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Ghana: Health Ministry Launches National Strategy for Sickle Cell Disease, Vaccine Policy

[GhanaToday] To advance the treatment of sickle cell disease in the country, the Ministry of Health has launched the National Sickle Cell Disease Strategy for 2024 to 2028, along with a National Vaccine Policy in Accra.




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South Africa: Pharmaceutical Corporations Must Make Insulin Pens Available at $1 Per Pen

[MSF] Ahead of World Diabetes Day, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called on pharmaceutical corporations Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and all insulin manufacturers to take urgent action to increase access to diabetes treatment in low- and middle-income countries by immediately making insulin* pen injection devices available at US$1 (R17,81) per pen.




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Cork taint in wine

Despite all the promises cork taint is still alive in well in wines stoppered under natural cork




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American oak in wines

American oak exposed as a wonderful match for Syrah




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Horsey Stinks in Wine

Brettanomyces character in Wine: Devlish or Delictable?




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Africa: Kenya's Environment CS Duale Urges Global North to Meet Africa's $1.3 Trillion Climate Finance Target At COP29

[Capital FM] Baku, Azerbaijan -- Kenya's Environment Cabinet Secretary, Aden Duale, has stressed the urgency of addressing climate change and securing financial support for vulnerable nations at the ongoing COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.




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Africa: Rocky Start at COP29 Climate Talks - CSOs Hold Firm on Human Rights, Finance and Climate Justice

[Natural Justice] Baku, Azerbaijan -- The 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP29) has opened amid deep divisions over agenda items, fossil fuel lobbying by the host nation, and new carbon market rules that threaten to derail urgent climate action. Critical issues such as climate finance, just transitions, human rights, and the protection of Indigenous land and environmental defenders are already at risk.




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Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's Indigenous Grains Make a Comeback Amid Climate Challenges

[263Chat] In Zimbabwe, a quiet revolution is taking root as smallholder farmers embrace traditional grains like millet and sorghum to secure their livelihoods and combat the growing threat of climate change.




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Rwanda: COP29 - What African Group of Negotiators Want to Walk Away With?

[New Times] The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) on Climate Change, at the ongoing 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, are pushing for a significant boost in climate financing and ensuring that adaptation measures, as well as addressing loss and damage, are given the same level of importance as mitigation actions.




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Rwanda: COP29 - What Is At Stake At the 2024 Global Climate Summit?

[New Times] The UN annual climate summit is now underway in Azerbaijan's capital Baku, where thousands of world leaders, including representatives of governments around the world are converging for two weeks of negotiations over how to tackle the global climate crisis.




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Nigeria: UK's Starmer, AfDB's Adesina At COP29 As New Climate Fund Launches

[Vanguard] At COP29 in Azerbaijan, African Development Bank (AfDB) President Akinwumi Adesina stressed the transformative vision behind a newly launched Climate Investment Fund, set to list on the London Stock Exchange.




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Kenya: UN Chief Says Developing Nations Must Secure Climate Deal At COP29

[Capital FM] Baku, Azerbaijan -- UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that securing a climate finance deal at COP29 is critical for developing nations, emphasizing that they "must not leave Baku empty-handed."




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Uganda: Here Are Uganda's Priorities At Cop 29 in Baku

[Observer] The Conference of the Parties (COP) is a creature of Article 7 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established as the supreme body of the convention.




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Nigeria: Vanguard Christian Fellowship Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Thanksgiving

[Vanguard] The Vanguard Media Christian Fellowship has announced that it will hold its 2024 end-of-year thanksgiving service in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Vanguard Media Limited.




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Nigeria: Vanguard Warns Public, Distances Itself From Fake Story On AfDB President

[Vanguard] Vanguard Media Limited hereby issues a public warning to disregard a falsified visual circulating online, which purports to be a screenshot of our website.




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Africa: Misinformation Really Does Spread Like a Virus, Suggest Mathematical Models Drawn From Epidemiology

[The Conversation Africa] We're increasingly aware of how misinformation can influence elections. About 73% of Americans report seeing misleading election news, and about half struggle to discern what is true or false.




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Sudan: Journalists Killed... We Will Not Forget, We Will Not Forgive, Justice Will Prevail

[Dabanga] This week, the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosts the main event commemorating the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists. This year's theme, "Journalists' Safety in Crises and Emergencies," resonates deeply in Sudan.




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Africa: Trump Shocks Critics, Returns to White House

[Leadership] Donald John Trump is returning to the White House after a historic victory in the keenly contested US Presidential election on Tuesday, November 5.




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Zimbabwe: Govt Keen to Release Information in Real Time

[The Herald] The Government is making concerted efforts towards ensuring real-time dissemination of information, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, has said.




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Sudan: Cyber Attacks, the Latest Weapon in Sudan's War On Media

[Dabanga] Amsterdam -- Since the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began clashing on April 15, 2023, independent media--particularly those operating abroad--have become critical sources of information. However, the warring parties have escalated efforts to silence these channels, seeking to enforce a total media blackout.




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Namibia: Namibia's Media Freedom Under Threat - Beukes Speaks Out

[Namibian] Dear media colleagues,




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Egypt: CPJ, Others Ask UN Working Group for Update On Egyptian Writer Alaa Abdelfattah

[CPJ] The Committee to Protect Journalists, along with 26 other press freedom and human rights organizations, sent a letter on November 12 to the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) seeking updates on the urgent appeal filed on November 14, 2023, concerning the imprisonment of Egyptian writer Alaa Abdelfattah.




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Cameroon: Cameroonian Journalist Nsoyuka Guy-Bruno Maimo Detained, Beaten for Covering Protest

[CPJ] Dakar -- The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Cameroonian authorities to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for detaining and violently abusing Nsoyuka Guy-Bruno Maimo, a reporter with the privately owned Volcanic Times newspaper, while he covered a demonstration on October 24.




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Post Dominguero: "Locked away" de R. City con Adam Levine




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Post Dominguero: "O Mundo" de Moska, Zeca Baleiro, Lenine e Chico César



O mundo é pequeno pra caramba
Tem alemão, italiano, italiana

O mundo filé milanesa
Tem coreano, japonês, japonesa

O mundo é uma salada russa
Tem nego da Pérsia, tem nego da Prússia

O mundo é uma esfiha de carne
Tem nego da Zâmbia, tem nego do Zaire

O mundo é azul lá de cima
O mundo é vemelho na China

O mundo tá muito gripado
O açucar é doce
O sal é salgado

O mundo caquinho de vidro
Tá cego do olho, tá surdo do ouvido

O mundo tá muito doente
O homem que mata
O homem que mente

Por quê você me trata mal
Se eu te trato bem

Por quê você me faz o mal
Se eu só te faço bem

Todos somos filhos de Deus
Só não falamos a mesma língua
Everybod is filhos God
Só não falamos a mesma língua





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Post Dominguero: "Simply Falling" de Iyeoka




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Post Dominguero: "You get me" de Concha Buika y Seal




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Las agencias de relaciones públicas y las fake news


Uno de los grandes problemas estructurales de las agencias de relaciones públicas es lo mal que comunica.  Ya se sabe, “En casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo”.  Esta reflexión viene a cuento por todo lo que se ha publicado sobre las “fake news” en los medios más importantes de todo el mundo y el sepulcral silencio que prácticamente todo el sector ha guardado en torno a este tema.

¿Por qué nos incumbe esta discusión?, se preguntarán algunos.  La respuesta es sencilla.  El sector lleva años sufriendo ataques contra su trabajo por sembrar sus propias “fake news” para sus clientes. Noticias que no lo son tanto que sirven para empujar la agenda temática de quienes pagan nuestras facturas. En este sentido, resultaría sano que esta experiencia del sector de las agencias de relaciones públicas sirviera para matizar las discusiones de políticos y periodistas sobre un tema que, desde mi particular punto de vista, se ha exagerado interesadamente.

Una vuelta a la “olvidada” Guerra Fría

Para los más viejos del lugar, quienes crecimos con la imagen de que los soviéticos eran los malos en las películas de Hollywood, ver cómo se ataca ahora a los rusos nos parece un deja vu que pensábamos que no volveríamos a ver.  Sin embargo, ahí están nuevamente las acusaciones en contra de las fábricas de trolls y de “fake news” provenientes desde Rusia, Corea del Norte e incluso Venezuela.

Esto se ha convertido en un tema muy serio, que incluso se ha discutido con profundidad en el Congreso de los Estados Unidos con la presencia de directivos de Google, Facebook, entre otras empresas de internet.  De forma paralela, la Unión Europea quiere detener las “fake news” con estrategias de contrapropaganda y la Comisión Europea ha abierto una consulta pública sobre noticias falsas y desinformación en línea.

Haciendo poderosos a los rusos

Un amigo ruso que también está en el ámbito de las agencias de relaciones públicas me dijo divertido que se “siente poderoso” al saber que un puñado de sus compatriotas son capaces de influir decisivamente en las elecciones de países tan importantes como Estados Unidos, Reino Unido o España.  “Lo que no saben es que esto hace más poderoso a Putin a los ojos del mundo y de los propios rusos”, me indicó recientemente.

Valoraciones políticas aparte, lo que es verdad es que no me parece haber escuchado por parte de ningún representante relevante del sector de las agencias de relaciones públicas ninguna matización sobre el debate abierto de las “fake news”.

Desde este espacio ofrezco algunas reflexiones que me parece conveniente discutir sobre este fenómeno de propaganda:

  • Según el Washington Post, se detectaron 4.700 USD de inversión en Youtube y más de 100.000 USD en Facebook de grupos y/o personas del ámbito ruso.  Si consideramos que una empresa como EA invirtió 2,75 millones USD para promover uno de sus juegos, el dinero invertido supuestamente por Rusia se antoja poco relevante.
  • En este mismo medio se indicaba que los contenidos generados supuestamente por los rusos habían impactado a 126 millones de estadounidenses (un 38% de la población).  Lo que no se explica es la número de veces que han visto estos contenidos.  Es dudoso que si sólo se han visto una o hasta dos veces un contenido determinado esto haya podido persuadirlos hasta hacerlos cambiar sus preferencias políticas.  Otra cosa es que se hubiera impactado a un número relativamente pequeño de ciudadanos que normalmente no votan y que éstos hubieran visto cientos o miles de veces los contenidos que finalmente les habrían hecho cambiar de opinión.  Sin embargo, para esto se hubieran necesitado auténticos expertos que tuvieran un conocimiento profundo no sólo de Facebook y Google, sino del sistema electoral norteamericano, algo que no se antoja asequible fácilmente para un grupo de generadores de contenidos y estrategias digitales rusos.  
  • Según el Post, se detectaron 43 horas de contenido supuestamente generado por los rusos, cuando cada minuto se suben 300 horas de vídeo cada minuto.
  • En el mismo artículo se indicaba que había hasta 470 cuentas y páginas involucradas en difundir propaganda rusa, y que se habían gastado 100.000 usd en 3.000 anuncios.  Lo que implica que cada anuncio recibió 3 usd de inversión en promedio.  Por experiencia, con esa inversión no se puede impactar a audiencia de millones de usuarios ubicados en EEUU como indican algunos congresistas y senadores norteamericanos.  De hecho, hay servicios que ofrecen de manera puntual o continuada el servicio de miles de cuentas generadas para retuitear, dar Me gusta o realizar visionados de videos en sitios como Seoclerks, Fiverr, Growviews, entre muchas otras.
  • Ante las acusaciones de que Facebook se habría convertido en una plataforma de manipulación política, su creador Mark Zuckerberg dijo que era “una idea bastante alocada”, aunque luego tuviera que retractarse y pedir perdón. 

Desde un punto de vista experto, las acusaciones en contra del gobierno ruso y de sus adláteres digitales suenan exageradas.  Otra cosa es que estas denuncias funcionen muy bien para según qué fines políticos.

Es muy importante recalcar que no se trata de hackers, sino que la acusación de generar y difundir “fake news” es contra creadores de contenidos y estrategas digitales.  De los primeros no nos ocupamos ahora, sino de aquellos con los que los profesionales que trabajamos en una agencia de relaciones públicas y marketing tenemos algo en común.

Es difícil ir en contra de los gobiernos occidentales más poderosos, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que muchos de éstos son o pueden ser clientes, pero el sector de las agencias de relaciones públicas debería promover una discusión seria en torno a las “fake news” e indicar cuando hay acusaciones que, desde un punto de vista estrictamente profesional, difícilmente se sostienen.  No sólo nos debemos a nuestros clientes, sino también a la sociedad y si somos expertos en algo deberíamos de hacer escuchar nuestra voz.




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Lost and Found: 2 Million LaSalle Bank Customers – An ACCESS Fraud Alert

December 21, 2005 – Last week a computer tape containing the names, addresses, account information, payment histories and Social Security Number of 2 million people disappeared while in transit. The tape, which contained data on all of LaSalle Bank’s mortgage customers, had been shipped via DHL to Experian by the bank in November. It then reappeared two days ago.




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That Call from Your Credit Card Company May Actually be a Crook! – An ACCESS Fraud Alert

January 6, 2006 – A new credit card scam has appeared in New York and appears to be moving west. Victims of the scam receive a call that they think is from their credit card company. Unfortunately, a lot of people are falling for this new telephone pitch, and having their credit ruined in the process.




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Tax Time Fraudsters Working Overtime – An ACCESS Fraud Alert

February 13, 2006 – With tax time fast approaching, the scam artists are out in droves. They are using a variety of ploys to fool consumers and engage in identity theft. Although most of these tricks have been used in the past, consumers continue to fall for them.




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H&R Block Mistakenly Embeds SSN’s in Some Mailing Labels

January 4, 2006 - Last month, H&R Block sent a promotional mailing to both existing customers and prospects. A portion of the recipients were surprised to find out that their Social Security Numbers were embedded in a string of numbers on the mailing label.




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Two New Internet Scams to Look Out For – An ACCESS Fraud Alert

January 5, 2006 – Two new scams have hit the internet, with one common goal; making you part with your personal financial information. From all accounts, it looks like the scam artists are having a pretty good week. But with a little knowledge, you stand a fighting chance of keeping both your credit and your identity in tact.




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Setback for Financial Privacy in New Hampshire

January 12, 2006 – New Hampshire’s State Supreme Court has set aside portions of a 2004 state law that protected financial records revealed in divorce proceedings from prying eyes. The law had allowed judges to seal financial records of parties involved in a divorce for any reason.




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Patriot Act Hits another Roadblock Due to Privacy Issues

January 25, 2006 – Last month, just prior to the Congressional holiday recess, renewal efforts for the Patriot Act ground to a halt. The law, which gives the federal government sweeping search and seizure powers that many believe to be unconstitutional, had sixteen very controversial clauses that were due to expire at the beginning of this year. The Bush Administration had been pushing Congress to renew the law in its entirety, and to make it permanent. But when four Republican senators (a so-called “gang of four”) joined with democrats to demand greater protections for individual privacy, they were able to launch a filibuster to prevent a long term renewal of the law. Instead, the Senate and House of Representatives were forced into a compromise that renewed the law until February 3, 2006.




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Computer Worm Set to Attack Tomorrow – An ACCESS Fraud Alert

February 2, 2006 – A computer worm that is believed to have infected about 300,000 computers is set to attack tomorrow. The worm will begin destroying a variety of files on the computers that it resides on, including Adobe PDF files, Microsoft Word documents, and other files created in Microsoft Office.




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How Much Do You Spend at Victoria’s Secret? The IRS Wants to Know!

February 15, 2006 – If you think you don’t have much in the way of financial privacy right now, you are correct. Banks can disclose your information to their affiliate companies without your permission (You can thank Congress for that). Database companies gather, store and resell your information (including your Social Security Number) to the highest bidder. But if you think financial privacy is lacking already, the Bush Administration is trying to hard to make the situation even worse. If they get their way, copies of your credit card bills and your ATM card purchases will be sent straight to the IRS. So much for due process!




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Privacy Concerns with Google Desktop Search

February 17, 2006 – Google has just released the latest version of its desktop search software, and it some new features. One of them is the ability to share documents across multiple computers. While some may find this feature convenient, it may users to privacy intrusions or even worse.




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Homeowners Need to Update Insurance Prior to New Bankruptcy Laws Taking Effect

On October 17th a new bankruptcy law goes into effect across the United States. While Congress claimed that the purpose of the law was to crack down on deadbeats, it is apparent that little or no thought went into how the law treats victims of circumstances that are beyond their control. ACCESS has made note on a number of occasions that this group is largely made up of people who lose their jobs and those that lose their medical coverage and then get hit with catastrophic medical bills. But there is another category of people who may wind up getting hit just as hard unless they are truly prepared; homeowners who become victims of natural or manmade disasters.




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Katrina's Disaster Victims Face Social Security Issues

August 31, 2005 – As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) swings into high gear to provide disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina, ACCESS has learned that the Social Security Administration has no procedures to help many of these same victims get back on their feet. The problem that many victims face is that they escaped with only the clothes on their backs; meaning that they have too little iformation for the Social Security Administration to reissue them Social Security Cards. This means that storm victims face a variety of problems that neither they, nor the Federal Government have ever even considered.




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New Bankruptcy Law Not Having Intended Effect

January 17, 2006 – Three months ago today, the United States new bankruptcy law went into effect. The law was hailed by Congress and the banking industry as a way to crack down on “abuses” by dead-beats who ran up their bills with the intent of never paying them. But if the past three months are any indication, those so called dead-beats are few and far between.




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Retrouvez-nous jeudi 7 novembre à 20 h pour le NoScope #65 : Call of Duty 21: Black Ops 6 et Kvark

Jeudi soir, le 7 novembre à 20 h, la rédaction de NoFrag enregistrera l’épisode #65 de NoScope. Attention au changement d’horaire, on commence une heure plus tôt pour éviter à Loulou de débuter à minuit. Au programme, comme d’habitude, on commencera par un petit tour d’horizon des news de ces dernières semaines, avec notamment le […]




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NoScope #65 : Call of Duty 21: Black Ops 6 et While We Wait Here

ANNONCE : compte tenu du peu d’écoutes sur Soundcloud et du fait que contrairement à Spotify et toutes les plateformes de podcast, l’hébergement n’est pas gratuit, nous envisageons d’arrêter la diffusion des NoScope sur Soundcloud. Manifestez-vous en commentaire si vous n’êtes pas d’accord. Jeudi dernier, la rédaction de NoFrag a enregistré l’épisode #65 de NoScope, […]




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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl fait parler les armes un peu mollement

Hier, GSC Game World a partagé une petite vidéo de gameplay de S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl pour nous parler des armes. Ils nous rappellent que la zone est dangereuse, et qu’il faudra trouver des armes pour se défendre. Il y aura plusieurs types de munitions, et on aura aussi la possibilité d’ajouter des accessoires, […]




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Le bons plans NoFrag profitent du week-end prolongé pour regarder la télé

Lundi prochain, c’est le 11 novembre, et comme la majorité d’entre vous, les bons plans NoFrag du week-end ne travaillent pas. C’est l’occasion parfaite pour ralentir le rythme et de profiter d’un peu de temps libre. Vous n’y aviez pas encore pensé, mais vous voulez absolument une machine à popcorn. Elle ira très bien à […]




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Borderlands 4 prévu pour l’année fiscale 2026, Judas indéterminé, BioShock 4 oublié

C’est par le biais du compte X de KAMI que l’on a appris que Take-Two avait communiqué sur les dates de sorties prévisionnelles de ses futurs titres. Ce qui nous intéresse particulièrement ici, ce sont Borderlands 4 et Judas. Pendant la séance de questions/réponses de la conférence aux actionnaires du 6 novembre dernier, le CEO indique […]




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Un expérience VR mitigée pour la sortie de Metro Awakening

Disponible depuis le 7 novembre, le lancement du premier épisode VR de la licence Metro n’a pas reçu les mêmes éloges que ces prédécesseurs (1, 2 et 3). Développé par le studio Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine Remake et 2) et en dépit d’une bande-annonce de lancement aguicheuse, Metro Awakening serait très instable provoquant ainsi des crashs […]




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Hell Let Loose tease sa prochaine carte : Tobruk

Cela faisait un moment qu’on ne vous avait pas parlé de Hell Let Loose. Et c’est bien dommage, car il reste l’un des meilleurs représentants de sa catégorie : de bonnes sensations et un gameplay tactique, sans pour autant avoir trop de séquences de balade avant de tomber sur de l’action. La semaine dernière, Team […]




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Le wokisme a encore frappé : un personnage féminin dans la saison 1 d’Arena Breakout: Infinite

On ne va pas passer par quatre chemins, le compte officiel X d’Arena Breakout: Infinite a publié un post mercredi dernier pour annoncer une idée saugrenue qu’est l’intégration de personnages féminins dans le jeu. Déjà qu’EA Games et Patrick Söderlund avec son fameux « If you don’t like it, don’t buy it » avaient tenté […]




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Focal Point, le chapitre 5 de Black Mesa: Blue Shift, sortira le 17 novembre

Cela fait quelques années que l’on suit l’ambitieux mod Black Mesa: Blue Shift, qui entreprend de refaire le standalone Half-Life: Blue Shift, sorti en 2001, avec le moteur de Black Mesa, lui-même un remake du légendaire Half-Life, mais en travaillant aussi bien sur l’aspect esthétique que sur le gameplay et le level design. C’est pourquoi […]



  • Mods
  • Black Mesa: Blue Shift