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Scrabble gets a video game reinvention for smartphones, tablets

Scrabble is among classic casual games getting new life on smartphones and tablets as the mobile video game audience continues to grow.

      




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'Call of Duty' takes on 'Fortnite' with free battle royale online video game 'Warzone'

The popular battle royale video game category led by 'Fortnite' has some company: the free 'Call of Duty: Warzone' for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PCs

      




vi

2K reunites with NFL to make football video games

On Tuesday, 2K announced a partnership with the National Football League to make multiple video games based on the pro football brand.

      




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'Call of Duty' sets its sights on 'Fortnite,' domination of battle royale video games

Free-to-play online games such as "Fortnite" will probably earn about $88 billion globally in 2020. Activision's new "Call of Duty" enters the fray.

      




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Video game confab E3 cancelled over coronavirus fears

The Electronic Entertainment Expo, the signature video game industry event held each June, has been cancelled because of fears of the coronavirus.

      




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The Phoenix Suns are playing out the rest of their season on 'NBA 2K' video game

The Phoenix Suns revealed Thursday the team plans to play out the rest of its schedule using the video game "NBA 2K."

      




vi

Nintendo employee tests positive for coronavirus

Nintendo says it is working with public health authorities after one of their employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

      




vi

No, Microsoft won't necessarily be serving up new Xbox for Thanksgiving

Despite a mistaken notice about a Thanksgiving release, the new Xbox will come out this holiday season -- also when the PlayStation 5 is due.

      




vi

Why 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' is the ideal video game escape right now

'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' is the ideal gaming getaway, bringing a joy and simplicity we desperately need as we navigate coronavirus pandemic.

      




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Video games: How to get started while staying at home, social distancing amid coronavirus

With many people practicing social distancing and self-isolation in response to the coronavirus epidemic, now is an ideal time to try video games.

      




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Video games can be a healthy social pastime during coronavirus pandemic

At the behest of the World Health Organization, video game companies are promoting hand washing, physical distancing during the coronavirus crisis.

      




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DualSense is the video game controller for PlayStation 5. Here's what it does.

While we wait to get our first official glimpse of the PlayStation 5, Sony is sharing the first details on the video game console's controller.

       




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Final Fantasy VII Remake: A timeless video game classic is back!

'Final Fantasy VII' is considered one of the best video games. Now, Square Enix is bringing it back with the launch of 'Final Fantasy VII Remake.'

       




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Review: 'Final Fantasy VII Remake' summons back a timeless classic

Role-playing epic Final Fantasy VII Remake is an ambitious revisiting of one of the most beloved titles in video game history.

       




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Coronavirus home lesson plans, coming for free in 'Minecraft'

'Minecraft,' played on iPads, video game consoles and computers, is getting free educational content for kids stuck at home during the coronavirus.

       




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PlayStation's coronavirus contribution: Stay home and play free 'Uncharted,' 'Journey' PS4 video games

Sony PlayStation is giving players some free video games as part of its "Play At Home" initiative to encourage staying at home during the pandemic.

       




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Travis Scott held a performance in 'Fortnite,' and more than 12 million players watched live

On Thursday night, popular video game Fortnite hosted rapper Travis Scott as part of the Astronomical musical experience.

       




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Sony will launch 'The Last of Us Part II' in June after parts of video game leaked online

Sony announced it will release The Last of Us Part II in June after development studio Naughty Dog confirmed parts of the game were leaked online.

       




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Microsoft sets May 7 to unveil video games on new Xbox Series X console

Microsoft plans to release its new Xbox Series X video game console for the 2020 holiday season. On May 7, we will get a look at games in the works.

       




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On coronavirus lockdown, gamers seek solace and community in video games

Coronavirus lockdowns and extended social distancing has more people playing video games to stay connected and pass the time.

       




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Travis Scott is going to debut his next song Thursday on Fortnite as part of virtual tour

Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, announced Monday the musician will premiere a brand new track as part of an "Astronomical" tour within the game.

       




vi

'Complete anarchy': frontline NHS staff on the coronavirus peak

Medics reflect on the stress and strain they have been under, and what might happen next

More people have died of coronavirus in the UK than in any other country in Europe, and details about the true scale of the pandemic continue to emerge as the extreme pressure on the NHS begins to ease.

We have been speaking to frontline workers since the crisis began about how they are coping. They have told us how they were resigned to contracting Covid-19 because of shortages of protective equipment and a lack of testing as hospitals were inundated with coronavirus patients. Here, they recall the pandemic reaching its peak and begin to make plans for where the health service will go from here.

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Outsourcing the coronavirus crisis to business has failed – and NHS staff know it | Cat Hobbs

Handing out contracts out to firms like Serco and G4S is now second nature to those in power. We need to rebuild state capacity

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed a lot about British society – the fragility of the economy, the insecure situation so many workers find themselves in – but it has also shone a light on the state itself. Many comparisons have been made between the current mobilisation of state resources and the second world war. But while that crisis involved a ramping up of public sector capacity, this one is being managed by a state that believes itself to be utterly dependent on the private sector.

First, there are the outsourcing giants, shadowy corporations who have been handed numerous contracts over the past 20 years. Matt Hancock has put Serco in charge of the phonelines for contact tracing, a vital part of the government’s public health strategy. This is a company that mismanaged data at a GP surgery, and failed to train staff properly for a breast cancer hotline service. Along with G4S, it claimed money from the government for tracking prisoners who were later found to be dead.

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vi

The Guardian view on BAME death rates: inequality and injustice

Coronavirus is much more likely to claim the lives of black people than white. Socio-economic factors are a significant contributor

A universal experience is highlighting the sharp divides in our society. Few are as stark and shocking as those revealed by Thursday’s news that black people in England and Wales are more than four times as likely to die from Covid-19 as white people. Bangladeshi and Pakistani people were about three and a half times more likely, and those of Indian origin two and a half times as likely, the Office for National Statistics reported.

The disproportionately high toll of BAME people was already evident, notably among medical staff: a review of just over a hundred NHS staff who died found that almost two-thirds were black or Asian, though those groups account for less than one in seven workers in the health service. It is all the more striking, given that age is one of the biggest risk factors and the over-65s comprise only one in 20 of the BAME population, compared with almost one in five of the white population.

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More people dying at home during Covid-19 pandemic – UK analysis

Exclusive: Data suggests that sick may be avoiding hospital because of coronavirus fears

About 8,000 more people have died in their own homes since the start of the coronavirus pandemic than in normal times, a Guardian analysis has found, as concerns grow over the number avoiding going to hospital.

Of that total, 80% died of conditions unrelated to Covid-19, according to their death certificates. Doctors’ leaders have warned that fears and deprioritisation of non-coronavirus patients are taking a deadly toll.

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British Covid-19 patient in Vietnam could have lung transplant

Vietnam Airlines pilot one of only two serious cases in country with mass testing regime

A 43-year-old British man may undergo a lung transplant in Vietnam, where he is critically ill with Covid-19.

The man, a Vietnam Airlines pilot, developed a fever and cough on 17 March, and was later admitted to Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

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The Guardian view on relaxing lockdown: repent at leisure | Editorial

The government must be cautious in both the decisions it takes and the messages it sends

The end is not in sight. With an estimated 20,000 new infections a day, and with experts warning that the reproduction rate of coronavirus may be rising again, any premature loosening of the lockdown will only prolong the crisis. When the prime minister speaks on Sunday evening, it is essential that he makes it clear that people should still be staying at home, not relaxing their guard.

Though so many other countries had been hit, the government did not act soon enough to either contain the threat or prepare for it. Those failures have made a longer and tougher lockdown necessary. It was slow to take the pandemic seriously, slow to impose stringent social distancing, and slow to pursue equipment, testing and tracing, as the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, noted this week.

Continue reading...





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Pandemic shows power of doctor's phone call to provide care

It was intended as an interim measure to protect people during the pandemic, but now that doctors across Canada have embraced virtual care, some clinicians and patients would like to see it continue.




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Don't blame bats for COVID-19, says University of Saskatchewan researcher

A U of S researcher says there is no evidence that COVID-19 jumped to humans from bats.



  • News/Canada/Saskatoon

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European coalition takes shape on coronavirus contact tracing

A European coalition is forming around an approach to using smartphone technology to trace coronavirus infections that, its backers hope, could help to reopen borders without unleashing a second wave of the pandemic.



  • News/Technology & Science

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More users needed: Lessons from Alberta's coronavirus contact tracing app

Alberta's use of a smartphone app to help slow the spread of the coronavirus may provide other provinces with insight on what to do — and what to avoid — as Canada begins easing restrictions, heightening the need for effective contact tracing.



  • News/Technology & Science

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Sidewalk Labs cancels plan to build high-tech neighbourhood in Toronto amid COVID-19

Sidewalk Labs, a Google-affiliated company, is abandoning its plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood on Toronto’s waterfront, citing what it calls unprecedented economic uncertainty.



  • News/Canada/Toronto

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Canada's privacy commissioners offer guidance on COVID-19 contact-tracing apps

As New Brunswick and other provincial governments contemplate launching COVID-19 contact-tracing apps, privacy watchdogs from across the country have issued joint guidelines on what they are describing as an "extraordinary" measure, urging transparency and accountability.



  • News/Canada/New Brunswick

vi

Icebergs and whales galore! Take a virtual tour of Bonavista Bay

Whale and iceberg season has come early, but the local tourism industry has been forced to press pause.



  • News/Canada/Nfld. & Labrador

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Quebec police investigating possible link between cell tower fires and 5G coronavirus conspiracy theories

Quebec provincial police are investigating whether at least two cellphone tower fires north of Montreal could be linked to conspiracy theories that 5G wireless technology caused the coronavirus pandemic.




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Austrian ski resort covers glacier after coronavirus cuts season

- With its season cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, one of Austria's most popular glacial ski resorts covered its glacier in protective fabric earlier than usual this year to help preserve it for a still uncertain reopening.



  • News/Technology & Science

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Face masks: How to minimize the waste during COVID-19

In this week's issue of our environment newsletter, we look at the sustainability of different types of face masks and how orphan oil and gas wells in Alberta could be converted into green energy projects.



  • News/Technology & Science

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SNL returning with original content after coronavirus halted production

'Weekend Update' among segments returning




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Paul O'Grady says he 'definitely' had coronavirus but 'just got on with it'

Presenter reveals homemade remedy that helped him through




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The Graham Norton Show: Which celebrity guests will be interviewed from coronavirus lockdown?

Handful of stars will be interviewed live from their living rooms




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Marvel actor Deborah Ann Woll 'struggling with self-doubt' following Daredevil cancellation: 'I haven't had an acting job since'

'If I'm not acting, I'm not sure who I am,' the True Blood star said




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Brews Brothers review: What promised to be a quirky microbrew has come out as a flat lager

The tone of this half-hour comedy is part odd-couple, part hipster satire and part gross-out – but it stops short of taking any risks




vi

Michael Sheen's 'chaotic' Who Wants to Be a Millionaire re-enactment leaves Graham Norton Show viewers in stitches

'This has made the lockdown worthwhile'




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Coronavirus: Ventilator machines from Holby City arrive at NHS Nightingale hospital

Specialist London hospital receives working medical equipment used in BBC drama




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Gogglebox viewers in hysterics as Channel 4 stars watch Tiger King: 'I'm in absolute stitches'

'Watching everyone's reaction to Joe Exotic was far better than the series itself,' one viewer wrote




vi

SNL star Michael Che pays tribute to grandmother who died of coronavirus in new lockdown episode

'I'm very hurt and angry that she had to go through all that pain alone'




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Tom Hanks surprises SNL viewers in first TV appearance after testing positive for coronavirus

Actos said he's 'been more like America's dad than ever before​' following diagnosis




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Tiger King: Carole Baskin says she's receiving death threats because of Netflix show

She accused hit Netflix show of 'betrayal' in first interview since it began




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Killing Eve season three review: This once-thrilling comedy drama has grown stale and predictable

New head writer Suzanne Heathcote's zombie-writing experience might come in handy. Where 'Killing Eve' had a vitality, it now feels tired to the point of lifelessness