The Shah Jahan Mosque is a 17th-century central mosque in the city of Thatta, Pakistan. The mosque was built during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who bestowed it on Thatta as a token of gratitude, and is heavily influenced by Central Asian architecture a reflection of Shah Jahan's campaigns near Samarkand shortly before the mosque was designed. It is notable for its geometric brick work, a decorative element that is unusual for Mughal-period mosques. The mosque is unusual for its lack of minarets although it has a total of 93 domes, the most of any structure in Pakistan. This photograph depicts an interior view of one of the Shah Jahan Mosque's secondary domes, showing its octagonal structure, with blue-and-white tiles arranged in stellated patterns to represent the heavens.Photograph credit: Alexander SavinRecently featured: BathymetryCinnamon hummingbirdArthur SullivanArchiveMore featured pictures

The US Treasury Department suffered a major security incident after a China state-sponsored hacker broke into the third-party remote management software it uses, as reported earlier by The New York Times.In a letter to lawmakers seen by The Verge, the Treasury Department said BeyondTrust, the company behind its remote management software, notified the agency of a breach on December 8th.The threat actor stole a key used by BeyondTrust to secure a cloud-based service used to remotely provide technical support for Treasury Departmental Offices (DO) end users. With the key, they overrode the security to remotely access those users' workstations and some unclassified documents they maintained.The Treasury Department said it worked with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI following the attack, which has been attributed to a China state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) hacker. The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information, US Treasury Department spokesperson Michael Gwin said in a statement to The Verge.RelatedThe attack seems to be linked to a security incident BeyondTrust disclosed earlier this month, impacting customers using its remote support software. At the time, BeyondTrust attributed the attack to a compromised API key for its remote support software, adding that it immediately revoked the API key, notified known impacted customers,and suspended those instances the same day. The Verge reached out to BeyondTrust with a request for comment but didnt immediately hear back.Treasury takes very seriously all threats against our systems, and the data it holds, Gwin said. Over the last four years, Treasury has significantly bolstered its cyber defense, and we will continue to work with both private and public sector partners to protect our financial system from threat actors.

Time zones: EST (UTC -5), CST (UTC -6), MST (UTC -7), PST (UTC -8), AST (UTC -4), NST (UTC -3:30)ResponsibilitiesWorking Solutions is looking for individuals who consider themselves "social experts to contract for a one-of-a-kind opportunity. This remote role will use social media chat (no phone or video needs!) to assist TurboTax customers with concerns or product support. For this opportunity, contractors must live and work in Canada and be able to pass a fluency assessment.In this role, the social expert will:Respond to customer concerns and inquiries via social media and digital channelsUse soft skills to empathize with customers while keeping a professional demeanorWhy join the WooHoo! Crew? There are many perks to contracting with us:Work from home: Say goodbye to commuting hassles and hello to the convenience of working from home.Work when it's convenient for you: Flexibility is the name of the game. Schedule your own hours and enjoy the freedom of creating a schedule that works best for you.Gain experience in different industries: Expand your skillset and broaden your horizons while providing exceptional customer service.Supportive environment: Were there to help so you can focus your efforts on bringing top-notch service to the customers we serve.Earnings PotentialEarn up to $18.60 USD per hourAll currency is listed and paid in USD.ScheduleThis is a seasonal contract that runs through Tax Day 2025.Flexible schedule opportunities - you create your own schedule within program hours.Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 5:00PM CSTSkills NeededMust be bilingual in French and EnglishSincere desire to assist the customerTech savvy and avid computer userAbility to multi-task and navigate multiple systemsCommunicate with a friendly tone and professional demeanorWork Environment Requirements:Quiet, uninterrupted spaceOrganized desk areaTechnology RequirementsPersonal computer (no tablet)Broadband internet connection, recommended at least 10 MBPSWired internet connection (no wi-fi or mobile internet)Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating systemValid antivirus software installed, running and up to dateMac users: Mac acceptance is limited to Intel-based machines with Windows 11 installed via Apples Boot Camp utility.Important InformationContractors must successfully pass a criminal background check.Contractual Relationship: The relationship between you and Working Solutions is a contractual relationship. You will remain an independent contractor for the duration of this program assignment. Working Solutions will not be responsible for withholding taxes on your earnings while contracted with Working Solutions. When you receive your contract, you will be asked to agree to have no claim against Working Solutions hereunder or otherwise for vacation pay, sick leave, retirement benefits, Social Security, workers compensation, health or disability benefits, overtime, unemployment insurance benefits or employee benefits of any kind. Learn more about what it means to be an independent contractor.

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When to watch the Detroit Lions vs. San Francisco 49ers?Monday, Dec. 30, at5:15 p.m. PT(8:15 p.m. ET).Where to watch:The Lions-49ers game will be shown on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Plus. See at ESPN Plus Tonight's game for $11 per month ESPN Plus See at ESPN Plus See more details See at Sling TV Carries ESPN or ABC for $40 or $45 per month Sling TV See at Sling TV See more details See at YouTube TV Carries ESPN and ABC for $83 per month YouTube TV See at YouTube TV See more details See at Fubo Carries ESPN and ABC for $80 per month Fubo See at Fubo See more details See at Hulu Carries ESPN and ABC for $83 per month Hulu Plus Live TV See at Hulu See more details See at DirecTV Stream Carries ESPN and ABC for $87 per month DirecTV Stream See at DirecTV Stream See more details The Lions have a huge game against the Vikings next week that will determine the NFC North title and top seed in the conference, which brings with it a first-round playoff bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. But before the Lions host the Vikings, they must make a trip out west to San Francisco for a largely meaningless game against the 49ers. The Niners have been eliminated from the playoffs, and a win or a loss tonight does not alter the stakes for the Lions next week against the Vikings. But, hey, it's the last Monday Night Football game of the year!The Lions and 49ers kick offtonight at5:15 p.m. PT(8:15 p.m. ET) on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Plus.Looking for the ManningCast? The Manning brothers have the night off; Peyton and Eli won't return until next month for a Wild Card game.If you don't have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch Monday Night Football tonight with a live TV streaming service. Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions take on the San Francisco 49ers tonight in the last Monday Night Football game of the season. Michael Reaves/Getty ImagesHow to watch MNF without cableYou can watch the game tonight with a live TV streaming service. The good news for football fans is that ABC and ESPN are available on all five major streaming services. You can also watch on ESPN Plus.Another option is to use an over-the-air antenna connected to your TV to watch on ABC. The best part about antennas is that there are no streaming or monthly fees required, although you will need to make sure youhave good reception. You'll be able to watch tonight's game on ESPN Plus along with two games next week. A pair of week 18 games will be played on Saturday -- Browns vs. Ravens and Bengals vs. Steelers -- and you'll be able to watch both on ESPN Plus. Those two games will also air on ABC and ESPN.You can also catch the last ManningCast of the season on ESPN Plus when the Manning brothers return for a game duringWild Card weekend in January.ESPN Plus costs $11 a month (or $110 a year). Read our full review of ESPN Plus. See at ESPN Plus Sling TV/CNET Sling TV's Sling Orange plan includes ESPN but not ABC, and the Blue plan includes ABC (in only in a handful of markets) but not ESPN. Each plan costs $45 a month in the areas with ABC and $40 elsewhere. The combined Orange-and-Blue plan costs $55 or $60 a month. Read our Sling TV review. See at Sling TV Sarah Tew/CNET YouTube TV costs $83 a month after a recent price hike and includes ESPN and ABC. Right now, the first three months are discounted to $60 a month.Plug in your ZIP code on YouTube TV's welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area. Read our YouTube TV review. See at YouTube TV Fubo Fubo's basic Essential plan costs $80 a month and includes ESPN and ABC. Fubo is currently offering the first month for $45. You canclick hereto see which local channels you get. Read our Fubo review. See at Fubo Hulu Plus Live TV costs $83 and includes ESPN and ABC. On its live news page, you can enter your ZIP code under the "Can I watch local news in my area?" question at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get. Read our Hulu with Live TV review. See at Hulu Directv stream DirecTV Stream's basic $87-a-month plan includes ESPNand ABC. You can use its channel lookup tool to confirm that ABC is available where you live. Read our DirecTV Stream review. See at DirecTV Stream All of the live TV streaming services above allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out ourlive TV streaming services guide.

Your payment history is the biggest factor in determining your credit score, but along with total credit available, mix of credit types and credit history, there's another critical component of your credit profile that you need to be aware of -- your credit utilization ratio.Representing the percentage of your total available credit that is currently in use, credit utilization can impact anywhere from 10-30% of your credit score. And if your credit limit is relatively low, it shouldn't cost you too much to bring down the ratio to build up your credit score. This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season. If you're not sure exactly how the credit utilization ratio works, don't worry. We'll help you understand the impact of the ratio on your credit score and provide you with tips and tools to reduce your credit utilization and increase your credit score. For more, check out these secret tips for keeping a credit score above 800 or learn about the three major credit bureaus and how they operate.What is a credit utilization ratio?Your credit utilization ratio is the percentage of your available credit that you are using. For a basic example, if you have one credit card with a $1,000 limit, and your current balance is $200, your credit ratio is $200 / $1,000, or 20%.VantageScore will consider only revolving credit, or credit card accounts, in the calculation of your credit utilization ratio. FICO will consider your credit ratio as part of its "Amounts Owed" category, which is how much debt you have in total.It's important to remember that VantageScore and FICO monitor your total credit utilization (using balances and credit limits for all your credit cards) as well as the ratios for each of your individual accounts. If your overall ratio is moderately low, but you have one card maxed out, that could bring your credit score down.Perhaps more important is that credit bureaus don't calculate your credit utilization ratio using your current credit card balances. They calculate it using the account balances that your credit card issuers report to the credit bureaus. Each issuer has its own system, but the reported numbers are often the balances from your monthly statements.Even if you're paying off your credit card balances every month, if you have a high credit ratio at any time during your billing cycle, it could hurt your credit score.What's a good credit utilization ratio?"It's commonly recommended that your credit card balances are kept at or below 30% of your assigned credit limit," Bruce McClary, senior vice president of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, told CNET.According to CBS News MoneyWatch, a credit utilization ratio of 50% or higher could ding your score 50-100 points, and a maxed-out ratio of 90% or more will potentially lower it by 100 points or more.While 30% or less credit ratio is the general guideline, those who want excellent credit scores will need to keep it even lower. According to credit rating company Experian, "If you're focused on having excellent credit scores, a credit utilization ratio in the single digits is best.""The truth is, the lower your balances the better. The more you carry, the more it might lower your score," Todd Christensen, education manager at Money Fit, told CNET.But you shouldn't aim for a credit ratio at 0%. Experian also says, "the only way to be sure you have 0% utilization all the time is to refrain from using your credit cards at all," which could result in an issuer closing your account, reducing your available credit and increasing your ratio.How can I lower my credit utilization ratio?Since credit ratio is an expression of money borrowed divided by credit limit, the main ways to decrease that ratio are to lower your debt and increase your credit limit. Here are the best ways to accomplish that.Pay your credit card bill twice a month, or even moreCredit card companies report your balances to credit bureaus on a regular basis, and that number often comes from your credit card statements. Even when you're paying off your credit card bill every month, if your statement shows a balance that's a high percentage of your credit limit, your credit score will suffer.If you use your credit card frequently, consider paying it off twice a month, or whenever your balance approaches 30% of your credit limit. Online credit card accounts make it easy to make or schedule as many payments as you'd like, and you can set up notifications (see below) for your balances.If you've got a $1,000 limit and spend $900 a month on your card, a 90% credit utilization ratio will almost certainly ding your credit score. If you pay it off as your balance hits $300, or three times a month, your credit score shouldn't be hurt by a high ratio.Create credit card balance notificationsMost credit cards now let you create alerts online for your account, including the amount of your balance. These can be emails, text messages or alerts through your credit card's website.To protect your credit ratio, set up a notification for whenever your balance reaches 25% of your credit limit. That balance level will give you some padding to make sure that you stay below the recommended 30% ratio.Ask for a higher credit card limitIncreasing your credit limit will help reduce your credit ratio because the amount you owe is now a smaller percentage of the maximum you can borrow. It's easy to request a credit card limit increase -- just call the phone number on the back of your card and talk to a representative.Before you ask for a higher limit, however, keep a few things in mind. This strategy only works if you don't increase your balance owed. If a higher limit is going to tempt you to spend more, you might want to reconsider.Also, ask your credit card representative if the company will run a hard credit check before approving your request. Although a higher limit will help your ratio, a hard inquiry could ding your credit score by five to 10 points for a year or so.Keep old credit cards and use them a littleIf you have older credit cards that you don't use much or at all, don't cancel them. You'll only reduce your overall credit availability and hurt your credit ratio, as well as your average age of credit.However, if you don't use a credit card at all, the issuer may cancel it for lack of activity. Instead, use old cards sparingly, such as a purchase every few months, in order to keep your accounts open and your total available credit high.Once you know the principles behind credit utilization ratio you can use these tactics to decrease your ratio and bolster your credit score.For more, check out our best credit cards for building credit.

But the same project could still be a while away...Following the recent release of Fantasian Neo Dimension for Switch, the Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi is now focused on his future.In the same Famitsu interview with Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii, Sakaguchi revealed how he wont be calling time on his career any time soon. Instead, he provided an update about his new project, which is believed to be a new dark fantasy title from Mistwalker.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Bring in the New Year with some speedrunning.If you're looking for a way to fill in the hours between now and the New Year, why not jump on Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition.Nintendo has just sent its final competition (and first one of 2025) live. The current challenges will test your skills in Kirby's Adventure, Super Mario Bros. 3, Metroid, Kid Icarus and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

How to solve today's Wordle.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesLooking for Sundays Wordle hints, clues and answer? You can find them here:Happy New Years Eve, dearest Wordlers! I hope you have some fun in store this evening. Here in my mountain town, people gather downtown at midnight to watch a giant pinecone drop from the balcony of one of the historic hotels. I imagine it will be quite busy this year given how warm its been. I can recall some New Years Eves that were so frigid and snowy you could barely be outside at midnight, but this year it feels like spring.In any case, lets solve this Wordle! Its a good one.How To Solve Todays WordleThe Hint: Madagascar.The Clue: This Wordle begins and ends with consontants.Okay, spoilers below!...The Answer:Today's WordleScreenshot: Erik KainWordle AnalysisEvery day I check Wordle Bot to help analyze my guessing game. You can check your Wordles with Wordle Bot right here. Play Puzzles & Games on ForbesThis is a tricky Wordle but I got quite lucky. SPIEL was an okay opener, but still left me with 116 possible solutions. I decided to try to juggle the yellow boxes and hopefully snatch another vowel, but FLARE came back all yellow again. Fortunately, there was only one possible solution remaining: LEMUR for the win!Lemurs are fascinating primates. Most of the species of lemur in the world live on the island of Madagascar, which has around 110 different species. Others can be found in Brazil, but mostly lemurs were driven into extinction by chimps and other apes, which are much smarter. Humans have hunted many others to extinction as well, and currently every species of lemur is on the endangered species list. Madagascar is so important to the study of primates, that primatologists divide the world into four regions: All of Central and South America, all of Asia, all of Africa and Madagascar. The giant lemurs died off long ago, around 350 B.C. and were as large as gorillas.Competitive Wordle ScoreI get 1 point for guessing in three and another point for beating the Bot, who took four tries today. Huzzah! 2 points to end the year!How To Play Competitive WordleGuessing in 1 is worth 3 points; guessing in 2 is worth 2 points; guessing in 3 is worth 1 point; guessing in 4 is worth 0 points; guessing in 5 is -1 points; guessing in 6 is -2 points and missing the Wordle is -3 points.If you beat your opponent you get 1 point. If you tie, you get 0 points. And if you lose to your opponent, you get -1 point. Add it up to get your score. Keep a daily running score or just play for a new score each day.Fridays are 2XP, meaning you double your pointspositive or negative.You can keep a running tally or just play day-by-day. Enjoy!Todays Wordle EtymologyThe word "lemur" comes from Latin, where lemures referred to spirits or ghosts of the dead. When European naturalists first encountered these nocturnal primates in Madagascar, their reflective eyes, nocturnal habits, and ghostly calls reminded them of the restless spirits from Roman mythology, leading to the name.Let me know how you fared with your Wordle today on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog where I write about games, TV shows and movies when Im not writing puzzle guides. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

2024 video game review a year to forget but theres hope for 2025GameCentralPublished December 31, 2024 1:00am Are Sony and Microsoft going to sort their acts out next year? (Sony/Microsoft)After another year of layoffs, flops, and endless live service games what were the positives in 2024 and what could they mean for 2025?Its not been a good couple of years for the video games industry. Nintendo and most of the other big Japanese publishers have carried on as usual but, as weve explored in our round-up of the years biggest news stories, its been nothing but disaster after disaster in the West. Yes, great new games are still being released every month but a glimpse behind the curtain reveals an industry without direction or leadership. Or any sense of shame as to what has happened this year.We made these same observations during last years review of the year and very little has changed in terms of the quality of stewardship from Sony, Microsoft, or any of the other Western publishers. There were more layoffs this year than the last and, in most cases, not even the barest flicker of guilt from any of the execs responsible.Thats unsurprising given that theyve never acknowledged that any of this is their fault; that they failed to prepare for the increasing cost of developing new games and that they were too greedy and stupid to realise that recklessly throwing everything into live service games, as everyone else did exactly the same thing, wasnt going to work. None of that has changed this year but what does make it different from 2023 is that there is now a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.If the truth is ever known about what has been happening behind closed doors at Microsoft and Sony, for the last two years, its not likely to be for a long time, given how poor a picture it will paint of both companies. Theres been reports of civil wars at both console makers Microsofts over whether to go multiformat or not and Sonys over whether to abandon single-player games in favour of live service games and while it cant be proven, it would certainly explain a lot.During the course of this year the two issues have evolved, with the question of Xbox exclusivity becoming even more existential, as many fans worry that Microsoft is becoming a de facto third party publisher, with little interest in making its own consoles. Given the conflicting signals theyve been putting out, about just about everything, its become increasingly difficult to take anything Phil Spencer and co. say seriously but the This is an Xbox campaign seems to make it clear that Xbox consoles are an increasingly small focus for the company.Whether thats a good idea, given the intrinsic limitations of video game streaming at the moment, is a matter of debate but, as is so often the case with Microsoft, its not clear whether theyre ignoring the problem or are confident they can overcome it. Given the confusion still hanging over their multiformat machinations its difficult to imagine their hardware plans are going to be explained in any more straightforward a manner. Concord couldnt have been a bigger failure (Sony Interactive Entertainment)Theres a similar confusion over what Sonys masterplan may look like at the moment. The embarrassing failure of Concord must surely have lessened their obsession with live service games but their hints to that effect are ambiguous at best. Not least because its still not clear whether the new CEOs appointed this year are the ones that fought for or against the move away from single-player games.Nevertheless, Sony did announce new single-player games this year, and no more live service titles, so together with comments from the likes of Warner Bros. and Ubisoft theres reason to hope theyve finally given up trying to make the next Fortnite. Or at least devoting their every resource to doing so.That has offered hope, as has Microsofts increasingly interesting line-up of new games Indiana Jones And The Great Circle may have been the last big release of the year, but hopefully its a sign of things to come. The same could be said of The Game Awards 2024, also from December, which was not only the most watchable incarnation of the show so far but featured a large number of varied and interesting new titles. This is probably what the Switch 2 looks like (YouTube)The greatest hope though comes from things that were constantly in the news headlines during 2024 but about which virtually no official information was ever released: the Nintendo Switch 2 and Grand Theft Auto 6.Both are assumed, but not quite guaranteed, to be released in 2025. Following the logic of a high tide raising all boats, that should be a positive for the industry at large, where their prominence will make them, and by association video games in general, a mainstream hot topic in a way theyve not been since lockdown.Its especially important given all the warning signs weve had recently, with people playing fewer new games than ever and only half of PlayStation owners upgrading to PlayStation 5. The market seems to be shifting towards older and more hardcore gamers, and yet publishers continue to focus on exactly the sort of games theyre least likely to enjoy.More TrendingFormer PlayStation America boss Shawn Layden has been dropping truth bombs all year but when he warned that rising costs would cause publishers to be even less adventurous in the games they produce it doesnt bear thinking about, given how safe and predictable their current output already is. But hes probably right and his suggestion that companies should make cheaper and shorter games will almost certainly be ignored.Publishers keep talking about how the games industry is changing but its hard to be convinced that they understand exactly how. Theres an increasing disconnect between what games companies are producing, in terms of both hardware and software, and what their customers actually want and whats most worrying about this is the publishers either dont seem to realise or simply dont care.The lack of direction and excitement in gaming over recent years has been depressing and dangerous (just look at the list of the best-selling titles in 2024) but there are good solid reasons to think that 2025 will not continue in the same manner. If that is the case then perhaps the last two years will eventually be seen as an anomaly, with no lasting effect on the industry.Maybe thats wishful thinking but at least its possible to hope that the madness is coming to an end. Because if it doesnt do so soon there may never be any getting out of the nosedive the industry is currently still stuck in. A generation in crisis (Sony/Nintendo/Microsoft/Metro)Emailgamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below,follow us on Twitter, andsign-up to our newsletter.To submit Inbox letters and Readers Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use ourSubmit Stuff page here.For more stories like this,check our Gaming page.GameCentralExclusive analysis, latest releases, and bonus community content.This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy