At the Apple Developer Conference held earlier, the iPhone 16 series will be equipped with iOS 18 has been revealed. At the event, Apple showed off a series of convenient interactive experiences brought by Apple Intelligence, including a more powerful Siri voice assistant, Mail app that can generate complex responses, and Safari that aggregates web information. These upgrades will no doubt make the iPhone 16 line even more attractive. In order to use Apple Intelligence, a new feature of iOS 18, the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro series are equipped with A18 chips. An external blogger found in Apple's back end that the iPhone 16 series will use the same A-series chip, and the back end code mentions A new model unrelated to the existing iPhone. It includes four iPhone 16 series models, and the four identifiers all start with the same number, indicating that Apple is attributing them to the same platform. The new iPhone will have a stainless steel battery case, which will make it easier to remove the battery to meet EU market standards, while also allowing Apple to increase the density of the battery cell in line with safety regulations.

TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - Russia's deepening military cooperation with North Korea has underlined the need for Japan to forge closer ties with NATO as regional security threats become increasingly intertwined, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Reuters. In written remarks ahead of his attendance at a NATO summit in Washington DC this week, Kishida also signalled concern over Beijing's alleged role in aiding Moscow's two-year-old war in Ukraine, although he did not name China. "The securities of the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific are inseparable, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its deepened military cooperation with North Korea are strong reminders of that," Kishida said. "Japan is determined to strengthen its cooperation with NATO and its partners," he added. The world, the Japanese leader said, should not tolerate attempts by some countries to disrupt the established international order and reiterated a warning that Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow. He also urged cooperation to confront new security threats that transcend geographical boundaries, such as cyber-attacks and conflicts in space. The U.S. and its allies have accused Pyongyang of providing ballistic missiles and artillery shells that Russia has used in its war in Ukraine and say they fear Moscow in return could provide support for North Korea's nuclear missile development. Washington has also said China is supplying droneWithout naming China, Kishida told Reuters "some countries" have allegedly transferred dual-use civilian-military goods to Russia which has served "as a lifeline" for its Ukraine war. "It is necessary to grapple with such situations in a multi-faceted and strategic manner, taking a panoramic view that considers the full range of international actors fuelling Russia’s attempt to change the status quo by force," he said. "The geographical boundary of 'Euro-Atlantic' or 'Indo-Pacific' is no longer relevant in safeguarding global peace and security. Japan and Indo-Pacific partners can play a great role for NATO allies from this perspective." Constrained by decades of pacifism, Tokyo has been reluctant to supply lethal aid to Ukraine. It has, however, provided financial aid to Kyiv, spearheaded efforts to prepare for its post-war reconstruction, and contributed to NATO’s fund to provide Ukraine with non-lethal equipment such as anti-drone detection systems. Tokyo has also repeatedly warned about the risks of a similar conflict emerging in East Asia, where China has been taking an increasingly muscular stance towards its territorial claims including the democratic island of Taiwan. "This summit is a critical opportunity for Japan, the U.S., and the other NATO allies to confront the ongoing challenges against the international order and to reaffirm values and principles that have shaped global peace and prosperity," he said. There may be limits, however, over how far NATO members are prepared to go in forging closer ties in Asia. A plan that surfaced last year for NATO to open a liaison office in Japan, its first in Asia, was blocked by France and criticised by China. and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools to Russia, items which fall short of lethal assistance but are helping Moscow build its military to sustain the Ukraine war. Beijing has said it has not provided any weaponry to any party.

The world's deepest diving pool, Deepspot, opened this weekend near the Polish capital Warsaw. The 45.5-meter pool contains artificial underwater caves, Mayan ruins and a small shipwreck for scuba divers and free divers to explore. Deepspot can hold 8,000 cubic meters of water, more than 20 times the capacity of a normal 25-meter swimming pool. Unlike ordinary swimming pools, Deepspot can still open despite Poland's COVID-19 epidemic prevention restrictions because it is a training center that provides courses. The operator also plans to open a hotel where guests can observe divers at a depth of 5 meters from their rooms. "This is the deepest diving pool in the world," Michael Braszczynski, 47, Deepspot's director and a diving enthusiast, told AFP at the opening yesterday. The current Guinness World Record holder is a 42-meter-deep pool in Montegrotto Terme, Italy. The 50-meter-deep Blue Abyss pool in the UK is scheduled to open in 2021. On the first day of Deepspot's opening, about a dozen people visited, including eight experienced divers who wanted to pass the instructor exam. "There are no spectacular fish or coral reefs here, so it can't replace the ocean, but it is certainly a good place to learn and train safe open water diving," said 39-year-old diving instructor Przemyslaw Kacprzak. "And it's fun! It's like a kindergarten for divers."

On July 8, local time, former British Prime Minister Sunak announced the appointment of the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet, which is the first shadow cabinet of the Conservative Party in 14 years. Several former British cabinet members during Sunak's tenure as prime minister were appointed to the Conservative Party Shadow Cabinet, including James Cleverly as Shadow Home Secretary and Jeremy Hunt as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. But former Foreign Secretary Cameron was not appointed as Shadow Foreign Secretary. In addition, the new leader of the Conservative Party will be elected as early as this week. On July 4, the UK held a parliamentary election. The counting results showed that the British Labour Party won more than half of the seats and won an overwhelming victory; the Conservative Party suffered a disastrous defeat, ending its 14-year continuous rule.

Koenigsegg Agera RS Chimera combines technologies from Agera RS, CC850, and Jesko. An Agera RS platform features the engine from the Jesko and the simulated manual gearbox from the CC850. Development took three years, thanks to software and hardware integration challenges. A "chimera," for the uninitiated, is described as a mythical creature whose anatomy comes from multiple animals, creating a hybrid of two or more creatures' best bits. It's also the name of the latest one-off creation from Koenigsegg, and it's certainly apt; the Koenigsegg Agera RS Chimera is an amalgam of technologies from the decade-old, record-breaking Agera RS, the fascinatingly innovative CC850, and the awe-inspiring Jesko - which just recently set four new acceleration records. There's also a hint of Regera in here, which had some impressive records of its own. As reported by Mr. JWW, the strictly one-off special edition was commissioned by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and both he and one of Koenigsegg's engineers arrived at the same name. Let's take a closer look and see exactly why this is a hybrid, even though it's not electrified. Three Cars In One The Chimera was originally a regular Agera RS and one of several Koenigsegg megacars owned by Ben Sulayem, but he asked Christian and the team to initiate a special project on his behalf. Around the same time, the extraordinary Koenigsegg CC850 was revealed at Monterey Car Week 2022, introducing the innovative Engage Shift System (ESS). This was based on the already astonishingly fast nine-speed Light Speed Transmission, with new actuators and sensors added to enable the simulation of a manual transmission without a physical link between the shifter and the gearbox. Like the rest of the world, the FIA boss was enamored by this novel technology, and as a wealthy 'Egg collector, he asked for it to be put into his special Agera-based project. Christian pondered this and ultimately decided to fulfill the request, in the process turning Ben Sulayem's special edition into something of a development mule for the ESS. But unlike the CC850, the Chimera got the larger turbos of the Jesko, enabling around 1,280 horsepower on regular gas and up to 1,600 hp on E85. That means this is an Agera RS with a CC850 transmission and a Jesko engine. On paper, that sounds simple, but the reality was anything but... Three Shifting Experiences Took Three Years To Combine According to a video from YouTuber and Koenigsegg distributor Mr. JWW, this development process took three years and required the relocation of the battery, new mounts for the powertrain, new harnesses, new software and controllers, and even a new infotainment system. To ensure all the electronics worked seamlessly was a challenge, but then Ben Sulayem asked for another layer of intricacy, requesting that paddle shifters be added, like in the Jesko Absolut and Jesko Attack. In the CC850, you could only switch between the simulated manual mode and fully automatic shifts, but now, the Chimera's development has unlocked manually operable paddles, which have now been added as the only option you can add to a CC850. There was also significant relocation and redesigning of suspension components, with parts from the Jesko and the Regera forming the subframe and elements of the suspension, respectively. A new scoop for the new transmission's cooler was also added, but it looks like it was always planned. Christian von Koenigsegg says this is a true one-off, saying that it would be cheaper and easier to start something all-new from scratch than to mix new and old technologies again, and that it's simply "too much work" to tackle a retrofit project. The Chimera is not completed just yet, as there are still subtle elements to refine, such as the bite point of the clutch pedal, but these minor issues will surely be resolved soon. It's an amazing feat, combining three hypercars in one, and we can't even fathom how Koenigsegg will top this in the future, but we don't doubt that Christian and his team will continue to do just that.