Molded Pulp Packaging Market is projected to register an impressive CAGR, Revenue, and Prominent Players By 2027 | Expert Review and DemandAbout 75,000 homes with approved development applications across Greater Sydney have not commenced construction, underscoring the state government’s struggle to tackle the housing crisis in the face of tough economic conditions. Weeks after NSW Labor revealed its latest major planning reform, a three-person development authority to expedite approval times, Planning Minister Paul Scully conceded the success of any regulatory change was dependent on economic pressures subsiding. “We acknowledge that macroeconomic conditions are tough at the moment, but the need for more housing is too urgent, and when economic conditions shift, the planning system needs to be at its most effective and efficient,” Scully said. Premier Chris Minns wants to fast-track higher-density development in Sydney. Economic headwinds are undermining his reforms. Credit: The scale of the housing challenge confronting NSW has only intensified since Premier Chris Minns took government in March last year. After committing to build 263,000 homes across Greater Sydney by July 2029, departmental forecasts now expect only 151,670 will be constructed in that time. NSW needs to build 75,000 homes a year for the next five years to meet its commitments under the National Housing Accord. Last month, the Herald revealed only 45 per cent of 895 approved development applications for large-scale housing projects – builds with at least 19 new dwellings – had obtained construction certificates by March this year , according to an analysis by University of Sydney Emeritus Professor Peter Phibbs, reflecting the broad economic challenges faced by the development industry. The stalled applications represented 47,536 dwellings, more than double the net completions in the previous year to June. But further figures obtained by this masthead under freedom of information laws highlight how economic headwinds are not just affecting projects with large capital costs, but all types of housing, showing proponents with approved development applications of all sizes were delaying or jettisoning construction plans. In NSW, 13,687 development applications were approved since 2021-22 but had not begun construction as of March 10, data from the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure shows. The stalled projects would provide 75,205 dwellings. University of NSW City Futures Research Centre director Professor Bill Randolph said the sheer number of approved development applications demonstrated the problem with fixating reform on the planning system, saying there was a greater counter-cyclical role for government to play in delivering affordable housing. “It’s the market, not the planning system, that determines the rate of which stuff gets built. That’s becoming more and more evident,” he said, adding that the current downturn in the economic cycle had been exacerbated by the pandemic, migration, and then inflation. “We’re just chasing our tails if we think reforming the planning system is going to solve this.” The department’s data, updated in late October, showed net completions over the preceding 12 months to June had plunged to just above 21,000, 18 per cent below the previous five financial years’ average. In a bright spot for the government, October experienced the highest number of approvals since May 2023, nearly 35 per cent more than the preceding month. Last month, Minns said that dealing with construction feasibility across Greater Sydney was a “complex issue”, but he noted that access to finance and capital was “harder to get today than it has been for decades”. Scully said the government was doing everything in our remit to “streamline the planning system”, smoothing out kinks in the development pipeline that were slowing down housing delivery. “Of course we want building commencements to align with housing approvals, but this comes down to development feasibility, labour costs, interest rates, building material costs and sometimes consent conditions,” he said. Shadow planning minister Scott Farlow said the problem appeared to be especially affecting Sydney, noting the number of development application approvals not commenced had increased by 18 per cent over the last year while falling in other capital cities. He criticised the government’s imposition of a housing and productivity tax on developments last year, saying it had exacerbated the city’s feasibility crisis as increases in the cost of construction and land outpace apartment prices. Property Council NSW executive director Katie Stevenson said getting shovels in the ground was proving difficult across Greater Sydney, blaming high government taxes and charges, as well as “delays in post-approval decision-making”, such as when acquiring additional approvals and licences from agencies such as Sydney Water. “Without government action to make it economically viable for the property sector to build more homes, the housing crisis is only going to get worse,” she said. “The NSW government can’t control all the costs preventing housing delivery, but one lever they can pull is to put a temporary pause on newly introduced additional taxes and charges on development during the National Housing Accord period to kickstart the housing delivery communities need.” The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here .Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro You’d expect a smartphone with top of the line silicon designed to get the most out of both gaming and everyday use will come with a significant price tag. The Asus ROG Phone 9 starts at $999, and climbs up to $1499 for the Pro edition reviewed here.. You wouldn’t expect it to come with just two years of Android updates and an additional two years of security updates. The ROG Phone 9 faces this huge issue straight out of the gate. For many, that minimal support window is going to be a dealbreaker. I'll put that aside for the rest of the review and look at the hardware, but I’m already thinking that Asus should up this to five years of Android for the ROG Phone 9 to feel viable. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Asus’ previous gaming phone, the Asus ROG Phone 8 started the ROG Phone series down a new path; rather than go all out and focus purely on gamers, the ROG Phone 8 opened up to a more mainstream user base, which in turn diluted some of the gaming aspects of the phone. The handset's design was more conservative, offered less thermal management hardware than previous handsets, and the garish bright colors and cyber-glow had been moved out of the phone and into a clip-on gaming peripheral. I wondered at the time if Asus’ gamble to move away from focusing on gamers to welcome a wider audience would be the right decision. The comparison now would be with the likes of the Samsung Galaxies and Honor Magics of the world, as opposed to the more niche gaming phones from the likes of Nubia. The 85 Best Black Friday Deals So Far, According To Our Editors 60+ Early Black Friday Deals Worth Shopping Right Now The Mainstream Ambitions Of The ROG Phone 9 With the ROG Phone 9 building on that mainstream direction, I’d have to presume that the feedback from the Phone 8 pointed to a continuation of the ethos within the Phone 9. This means that the two sides of the ROG Phone is still present. Is this a gaming phone that wants to join in with the mainstream, or is it a mainstream phone looking to get some street cred with the gamers? Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro I think it’s the former. In part, that's because the ROG Phone 8 feels more like an “S” update to the phone 8 rather than a new phone. It’s more than just a change of the chipset, although the inclusion of the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite processor means this is one of the fastest Android smartphones on the market today. That comes with another advantage... the ROG Phone 9 benefits from the power management of the 8 Elite. Coupled with Asus adding a 5800 mAh battery in the case, you are going to get some excellent battery life. In regular use, the phone will go for two days and partly into a third day before needing to be charged—which can use the bundled 65W fast charger o 15W wireless charging. This is, of course, is going to get cut down when you switch to gaming, but you have proportionately more endurance than the previous ROG Phone 8. What’s Been Bumped Up In The ROG Phone 9 Spec Sheet? Two key areas that have been improved are an increase in RAM, which helps performance in gaming but also allows for smoother task switching and app usage when the phone is just a phone. Perhaps most important is the increased passive cooling capacity. Top performance on any device, especially a smartphone, generates a lot of heat. If that heat is not drawn away from the chipset fast enough, the handset will have to throttle back, so this is a much-needed design decision. Asus has added “a little bit more” to many areas of the phone. You have more battery (up to 5800 mAh from 5500 mAh on the ROG Phone 8), the screen refresh upper limit is now 185 MHz (although not many titles will support this, put it down as future proofing), the rear camera picks up improvements to the gimballed stabilisation... again this all feels like a point upgrade to the ROG Phone 8 rather than a brand new handset. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro The more subtle design language of the Phone 8 continues here. It’s an angular design with a decent chamfer on the edges, which makes it blocky but not harsh. The camera island touches on a 45-degree language with a sliced-off corner—emphasised by the diagonal slash on the rear of the handset. You’ll also find the AniMe display on the back of the phone. It’s not a traditional display. Instead, there are 648 LED lights embedded in the surface, which only appear when in use. It brings a bit of life to notifications; you can leave the phone face down but still get nudged when something’s up. Asus has also included some straightforward games you could play on the screen, such as the classic Pong bat’n’ball but these feel more proof of concept than something to sell someone on the device. Especially since you can turn the phone over and get some games with slightly higher definitions. The Gaming Side Of The ROG Phone 9 So, how does it perform as a gaming handset? It’s probably worth picking out the impact that some of the compromises have made to the experience. The bezels around the screen have been reduced in size to feel more in line with consumer expectations of a premium phone, which has a knock-on effect that reduces the audio and visual impact of the experience. The first is the lack of forward-firing speakers. Without the extra space afforded by bezels, the speakers point out of the handset but to the sides. That’s wildly different to two stereo speakers astride a landscape screen, putting you into the gaming world. The ROG Phone 9 does have a headphone jack, that gives that stereo experience as well as no-lag audio, but the vanilla option is focused less on the gaming mode of the phone than general use. Then you have the selfie camera. It’s one of those features every phone needs, but manufacturers can decide how to implement it. Asus chose to have a punch-out camera and obscure part of the screen rather than mount it in a larger bezel, which shows how form has come ahead of function. To finish this triple, I want to call out the USB port. Like previous ROG Phones, the ROG Phone 9 has two USB-C ports. You have a secondary port on the long left-hand side, which might sound unusual until you shift the phone into landscape mode for gaming and realise that your hand covers the standard port and this secondary port is not at the base of the screen. You can have a charging cable here without interfering with your play. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Yet the main USB port feels awkward in another way. It’s not centred in the way that many smartphones are. Critically, the vast majority of third-party controllers expect the USB port to be in the middle of the phone. The off-centre port on the ROG Phone 9 forces it to sit awkwardly high on some controlers and is incompatible with others that wrap around the base. ROG’s own Tessen controller doesn’t have any side walls that stop the higher mounting of the ROG Phone 9, and certainly, the marketing suggests that this is the look that the Tessen/Phono combo was looking for, but the off-centre USB means that ROG is taking a lot of the choice away from users. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro There’s one element to the ROG Phone 9 that boosts the gaming nature of the smartphone: the AeroActive Cooler X Pro. This is available as a separate purchase as an accessory for the hardened gamer. Clipping around the back of the ROG Phone 9, it includes a hefty cooling fan to draw hot air away from the rear to keep the operating temperature way down. It also offers two additional physical trigger buttons that complements the air-trgger based shoulder buttons to give a more console-controller experience. The weight distribution does feel top-heavy when the AeroActive is attached. Reaching for the air-trigger shoulder buttons and the rear triggers and placing your thumbs on the screen for an FPS control system does not feel super-secure in my hands. It’s fine if developers allow you to place your thumbs high up on the screen for the virtual joysticks, but that’s not always the case. Given where the cooling fan needs to be, and the physical connection that the Tensor controller requires, there is unfortnatly no way that you can use both accessories at the same time which feels like the ultimate combination to get the full experience. Alas, not to be. Which is a shame because switching to a bluetooth controller with the AeroActive attached is a nice compact gaming solution. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro The final piece of the gaming puzzle is the software. Asus continues to use Armoury Crate to tailor the gaming experience. It allows you to tweak the performance settings for each app or game individually. You can turn up the graphical power on some games, cut it back, lean into procesing power on another, and mix and match on a per-title basis. In here you can also define your controls, so if a game does not support the air-trigger shoulder buttons or the AeroActive triggers natively (which, let’s face it, is likely), you can map these to keypresses or actions in Armoury Crate, again on a per-title basis. A quick sweep down from the corner of the screen brings it up; a tap sends it away. Armoury Crate has been present in the ROG Phone family for many years and is mature now. There’s an online database of controller and configuration files for the vast majority of gaming titles that can act as a starting point for your setups. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro Taking all of these pros and cons together, how does it perform as a gaming handset? Some of the most demanding games on Android, think the likes of Genshin Impact, which have pushed the limits of gaming smartphones sit comfortably at the 60fps mark with the graphics turned all the way up. The power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite comes into play here, but so do Asus' engineering decisions that focus on gaming; cooling both from the internal design and the AeroActive allow not only peak performance but enables you to keep playing for significantly longer sessions without the need to throttle everything back. Going thirty minutes is not a problem with the ROG Phone 9, especially with the AeroAcive offering the extra heat dissipation. Control-wise, the touchscreen's responsiveness helps with your ‘twitchy’ games, so you can do a quick sweep of a crosshair, jump to a distant platform, or just snapping a quick look behind you. There are also some subtle advantages when you play less intensive games. Balatro has recently arrived on Android, and the rouge-like card game is tearing up the charts. It doesn’t need all the graphical horsepower and high frame rates... which means that Armoury Crate software can be set up to turn everything down when Balatro is started, offering you more battery life and endurance when titles requiring less power are run. Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro I still feel that the ROG Phone 7 was Asus’ peak design for a gaming phone because the compromises were all in favour of the gaming experience. Gaming phones remain a niche product line but one that has many players. As the baseline of performance and graphical power of a ‘standard’ smartphone (albeit at flagship levels) continues to rise, the pure gaming phone is losing part of its identity. There remains a market for the ultra-focused device, but I don’t think this is the Asus ROG Phone 9. The ROG Phone 8 has taken the line down a different direction, and the ROG Phone 9 has tweaked that. Asus has put together a "Gaming Smartphone... For Everyone Else.” The graphics have enough power, and the computing needs to deliver a great experience. There’s also a feeling that this can be used as your regular smartphone without too many complications. I can’t decide if this is a niche on a niche (coming from the gaming side) or a niche on a widely popular site (coming from the premium everyday regular handsets). Given this is the second handset going in the latter direction, it’s probably a safe assumption that Asus has been able to find a market in this space, a market that isn’t an identikit phone although the ROG Phone 9 does try to hide the gaming prowess in something a little more subtle than the average gaming smartphone. The package works... but I can’t get past it coming with only two years of software updates. Given the high price of the ROG Phone 9, that one fact makes it incredibly difficult to recommend. Disclaimer: Asus supplied an Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro and accessories for review purposes...
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PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nationally recognized law firm Berger Montague PC informs investors that a lawsuit was filed against Evolv Technologies Holdings, Inc. (“Evolv” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EVLV) on behalf of purchasers of EVOLV securities between August 19, 2022 and October 30, 2024, inclusive (the “Class Period”) . Investors that suffered losses from EVOLV (NASDAQ: EVLV) investments can follow the link below for more information regarding the lawsuit: CLICK HERE to learn more about the lawsuit. Investors who purchased or acquired EVOLV securities during the Class Period may, no later than DECEMBER 31, 2024 , seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. Headquartered in Waltham, MA, Evolv is a security technology company that utilizes AI-based screening designed to help create safer experiences. On October 25, 2024, Evolv announced that the Company's financial statements issued between the second quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2024 should not be relied upon due to material misstatements impacting revenue recognition. The Company revealed that certain sales, including sales to one of its largest channel partners, were subject to extra-contractual terms not shared with the Company's accounting personnel and that certain Evolv personnel had engaged in misconduct. The Company further announced that it had self-reported these issues to the Securities and Exchange Commission. On this news, the price of Evolv stock declined approximately 40%, from a close of $4.10 per share on October 24, 2024, to a close of $2.47 per share on October 25, 2024. On October 31, 2024, Evolv announced the termination of its CEO, Peter George, effective immediately. On this news, the price of Evolv stock declined approximately 8%, from a close of $2.34 per share on October 30, 2024, to a close of $2.15 per share on October 31, 2024. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation, please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at aabramowitz@bm.net or (215) 875-3015, or Peter Hamner at phamner@bm.net or (215) 875-3048, or CLICK HERE . A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member. Berger Montague , with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Delaware, Washington, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States. Contacts: Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel Berger Montague (215) 875-3015 aabramowitz@bm.net Peter Hamner Berger Montague PC (215) 875-3048 phamner@bm.netNEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saints quarterback Derek Carr was willing to risk his health to improve New Orleans’ chances of playing meaningful football in mid-December. Now the Saints, who’ve remained mathematically alive in the playoff race by winning three of four, might have to play without Carr again — and it didn’t go well the last time. Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi declined on Monday to rule out Carr for any of New Orleans’ final four games because of his . Both injuries occurred when he tried to leap for a first down and crashed hard to the turf during the fourth quarter of on Sunday. “We’re not going to rule him out just yet,” Rizzi said. “We have to see in the next day or two what the healing process is like and see if he can function. “The good news it’s not his throwing hand,” Rizzi said. “The bad news is we’re obviously dealing with an injury here that we have to kind of play it by ear.” Rizzi noted that Carr must clear the concussion protocol first. After that, he said, the Saints can see how well Carr can operate with his hand injury. “It’s been done before,” Rizzi said when asked about the prospect of an NFL QB playing with an injured non-throwing hand. “It appears at moment that it’s non-surgical, which is a big aspect of it. ... That’s why we’re going to discuss the options.” Last season, Los Angeles Chargers QB . Buffalo Bills QB . If Carr can’t play, his replacement will be either second-year pro Jake Haener or rookie Spencer Rattler. Rattler started three games earlier this season when Carr had an oblique injury — all losses by New Orleans, which was in the midst of a seven-game skid. “We’ve just got to surround whomever it is and pick him up and get him rolling with the rest of us,” guard Lucas Patrick said. “It’s just another step of adversity in this long season that we’ve had.” What’s working New Orleans’ interior defensive line is coming off one of its better games. Defensive tackles Bryan Bresee and Khalen Saunders accounted for both New Orleans’ sacks in New York. The Saints also held the Giants to 112 yards rushing — a lower opponent rushing total than in seven other games this season. What needs help The Saints’ 92 yards rushing offensively was their fourth-lowest total all season and the lowest in any of their victories. Stock up Running back Kendre Miller’s future is looking a bit brighter now. He has played in just three games this season because of hamstring injuries and his lack of readiness was criticized by since-fired coach Dennis Allen earlier this season. Miller also has yet to rush for more than 36 yards in a game. But against the Giants, he earned praise for the speed, strength and elusiveness he was able to show on a couple of clutch runs, including an 8-yard run for his first and only touchdown this season. Patrick said Miller deserved credit on his scoring run for staying upright and continuing to push forward — with the help of some teammates — after he was met at the 5-yard line by a Giants defender. Patrick said if Miller didn’t give the extra effort and stay on his feet, his teammates would not have had the chance to help push him across the goal line. “Kendre’s definitely a bright, young runner and he’s exciting to block for,” Patrick said. Stock down Blake Grupe was 0 for 2 on field goal attempts, although both were from beyond 50 yards and one was blocked. Those were Grupe’s first two failures from beyond 50 yards this season. Injuries In addition to Carr, reserve linebacker D’Marco Jackson left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury. Key number 0 — The number of games the Saints have won when Carr does not play. They’ve gone 5-5 in his starts this season. Next steps The Saints are back home Sunday against Washington in what could be ex-New Orleans cornerback Marshon Lattimore’s first game with the Commanders. The game also marks the return to Louisiana of quarterback Jayden Daniels, who won the Heisman Troply last year at LSU. ___ AP NFL:
A humanitarian crisis in Gaza has resulted in Australia supporting a reinvigorated push for a ceasefire and aid to flow at scale. Login or signup to continue reading The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support a permanent and unconditional ceasefire, the release of hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians. The motion passed with 158 members voting in support and nine against, with 13 abstaining at an emergency session on Thursday. The humanitarian crisis was a key factor in Australia's vote, with more than 44,000 people killed in Gaza, including more than 13,000 children. Nearly all of the strip's 2.1 million people have lost their homes and don't have enough food, water or medical supplies. Australia's ambassador to the UN James Larsen said t he demand for full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza was urgent as he branded the human human suffering unbearable. "Israel must take urgent action to alleviate this humanitarian crisis," he said. But the resolution's shortcomings included not demanding a conditional ceasefire and failing to unequivocally condemn Hamas, Mr Larsen said as he called for the designated terrorist group to lay down arms. "There can be no role for terrorists in the future governance of Gaza," he said. Australia also voted to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a second motion that passed with 159 in support, nine against and 11 abstaining. The motion called for the Israeli Knesset to reverse laws banning the agency from operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which include Gaza and the West Bank. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has repeatedly stated the agency was the only one with the capability to distribute aid at the scale needed in Gaza. Israel's ambassador to the UN said the agency had been infiltrated by Hamas - something it denies - and accused the general assembly of ignoring the hostages taken by the terrorist organisation on October 7. Mr Larsen expressed grave concern over Israel's laws, saying while the resolution wasn't perfect, "limiting UNRWA's operations will only exacerbate an already terrible humanitarian crisis". Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson chastised the votes, saying the federal government's lack of support for Israel translated into anti-Semitism in Australia as people linked the Jewish community to Israel. "They don't draw any distinction between Israel and Jews, so when the Australian government abandons or even worse, vilifies Israel, anti-Semites take encouragement from that," he told Sky News. It follows a number of anti-Semitism crimes including the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue - being investigated as a likely terrorist attack - and anti-Israel graffiti sprayed on a building before a car was set on fire in Sydney. Senator Paterson also attacked UNRWA after a handful of staff members were fired for being involved in Hamas' terror attack, saying it was "unreformable" and Australia shouldn't be providing funding. Australia suspended funding after the allegations and only reinstated it with a probity agreement attached and intelligence agencies determined it wasn't a terrorist organisation. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Get the latest property and development news here. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. WEEKLY Follow the Newcastle Knights in the NRL? Don't miss your weekly Knights update. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!
European countries suspend Syrian asylum decisions after Assad's fall