Latest news with #Italy
The South African
34 minutes ago
- Sport
- The South African
Springbok debutants: Who FIRED, who FLOPPED
The Springboks and Rassie Erasmus unleashed FOUR debutants during the Springboks-Italy Test series. Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus rewarded Vincent Tshituka, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Cobus Wiese and Ethan Hooker their respective Bok debuts during the home series against Italy in South Africa. So, who stood up and stood out and who failed to make a good first impression? Vincent Tshituka – 8/10 Tshitshuka made his unofficial debut against the Barbarians in Cape Town before making his Test debut against Italy at Loftus on Saturday, 5 July 2025. The elusive Sharks forward was as good in his official debut, if not, better than he was in the Boks' first match against the Barbarians. Tshituka was a constant threat in open play, showcasing his speed, versatility and off-loading ability. Meanwhile, he was a nuisance for both the Barbarians and Italy at the breakdown. Tshitshuka's talent is matched by his hard work. He is as skilful as he is hard-working. He has certainly put his hand up for selection under Rassie Erasmus going forward. Asenathi Ntlabakanye – 6/10 Ntlanakanye made some heavy carries. Whilst his 140kg+ frame added some heavy mass to an already powerful Springboks scrum, this set piece did not always gain such noticeable power (as it did when Ox Nche came on). Cobus Wiese – 5.5/10 Gave away a penalty for not releasing early on. Furthermore, he also failed to regulalry get over the advantage line. So, while he did not do much wrong, his Bok debut will not cause Rassie and the selection team any selection headaches. Ethan Hooker – 6.5/10 Of the Bok debutants who played against Italy in the second Test, Hooker showed the most promise. He made some good carries and was solid defensively. However, he will need more time to find his feet in the green and gold. Let us know by leaving a comment below or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
Forbes
38 minutes ago
- Business
- Forbes
AWS Builds Agentic Integrated Developer Environment
Statue S.P.Q.R. IMP CAESAR Augustus PATRIAE PATER on street Via dei Fori Imperiali, Rome, Italy Beware the ides of March. So said the soothsayer, warning Julius Caesar of his impending assassination, which would come on the 'ides' (15th, middle day of the month) of March, in 44 BC. Today, that soothsayer might update his omen and tell software application developers that they should beware the IDEs that don't 'march forward' with agentic AI accelerators. Newly minted this year, Kiro is an agentic integrated development environment (that's our new ides here, or IDE) from AWS. The technology is built with the power of AI agents and also combines traditional software development lifecycle practices to create production-ready applications. Developers get the full AI coding experience, plus the structure needed for production. What Is An IDE? A fundamental part of the programmer's arsenal, an IDE contains a source code editor (for writing code to the correct syntax), a compiler (to transmogrify code into machine language and execute it), a debugger (does what it says on the label), build automation tools (core test and application packaging functions, rather than AI itself) as well as essential project management and version control functionalities to help keep projects in line, especially those where there are plenty of cooks adding to the broth. The most popular and widely used IDEs include Visual Studio, created by Microsoft. Then there's Eclipse, created by IBM, but open sourced practically from the point of inception back in 2001. Also in the mix is PyCharm, developed by JetBrains and used extensively in Python language-based development, Xcode for Mac developers and IntelliJ IDEA (again by JetBrains), an IDE that rests firmly within the Java programming universe. Because we live in a world where enterprise software users continually ask for new functions and services, developers find themselves dealing with application requirements that are often fuzzy and tough to clarify. That makes applications harder to build and it makes deployment tougher because nobody knows if new designs will affect the wider computing environment and performance. To address these issues, AWS has positioned Kiro as a route to what it calls spec-driven development i.e. only actually building the code that will result in things users need. Kiro Hooks & Specs Agentic developer experience advocate at AWS, Nikhil Swaminathan says that Kiro's strength is getting prototypes into production systems with features such as specs and hooks. Kiro specs are software artifacts (anything basically, from code itself to documentation to designs to a data model) that software developers can use to work on application features or refactor existing code. In this context, 'specs' are not just specifications, they are accelerators to help programmers understand the behavior of the software system they are building and get it into live production. The specs approach from AWS here can guide AI agents to a better implementation in the same way. Kiro hooks act like an experienced developer who is capable of catching things other engineers might miss or completing boilerplate tasks in the background as the rest of the team works. These event-driven automations trigger an agent to execute a task in the background when you save, create, delete files, or on a manual trigger. 'Kiro accelerates the spec workflow by making it more integrated with development. In our example, we have an e-commerce application for selling crafts to which we want to add a review system for users to leave feedback on crafts. Let's walk through the three-step process of building with specs,' said Swaminathan, in an AWS blog. 'Kiro unpacks requirements from a single prompt. Type: 'Add a review system for products'... and it generates user stories for viewing, creating, filtering and rating reviews.' Ear Ear, It's EARS Each user story includes what are known as EARS (an acronym that stands for easy approach to requirements syntax) notation acceptance criteria. This covers cases developers typically handle when building from basic 'user stories' (the information that developers use to help draft the formalized requirements that will detail what an enterprise application is supposed to do) and coding. This makes prompt assumptions explicit, so developers know Kiro is building what they want. 'Kiro generates tasks and sub-tasks, sequences them correctly based on [software] dependencies and links each to requirements. Each task includes details such as unit tests, integration tests, loading states, mobile responsiveness and accessibility requirements for implementation. This lets you [developers] work in steps rather than discovering missing pieces after they think they're done,' explained Swaminathan. 'Kiro's specs stay synced with your evolving codebase. Developers can author code to update specs or update specs to refresh tasks. This solves the common problem where developers stop updating original artifacts during implementation, causing documentation mismatches that complicate future maintenance.' Beyond specs and hooks, Kiro includes model context protocol support for connecting tools, steering rules to guide AI behavior across a project and agentic chat for ad-hoc coding tasks. Kiro is built on Code OSS, so developers can keep their Visual Studio code settings and compatible plugins. Are Developers Out Of A Job? All of which brings us back to the central (and perhaps uncomfortably recurrent) question… are developers about to be put out of a job? Swaminathan explains that a) that was never the reason for the development of Kiro and b) it's really about solving the fundamental challenges that make building software products so difficult. As he has said in explicit terms, 'The way humans and machines coordinate to build software is still messy and fragmented, but we're working to change that. This is a major step in that direction.' Those challenges come down to the trouble developers have when attempting to ensure there is design alignment across teams and resolving conflicting requirements. The development of AWS Kiro also stems from the need to eliminate technical debt, to bring additional rigor to code review procedures, to preserve institutional knowledge when senior engineers leave and to help foster deeper team collaboration. Spoiler alert, those are all 'human developer' exercises, so this story is about using agentic services to support those processes, not as an attempt to replace them. Developers, we still need you, more in fact. DevOps Methodology Development Operations agil programming technology concept.
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Vogue
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Introducing Retori—a Made-in-Italy Collection With Art at Its Heart
Retori, the Milan-based brand founded and creative directed by Salma Rachid, has at its core 'the celebration of the idea of destiny, the belief that each of us has a story already written, and that life is the journey of uncovering it.' She explains: 'This guiding philosophy is expressed not through slogans, but through art—the most powerful form of storytelling.' Each collection of this peculiar label is conceived as a 'chapter' in an unfolding narrative, because its story is ever-evolving. And each one begins with a conversation with an artist whose life, challenges, and insights serve as the creative spark. These dialogues aren't just inspiration; they're catalysts. 'We draw from the artists' experiences the key lessons we hope to pass on, translating them into color, texture, and emotion,' the designer says. Photo: Courtesy of Retori Photo: Courtesy of Retori Photo: Courtesy of Retori Photo: Courtesy of Retori The Egyptian-born Rachid launched Retori last year; the brand is backed by her father Rachid M. Rachid's Alsara Investment Group. 'My background is actually in social anthropology,' she explains. 'I've always been fascinated by people, how societies function, how individuals connect. That curiosity is really where it all began.' She studied in London and later in the States at UCLA, where she also explored creative writing. 'I've always loved weaving disciplines together. For me, it was never about choosing one form of expression—it was about finding a way to make them speak to each other.' So why fashion? Why not open a gallery or dedicate herself to one 'proper' art form? 'What truly inspired me was the extraordinary craftsmanship in Italy. There's a purity to it, a heritage of making that feel like the perfect foundation. I wanted to build something that brings all the arts—design, painting, music, food—onto one platform. A kind of living, wearable archive,' she says. 'And at the heart of it is the narration. The name Retori comes from the word Rhetoric, which is the ancient art of story and communication.'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘Great for tennis': Alcaraz lauds rivalry after Sinner crowned Wimbledon king
First Jannik Sinner hit a wicked serve, straight down the T. Then he sank to his knees, head bowed as in prayer, in thanks and absolution. It was an appropriate gesture for the first Italian to win a singles title at Wimbledon. But it carried a deeper significance, too. Five weeks ago in the French Open, Sinner had watched three match points come and go against Carlos Alcaraz, before losing a five-set, 5hr 29min epic against the Spaniard. After that match Sinner looked broken. Now, against the same brilliant opponent on Centre Court, he had mended his mind and soul. 'Even if I don't cry, it feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through,' Sinner said after his enthralling 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory. 'It has been everything except easy.' He had got over that defeat in Paris by adopting a stoicism that would have impressed Seneca, and by practising even harder. 'Things can happen,' he said. 'I believe if you lose a grand slam final that way, it's much better than if someone kills you and you win two games. Then after you keep going, keep pushing.' As he spoke it was impossible to escape the feeling of watching the changing of the guard. How could it not when we had just witnessed the first Wimbledon men's final since 2002 without at least one of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray being lauded and applauded? Yet over three hours of exhilarating, nervy and at times breathtaking tennis, Sinner and Alcaraz assured Centre Court they were witnessing the smoothest of successions. The kings are dead. Long live the kings. When Sinner was growing up, he didn't idolise Federer or Nadal but the exuberant American skier Bode Miller. In fact, Sinner was good enough as a junior to be a national runner-up in the giant slalom, before focusing on tennis when he was 12. Yet having gone down mountains, he proved he was good at climbing them too. The tone was set early in the first set with an 18-shot rally of staggering power and velocity. Each shot appeared harder, flatter, more uncompromising. Alcaraz won that battle but he was to lose the war. There were times the Spaniard reminded Wimbledon of his instinctive brilliance. At set point in the first set, for instance, he somehow scrambled to his right to get back a howitzer forehand, before throwing himself to his backhand side as Sinner attempted the kill. Not only did Alcaraz make it, but his shot somehow went for a winner to go a set up. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion As the Spaniard cupped his hand to his ear before raising it overhead, Centre Court rose to give him a standing ovation. It was Alcaraz in a nutshell: entertainer, counterpuncher, conjurer. Sinner, though, is not the world No 1 for nothing. He broke immediately at the start of the second set, and when leading 5-4 he hit three extraordinary winners in a row to level the match. After one he raised his racket in the air like a gladiator asking for approval. Not only did Centre Court stand up in appreciation, but so did the legends of the game, including Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg, in the royal box. It was that good. At 3-3 in the third set, it was so close that both players had won 80 points. But the Italian was growing in confidence and, thanks to his huge serve, looked in control. And when he broke towards the end of the third set, and again early in the fourth, the finish line was suddenly in sight. However, Alcaraz refused to lie down. In Paris he had looked down and out, only to perform an act of escapology worthy of Harry Houdini. He tried to repeat the trick, but this time Sinner ensured the locks were not only securely fastened, bolted, but he had thrown away the key. Afterwards on Centre Court, Sinner also found the right words to sum up how far he had come. 'Back in the days when I was young, this was only a dream of the dream, because it was so far away from where I am from. So I am just living my dream.' He also paid tribute to his team for helping him to recover from Paris. 'They keep pushing me to become a better tennis player, but also a better person,' he said, to warm applause. The good news for tennis is that there should be many more of these epic tussles over the next decade. 'If I'm honest, I don't see any player having the level that we are playing when we face each other,' Alcaraz said afterwards. 'And this rivalry, it's becoming better and better. I think it's great for us, and it is great for tennis.' It is hard to argue. Sinner is 23. Alcaraz 22. Between them they have won 41 titles and nine grand slam championships, including the past seven between them. And for now, at least, they are light years ahead of the competition. Same time, same place, next year, anyone?
Travel Weekly
an hour ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Explora Journeys celebrates milestones for three ships under construction
Explora Journeys is celebrating three milestones on July 14: the Explora III's float-out, the Explora IV's coin ceremony and the Explora V's steel-cutting. The three ships are under construction at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente shipyard in Genoa, Italy, where leaders from the cruise line gathered for the triple-milestone event. This was Explora's second consecutive year reaching three milestones at once. Last year, at the same shipyard, it celebrated the delivery of the Explora II, the coin ceremony for the Explora III and the construction launch for the Explora IV. "We've had a very solid 10 months working with the team to get the ships where they are today -- those ships sailing and those that are under construction," said Explora president Anna Nash. "It's an emotional moment for me, and I think the team as well, to see the reality that we're halfway through this incredible family vision and we're delivering it on time with confidence, and, I'd say, with poise." Explora Journeys is owned by MSC Group, the cruise and shipping company owned by the Aponte family. The Explora III is on track to debut in August 2026, with the fourth and fifth ships following in 2027 and a sixth in 2028. Sailings for the Explora III's first season in Northern Europe have already proven "extremely popular," Nash said. The luxury brand is also seeing the highest-end suites selling first, she said. Explora Journeys president Anna Nash and MSC Cruises executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago in front of the Explora III. Photo Credit: Explora Journeys "I think that just comes with longevity as a brand, more confidence," Nash said. "We're seeing that with our repeat guests. They want to come back and experience a different level of suite." The Explora I debuted in August 2023. The Explora II followed in September 2024. The line is introducing its first Alaska sailings on the Explora III, and Nash hinted that this fall it will announce Explora's first Asia itineraries.
