TYSONS, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 11, 2023--

Along with a raft of other bands’ covers, a Simlish version of Wet Leg’s ‘Angelica’ features in the Horse Ranch add-on for ‘The Sims 4’.

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

A new deal will bring the “biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade” – and could have significant consequences for anyone who uses a phone in the country. Vodafone and Three will merge as part of a deal that will see the two companies merge to make one of Europe’s biggest mobile operators. That will leave customers of those companies – and other operators in the UK – with a network operator significantly different from the one before the merger happened. But will it benefit those customers, or harm them? Here’s everything you need to know about how the possible deal might shakeup the mobile market. What is happening? Vodafone and Three – both relatively small phone networks in the UK – will merge together, with Vodafone owning 51 per cent of the combined business. It’s not clear yet what the new company will be called. It’s also not actually clear whether the deal will actually go through. Regulators still have to approve it, which is not guaranteed. It will affect the companies themselves, which will be re-organised around the new merger, as well as employees who may now fear job cuts. But it will also affect customers and the rest of the country. The deal is expected to be completed before the end of 2024, the companies said. “This long-awaited mega merger represents the biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade,” said Kester Mann, director of consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight. What does it mean for customers? The companies are looking to position the deal as great for its customers. It says that it will immediately lead to a “better network experience with greater coverage and reliability at no extra cost, including through certain flexible, contract-free offers with no annual price increases, and social tariffs”. Over the long term, it is not clear how the company intends to bring those customers together. When EE and T-Mobile merged into EE, for instance, the two customer groups initially stayed separate and then gradually became integrated. What does it mean for people who aren’t Three or Vodafone customers? Those behind the merger argue that it will help everyone else, too. Margherita Della Valle, Vodafone’s chief executive, said that it was “great for customers, great for the country and great for competition”. The “country” part of the statement is intended to point to the £11 billion investment that the newly merged company has promised for the UK, which it says will help “create one of Europe’s most advanced standalone 5G networks”. That new network will help provide billions in economic benefit, it argues. And the “competition” part comes from the argument that the mobile market will become more competitive, with another large operator in it. In theory, that could lead to better prices and deals for everyone – though there is of course no guarantee of that. Will prices go up for existing or new customers? It’s difficult to know this far out. Bigger companies have more power, which they can use to try and drive prices higher – but they also have more scale, which they can potentially use to be more efficient and reduce prices. Both companies have recently increased their prices significantly, even above inflation, which might be a clue to how they intend to behave in the future. But they may argue that the deal would allow them to avoid similar rises in the future. This will be the question that regulators grapple with as they probe whether the deal should go ahead. If they cannot be convinced that the merger will lead to better conditions for customers, then they will look to stop it. Will the deal go ahead? There is still a good chance that regulators will stop the deal from going ahead. They did the same when Three attempted to take over O2 in 2016, citing the risk that the deal would lead to higher prices. “This will be a hard sale given that both companies have been outperforming the market for the last year or so,” said Paolo Pescatore, from PP Foresight. “Let’s see if the authorities have a change of heart. Both parties need to demonstrate that this is genuinely in the interest of UK plc, the economy, and consumers for it to have a chance of getting over the line.” Read More Battery breakthrough ‘offers 1,500 kilometre range from just 10 minutes of charging’ EU makes major statement on the future of Google Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely Battery breakthrough ‘offers 1,500 kilometre range from just 10 minutes of charging’ EU makes major statement on the future of Google Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer are to be released in cinemas on the same day, 21 July - with cinema fans excited to attend the double feature. When it was announced that both films were coming out on the same day, this information thoroughly entertained the internet given how they are opposite to one another. Barbie with its pink aesthetic, with musical and comedic moments, compared to the seriousness and black aesthetic of Oppenheimer as it's all about the development of the atomic bomb. Sign up tBarbenheimer our free Indy100 weekly newsletter As a result, the mash-up term "Barbenheimer" was coined as people posted various memes about the two films, and now there is even fan-made merch available. Margot Robbie herself has commented on the craze, telling Grazia at the Barbie London premiere: "I saw an amazing mock-up of a Barbenheimer poster today online and I want to get it made into a t-shirt and maybe somehow get Cillian Murphy to sign that t-shirt." Here are some TikToks and tweets of our favourite designs: While people have been sharing their excitement at buying Barbenheimer t-shirts, others couldn't help but notice advertisement bots on Twitter and expressed their annoyance at them popping up under tweets. Where can I buy a Barbenheimer t-shirt? There are various design styles on Redbubble - an online marketplace for print t-shirts where users can submit their artwork and get it printed according to demand. Meanwhile, other designers often put their products up on Etsy, as well as on Printerval where the ‘Limited Barbenheimer Vintage T-Shirt’ is available to purchase. There are plenty of different options, so you're ready for Barbenheimer day on July 21. Elsewhere, 20 of the best Barbenheimer memes, reactions and mashups, our Barbie vs Oppenheimer quiz and The 'Barbenheimer Effect' dating trend explained. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

An overview of the media in Haiti, including links to broadcasters and newspapers.

TL;DR: A lifetime subscription to Microsoft Windows 11 Pro is on sale for £23.45, saving

This content originally appeared on Mashable for a US audience and has been adapted for

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the so-called "godfathers" of artificial intelligence, urged governments on Wednesday to step in and make sure that machines do...

PayPal has launched a new cryptocurrency that is tied to and backed by the US dollar. PayPal USD, issued by Paxos Trust Company, is a type of digital currency called a stablecoin, which differs to other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as their values are tied to traditional fiat currencies like dollars, pounds or euros. “The shift toward digital currencies requires a stable instrument that is both digitally native and easily connected to fiat currency like the US dollar,” said PayPal chief executive Dan Schulman. “Our commitment to responsible innovation and compliance, and our track record delivering new experiences to our customers, provides the foundation necessary to contribute to the growth of digital payments through PayPal USD.” The new crypto token will roll out first to US PayPal customers, offering the ability to send and transfer PayPal USD to other people, as well as fund purchases when checking out at online stores. The new cryptocurrency comes at a time of increased scrutiny at the crypto industry, with regulators looking to avoid a repeat of the TerraUSD stablecoin collapse that wiped tens of billions of dollars from markets in 2022. The TerraUSD token was also pegged to the US dollar, however unlike PayPal USD it was not backed up by any dollar reserves. Instead, it used a partner cryptocurrency to maintain its value algorithmically, which ultimately caused both cryptocurrencies to crash in tandem. Other companies have also attempted to launch stablecoins, including Facebook’s Libra project, which was shut down last year after facing push back from regulators. The US House Financial Services Committee has since advanced a bill aiming to set up a federal framework for stablecoins in order to integrate them into modern payment systems. “We are currently at a crossroads to keep America at the forefront of digital asset innovation,” US Representative Patrick McHenry, who chairs the committee, said in a statement following PayPal’s announcement. “Congress is making significant, bipartisan progress on legislation to ensure the US leads the financial system of the future.” Read More What is Elon Musk’s ‘everything app’ X? Kenya suspends eyeball-scanning crypto worldcoin

Texas A&M University has reached a $1 million settlement Thursday with a Black journalism professor whose hiring was sabotaged by backlash her past work promoting diversity

EWING, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 29, 2023--