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AstraZeneca boss urges western drugmakers to move at ‘Chinese speed’
AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, has warned that western pharmaceutical companies must adopt “Chinese speed” in drug development or risk being overtaken by increasingly innovative Chinese rivals, much as European and American carmakers lost ground to Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. Speaking as the FTSE 100 firm reported its half-year results, Soriot said AstraZeneca was closely…
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‘The Way It Was Meant to Be Heard’: Tone-Deaf Sony Pushes Vinyl Turntable After Killing Physical Games
Sony has faced fierce criticism after posting social media adverts for its new LX3 turntable, with the marketing praising vinyl as the way music was “meant to be heard” just as the company prepares to end physical game disc production. The timing struck many as hypocritical, given Sony has already endured sustained backlash over its…
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Video: Get A Closer Look At LEGO’s New Pokémon Sets In This Review
Nintendo Life has shared a closer look at LEGO’s upcoming Pokémon sets ahead of their release, using a review video from LEGO YouTuber Tiago Catarino to showcase details not previously visible. The video highlights the sets’ instruction booklets and hidden design touches, building further anticipation for the adult-focused range as part of the toy giant’s…
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Pirlo out of running for Italy job over link to Russian betting company
Andrea Pirlo has withdrawn as the front-runner for Italy’s national football coach job after days of political backlash over his links to Russian betting firm Fonbet. Although the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) had not formally confirmed his appointment, it had been widely expected, but criticism from senior Italian and European politicians over his role as…
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CNN staffers see Paramount merger as ‘inevitable’ despite legal battle delaying Ellison takeover
A delay in the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger has done little to ease anxiety among CNN staff, who reportedly regard the tie-up as “inevitable” regardless of ongoing legal wrangling. The deal would place CNN under the control of David Ellison, and the uncertainty comes at a difficult time for a network that has already…
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This week in PC games: a battle royale detective game, a broken Y2K metaverse, a laptop tycoon sim, and a new Company of Heroes RTS
This week’s Rock Paper Shotgun round-up highlights the latest crop of PC game releases, spanning three days from 27–29 July, with a notably eclectic mix including horror, RPGs, strategy and battle royale titles. The selection ranges from niche narrative experiments to a new entry in Relic’s Company of Heroes strategy series, reflecting the sheer variety…
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Will you power down your PS5 for a week in protest of Sony’s all-digital future? A new petition encourages you to pull the plug on PlayStation
Sony’s plans to phase out physical PlayStation media by 2028 have prompted fans to organise a week-long “blackout” protest, urging PS5 owners to unplug their consoles and avoid all logins, play sessions and purchases on Sony platforms. The action, promoted by a Twitter/X user called “Does It Play?”, is intended to hit Sony where it…
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Kalshi attacks Wisconsin law banning election bets as ‘voter suppression’
The prediction market firm Kalshi has publicly attacked a Wisconsin law dating back to 1849 that bars voters from betting on elections in which they themselves cast a ballot, branding the restriction “voter suppression”. The row began after the Wisconsin Elections Commission issued an advisory warning voters that placing such wagers could see their ballot…
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Chanel Beads shares eclectic collection ‘Eternal Music’, an exclusive playlist to accompany The Cover
Chanel Beads, the rising New York band featured in NME’s latest instalment of The Cover, have released an exclusive playlist called “Eternal Music” to accompany their profile piece. The release forms part of NME’s weekly series spotlighting emerging musical talent, with the accompanying feature written by Priya Elan and photographed by Eve Alpert, offering fans…
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Actors urge UK to block Paramount-Warner Bros merger
Actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming and Benedict Wong have written an op-ed in The Guardian urging the UK government to block the proposed $111 billion (roughly £87 billion) merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning it would cause “immense harm” to the British public. Their intervention adds public pressure on culture secretary Lisa Nandy,…