New game battle royale

Last October, executives at the Chinese gaming company NetEase and the American video game developer Activision Blizzard joined a Zoom videoconference to discuss the future of their 14-year partnership to offer Activision’s games like World of Warcraft in China. NetEase executives were worried about new laws imposed by the Chinese government and wanted to make changes to their longstanding contract with Activision to ensure they were in compliance. But the companies left the call with drastically different interpretations of what had been said, according to four people familiar with the talks and a document viewed by The New York Times. What NetEase executives contended was a conciliatory gesture was seen as a threat by Activision executives. A month later, the companies broke off talks. In January, more than three million Chinese players lost access to Activision’s iconic games when the partnership ended, and angry NetEase employees livestreamed the dismantling of a 32-foot … [Read more...] about Rift Between Gaming Giants Shows Toll of China’s Economic Crackdown

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should at some point "back off" from their persistent battles with the U.K. media because they are not doing themselves "any favors," a prominent royal biographer has told a new episode of Newsweek 's The Royal Report podcast. Author of the soon-to-be-released George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Shaped the Monarchy and biographer of Princess Diana , Sally Bedell Smith, told chief royal correspondent Jack Royston that Harry and Meghan have been "entwined with their own media outlets," such as Netflix and Spotify, building and maintaining relationships in much the same way the royals have been accused of doing. Since 2019, both Harry and Meghan have launched a series of lawsuits against the U.K. tabloid media, including publishing giants Associated Newspapers Limited whose titles include the Daily Mail , Mail on Sunday and MailOnline. Harry is currently in London, where he has attended hearings connected with his ongoing … [Read more...] about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s media battles won’t do them any “favors”

A former Buckingham Palace press secretary who worked with Princess Diana has cast doubt on whether Prince Harry would have married Meghan Markle had his mother been alive. Speaking to GB News on Friday, Dickie Arbiter—press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II from 1988 to 2000—told the show hosts: "I'm going to stick my neck out here and I doubt Harry would have married Meghan because Harry wouldn't have been in the state he was in as a result of his mother's death. "He would have taken a completely different course and he would still be here working in support of the Queen." The former palace aide was prompted to make such a statement after discussing the prince's legal battle with the U.K. Home Office over security. A High Court judge ruled on Friday that the prince had an "arguable" case against the government and that a judicial review could take place. This was a win for the prince in his dispute which, he argues, l eft Britain an unsafe place for him to bring … [Read more...] about Harry Wouldn’t ‘Have Married Meghan’ if Diana Was Alive—Ex Royal Aide

Fans watch a game between the Lotte Giants and the LG Twins at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on Oct. 8, 2022. [NEWS1] The 2023 KBO All-Star game will be held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on July 15, returning to the southern city that prides itself on being the home of Korean baseball for the first time since 2007. The KBO announced Tuesday that the decision to hold this year’s All-Star game at Sajik was made on Monday when the league’s board of directors met. The league also announced that the amount paid to players and coaches that participate in the game will be doubled from 1 million won ($770) to 2 million won. The KBO also announced the introduction of a new fielding award created this year to recognize the best defenders in the league. Details on the award, including its name and how many awards will be given each season, are yet to be announced. The KBO does not currently have a defensive award similar to the MLB’s Gold Glove awards, with the Korean league’s … [Read more...] about Busan’s Sajik Baseball Stadium to host 2023 KBO All-Star game

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's surprise announcement on Wednesday that they will step down as "senior" members of the British family and "work to become financially independent" of the monarchy raised many questions about their income. Now, we have some answers. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched a brand new website on Wednesday— SussexRoyal.com —after the bombshell news they will distance themselves from royal duties. The website expands on where their money currently comes from, who pays for their royal residence, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and travel, as well as how they will become financially independent. Meghan, 38, and Harry, 37 , said they will continue to support Queen Elizabeth II and honor their royal patronages—through which they are ambassadors for various charities—but have decided to split their time between the U.K. and North America going forward to "enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, … [Read more...] about Meghan and Harry Financial Independence—Who Pays For House and Travel?

Before he met and married Meghan Markle , Prince Harry embarked on a number of high-profile relationships with women within the orbit of the royal family and British high society. Of his relationships, the most prominent was with Zimbabwe-born Chelsy Davy, whose family ran a big game farm in South Africa. Within months of their relationship becoming public, Davy was a figure of intense public interest—something Harry has since spoken of his, and her, discomfort over. In court filings, made as part of his ongoing lawsuit against the publishers of the British tabloid Daily Mail over historic phone-hacking and privacy invasion allegations, the prince said that Davy was the victim of unlawful information-gathering techniques such as wiretapping and bugging. The media intrusion, the prince said, made Davy feel as if she was being "hunted." In the end, he said, she questioned whether she wanted a "lifetime of being stalked?" Here, Newsweek looks at who Chelsy Davy is and … [Read more...] about Who is Chelsy Davy—Prince Harry’s ex he feared would be “harassed to death”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have to "face the reality" that if they attend the coronation of King Charles in May that they will only do so as "fringe players" with no official ceremonial roles, a prominent royal biographer has told a new episode of Newsweek 's The Royal Report podcast. Sally Bedell Smith, a royal expert and author of the soon-to-be-released George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Shaped the Monarchy , gave her thoughts on the hotly debated topic of Harry and Meghan's potential appearance at the king's coronation in a discussion with chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston. Speculation over whether the couple would attend, or be invited, after the release of their bombshell media projects in recent months was increased in January when Harry swerved the question when asked about it in an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby. Asked whether he would attend the May 6 ceremony or not, the prince said: "There's a lot that can happen between now and … [Read more...] about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be “fringe players” at the coronation

King Charles III has the backing of 41 percent of Americans after he asked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave their U.K. home. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were given use of Frogmore Cottage—located west of London—by Queen Elizabeth II after they got married in 2018. This was the place where their son, Prince Archie , now 3 years old, spent his first months. They have only occasionally returned to the Windsor home since quitting the palace for a new life in America. Charles reportedly asked the couple to leave in January 2023, within days of the release of Harry's memoir Spare . The Sussexes confirmed the move in a statement on March 1: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage." Exclusive polling of 1,500 adults by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek, conducted on March 20, shows 41 percent of Americans support the move while 23 percent opposed it, 19 percent said they did not know and 17 percent said … [Read more...] about King Charles right to kick Prince Harry, Meghan out of home—U.S. poll

Prince Harry is "well within his rights" to weigh in on U.S. politics because he lives in the country and his "wife and children are citizens", according to a discussion on a new episode of Newsweek 's The Royal Report podcast. Chief royal correspondent Jack Royston and royal commentator Kristen Meinzer discussed Harry's address at the United Nations last week marking Nelson Mandela International Day where he likened the "rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States," with the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 pandemic. Discussing the content of the speech where the prince also revealed the touching association he holds between his mother, wife and Africa , Royston said: "it's always nice to see him speaking about Diana and about Meghan." To this, Meinzer added that it was the political heart of the address which "stood out to me even more." "We all know that royals are not supposed to wade into politics, even though just last week on this show we were … [Read more...] about Prince Harry Is ‘Well Within His Rights’ to Comment On U.S. Politics

Sports Video games NBA Gamers The cramped room in Midtown Manhattan was packed wall-to-wall with YouTubers—a relentlessly cheery bunch—the lot of them excitedly live-streaming, likes and comments bobbing across their screens. It was August, and the crowd was previewing the latest product from the NBA 2K video game series—NBA 2K18, which was released Friday to those who pre-ordered—and the event was crowded with elite gamers, social media stars, 2K staffers and, pocked about the room, honest-to-God, in-the-flesh NBA players. Security stood at the front door. Booze flowed from a bar in the back. TVs pinstriped the length of the room, cutting it into even rows. That was the main attraction, with the gamers lining up, jostling through the morass of people to get their turn on the joysticks (all of this, of course, beamed over the internet to 2K devotees). In a room full of presumed NBA fans it was somewhat disorienting to see these NBA players—Brooklyn Nets guard … [Read more...] about Virtual Meets Reality: Inside NBA 2K and Pro Basketball