The Department of the Interior was created in 1849 as the United States was rapidly expanding and acquiring territory. It became known as the department of everything else for its enormous portfolio of missions, which ranged from western expansion to oversight of the District of Columbia jail.Interior handles natural resources and domestic affairs primarily managing 480 million acres (200 million hectares) of federal lands and developing the assets that they hold. Many of these lands are officially open for multiple uses, including energy development, mining, logging, livestock grazing and recreation. Those activities have numerous constituencies, whose interests can clash.The Interior secretarys main job is to promote thoughtful planning that balances resource development and conservation. One strategic role has been expanding energy production, including oil, natural gas, wind and solar power, on federal lands.The Interior secretary oversees many types of activities on and beneath lands that represent about 21% of the total surface area of the United States. [Image: U.S. Department of the Interior]Under Republican administrations, the focus often swings toward resource development. Democratic administrations often put greater emphasis on conservation and nonextractive land uses, such as recreation. The secretarys actions can play a big role in setting direction for the agency.Since Interior controls access to valuable natural resources, secretaries also get sued a lot over issues ranging from endangered species protection to water rights.A motley collection of bureausInterior has about 70,000 employees whose missions fall largely into three buckets: managing public lands and wildlife; meeting U.S. trust responsibilities to Native American communities; and regulating energy, water and mining resources on federal lands and in federal waters offshore.These functions are spread among 11 bureaus whose activities can conflict. For example, there has been heated debate within Interior about how to manage the scenic Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. This site was designated as a monument by President Barack Obama in 2016, drastically reduced by President Donald Trump in 2017, and then restored to its original size by President Joe Biden in 2021. Reflecting these shifts, Interiors priorities for Bears Ears have toggled between opening it for mining, co-managing it with area tribes and preserving it for public enjoyment.Many of Interiors offices have changed dramatically over time in response to evolving environmental and cultural values. For example, the Bureau of Land Management was widely known for years as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining because its decisions closely reflected the interests of those industries.Even now, ranchers can graze sheep and cattle on public lands at rates generally lower than comparable fees on state or private ranges. And mining companies dont pay royalties to the Treasury for producing gold, silver, copper and other valuable minerals on federal lands.However, today the bureau also manages land for conservation including a 35 million-acre (14 million-hectare) system of National Conservation Lands. In 2024, the agency adopted a public lands rule that explicitly recognizes the importance of protecting clean water, managing for land health and restoring degraded lands. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bureau of Land Management (@mypubliclands)Filling up the WestWhen Congress created the Interior Department, the young United States was in the process of nearly doubling its size after the U.S.-Mexican War. Gold had just been discovered in California, triggering a huge migration west. The scramble to occupy these lands and convert them into stable revenue sources drove Interiors early activities.As the U.S. government removed Native peoples from their ancestral homes and folded largely arid and unsettled lands into the public domain, Interior became a landlord and an agent of development in the West. The federal government gave millions of acres to white settlers in an effort to populate these new territories.But not all lands met settlers needs, especially in dry zones. As a result, much of the arid West remained under federal control. Given this legacy, it is not surprising that most senior officials at Interior have come from western states.U.S. national parks, monuments, wildlife refuges and other Interior lands have become economic engines for many western towns, attracting private ranches, hotels, restaurants and businesses. In this way, federal lands return tremendous wealth to adjacent communities, particularly with the growth of the outdoor recreation industry.Nonetheless, many western states resent federal control over broad swaths of territory within their borders and periodically make claims to these lands. Since states dont have the financial resources to manage roads or fight fires on such large expanses, it is likely that they would sell off large portions of these lands, privatizing them.For this reason, many conservation groups and outdoor sporting organizations oppose transferring federal lands to the states. Interior secretaries may be called on to mediate these disputes or defend federal interests in court. Over the past half-century, there has been ongoing debate about whether the royalties and fees the agency charges for federal land use return fair value to taxpayers, or if the agency has been captured by extractive industries such as mining, ranching, logging, and oil and gas production. The secretary can send important signals about which way an administration tilts.Indian Affairs and trust responsibilitiesAnother central Interior role is managing U.S. government relations with American Indian and Alaska native tribes. The departments Bureau of Indian Affairs, created in 1824, works with 574 federally recognized tribes with more than 2 million enrolled members.Interior manages 55 million acres of land and 57 million acres of subsurface mineral rights in trust for the tribes. This essentially means that Interior agencies earn revenue and disperse funds to tribal members, in part to make up for depriving Native Americans of their rightfully held resources over 150 years of displacement.Even after federal policy became more supportive of Tribal governance and self-determination in the 1970s, Interior did a poor job of fulfilling its key trust responsibilities. In 2009 the agency settled a US$3.4 billion class-action lawsuit, acknowledging that for decades the federal government had mismanaged tribal resources and failed to pay revenues to Indian landowners for resources produced from their lands.Well into the 1970s, Interior also was charged with trying to assimilate Native Americans into U.S. society by forcibly removing children from their homes and families and placing them in boarding schools. These institutions punished children for speaking native languages and separated them from their cultural traditions.Starting in 2021, under Secretary Deb Haaland the first Native American to lead the Interior Department the agency launched an initiative to document and interpret the experiences of survivors and the intergenerational effects of this policy on Native Americans whose ancestors were sent to the schools. This land is your landInteriors reach is vast, but the resources that it controls and the investments it makes in keeping large landscapes connected provide tremendous services. Debate about the merits of public versus private management of these lands is likely to continue.Growing interest in outdoor recreation and the rise of remote work are putting new pressure on public lands. Finding solutions will require many different land users, as well as state governments and gateway towns, to collaborate. The Interior secretary can play an important role in helping strike those balances. This story is part of a series of profiles of Cabinet and high-level administration positions.Emily Wakild is a Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Chair for the Environment and Public Lands at Boise State University.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Dezeen has launched a fortnightly US edition of our Dezeen Agenda newsletter, containing all the agenda-setting architecture and design news from America. Subscribe now!Sent on alternate Fridays, the US edition of Dezeen Agenda is a new fortnightly newsletter curating the top headlines from the US.The first edition, which you can read here, features news about the devastating LA wildfires as they continue to claim lives and put historic and heritage architecture at risk.Wildfires are burning around Los AngelesAlso included, is news from Las Vegas where CES 2025 is taking place. This year, the Consumer Electronics Show has seen the launch of a tiny cat robot that blows on hot food and drinks, and a laptop with an unrolling display that doubles in size.Sign up here to start receiving the US edition of Dezeen Agenda newsletter. You'll be able to unsubscribe at any time via our newsletter preference centre.The US edition of Dezeen Agenda will be sent on alternate FridaysThe fortnightly newsletter will complement our other popular newsletters: Dezeen In Depth, Dezeen Showroom New Releases, Dezeen Agenda,Dezeen DebateandDezeen Daily. Find out more about each below:Dezeen In DepthSent on the last Friday of every month, theDezeen In Depthnewsletter contains a feature, an interview and an opinion piece selected by our features editorNat Barker, providing a single place to read about the design and architecture stories behind the headlines.Subscribe to Dezeen In Depth Dezeen Showroom New ReleasesA quarterly newsletter that curates the work of designers and studios published on Dezeen Showroom. Subscribe to Dezeen Showroom New Releases Dezeen AgendaSent every Thursday, Dezeen Agenda contains a selection of the most agenda-setting news from around the globe that week, keeping you informed about key developments in the world of architecture and design. Subscribe to Dezeen Agenda Dezeen DebateSent every Tuesday,Dezeen Debatefeatures a selection of the most hotly debated stories of the week, led with the best reader comments.Subscribe to Dezeen Debate Dezeen DailyDezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published on Dezeen in the preceding 24 hours.Subscribe to Dezeen Daily The post Dezeen launches fortnightly US edition of Agenda newsletter appeared first on Dezeen.

Classic typefaces and lettering, from the era of Swiss Style.

On January 13, Atlas C/2024 G3 will reach its closest point to the sun.

More car buyers are expected to eventually pick battery-powered cars and trucks as prices fall and technology improves, even if Biden-era incentives disappear.

As a big fan of the Ys series, my connection with it has been rathercomplicated lately. Ys 10: Nordics, the next mainline title (which served more as an interquel than a true blue sequel) was acceptable. Not quite at the level of Ys 8: Lacrimosa of Dana or Ys 9: Monstrum Nox. They say you can never really go back and the announcement of Proud Nordics at least ensures that wont happen anytime soon. But there are always the classics, like Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana.Speaking of complicated: This is essentially a current-gen port of 2005s Ys: The Oath in Felghana, which is itself a remake of 1989s Ys 3: Wanderers from Ys. Long story short, if youve played The Oath in Felghana on PlayStation Portable or PC back in the day, Memoire is essentially that but with some extras thrown in. Its not a major overhaul, serving as a means for PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch players to experience a venerable classic, and thats perfectly fine. Things would be awkward if it didnt quite hold up to current-day standards, but thankfully, thats not the case."The opening is also voiced and lends an epic air to the proceedings, though Adols character development and role are pretty much the same in the grand scheme."When considering the old-school and new wave of Ys games, The Oath in Felghana falls somewhere in the middle. Theres no bump mechanic or overhead view instead, it opts for a side-scrolling perspective and fast-paced combat. Dont expect any teammates to have Adols back, which would change in Ys Seven and serve as the formula for Ys 8 and 9. However, it represents some incredible action RPG design and pacing, further added by features like Turbo Mode for even more speed (and cutting down on tedious backtracking).As for the narrative, you probably know the drill: Adol and his best friend Dogi arrive at a location and find themselves embroiled in incidents. This time, its Redmont, Dogis hometown in the Felghana Providence, and the hunt for some important statues. The plot quickly thickens, as Adol runs afoul of Chester (the brother of Elena, Dogis childhood friend) and eventually learns the truth behind said statues. It isnt overly complicated, but the interpersonal relationships add some welcome depth, backed all the more by solid voice acting which still holds up.The opening is also voiced and lends an epic air to the proceedings, though Adols character development and role are pretty much the same in the grand scheme. At least the new character illustrations showcased during cutscenes look nice, though if your mileage varies, you can always revert to the classic designs.Of course, the action constitutes the main appeal of a Ys title and Ys Memoire is no slouch. Like many other aspects, it seems simple on the surface, as Adol can execute multi-hit slashing combos on the ground or leap into the air for attacks. However, the latter is also useful for plunging strikes which can stun enemies. You also have Boost, which enhances Adols damage and speed for a period, and elemental attacks, unlocked by acquiring different bracelets throughout. Some also aid exploration and open up new paths."Theres a Zelda-esque aspect to some fights as theyll necessitate using a recently obtained ability to defeat the boss."Again, it all sounds so simple, especially compared to all the mechanics of contemporary games. However, thats the joy of Memoires combat alongside the fluidity and responsiveness that defines the Ys series. Decimating enemies feels satisfying but you wont immediately bulldoze through all of them certain types are weak to specific attacks.Once youre in the flow, all this starts to feel like second nature. Foes will drop pickups like health and bonus stats, further fueling you for the next fight and keeping the action rolling. Environmental layouts are similarly streamlined, keeping the focus on the action but still offering plenty of exploration and light puzzle-solving. While not extensively nuanced, they serve the purpose.Then you have the boss fights, a hallmark of many Ys titles. The first wont exactly stress your skills, but from then on, every battle can be a frantic exercise in jumping, dodging, and fighting for your life to survive. Theres a Zelda-esque aspect to some fights as theyll necessitate using a recently obtained ability to defeat the boss. Granted, the sheer number of unlockable skills isnt that high, but each boss still stands out in unique ways, offering up different challenges and pushing you to adapt."It quickly draws you in with its excellent combat and boss fights while the plot and characterization ensure youre hooked throughout."The final key to the experience is the music and suffice it to say that The Oath in Felghana represents some of Falcoms best work. Between the emotional violin of The Boy Who Had Wings, the fast-paced rock of Be Careful or the intermixing of techno and guitar play in Illburns Ruins, there is much to like. All of it adds to the atmosphere and Memoire allows for swapping between the multiple versions released throughout the titles history. Your mileage may vary at some renditions but its still a great option to have.Perhaps the only real downside to the experience is its visuals. Though its running at high resolutions, the environmental textures, details, and effects are starting to show their age. Yes, theres a charm to them that feels timeless but dont expect any significant differences from the PC version. The sprite work and animations are still very fluid, though, and the boss designs hold up exceptionally well.Overall, Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is an essential action RPG, both for fans of the genre and the series as a whole. It quickly draws you in with its excellent combat and boss fights while the plot and characterization ensure youre hooked throughout. The gameplay loop may feel overtly rudimentary in this day and age, but that throwback feels essential given the series direction as of late. Sometimes, its nice to hop into a straightforward yet elegantly crafted hack-and-slash experience such as this."Its not overly long but also doesnt feel bloated or needlessly extended for the sake of it. And even if the visuals arent super amazing on a technical level, I still like the old-school aesthetic and character designs."Revisiting The Oath in Felghana in this fashion, especially after experiencing so many other action RPGs and dungeon crawlers through the years, its impressive just how much the experience (and the fantastic music) holds up. Its not overly long but also doesnt feel bloated or needlessly extended for the sake of it. And even if the visuals arent super amazing on a technical level, I still like the old-school aesthetic and character designs.Then again, time marches on, and Falcom will undoubtedly focus on revamping the series once more with its next mainline entry. And thats all well and good, but making its older experiences available for a new generation is great, extra bells and whistles notwithstanding. If Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana accomplishes anything beyond serving as an enjoyable action RPG, its providing that further Memoires are necessary, if only to preserve the experience for future generations.This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Time-series forecasting plays a crucial role in various domains, including finance, healthcare, and climate science. However, achieving accurate predictions remains a significant challenge. Traditional methods like ARIMA and exponential smoothing often struggle to generalize across domains or handle the complexities of high-dimensional data. Contemporary deep learning approaches, while promising, frequently require large labeled datasets and substantial computational resources, making them inaccessible to many organizations. Additionally, these models often lack the flexibility to handle varying time granularities and forecast horizons, further limiting their applicability.Google AI has just released TimesFM-2.0, a new foundation model for time-series forecasting, now available on Hugging Face in both JAX and PyTorch implementations. This release brings improvements in accuracy and extends the maximum context length, offering a robust and versatile solution for forecasting challenges. TimesFM-2.0 builds on its predecessor by integrating architectural enhancements and leveraging a diverse training corpus, ensuring strong performance across a range of datasets.The models open availability on Hugging Face underscores Google AIs effort to support collaboration within the AI community. Researchers and developers can readily fine-tune or deploy TimesFM-2.0, facilitating advancements in time-series forecasting practices.Technical Innovations and BenefitsTimesFM-2.0 incorporates several advancements that enhance its forecasting capabilities. Its decoder-only architecture is designed to accommodate varying history lengths, prediction horizons, and time granularities. Techniques like input patching and patch masking enable efficient training and inference, while also supporting zero-shot forecastinga rare feature among forecasting models.One of its key features is the ability to predict longer horizons by generating larger output patches, reducing the computational overhead of autoregressive decoding. The model is trained on a rich dataset comprising real-world data from sources such as Google Trends and Wikimedia pageviews, as well as synthetic datasets. This diverse training data equips the model to recognize a broad spectrum of temporal patterns. Pretraining on over 100 billion time points enables TimesFM-2.0 to deliver performance comparable to state-of-the-art supervised models, often without the need for task-specific fine-tuning.With 200 million parameters, the model balances computational efficiency and forecasting accuracy, making it practical for deployment in various scenarios.Results and InsightsEmpirical evaluations highlight the models strong performance. In zero-shot settings, TimesFM-2.0 consistently performs well compared to traditional and deep learning baselines across diverse datasets. For example, on the Monash archivea collection of 30 datasets covering various granularities and domainsTimesFM-2.0 achieved superior results in terms of scaled mean absolute error (MAE), outperforming models like N-BEATS and DeepAR.On the Darts benchmarks, which include univariate datasets with complex seasonal patterns, TimesFM-2.0 delivered competitive results, often matching the top-performing methods. Similarly, evaluations on Informer datasets, such as electricity transformer temperature datasets, demonstrated the models effectiveness in handling long horizons (e.g., 96 and 192 steps).TimesFM-2.0 tops the GIFT-Eval leaderboard on point and probabilistic forecasting accuracy metrics.Ablation studies underscored the impact of specific design choices. Increasing the output patch length, for instance, reduced the number of autoregressive steps, improving efficiency without sacrificing accuracy. The inclusion of synthetic data proved valuable in addressing underrepresented granularities, such as quarterly and yearly datasets, further enhancing the models robustness.ConclusionGoogle AIs release of TimesFM-2.0 represents a thoughtful advance in time-series forecasting. By combining scalability, accuracy, and adaptability, the model addresses common forecasting challenges with a practical and efficient solution. Its open-source availability invites the research community to explore its potential, fostering further innovation in this domain. Whether used for financial modeling, climate predictions, or healthcare analytics, TimesFM-2.0 equips organizations to make informed decisions with confidence and precision.Check out Twitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Aswin Ak+ postsAswin AK is a consulting intern at MarkTechPost. He is pursuing his Dual Degree at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. He is passionate about data science and machine learning, bringing a strong academic background and hands-on experience in solving real-life cross-domain challenges. [Recommended Read] Nebius AI Studio expands with vision models, new language models, embeddings and LoRA (Promoted)

Size isn't everything, except sometimesIt's the notes you don't playOllie Reynolds, Staff WriterI've recently been breaking out the N64 controller for Switch to play some Zelda: Ocarina of Time you might have heard of it. I've been having a blast too; somehow, using the OG controller just feels right, y'know?I also started Zelda: Breath of the Wild again, and I'm making my way through it slooooowly. I genuinely feel like we're on the cusp of a new Nintendo console generation, so what better way to show the current Switch my unending appreciation than by playing through the game that started it all..?Jim Norman, Staff WriterI'm not sure what's on the cards for Switch this weekend, because my main focus is on *whispers* PS5. Yeah, I know and I'm sorry. But the fact of the matter is that I've been looking longingly at my copy of Star Wars: Outlaws for weeks now and I'd really, really like to take it for a spin before the inevitable burst of 'Switch 2' releases later this year pushes the backlog even further down.If I find the time, I miiight try to polish off a bit more of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake because I was really enjoying that one before I got sidelined at the end of last year. But, for the most part, Switch is on the sub-bench this time.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube791kWatch on YouTube Kate Gray, ContributorI only just got back from Christmas and New Year travelling, so I'm still in that funk of not quite knowing what day it is... but apparently it's the weekend, so here's what I'll be playing!Despite taking my Switch and my Steam Deck with me on holiday, I didn't really play much of the games I bought in the Christmas sales mostly because the majority of games that I bought are notebook-type games, rather than things to play on a plane. But now I am home and I have notebooks! I bought Epigraph and Kevin (1997-2077), both language deciphering games that were recommended to me as an enjoyer of language deciphering games, as well as Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and Void Stranger, which are both in the genre of "metroidbrainias", my favourite micro-genre.After forgetting that I had downloaded it, I have also been playing Mario & Luigi: Brothership as well. I've historically not had a good time with the Mario and Luigi RPGs, for reasons I cannot figure out (they either love to crash on me, or they are not very good games looking at you, Paper Jam), but the insanely good animation is winning me over so far.Oh, and I am playing Red Dead Redemption 2, after many years of always buying it on sale and then never getting past the first really boring chapter. I'm about halfway in! It's really hard to avoid spoilers for a game that's been out for many years!!!Alana Hagues, Deputy EditorI'm still chugging along in Trails through Daybreak, but I'm flagging. Playing a long RPG to kick off the year wasn't the best idea, it turns out! I'd rather read a book or watch a movie.However, I'm very close to starting Rune Factory 4 Special, which I grabbed in the sale the other week I've only tried Tides of Destiny before and I bounced off of it, but this was under 4, so I had to. Enjoy your weekend, folks!Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube791kWatch on YouTube Gonalo Lopes, ContributorWith Yakuza Kiwami complete I can now get back to properly complete and enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. I am a bit intrigued by Chants of Sennaar and will probably start playing it this weekend. A friend recommended Spirit of the North over the holidays, and having secured a physical copy of it, I look forward to adding it to the games with foxes Ive beat list. In preparation for the impending sequel and after reading a feature about it in Retro Gamer, I also plan to give Gimmick! Special Edition a spin.My game of the week is Descent: FreeSpace The Great War. The strangest thing over the holidays: I saw the Squadron 42 extended gameplay reveal trailer and felt the urge for some space opera / shooting shenanigans so I went with a classic. Looking forward to jump into FreeSpace 2 next week. Volition: Gone but not forgotten.That's what we have planned for the weekend, but what about you? Let us know in the following poll which games you're planning on booting up over the next couple of days.What are you playing this weekend (11th/12th January)? (49 votes)Psycho Dream (SNES)1Related GamesSee Also

Tarkov has a wild new cheat floating around. Credit: Battlestate Games / Mike StubbsA new type of cheater has appeared in Escape From Tarkov over the past few days, and somehow they are managing to crash your game by making your CPU run at its maximum power.Rumours of these cheaters started a few days ago, but in the past 24 hours, multiple clips have been shared by Tarkov players to social media and community hubs showing them in action. Some top streamers have also run into these cheaters, showing that the issue is becoming more widespread.When you run into one of these cheats, you will likely start to hear some strange in game sound over the in game VOIP system, it almost sounds like the sound made when you are searching a container. This sound, for some reason, increases the load that Tarkov is putting on your CPU, usually making it run at its maximum power until it eventually runs out of resources and causes the game to crash. Once your game has crashed, the cheater is free to run up to your character in game, shoot them in the head and take all your gear.Theres no confirmed reason why this sound is causing the issue and forcing your CPU to crash, however some fans have speculated that this could be an issue tied to the recent Unity 2022 engine upgrade that launched as part of the last Escape From Tarkov wipe.There have also been reports and a couple of clips of some cheaters combining this with a cheat that allows them to move around incredibly quickly while lying prone on the floor or just under the surface of the map. This makes them even harder to kill, and of course lets them run around the entire map in seconds to crash out all the players in the lobby.Some streamers, who obviously have very powerful PCs, have managed to kill a couple of these cheaters, with this clip from streamer LVNDMARK being the best example so far. It seems if you have a really beefy CPU then you have a chance at combating this, but for the time being, most normal players dont seem to stand much of a chance if you run into one.MORE FOR YOUBattlestate Games is yet to say anything about this cheat, but that isnt all that surprising, considering they rarely discuss cheats or chatting issues other than when they announce how many accounts they have banned. They did, however, announce that the flea market closure is set to be extended into next week.Chances are, with this cheat seemingly becoming more of an issue, a lot of Escape From Tarkov players will switch to the controversial PvE mode in the coming days to avoid them. The tech issues at the start of the wipe also likely didnt help the PvP player base. We already know that by the end of a wipe, 50% of players play PvE, but this cheat is likely to speed that move over to PvE up for a lot of the community.

Apple has different sales strategies for its regular iPhones and the Pro handsets: the regular models will stay in the range for several years, but if you want the Pro, you need to buy it in the 12 months after its released, and then its gone. However, in a surprisingly early move, Apple just brought the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, in some countries, on its refurbished siteand at a price thats up to 15% lower.Apple iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.Getty ImagesRight now, those countries dont include the U.S. or the U.K., but the refurbished 15 Pro models are available from several of Apples online stores, including in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland.On the Spanish site, for instance, the iPhone 15 Pro in titanium black with 128GB storage isa available for 949 ($971), saving 170 compared to the original 1,119 sticker price. As is common with Apples refurbished products, not all colors are available, and in this case its just the black model. The storage options with 256GB and 512GB are also back, in black, for 1,059, saving 190, and 1,269, saving 230, respectively.The fact that they are now available in these European sites suggest U.S. releases may not be far off.As a reference, this is much earlier in the cycle than last year: the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max reappeared in May 2024, a full four months later in the year.MORE FOR YOUSo, why so early? Well, a few days ago, there were only two iPhones (iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus) in the refurbished stores in EU countries, because of the legislation that meant phones without USB-C connectors could no longer be sold there, new or refurbished. This saw the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone SE suddenly withdrawn from sale in 27 countries of the EU, plus Switzerland and one part of the U.K., Northern Ireland. With this move, there are two new handsets available at lower prices.It also means that two more phones capable of running Apple Intelligence are now on sale, in readiness for the deployment of the features in Europe in the spring.