SpaceX has been testing its rocket hardware ahead of the eighth flight of its Starship megarocket.The Elon Musk-led company shared dramatic footage and photos showing the 33 Raptor engines on the first-stage Super Heavy booster firing up while fixed to the ground.Recommended VideosThe extended firing tested new hardware and cycled the six Raptor engines through multiple thrust levels to recreate different conditions seen within the propulsion system during flight, SpaceX said in a message accompanying the imagery, adding that data from the test will inform upgrades to the ships hardware and flight profile ahead of the next launch.Please enable Javascript to view this contentThe extended firing tested new hardware and cycled the six Raptor engines through multiple thrust levels to recreate different conditions seen within the propulsion system during flight. Data from the test will inform upgrades to the ships hardware and flight profile ahead of pic.twitter.com/MZugcU3jkW SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 12, 2025SpaceX has yet to officially announce a target date for the Starships eighth test flight, but multiple reports have suggested that the spaceflight company is aiming to send the rocket skyward by the end of this month.As with all of the Starship flights, the mission involving the worlds most powerful rocket will launch from SpaceXs Starbase site near Boca Chica, Texas.And as with the fifth and seventh flights, an attempt is likely to be made to catch the Super Heavy booster as it returns to Earth minutes after delivering the upper-stage Starship spacecraft to orbit. The wild maneuver uses the launch towers giant mechanical arms to secure the incoming booster before it reaches the ground.Perfecting the process will allow SpaceX to use the same Super Heavy boosters multiple times, helping to slash mission costs. The upper stage Starship is also designed to be reused, though during these early tests SpaceX has been sending it into the Indian Ocean.Once testing is complete, NASA will use the Starship vehicle for crew and cargo missions to the moon, possibly before the end of this decade. After that, it could be used for the first human voyages to Mars, though its certain to be some time before such a mission is ready to fly.SpaceX should be dropping an update soon on when it plans to launch the Starship on its eighth test flight. Well bring you all of the details just as soon as we hear.Editors Recommendations

The US has 2,000 troops in Syria backing Kurdish-led forces to contain ISIS militants.The Trump admin is weighing withdrawing these forces, and the Russian military is losing its access."Russia now hangs on by its fingertips," a Syria expert told BI.Syria has been one of the world's most complex proxy fights since its civil war broke out in 2011, but who holds power and where is now shifting rapidly.The biggest change came from the dramatic toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December. It was driven out by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, who are no friends of Russia or Iran.HTS holds territory from Aleppo in the northwest to Damascus, the seat of the Assad regime. But Syria remains fractured by competing armies. Turkish forces and militants it backs hold pockets near its northern border. The US-partnered Syrian Democratic Forces occupy the large triangle of northeastern Syria, an area that has oilfields and prison camps holding ISIS fighters. Russia is reducing its military footprint as Israel seizes new positions near the Golan Heights. But the newest question mark is the US.The US has 2,000 troops in Syria backing the Kurdish-led SDF to contain ISIS. It also controls the strategically located al-Tanf base in southern Syria. But the longevity of those deployments is unclear. The Department of Defense is reportedly drafting contingency plans to withdraw all troops should President Donald Trump order it."Presently, the HTS-led government is seeking to create the conditions for a US withdrawal from the country that would undermine the SDF coalition, which represents an impediment to the emerging regime's ability to control all of the country," Nicholas Heras, senior director of strategy and innovation at the New Lines Institute, told Business Insider.US forces in Syria safeguard oilfields and assist the SDF in strikes to defeat remnants of ISIS. These forces are potential leverage that Trump risks losing if he withdraws them before talks with the new government under interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa."It seems likely that the Trump administration will keep troops in Syria over the short term and speak about a step-by-step policy of loosening sanctions based on President Sharaa's willingness to develop a constitution and move toward a representative government that does not threaten its neighbors," Joshua Landis, Director of the Centre of Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma, told BI.The easier chip in bargaining could be the US base at al-Tanf in Syria's southern desert. Controlled by the US-allied, anti-ISIS Syrian Free Army group, the base is situated near the Jordanian border and the important Baghdad-Damascus highway. The US enforced a 34-mile de-confliction zone around al-Tanf which Iranian-backed forces and Assad's regime weren't allowed to access."The US presence at al-Tanf was pretty dubious before Assad fell and it serves no discernible purpose now, except possibly as a point of leverage vis--vis the new Damascus government," Aron Lund, Middle East analyst with the Swedish Defence Research Agency and fellow with Century International, told BI. "So, al-Tanf could be a place they'll withdraw from first, perhaps after getting some little thing in return from Sharaa's government."The SDF-controlled regions present a "thornier issue" with much higher stakes. The Kurds guard prisons with thousands of ISIS fighters, but they'd be hard-pressed to maintain these faced with a major offensive by a rival. While HTS has not attacked the SDF, the Turkish-backed militias have done so repeatedly since late 2024."There are some real political risks involved, related to an ISIS revival and the fate of Kurdish groups in that area," Lund said. "Even Trump could perhaps be persuaded that these things are worth negotiating over if only to limit the fallout before withdrawing."Israel expanded its presence along the Golan Heights as Assad's regime collapsed, seizing Mount Hermon. Satellite images show it is building bases there."Israel does not trust the HTS-led government and the Israeli posture suggests that Jerusalem could play a strong role in Syrian affairs for years to come," Heras said. Russian airlifters ferried out troops and armored vehicles from Khmeimim Air Base in December. Izzettin Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images The outside power that stands the most to gain is Turkey. Ahead of his recent visit to Turkey, reports indicated Sharaa would discuss Turkey potentially establishing bases in Syria's central desert region."Turkey already has a forward operating military presence in northwest Syria, and it is unlikely that it will withdraw its forces from the country in the near future," Heras said. "The HTS-led government wants to leverage Turkey to have a patron state to support the development of its security forces."Russia, by contrast, stands to lose the most. Syria canceled an Assad-era contract with Russia to manage Tartus naval base but Syria's defense minister also said it might let Russia keep this port and the Hmeimim airbase "if we get benefits for Syria.""Russia now hangs on by its fingertips, but we'll see how that turns out," Lund said. "In five years, they could still have Tartus, perhaps also Hmeimim."Moscow has had access to Tartus since 1971. Today, these bases are essential to supporting Russian military and mercenary operations across the Middle East and Africa."The new Syrian government is obviously no friend of the Russians. It needs to be mindful of the views of its political base, which is made up of ex-rebel factions that hate Putin almost as much as they hate Assad," Lund said. He noted that Russia still has "important leverage" over Syria. Rebuilding the Syrian military without Russian arms could prove challenging, even if Syria aims to have Turkey replace Russia's traditional role as its main arms supplier."There's so much legacy Soviet and Russian equipment and training, you can't just throw all that out," Lund said.Syria's new rulers have little to fear from Russia since the days of Russia relentlessly bombing HTS's Idlib stronghold in support of Assad are gone."The Russian bases are there at their mercy, and they seem fairly harmless for the new government," Lund said."Letting them stay could even provide a point of leverage."Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region.

A judge lifted an order blocking OPM from enforcing the deferred resignation deadline for federal workers.The judge, who previously extended the deadline, ruled the labor unions lacked standing.DOGE, led by Elon Musk, is pushing for federal workforce cuts.A federal judge on Wednesday ruled the Trump administration could proceed with enforcing a deadline on the deferred resignations being offered to federal workers.US District Judge George O'Toole said the labor unions who sued to block enforcement of the deadline did not have standing to bring the lawsuit because they were not "directly impacted by the directive." He also said the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the claims.The Office of Personal Management, or OPM, made the deferred resignation offer, described as a "fork in the road," to federal workers in an email on January 28, with an initial deadline of Febrauary 6.Workers had until that date to decide if they would remain in their jobs, without any certainty that their role or department wouldn't be eliminated, or take the offer in which the OPM said they would receive full pay and benefits until September 30, 2025, regardless of workload.After a group of labor unions sued, O'Toole issued a temporary restraining order on February 6 to extend the deadline until at least Monday. He extended it again on Monday until a ruling was made.His ruling on Wednesday lifted the restraining order, leaving what happens next up to the administration and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is leading the push for cuts in the federal workforce."This Boston Buyout Ruling is the first of many legal wins for the President. The Court dissolved the injunction due to a lack of standing. This goes to show that lawfare will not ultimately prevail over the will of 77 million Americans who supported President Trump and his priorities," Karoline Leavitt, Whit House press secretary, said in a statement provided to Business Insider.Everett Kelley, the president of theAmerican Federation of Government Employees, one of the labor groups that sued, said ina statement to Business Insider: "Today's ruling is a setback in the fight for dignity and fairness for public servants. But it's not the end of that fight. AFGE's lawyers are evaluating the decision and assessing next steps. Importantly, this decision did not address the underlying lawfulness of the program.""We continue to maintain it is illegal to force American citizens who have dedicated their careers to public service to make a decision, in a few short days, without adequate information, about whether to uproot their families and leave their careers for what amounts to an unfunded IOU from Elon Musk," he added.President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, appeared together in the Oval Office on Tuesday and the president signed an executive order calling for "large-scale" cuts to the federal workforce and expanding DOGE's power over hiring at federal agencies.Musk defended the cuts being made by DOGE, calling them "common sense" and saying the American people are "going to get what they voted for."Have a news tip or a story to share? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@businessinsider.com or via the encrypted-messaging app Signal @kelseyv.21.

GTA 6 is launching this year, but thanks to the PlayStation State of Play event, we know when Borderlands will launch and it might be bad news for GTA fansTech22:32, 12 Feb 2025Updated 22:58, 12 Feb 2025Rockstar could headline one of the best years in gaming(Image: Rockstar)Take-Two Interactive has confirmed GTA 6 is still slated for this year last week, but with a packed year from its 2K portfolio, fans had been wondering when in Fall we'd see it.With Grand Theft Auto 6 likely to be the biggest entertainment launch in history, there's nothing to really hold a candle to it and publishers have been scared to date releases.Take-Two is in the very enviable position of having multiple big titles planned for 2025, and while Civilization 7 is out now, WWE 2K25 launches next month. It's other big-hitter for this year, however, was Borderlands 4 and we now have a release date for the loot shooter that could help us pinpoint when GTA will arrive.As included in the slick trailer above, Borderlands 4 will launch on September 23, 2025, which puts it at the end of that Fall 2025 window.Given Take-Two had suggested GTA 6 will launch before Borderlands 4, and had intimated there will be some kind of gap between to avoid eating into its chances of success with either title, that could mean GTA 6 is earlier in Fall than we'd perhaps expected.It's been 14 long months since we saw this trailer(Image: Rockstar)It could also be that GTA 6 ends up slipping, of course, with the crime epic potentially ending up arriving later than Borderlands 4, but it's certainly curious to see the latter has a date when it was, at least according to Take-Two, potentially slated for later in the year.Today's State of Play also revealed the release date for the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater remake (which leaked earlier), underlining how massive 2025 is for games and that's before we consider the Switch 2.For more on GTA 6, be sure to check out the fans getting their excuses for missing work on the release date, as well as Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick hinting at an eventual PC release.Article continues belowFor the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.

How excited where you about the Days Gone remaster? (Sony Interactive Entertainment)The Thursday letters page is upset at the decline of GAME and physical releases, as one reader thinks Indiana Jones And The Great Circle is slightly overrated.To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.ukHealthy stateSo that was actually a decent State of Play for once. The pacing was poor, because I was convinced it was going to be a boring one for at least half the time, but it had a good ending and while Im not as big a fan of Returnal as GC is, those magic words new single-player only IP were music to my ears.I also liked that Chinese Dark Souls/Devil May Cry thing set in London, the stop motion horror game [The Midnight Walk GC], the new Onimusha, and Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance. What does worry me though is that I think Saros was the only new Sony-made game, except for the Days Gone remaster.So, were still only finding out what their developers are doing at a snails pace. But if thats because theyve all been moved off live service games and are now doing proper single-player games instead then thats something I can live with.Id give the State of Play a B+, lets see if we can keep the ball running and the next ones good too. Although I guess it wont be, because they seemed to say the next was going to be dedicated to Borderlands 4 only.CranstonAcceptable grabCant help but agree with the reader who wants to see what the real next game from FromSoftware is. This Elden Ring spin-off sounds like such a minor thing. I dont want to call it a cash grab, because I love all their stuff, but I will be shocked if thats not what it ends up being known as.I dont mind. Im happy to give From cash even if it does seem a bit of a push. The mid-budget price tag certainly makes it clear, to me at least, that Nightreign is not a full game and just something they put out there as a quick money-maker. Someone suggested it probably started as DLC and that sounds believable.Its out in May though and so hopefully that leaves things clear for a reveal of something new at the Summer Game Fest in June, which I believe is where Elden Ring got its debut. I dont really mind what the game is, but Id be especially happy if it was something new and not a sequel or remake. Maybe the sci-fi Soulslike that people have been calling for, for years?LimptonMostly great circleJust reached the credits on Indiana Jones And The Great Circle on Xbox. I think they absolutely nailed the Indiana Jones aesthetic and feel, and the slapstick combat was fun. I appreciated the non-linear level design, particularly in the first couple of locations, which really felt worth exploring.The side missions were also more inventive fare than you normally get in games these days and felt genuinely worthwhile. I experienced a few bugs, the worst being when the game crashed at the end of a cut scene that I had to rewatch it in its entirety (it was a lonnngggg one), but generally speaking it was all very slick.Overall, I enjoyed it but I felt like the game dragged a bit in the final quarter, so I wasnt quite as enamoured with it as some, probably an 8/10 for me (the very last fight, in particular, I thought was really naff.) Shout out to Tony Todd, very poignant ending given his recent passing.MagnumstacheEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukSo good I bought the companyFor the first time in my life, Ill be buying a game thats actually going to make me money when I buy it.Im so convinced of GTA 6s success that I bought shares in Take-Two Interactive a couple of weeks ago. Its already turned out to be quite lucrative because following an earnings report from them late last week, Im sitting on a 14% return. The share price jumped because their losses were not as much as expected(!).Imagine the share price jump when the next trailer drops, let alone when GTA 6 comes out.The returns I get when I eventually sell up wont be life changing, but to think that the game Im so excited to play is going to end up funding our next family holiday is pretty nuts.Rangersingh (PSN ID)Currently playing: the stock marketLimited releaseIm surprised at how little Alan Wake 2 has sold. 2 million seems to be very low for a game that got so many awards, and which seemed to be constantly in the news around the time it was released. Then I find out that not only did it not get a proper physical release but its not even on Steam I didnt realise that.Did they not want the game to succeed? Was this some kind of secret tax write-off? On top of that I dont remember any actual marketing for it at the time, so it seems like they spent all that time and money making it and then just sent it out to die.TacleGC: It was published by Epic Games, so its not going to be on Steam for a long time.Physically upsetMy first reaction on reading the story about GAME scalping Pokmon cards is not the fact that they were doing something wrong but the fact that they still exist at all. I havent set foot in one for over a decade and havent seen one in the flesh in what must be two or three years.Im not particularly sad to see GAME go but it is a shame that it means that games are basically invisible in any physical shop nowadays. I think maybe John Lewis and some larger supermarkets carry them but Im not sure and I havent noticed them myself in quite some time.And before you say, So what? the very obvious answer to that is that it means that physical games in general are going away and so Sony can suddenly cut access to all your games at a moments notice and not care at all that it happened or bother to give any compensation to ordinary people.Theres no one set of people to blame here, especially as a lot of it is down on fans being too quick to embrace digital downloads, despite the obvious problem, but the end result is that we now have far less control over the things we buy.Imagine if a GAME manager broke into your house and stole back the game you bought from them for a couple of days. Thats exactly what Sony did at the weekend and yet nothing will be done about it.CampbellA long shotI wonder if the GTA 6 trailer will be shown off in the State of Play. Sony has done a few deals with them, like free GTA Online money and its getting to a point where a new trailer needs to drop.Normally Sony will give a few hints whats in their broadcast but this time, nothing. I wonder if today is the day the internet goes hot because GTA 6 Trailer 2 is shown in all its glory.DavidGC: Youll know by the time you read this, but there were certainly no rumours of it beforehand.Forgotten anniversarySo according to the This Day in Gaming section on the GameFAQs site, which I check every single day, Super Mario Bros. 3 is 35 years old.I didnt get to play it until 1995, via the Super Mario All-Stars pak on SNES.I would later re-play it via the Game Boy Advance version.Its a shame Nintendo didnt celebrate this milestone, though re-releasing this game that has already been released eight times wouldnt be as special, so maybe they should have made some cool MyNintendo merchandise.Or even better, and something I would absolutely love, is to re-release the Super Mario Bros. 3 LCD Watch.I really wanted one as a kid but never got one, though I did play one.Buying one off eBay is a no-no as a second-hand one will mean wearing others sweat!Bleugh!LeighDappaGC: Super Mario Bros. 3 will be 37 years old on October 23. Thats the original Japanese release date and all Nintendo will care about.Inbox also-ransIt would be just Segas luck if this Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds managed to come out at the same time as the new Mario Kart. Poor Sega, they never seem to catch a break.LamboThe rumours the Switch 2 can be played upside down brings back good memories of the Atari Lynx, which could flip the screen for left-handed people, if I recall correctly. Heres hoping for Blue Thunder and Todds Adventures In Slime World ports to Switch 2Mark MatthewsMore TrendingEmail your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.ukThe small printNew Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Readers Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.You can also leave your comments below and dont forget to follow us on Twitter.ArrowMORE: Games Inbox: Is the Mass Effect trilogy overrated? GameCentralSign up for exclusive 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

Pop culture goods have come a long way from basic black tees with movie titles screen-printed on themyou know the ones, youd find them tucked away in a corner of a video store by the posters and collectibles. As millennial culture expanded the demand into mall mainstays like Hot Topic, which went on to grow online with its partner brands, more and more retailers focused on nerdy lifestyle and fashion inspired by major franchises and fandoms, such as Star Wars, Marvel, anime, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, and more. Just about every month, theres a new Loungefly collectible accessory dropping in time for the latest holiday or tentpole release, and its been this way for the better part of a decade if Instagram fandom content is any indication. However, thanks to the Barbie movie era, things have begun shifting away from the walking-billboard, influencer lifestyle mode. (Also, Gen Z has officially decreed that its cringe to make millennial geekery your personality; hello, my name is Sabina and I am a Disney Adult.) When Greta Gerwigs Barbie was released merchandising went from cutesy camp to maximalist luxury with the iconic Mattel brand. There were hard to find movie tie-in dolls of Margot Robbies Barbie; a release of Kens Im Kenough fuzzy rainbow hoodie; and Beis Barbie luggage collection, which sold out twice. The way one of the worlds most recognizable brands was everywhere, from home goods to travel to fashion, really felt like the peak of pop culture product finally being seen as commonplace in the mainstream. But not every licensed piece of merchandise is entirely worth the cost. After Barbie made the world pink, you could find a themed Loungefly bag at your local AMC Theateror splash out thousands more for a designer Chanel purse also inspired by the film. This evolution into excess has heralded a new trend: IP images slapped onto very expensive things just for the perceived association between product and pop-culture brand. Theres no other franchise as widely available as Star Wars, which could probably open its own department store chain at this point. Fans can spend a lot on high-quality items, like the Columbia Star Wars gear that pairs rebel jumpsuit aesthetics with the brands reliable protection from the coldor more questionable ones, like random luxury bedding sets with color palettes inspired by the imagery of movies that simply werent worth the cost for what you got (hard-working Rebels deserve better than scratchy sheets that fall apart in the wash).Sometimes with this fandom in particular its better to play it safe; Disneys collections offered at more affordable price points from the Disney Store often feature creative artist showcases, transforming beloved characters into something different. Sometimes gift shop souvenirs at the theme parks (which tend to go viral) feel more authentic to the world you love. I gifted my father one of the electronic Figrin Dan and the Modal Nodes Kloo Horns released when Galaxys Edge opened and havent seen anything like that since. Dad loves it as much as his RSVLTS Star Wars button-ups, one example of the companys stylish collectible clothing drops. RSVLTS also features not only the big comic book fandoms and Disney but also hard-to-find IP like cult films and TV shows, and even anime like One Piece. Theres something for everyone who gets excited about shopping fandom-themed productsbe mindful about paying for more than the brand.Celebrating your fandom quietly with more subtle goods has thankfully become easier. For instance, luggage brand Beis followed up its Barbie drop with a Wicked one. Then, Heroes & Villains released a Star Wars luggage set shaped like in-universe cargo, as well as dining table sets with patterns that match the vibe of your favorite place in a galaxy far, far away. If youre a new parent, brands like Lillebaby and Petunia Picklebottom have you covered with Disney collections to match your stroller and whatever else you need for kids on the go. Most recently Wicked made a run for the hottest holiday merchandise, perhaps demonstrating the demand is there for even newer franchises. So much of it sold out, especially items inspired by lead characters Elphaba and Glinda, and included Wicked Stanley cups; Targets exclusive fashion collection by Wickeds Oscar-nominted costume designer Paul Tazewell; exclusive retailer vinyl records (much like Barbie); and most recently with Wickeds home release, the coveted steelbooks. Theres still some items you can find online inspired by part one before Wicked: For Good is out this fall; Bloomingdales designer drops of clothing, jewelry, and more are now on salebecause as we mentioned before, sometimes the logo does not make the goods worth it if theyre too expensive. In the meantime were waiting for the release of Disneys Snow White live-action movie and Cinderellas 70th anniversary to bring out more enchanting and classy Disney Princess pieces. Unique Vintage just rolled out its Snow White collaboration, and its giving fairytale core in the best way. Whether you like your fandom quiet or loud, just make sure it works best for you, and wear it proud. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Nature, Published online: 12 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08543-1A very high-energy muon observed by the KM3NeT experiment in the Mediterranean Sea is evidence for the interaction of an exceptionally high-energy neutrino of cosmic origin.

Nature, Published online: 12 February 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08548-wInsight into the algorithmic form and learning principles underlying cognitive maps in the hippocampus is provided.

Bulat Khakimov recreated Lord Voldemort, the iconic villain from Harry Potter, in 3D, and his portrait turned out to be impressively realistic.Modeled in Ralph Fienness likeness, the wizard was sculpted in Maya and ZBrush, textured in Substance 3D Painter, and rendered with Marmoset Toolbag, with post-processing done in Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve.Frozen in time by Khakimovs hand, Lord Voldemort has a face only, but the artist promises a full-height character soon.Meanwhile, check out Khakimovs other works on ArtStation.Also, join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Realistic Portrait of Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter Created in 3D appeared first on CG SHARES.