EXCLUSIVE Japanese pop star Ayumi Hamasaki reveals truth about her 'secret love child' with Elon Musk amid claims he boasted about fathering baby with a Japanese singer
Elon Musk is convinced that civilization will crumble unless highly intelligent people – like him – start rapidly reproducing.
But a Japanese pop icon linked to Musk has made it clear she wants nothing to do with the Tesla CEO's one-man mission to stave off any looming population crisis, the Daily Mail can exclusively reveal.
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
New species of tiny tyrannosaurs gave Rex its bite
A new species of dinosaur has been discovered, which scientists say shows how tyrannosaurs evolved from smaller predators the size of a horse. The 'Dragon Prince', whose bones were found in a Mongolian museum, is thought to be about 20 million years older than the Tyrannosaurus Rex and provides a 'missing link' in the evolution of the apex predators. The skeleton of the Khankhuuluu Mongoliensis demonstrates where the T Rex got its vicious bite, researchers who 'rediscovered' the species said. 'We see features in its nasal bone that eventually gave tyrannosaurs those very powerful bite forces,' said Jared Voris, from the University of Calgary, the researcher who found the bones. The fossils were initially found in the early 1970s, but at the time were misidentified as belonging to a different tyrannosaur, Alectrosaurus. The bones were put away in a drawer at the Institute of Palaeontology of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences in the capital Ulaanbaatar, until they were re-discovered by then-PhD student Mr Voris. He was handed two plastic tubes full of bones while visiting the institute – and eventually found the fossils were partial skeletons of two different dinosaurs from a new species. Darla Zelenitsky, a palaeontologist from the University of Calgary, said: 'It is quite possible that discoveries like this are sitting in other museums that just have not been recognised.' The skeleton shows that the 'Dragon Prince' was about four metres long and weighed only 750kg, according to the findings, published in the academic journal Nature. An adult T Rex is believed to have weighed eight times as much. 'They were these really small, fleet-footed predators that lived in the shadows of other apex predatory dinosaurs,' said Dr Voris. 'This discovery shows us that, before tyrannosaurs became the kings, they were princes,' said Zelenitsky. The finding is considered a 'transitional' fossil and has helped clarify the evolution of the tyrannosaur family, which was 'really messy previously,' said Dr Zelenitsky. 'What makes them so important is their age,' said Stephen Brusatte, a palaeontologist at the University of Edinburgh who was not involved in the study. 'They are about 86 million years old, a good 20 million years older than T Rex. It has been a frustrating gap in the record.' The discovery also helps to paint the migration patterns of the tyrannosaurs. From Asia to North America They show that T Rex's direct ancestors probably migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge that used to connect Siberia and Alaska 85 million years ago, Dr Zelenitsky said. Tyrannosaurs then evolved in North America and remained there for the next several million years, she said. 'As the many tyrannosaur species evolved on the continent, they became larger and larger,' said Dr Zelenitsky. The records are incomplete so scientists are unsure of what happened in Asia 80 million years ago. However, the Khankhuuluu may have later been replaced by larger, more dominant, tyrannosaurs.
Coin Geek
an hour ago
- Coin Geek
India to boost 'crypto' rules amid court directive, RBI warning
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... India is expected to unveil a comprehensive discussion paper on digital assets in the coming weeks, reflecting insights from international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). This initiative reportedly signals the country's intent to explore a structured regulatory approach in response to the increasing global legitimacy of digital assets. The development of this policy paper coincides with shifting global dynamics, notably influenced by the United States' more favorable outlook on digital assets, particularly following growing support under President Donald Trump. India is engaging with multiple stakeholders and prioritizing a cautious, consultative process rather than making hasty decisions. The forthcoming document is expected to present a range of regulatory options to help shape the country's strategic stance on digital currencies in line with global standards. 'India to release the most-awaited discussion paper on crypto in June 2025! My sense is that it will cover the key risks associated with the sector and seek public comments to build further thoughts around crypto policy but no commitment on regulation yet,' said Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, India's first digital currency unicorn. 'The release of this discussion paper will 'finally' provide opportunities to Indian crypto investors/industry players/media to provide comments/feedback on the sector,' Gupta added. In July 2024, CoinDCX listed the BSV token for trading on its platform, allowing users to have more ways to buy, sell, and trade BSV. With CoinDCX's roughly 15 million registered users, the listing marks a significant expansion into the Indian market for BSV and demonstrates its potential and possibility in the region. Earlier this year, Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, stated that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had provided input for a discussion paper on digital assets. However, its publication was postponed due to shifts in the global regulatory landscape, as multiple nations re-evaluated their approaches to digital assets—especially in relation to stablecoins and international payment systems. Supreme Court slams delay in 'crypto' regulation The intention to speed up the regulation of digital assets comes days after the Supreme Court of India expressed strong dissatisfaction with the federal government's ongoing delay in establishing a regulatory framework for digital assets. According to a media report, the top court warned that the vacuum in legislation has enabled widespread abuse and financial misconduct. It emphasized that the lack of oversight has allowed digital currencies to be used in ways similar to 'hawala,' an illicit and informal system of cross-border money transfers. The court also flagged practical challenges for law enforcement, particularly when it comes to gathering evidence without a clear legal definition or regulatory standards for digital assets. These statements emerged during the hearing of a bail application filed by Shailesh Babulal Bhatt, a resident of Gujarat in western India, who faces fraud allegations involving 'cryptocurrencies' across several Indian provinces. Although the petition itself was not centered on broader digital asset policy, the bench—comprising Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh—used the occasion to voice apprehensions about the regulatory void in the digital asset space. More broadly, the court reminded the federal government that it had previously, nearly two years ago, called for a definitive policy direction on digital currencies. While acknowledging that an outright ban on digital assets would be counterproductive, given their growing importance in global finance, the bench stressed the urgent need for regulation. RBI repeats crypto risks to financial stability On the other hand, India's central bank continues to be concerned about digital asset trading, claiming it can hamper financial stability. 'There is no new development in so far as crypto is concerned. There is a committee in the government which is looking after this. Of course, as you are aware, we are concerned about crypto because that can hamper financial stability and monetary policy,' said RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra during the post-Monetary Policy press conference on June 6. The RBI has raised concerns about 'cryptocurrencies' on multiple occasions. Shaktikanta Das, former RBI Governor, consistently warned that digital assets pose serious risks to the financial system. He argued that digital assets could undermine the banking sector's stability, complicate efforts to manage inflation during economic crises, and potentially lead to the emergence of an unregulated parallel monetary system. Das was a strong advocate for a complete ban on digital assets, comparing their use to gambling. However, instead of an outright ban, the government imposed one of the harshest taxation on digital asset trading—30% flat tax on all digital currency income with no provision to offset losses and a 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on all transactions above Rs 10,000 ($116). This may likely lead to a loss of about $1.2 trillion in trade volume on domestic exchanges, according to a study from Esya Centre, an Indian policy think tank. RBI's decision to reduce interest rate positive for crypto The current RBI's monetary policy committee, led by Malhotra, recently made headlines by reducing interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.5%. The reduction was more than expected. RBI also lowered the cash reserve ratio, boosting liquidity to support the slowing economy as inflation eases. These bold steps reflect rising concern over India's economic slowdown and global uncertainties, including U.S. trade tensions. 'Our aspiration is to grow at 8%, and we would like to grow as fast as possible,' the governor said during the post-policy press conference. The central bank kept its growth forecast at 6.5% for the current fiscal year that began in April but lowered its inflation estimate to 3.7% from 4%. It also warned that there is little room for more rate cuts and said future decisions will be based on new economic data. 'We see the RBI's decision to reduce the repo rate as a positive signal for continued investor participation in crypto,' Gupta of CoinDCX said in an emailed statement. 'With repo rates at their lowest levels in three years, traditional instruments like fixed deposits may appear less attractive, prompting investors to seek better diversification and returns through alternative assets. At CoinDCX, we are witnessing increased interest from both retail and institutional investors who view crypto as a strategic asset within a well-balanced portfolio.' Watch: India is going to be the frontrunner in digitalization title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""> India Regulation Reserve Bank of India Sanjay Malhotra Sumit Gupta Trading
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
I played 6 hours of Mario Kart World – you need to know these things before you play
The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally here, and with it, the console's biggest launch title, Mario Kart World. Expectations are sky-high for the latest entry in the 33-year-old racing series, which carries the weight of a new console's fortunes on its shoulders. Even before I tried the game, there were a few big innovations on the table. Players can now roam anywhere in a wide-open world, with grand prix tournaments charting long routes that race in and between each of the main tracks. The maximum number of racers is also doubled to a chaotic 24 karts, and a new Battle Royale style knockout mode sees players competing to stay in the race, with slower racers knocked out each lap. Mario Kart World also gets a facelift, shedding some of the grit (at least, what passes for grit in Mario Kart) of the previous game. Instead, there's a bouncier and more cartoony look. Nintendo might not have given Mario Kart World a generational graphics upgrade, but the developer's recent success with a big-budget Mario movie has rubbed off. The newest entry in the series feels more characterful, more animated, and frankly, more fun. I've spent hours playing Mario Kart World ahead of its release date, many of them wasted wandering around the game's open world, but plenty of them exploring everything new and weird about Nintendo's beloved racer. Here, in no particular order, are 19 things I learned about Mario Kart World before you start. 1. The lightning item can make it rain Mario Kart World has dynamic weather effects, so it can start raining or snowing mid-race. However, this isn't just an animation. This not only changes the appearance of tracks, but slick conditions also affect kart handling. Weather patterns in Mario Kart World are fairly stable – I found it only changed a handful of times in about four hours of racing – but there is at least one way to manually encourage the weather to change. Using the lightning item, which wipes out and shrinks every other player, will sometimes trigger a rainstorm, too. 2. You can trick off dynamic waves The raw processing power of the Switch 2 can now create dynamic, splashy, three-dimensional waves during water sections. The wake from other racers isn't big enough to do anything interesting with, but a big enough explosion – a blue shell going off, for example – will create a shockwave across the water's surface that racers can trick off to gain a small speed boost. 3. You can jump on command now Jumping is one of Mario Kart World 's biggest innovations. You can use a jump to gain extra height off ramps for more time in the air for tricks, launch yourself onto the track walls to drive along them, or reach otherwise inaccessible grind rails. The jump button is the same as the drift button and works in almost the same way. Hold down the drift button, and after a few seconds, you'll charge up a jump. But Mario Kart veterans might find this frustrating at first. Steer left or right at any point while charging, and you'll start drifting instead, losing your jump. If you've played as much Mario Kart as I have, every last neuron of your muscle memory will be screaming at you. Charging takes a while, too, so you have to plan jumps some distance ahead of any walls you want to drive on. Speaking of which: 4. You can drive on the walls Mario Kart 8 went hard on the anti-gravity theme, with physics-defying, twisting, turning courses. Mario Kart World is more grounded, but you can still launch yourself onto any suitably flat track walls and race along them. Pulling this off is more challenging than it sounds, as you need to prime your jumps a few seconds in advance; fluffing the timing means colliding face-first with a wall instead of riding along it like Jet Set Radio. The outer walls of corners are rarely the shortest route around the track, but they'll often lead you to otherwise inaccessible grind rails, items and shortcuts. 5. The feather is back First seen in the original Super Mario Kart, the feather item vanished from the series for 25 years before making a shock reappearance in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 's battle mode. Now the feather makes a full and triumphant return in Mario Kart World, allowing racers to perform a jump instantly. Used in previous games for catapulting yourself over track obstacles and skipping bits of the course, the feather in Mario Kart World can be used to initiate wallriding without having to charge up a jump. You'll also be able to use it to access hard-to-reach Peach coins in free roam mode. 6. Four-player split-screen runs at 30fps We were holding out hope that the Switch 2 might be able to handle four-way Mario Kart World with no noticeable drop in visual quality, but play with three friends on the same TV and the frame rate drops to 30 frames per second. That feels choppy compared to the silky smooth frame rate of single player mode at first, but your eyes will adjust to the difference before you've finished your first race. As an aside, if you don't think you can spot the difference between games running at 30, 60 and 120 frames per second, the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour has a special minigame where you can test yourself. And yes, it's about as riveting as a Specsavers appointment. 7. You hang out in the open world between races This is especially useful during 24-player Knockout Tours, where an early knockout means a lot of waiting around for the race to finish. You can spectate as usual, but the open world is free to explore, acting like one giant multiplayer lobby where you can kill time with friends between races and vote on what to play next. 8. You can rewind time But only for yourself – other racers will keep going. Mess up a tricky jump or miss a shortcut, and, rather than wait for Lakitu to pick you up and place you back on the track, you can simply press the minus button, rewind time, and try again. However, this is a potentially controversial feature. It's not clear if you can rewind yourself into second place just before a blue shell arrives, for example – the ability to manipulate time at least gives novice players a chance to perfect their technique. 9. Free roam mode has stuff to do Three types of stuff, to be precise. Mario Kart World 's free roam mode sets you loose in the open world with no objective or destination, but there are collectibles and optional missions dotted all over the place. Primarily, you'll be able to find blue P-Switch blocks, which set you short, timed challenges to complete. These are mostly to do with driving through a series of tricky checkpoints or collecting coins before a timer runs out. Each challenge has an instructional title. 'Take to the skies above Peach's castle', for example, launches you into a PilotWings -style aerial gate challenge high above her house. There are also Peach coins, which hang out in hard-to-reach areas and usually require some trickery to get to, and hidden question mark panels – the classic item pick-up method from the original Super Mario Kart. 10. There's a photo mode You can take photos of yourself and your buddies in free roam. A dedicated photo mode lets you choose poses and expressions for your character, while full control over the camera means you can freely adjust things like focal distance, tilt and field of view to get the perfect shot. It's worth noting that the game doesn't freeze when taking a photo, meaning a mischievous player can spoil a group photo by chucking a few shells around. Everyone on their best behaviour, please. 11. You're always amassing stickers Mario Kart World tracks a huge number of stats across everything you do in the game, from coins collected to distance driven and miles drifted. Your reward for hitting milestones is stickers, which show up next to your player icon above your kart in races, as well as printed on the side of the kart itself. Purely cosmetic, stickers exist to show off your accomplishments to other players. They include sponsors from fictional businesses and brands around the game world, like Mario Motors and Koopa Construction. 12. Battle mode is back Specifically, Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. Balloon Battle, in which you have to pop five of your opponent's balloons while protecting your own, gets its own set of dedicated combat arenas. Like the rest of the tracks in the game, they exist in the open world alongside everything else. Some are destruction derby-style, bowl-shaped arenas, while others, like one set inside a Moo Moo Meadows farm, offer barns and tractors to take cover behind. 13. There's a day-night cycle (sort of) As you race, the time of the day will progress between a few different phases, so you'll see tracks during the morning, afternoon, evening and night. Time doesn't seem to constantly progress in Mario Kart World; instead, you'll occasionally be treated to a gradual transition from, say, sunset to night time in the middle of a race. 14. Gliders are out, wings are in More of an aesthetic change than anything, karts no longer pop out a hang-glider on long jumps. Instead, a pair of wings will spring from your character's kart to help them go the distance. Don't ask me why, but this is better. Like in previous games, karts will also transform into seaworthy vessels during water-based sections of the track, with different designs depending on the kart you choose. 15. You can see inside buildings in Crown City I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but when driving around Crown City, you can look through some windows. The interiors aren't terribly detailed – they're supposed to be raced past at high speed, after all – but if you're feeling nosy in free roam mode and want to marvel at the rendering power of the Switch 2 by peering into someone's front room, you can. On top of that, there's environmental traffic. There's plenty in Crown City, as you'd expect, but some routes between tracks also have vehicles to avoid. Car windscreens are also transparent now, revealing the Toad, Yoshi and Shy Guy drivers behind the wheel. 16. You can hijack special vehicles In certain parts of the world, you'll spot special supersized vehicles driving around with big and inviting open doors – drive inside and you'll take control of them for a short while. In my playthrough, I found two: a huge, double-trailer lorry that can be used to ram through traffic; and a zippy speedboat that looks like it could belong in F-Zero. These special vehicles show up in races as well as during free roam mode, and Nintendo suggested that there are more to discover. 17. You can put your face in the game You can use the Nintendo Camera to have your face appear above your kart during multiplayer races. This even works in a four-player split-screen, where a single camera can capture all four faces at the same time, making it easier to spot (or maliciously target) your friends during hectic 24-player races. Face tracking – where the camera will automatically adjust to keep you in frame – only works when there's one person playing. With more players, you'll see a preview of what the camera sees before each race, giving you a chance to find and manually circle your face on screen. You'll each have to sit still to stay in shot throughout the race, which is bad news for anyone who gets a bit animated towards the finish line. Whenever you thwack another player with an item, their angry face will spin around helplessly above their kart, which is good fun. 18. Cow doesn't get any outfits Hovering, glowing takeaway bags called Dash Food can be found around tracks and in the open world, usually at diner-themed pit stops, but sometimes lined up across the track so that every player gets one. These are location-appropriate and include local delicacies like burgers, curries, ice creams and kebabs. Eat one, and your character gets a cosmetic costume change for the rest of the race, and that costume is then unlocked in the character select screen. An ice cream will give Mario a pair of shades and a snazzy little Hawaiian shirt, for example, but sadly, only the main characters get outfits. If you've always dreamed of putting the cow from Moo Moo Meadows in a sombrero, you're out of luck. 19. But Waluigi gets a Mariachi costume In a possible nod to the fan-made N64 game Waluigi's Taco Stand, Nintendo has added Mariachi Waluigi as a playable character – presumably unlocked when he grabs something delicious on a Mexican-themed track. There's also a costume for King Boo that puts him in a Downton Abbey -esque monocle, moustache and top hat. Nintendo misses a trick by not calling him Boo-ritish, but apart from that, the game is a huge upgrade to Mario Kart 8.
