbit by 2035, as reported by Space News. Under FCC regulations, the company must deploy half of the approved amount within the next seven years.

The company is headed by its founder, Milo Medin, a former project manager at NASA as well as a former vice president of wireless services at Google. The company has been raising money since it opened its doors in 2023 and reportedly hopes to deploy its first satellite by 2027. Logos' planned low Earth orbit constellation would beam high-speed broadband internet to customers worldwide, including government and enterprise users, much like Starlink.

While the satellite broadband market is growing, Starlink remains the biggest player by far. The European Space Agency estimates there are just over 14,000 functioning satellites currently in orbit and we know that roughly 9,600 of them are a part of the Starlink constellation. The SpaceX subsidiary recently asked the FCC for clearance to launch a million satellites, though in reality, the FCC will likely trend closer to the 7,500 it approved on the last go-around. The ESA says it expects 100,000 satellites to be in orbit by 2030.

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics begin this week, and this year's Opening Ceremony promises to be one for the ages. The three-hour event will feature performances from Mariah Carey and Andrea Bocelli, 3,000 athletes participating in the Parade of Nations, and not one but two Olympic cauldrons being lit. (One at Milan's Arco della Pace, since Milan will serve as the main hub for this year's Games, and the other in the Alpine city of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where events like skiing will take place.) The festivities are all happening this Friday, Feb. 6, and will air on NBC — you can tune in live on Friday afternoon starting at 2 p.m. ET, or wait for the primetime broadcast at 8 p.m. ET. 

If you want to tune in to the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics Opening Ceremony, we've got you covered. Here's all the info you need to watch, including what channel it's on, the broadcast schedule, and who will be there.  

Date: Friday, Feb. 6

Time: Airs live from 2-5 p.m. ET, primetime re-air from 8-11 p.m. ET

Location: San Siro Stadium, Milan

TV channels: NBC

Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, NBC.com, and more

There will be two broadcasts of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony this Friday. You can tune in live from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon, or catch the encore broadcast from 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. ET that night. Both broadcasts will air on NBC, which is available with DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV, and more.

With a live TV streaming service subscription or cable package, you can also catch all of NBC and Peacock's Olympics coverage on NBC.com and via NBCOlympics.com or the NBC App, just by logging in with your provider.

You can watch the Opening Ceremony live or on-demand on Peacock. If you already subscribe to a live TV streaming service or cable package, you should also be able to catch all of Peacock's Olympics coverage on NBC.com, NBCOlympics.com and the NBC app.

Sportscaster Terry Gannon will be hosting coverage of the 2026 Winter Games Opening Ceremony. Also appearing at the Opening Ceremony will be former Olympic snowboarder Shaun White, and NBC Olympics primetime host Mike Tirico will also participate remotely from San Francisco, where he'll be pulling double duty covering the Olympics and prepping to call Super Bowl LX. 

Mariah Carey will headline the Opening Ceremony, and the event will also include a performance from iconic Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. Actress Sabrina Impacciatore (The Paper, The White Lotus) and pianist Lang Lang, will also perform. And viewers will also get to see the nearly 3,000 Olympic athletes participating in the Parade of Nations. 

The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony will be held at Milan's San Siro Stadium, home to football clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan. The Opening Ceremony will actually be one of the final events held at San Siro Stadium, it's set to be demolished some time after the Games end.

I am both vain and prurient. A combination which makes me fun at parties and a delight to know.

Sometimes when I raise an issue on GitHub, or write a comment, other users leave me Emoji reactions. Perhaps a

The UK government claims it will develop a "world-first" framework to evaluate deepfake detection technologies as AI-generated content proliferates.…

Animal Equality says two surprise inspections in three years suggests 'embarrassingly poor' level of scrutiny

Scottish salmon farmers recorded more than 35m unexpected salmon deaths in just under three years but there were only two unannounced inspections of facilities over the same period.

In December, the Scottish government's secretary for rural affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said that there was "a really robust regulatory regime when it comes to fin-fish aquaculture" but animal welfare campaigners say the figures call that claim into question.

A mangrove conservation project in Guanabara Bay has shown how a dying ecosystem can be transformed into a thriving sanctuary

With deep blue waters flanked by dramatic peaks, Guanabara Bay is the postcard view of Rio de Janeiro - but it is also one of Brazil's most polluted coastal environments. Raw sewage and solid waste flow into the bay from surrounding cities, home to more than 8 million people. Cargo ships and oil platforms chug in and out of commercial ports, while dozens of abandoned vessels lie rotting in the water.

But at the head of the bay, between the cities of Itaboraí and Magé, the environment feels different. The air is purer, the waters are empty but for small fishing canoes, and flocks of birds soar overhead.

Related to collapse as the current political climate in the US is very detrimental to nuclear safety. The risks of someone doing something very idiotic leading to use of nukes is very much worse in a multipolar unregulated 'might makes right' world.

Microsoft has made OneDrive agents generally available, allowing users to query multiple documents simultaneously through Copilot instead of just one at a time.…

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Clean, renewable energy is cost competitive with fossil fuels, and in some cases costs less. Factoring in all the costs, including climate change impacts and harm to human health from fossil fuels, clean renewables make even more sense. In some cases where remote communities need to be able to generate ... [continued]

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Alex Marquez fends off Bezzecchi as sun sets on Sepang Test. The 2025 GP winner is top but 'Bez' is hot on the chase as testing concludes in Malaysia. 

Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) remains top of the pile as action concludes at Sepang, with the #73 - who won the Grand Prix in Malaysia last year - having just enough in hand to edge out Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) in second after a late push. Completing the top three is Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) after three days of interesting testing, with plenty to talk about beyond one-lap pace.

BK8 GRESINI RACING MOTOGP, DUCATI LENOVO TEAM, PERTAMINA ENDURO VR46 RACING TEAM:

The fastest Sprint simulation of the day went to 2025 silver medallist Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) who, upon completion of his 10-lap Sprint trial, had an average lap time of a 1'58.027. He ended the day fastest too with a 1'56.402; the #73 is very much in the groove at the track where he was victorious at last year.

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) ran the 2025 front aero on both bikes during the morning and sampled elements of the 2026 aero package. However, the #93 suffered his first crash of the year at Turn 1 but was perfectly OK. For teammate Francesco Bagnaia, he stated he felt more comfortable than at any point throughout the Grand Prix weekend in October whilst also declaring which aero package he preferred. Interestingly, over a 10-lap Sprint simulation, the #63 had the upper-hand over his teammate, leaving food for thought within the factory Ducati squad. It's fourth for Marquez and sixth for Bagnaia across the three days, attention turns to Buriram's test.

Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was another Ducati rider who fell, crashing at Turn 14. The Italian's work focused mainly on adapting to the GP25 which he inherits for the new season and he ended the test in seventh across all days - with Diggia on the GP26 in that top three.

APRILIA RACING & TRACKHOUSE MOTOGP TEAM:

Bezzecchi ends the test second and as top Aprilia after a busy few days, topping the final session of Thursday. We've seen new aero options for the seat unit - call it what you want but it is certainly innovative - and despite being a full-time rider down with Jorge Martin's (Aprilia Racing) absence, the Noale factory can leave buoyed by their breakthroughs. The final day saw the #72's Sprint simulation end in the high 1'58s but at a circuit they've historically struggled at, they can say they're back in BEZness.

In the Trackhouse camp, Raul Fernandez was their shining light as he finished seventh on the final day and P10 overall in what was a complete contrast to his 2025 testing struggles and subsequent day one crash. On the other side, Ai Ogura's incremental improvements saw him finish P12 overall with a focus shifting to the place where the Japanese rider got his best result of 2025: Buriram.

HONDA HRC CASTROL & HONDA LCR:

After Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) topped Day 2's timesheets, the final day of testing in Sepang was a little trickier for HRC in general, with both the 2020 World Champion and teammate Luca Marini saying the lower grip conditions after Wednesday's rain caused them to run into a few more issues. Still, the vibes are positive and a stride forward has been made in all areas with the 2026 RC213V. And, importantly, they've found gains with the engine that needs to be homologated for the season now HRC are in Rank C of the concessions. At the end of the three days, Mir finished P5 overall after his 1:56.8 and Marini P13.

For Castrol Honda LCR's Johann Zarco and Pro Honda LCR's Diogo Moreira there was plenty to talk about too. Speaking at the end of six days of testing in Malaysia, including the three-day Shakedown, it's safe to say the Brazilian rookie was tired. However, the #11 was very happy with his progress. The braking area is somewhere Moreira is particularly pleased with, and the reigning Moto2 World Champion also mentioned that he and the team are happy with the base set up they've found.

On the other side of the box, Zarco - like the factory duo - has been feeding us positivity about the new package for the entire test. He was P16 overall on the standings.

RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING & RED BULL KTM TECH3:

It's just 0.010 between Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) on the combined timesheets from the whole test as they slot into P8 and P9. It's been a busy test and seemingly a positive one, with Viñales still saying that after trying out lots of different directions on Day 3, it's the first setup he tried that he'd want to stay with - and he'd be happy to roll out for the GP in Buriram with it. He crashed near the end of play but rider ok.

Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) ends the test in P11, less than half a second off Raul Fernandez ahead of him, who split him from Acosta and Viñales. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory) also said it was coming together and was P15 on the combined times, saying he didn't put a lap together at full push.

MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP & PRIMA PRAMAC YAMAHA MOTOGP:

There was great news from the off on Day 3: yes, the Iwata marque were going to run. They sat out Day 2 until they could diagnose the cause - knowing, according to Technical Director Max Bartolini, what the issue was at least. Having got Japan on the task from Asian time on Day 2 joined by their base in Italy as Europe woke up later in the day by the time action began on Thursday.

Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was top Yamaha in P14 over all, Fabio Quartararo actually 17th on the timesheets from Day 1. Prima Pramac Racing's Jack Miller and rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu were a little further back in P18 and P19 overall.

For full results, click HERE - as that's a wrap on the Sepang Test. Swingarms, chassis, new aero front and rear… there's been a little of everything up and down pitlane and, lest we overlook, an entirely new bike at Yamaha in the YZR-M1. Now we're off into the city for the Season Launch in Kuala Lumpur and switch racing suits for a little black tie… but we'll be back on track soon as Buriram awaits in two weeks.

Then, it's time to get suited and booted for a record-breaking 22-GP calendar.

CombinedPracticeTimes

More from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP:

Alex Marquez fastest over the three days in Sepang.

• DAY1:

FP1 - 1'57.487 - 31 laps

FP2 - 1'58.169 - 18 laps

• DAY2:

FP3 - 1'57.664 - 22 laps

FP4 - 1'58.094 -  5 laps 

• DAY3:

FP5 - 1'56.404 - 31 Laps

FP6 - 1'57.295 - 14 Laps

Alex Marquez (1'56.404s - 121 laps): "It's always good to finish the tests with the fastest time. The feeling is positive, and we also did some good things in the sprint simulation. We tried a lot and worked well, but it's still just a test. The important thing was to finish these three days in good physical shape, and we managed to do that. Now we'll have the Buriram tests to try other solutions and fine-tune everything ahead of the start of the Championship."

More from a press release issued bu Honda HRC Castrol:

Honda HRC Castrol content with first outing of 2026.

Ninth and 16th for Joan Mir and Luca Marini on the final day of the Sepang Test, both pleased with the progress made and keen to return to the track at the pending Buriram Test.

Three days and some 265 laps later, the first test of the 2026 season has come and gone with Honda HRC Castrol collecting a wealth of data to analyse over the coming weeks. Hard work was rewarded with several moments of bright potential across the Sepang Test, Joan Mir and Luca Marini ultimately leaving satisfied with what they accomplished and motivated for what is to come.

Ending the ultimate day in ninth, Joan Mir concluded Thursday as the top Honda as all his competitors chased one off fast laps. Mir's 1'56.874 from Wednesday morning remains as his quickest lap of the weekend and places him in the top five overall. A confidence building test for the 2020 World Champion who is aiming to start 2026 as he ended the previous season and once again battle for the podium.

Luca Marini leaves Malaysia having progressed with all areas of the Honda RC213V and despite ending the final day in 16th, he remains confident in the changes made by engineers over the winter. Less the two seconds split the top 18 riders on the final day, just a few tenths making a big difference in the standings. The unique layout of the Buriram Circuit will give the #10 another opportunity to assess the 2026 package in different conditions and further improve his feeling.

Now both Mir and Marini will head to Kuala Lumpur city centre for the MotoGP Season Launch. After that, just the Buriram Test awaits before the year truly begins with the Thai GP.

Joan Mir: "Today we were able to do a longer run, a bit more than a Sprint Race distance. Our pace was quite good, but today we saw the other riders make a step as well, so we need to remain focused and keep working. We've made a step over last year, but everyone else has been working hard as well. The position is not super important today, we had to adapt our plan and cut out our time attack, so it was not as impressive as yesterday. If tomorrow was a race, we can be there in the top five." 

Luca Marini:  "We improved the bike with another step today, a satisfying end to the three days but like always - everyone else has made a step. The situation is similar to the GP last year in terms of the gap, so we have to work well in Thailand in a few weeks. We will have a couple of new things in Thailand as well, so there's still plenty to do before the first race. It's just the first test and people are always playing a bit, so we will wait to see what happens at the first race. Looking forward to it. Thanks to the team for their hard work of the winter and this test."

More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha: 

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Wrap Up Sepang Test Day 3 in P12 & P21st.

After sitting out Day 2 of the Malaysia MotoGP Official Test, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team were back in action on Day 3. Álex Rins and Augusto Fernández (replacing the injured Fabio Quartararo) wrapped up testing in 12th and 21st place respectively in the overall Day 3 rankings.

Following overnight investigations in Japan and Italy into the technical issue encountered on Day 1 of the Malaysia MotoGP Official Test, Yamaha returned to action on Day 3. Álex Rins and Augusto Fernández (replacing the injured Fabio Quartararo) completed a productive day on track, finishing 12th and 21st respectively in today's timesheets.

Rins posted a 1'57.580s best time in Session 1 on lap 11/26. As the majority of the rider field didn't improve their times in the afternoon, that lap was fast enough to earn him 12th position in today's classification, 1.178s from first. Completing 10 laps in Session 2 brought his Day-3 lap tally up to 36.

Fernández took on bike development duties for the injured Quartararo, making the test rider part of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team for the day. Fernández only took part in the morning session. His best time, a 1'59.278s set on lap 19/20, had him place 21st in the Day 3 rankings and in the combined results, 2.876s from the top.

The team will now travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the MotoGP Launch event, held from 6-7 February. The team will be back in action on track on 21-22 February for the Thailand MotoGP Official Test in Buriram.

Alex Rins: "We have been able to test all the items that we had to try here in Sepang during the Shakedown Test and the IRTA Test and made a selection of items we like for Buriram. Unfortunately, because of a technical issue and safety precaution, we couldn't ride yesterday, losing some time on track. Luckily, today we were able to ride again, and we completed our plans. We will work more on settings in Buriram."

Massimo Meregalli: "It has been a productive test. We have been able to evaluate most of the items that we had scheduled to try here. We chose the main topics for this test, like chassis, rear arm, and aerodynamics, with which we will start the Buriram Test - and this was the priority. Even though we were forced to temporarily halt the test due to a technical issue that occurred on Day 1, we were able to understand the cause and could finish today's test thanks to the big effort of the engineers here in Malaysia as well as in Japan and Italy. What we didn't have time for was fine-tuning the set-ups, which we will, of course, move to the Buriram Test."

More from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha: 

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team finishes intense days of winter testing in Sepang.

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP concluded the three days of Official MotoGP Winter Testing at Sepang, completing an intense programme of evaluation and development. Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu faced a demanding learning curve with the new bike — and, for Razgatlıoğlu, a completely new environment — but collected positive feedback across a wide range of set-ups tested during the Sepang test.

Gino Borsoi - Team Director: "During the Shakedown, to be honest, things went quite well and we completed all the work we had planned. The three days here were not easy — especially for Toprak — with the conditions and the high temperatures in Malaysia, but they both managed the workload well and we brought home important information. Going into the Official Test, we honestly expected to do a little better. In the two days we were out on the track, we were able to run and continue evaluating the material Yamaha provided. Our goal was not to chase lap time, but to build stability in performance. On the final day we found some improvements and, from a chassis point of view, the bike is quite competitive and works very well. It's clear that we are still missing some top speed, but Yamaha is already working on this, so we're not concerned."

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: "It's still difficult for me and the learning curve is steep, but the feedback we're getting is positive and we're making progress. I'm trying to understand where I need to improve and also how much I need to adapt my riding style to this bike. Jack helped me a lot today — I followed him for a few laps to understand how to approach some corners that are still tricky for me. I was hoping to get into the 1'57s and even though I felt fast, the lap time didn't come yet. But I'm pushing every day to learn and improve, and I'm already looking forward to continuing this work at the next test in Buriram."

Jack Miller: "It wasn't an easy day, but these things are part of the process. If you expect everything to run smoothly, you're being naïve — we're pushing the most high-performance machines in the world to their limits. Sometimes you need to pause, reassess what's needed and then get back to work. Of course I would have liked a bit more from this test, but I really believe the bike still has plenty of potential. The last few days were busy, with a lot of parts going on and off the bike, and the key is not just trying things, but properly analysing what works, what doesn't and where you can find a compromise for the future.

More from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:

Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira finished 19th on Thursday at the Sepang Test.

• Brazilian rider Diogo Moreira completed his first official test, which allowed him to continue getting to know the bike and learning.
• Today, Diogo completed a total of 46 laps, which, added to the 34 on Wednesday and the 39 on Tuesday, brings the total to 119 laps of hard work over three days.
• The rider admits that, after the Shakedown and the Sepang Test, he is pleased with the work done and motivated ahead of the next test in Buriram, as he has already felt improvements and gained important learnings at the beginning of his MotoGP journey.

More from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:

Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 15th on Thursday at the Sepang Test.

• French rider Johann Zarco and his crew ended the Sepang Test with consistent and positive feelings after some initial struggles.
• Today, Johann completed a total of 58 laps, which, added to the 33 on Wednesday and the 60 on Tuesday, brings the total to 151 laps of hard work over three days.
• The rider admits that the bike has improved and that, with a few adjustments, he is confident he will have a lot of fun, a positive sign heading into the Buriram Test.

The post MotoGP: A.Marquez Puts Ducati on Top on Day 3 at Sepang appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

The Bundeskartellamt, or the Federal Cartel Office of Germany, has prohibited Amazon from continuing its practice of using mechanisms to control the prices charged by sellers on its platform in the country. Germany's competition regulator explained that the company uses "various price control mechanisms" to review prices set by third-party Markerplace sellers. If the website deems a specific listing's pricing as too high, it allegedly removes the listing altogether or prevents it from being prominently displayed in the Buy Box section that lets you quickly purchase items. If those listings aren't removed completely, they're banished to less prominent sections like in the "See all buying options" and the "Other sellers on Amazon" lists. This reduced visibility could "lead to significant losses in sales" for sellers.

Amazon was found to have engaged in anti-competitive practices, because the company itself runs its own retail business and sells goods on the platform. That makes third-party sellers, which make up for 60 percent of the items sold on the website, direct competitors. Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt said Amazon must only be allowed to influence competitors' pricing "in the most exceptional cases," such as "in the event of excessive pricing." He didn't specify what the agency views as "excessive pricing," but he said allowing the company to continue its current practices will give it the power to "control the price level on the trading platform according to its own ideas." He also said that Amazon could use its mechanisms "to compete with the rest of the online retail sector outside"of its own website. Amazon's interference could lead to third-party sellers "no longer being able to cover their own costs, forcing them out of the Marketplace," he added.

Rocco Bräuniger, Amazon's country manager for Germany, told Bloomberg that the company will appeal the ruling and will continue operating as usual. "Amazon would be the only retailer in Germany forced to highlight non-competitive prices for customers," he said. "This makes no sense for customers, sales partners, or competition." He also asserted that the office's decision will throttle innovation in the European Union.

Amazon has been under scrutiny in Europe for years now. Back in 2022, it pledged not to use private sellers' data to compete with them in the Marketplace in the EU. It also promised to give sellers "equal treatment" when ranking them in the Buy Box section.

"The Bundeskartellamt considers this systematic interference in the Marketplace sellers' freedom to set their own prices to constitute an abuse under the special provisions for large digital companies (Section 19a(2) of the German Competition Act (GWB)) as well as a violation of the general abuse provisions under Section 19 GWB and Article 102 TFEU," the agency wrote. "…In these proceedings, the Bundeskartellamt has worked closely with the European Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the EU Regulation on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector (Digital Markets Act)."

The agency is slapping Amazon with a fine due to those violations, but the $70 million penalty it's asking for is merely partial payment based on the economic benefits the company enjoyed from its alleged anti-competitive behaviors. According to the Bundeskartellamt, the identified antitrust violations are still ongoing, so Amazon may have to pay more.