iPhone XS Apple's new flagship iPhones

New 2018 iPhone iPhone XS

Apple's new flagship iPhones

‘iPhone Xs Max’ likely name for 6.5-inch OLED flagship, sources say

released a photo last Thursday that allegedly shows two of the new 2018 iPhones. The picture, if authentic, shows the new iPhone and a larger-screen variant both in gold. 9to5Mac believes that Apple will launch a 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch model named the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The "S" name would be a return to form for Apple, which has a history of adding the letter "S" to iPhone models with updated components, new features and no major changes to the exterior design.

(Apple did not respond to CNET's request to comment on the 9to5Mac stories.)

BGR and 9to5Mac both reported that Apple won't call the larger model "Plus," as it has done in previous years. Instead it will opt for the nomenclature "Max", as in iPhone XS Max. We'll know how accurate 9to5Mac's reporting is in less than a week.

A week ago, Apple sent out invites for an event on Sept. 12 at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. The invitation has a picture of the circular roof of the company's Apple Park campus rendered in gold -- another hint at a new color for the next iPhone X. While the invite didn't specify that the event is to announce the next iPhone, September has been when Apple announces new phones in the past. 

Both the leaked photo and Apple's invite align with rumors that indicate three new iPhone models: the aforementioned larger screen version, a cheaper version and a version with three rear cameras.

Srilanka also listed World's 5 biggest gemstones even billionaires can’t buy

‘Star of Adam’ Blue Star Sapphire ($100-300 million) ( Srilanka)

Discovered in Sri Lanka two years ago, this gem is currently the world’s biggest sapphire. Star of Adam weighs 1,404 carats. The stone got its name due to the bright six-pointed star that appears whenever light is reflected on its surface. Estimates of the stone’s value range from $100 million to as much as $300 million.

 Guinness Emerald ($500 million) 


This 1759-carat emerald was uncovered at the Coscuez mine in Columbia, and is owned by Fura Gems. The stone is so huge that it managed to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. Valued at $500 million, the stone is now exhibited in the Banco Nazionale de la Republica in Bogota, Colombia.

Chaiyo Ruby ($448 million)



The world’s third-biggest precious stone, the Chaiyo Ruby, weighs 109,000 carats, which is roughly the same weight as an eight-year-old child. The stone has been valued at around $448 million. It reportedly originates from Asia with Myanmar and Thailand in dispute over its ownership. The Chaiyo Ruby’s current whereabouts are unknown, as it disappeared in the early 2000s. The gem may be in a safety-deposit box in Laos, or stolen by the Myanmar military, according to rumors.

Letseng Diamond ($50-$100 million)


This colorless, pure gem was uncovered in the small African kingdom of Lesotho. The 910-carat diamond is the fifth-biggest precious stone ever found. The Letseng mine is famous for the size and quality of the diamonds it produces, and has the highest average selling price in the world. “This exceptional, top-quality diamond is the largest to be mined to date, and highlights the unsurpassed quality of the Letseng mine,” said Chief Executive Officer Clifford Elphick, commenting on the discovery.

Bahia Emerald ($250-$925 million)

This gem is ranked the world’s number four in terms of size, and is one of the largest emeralds ever extracted. It was reportedly found in Bahia, Brazil. The emerald weighs around 1.7 million carats, or 752 lbs. It has been valued at some $400 million, but the true value is unclear.

The Bahia Emerald was nearly washed away by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 during a period of storage in a warehouse in New Orleans. The stone was reportedly stolen from a secure vault in South El Monte in Southern California in September 2008. The gem was subsequently found and is currently the subject of a legal battle to determine its rightful ownership. FM Holdings and the government of Brazil are contesting the right, while the Bahia Emerald sits in an evidence vault at the LA sheriff’s office.

Australia, New Zealand Deploy Aircraft to Japan to Help Enforce North Korea Sanctions

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand said on Friday their governments were deploying three maritime patrol aircraft to Japan to assist with efforts to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

Australia will add two AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft to conduct maritime surveillance to an existing aircraft deployed earlier in the year, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said in a statement.

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said his government was deploying an Air Force P-3K2 plane to carry out patrols of international waters in North Asia for signs of vessels undertaking activities that break U.N. sanctions against North Korea, including ship-to-ship transfers.

"We welcome the recent dialogue North Korea has had with the United States and South Korea. However, until such time as North Korea abides by its international obligations, full implementation of the United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions will be essential," Peters said.

The aircraft would be based at Kadena Air Base in Japan, he added.

The United States has been pressuring North Korea via sanctions to give up its nuclear weapons program and in August penalized two Russian shipping companies and six vessels it said were involved in the transfer of refined petroleum products to North Korean vessels in violation of UN restrictions.

The United States and North Korea are involved in talks intended to ease tensions between them, and U.S. President Donald Trump met with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in June.

Since then relations have cooled and a planned visit by the top U.S. diplomat to North Korea was scrapped last week because Trump said insufficient progress toward denuclearization had been made.

The move by Australia was a "continuation" of the country's "strong stand to deter and disrupt illicit trade and sanctions evasion activities by North Korea and its associated networks," Pyne said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Wellington and Paulina Duran in Sydney; editing by Sandra Maler and James Dalgleish)

US 2018 mid-terms in charts: Should Donald Trump be worried?

Donald Trump won't be on the ballot when Americans go to the polls on 6 November, but the elections will shape the rest of his presidency.

Voters will be choosing 35 senators, 36 state governors and all 435 members of the House of Representatives, as well as dozens of local legislative officials.

The elections matter because if Democrats take back control of the House or the Senate from Republicans, they could severely limit what President Trump can do in the final two years of his term.

In the House, analysts predict dozens of seats could change hands and the majority of these are currently held by Republicans.

It's essentially a referendum on Trump

Mid-term elections tend to act as a referendum on the president and that's usually bad news for the party that controls the White House.

Of the 21 mid-terms that have been held since 1934, the president's party has only made gains in the House three times and in the Senate five times.

Who is Madeleine Westerhout, President Trump's low-key gatekeeper and personal secretary?

Trump’s comments set off a firestorm of speculation over social media about the identity of this mysterious gatekeeper to the president. By all indications, she is Madeleine Westerhout, Trump’s 27-year-old personal secretary.

The Irvine, California native graduated from the College of Charleston in South Carolina in 2013 with a bachelor degree in political science.

© Instagram de Madeleine WesterhoutAfter graduation, Westerhout moved to Washington, D.C., where she briefly worked as a fitness trainer before taking a job as an assistant to Katie Walsh, the chief of staff for the Republican National Committee, according to employment records.

The RNC job set her on a path of right-wing politics that eventually led her to President-elect Trump’s transition team.President Trump's personal secretary Madeleine Westerhout stands outside the Oval Office and watches the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on April 2. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

Westerhout joined the team shortly after the 2016 election as a general adviser and became particularly close with Trump’s first chief of staff Reince Priebus.

She was given the moniker “elevator girl” because she was frequently seen escorting visitors at Trump Tower to the then-President-elect’s office. By some accounts, she’s the most photographed woman ever in the 58-floor Midtown skyscrape

After the transition, Westerhout joined the administration as an “Executive Assistant to the President.”

She has kept a low profile since and is rarely seen in public. She nets $95,000 a year as Trump’s executive assistant, according to a May 2017 White House salary compilation.

© Andrew Harnik / AP

Trump secretary Madeleine Westerhout walks with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders outside the White House on June 1, 2018. (Andrew Harnik / AP)

While Priebus and Walsh are long gone from their respective posts, Westerhout apparently relishes her reputation as Trump’s reliable interlocutor.

“Oval Office Gatekeeper ;)” she tweeted in response to a reporter’s tweet announcing her White House position in January 2017.

The best phone in the world right now

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

1. Samsung Galaxy Note 9

The best phone in the world right now

Release date: August 2018 | Weight: 201g | Dimensions: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm | OS: Android 8 | Screen size: 6.4-inch | Resolution: 1440 x 2960 | CPU: Exynos 9810 | RAM: 6GB / 8GB | Storage: 128GB/512GB | Battery: 4,000mAh | Rear camera: Dual 12MP | Front camera: 8MP

Gorgeous design

Unrivalled screen

Large battery

Huge storage options

Looks similar to Note 8

Expensive

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 doesn't seem all that different to its predecessor, the Note 8. Look beneath the surface, however, and you'll find a smartphone that has addressed almost every issue that last year's model had (although the Bixby button is unfortunately still here, just waiting to be pressed accidentally) to become the best handset that money can buy right now. 

Screen & Design: Premium in every sense of the word, the Galaxy Note 9's design screams sophistication, even when it's being cheeky (the Ocean Blue colour variant's striking yellow S Pen can attest to that). 

While there was little room for improvement over the Note 8 and Galaxy S9 Plus in the screen department, Samsung has managed to top itself once again by producing a record breaking display for the Note 9 that's already been named the best of its kind. Its Super AMOLED QHD+ display is exceptionally bright and vibrant, with inky blacks and beautiful curved edges.

Most of all, we love that Samsung's listened to its customers and has continued to resist current (and arguably misguided) smartphone trends, such as notch cutouts and the abandoning of headphone jacks and microSD slots – we'd much rather it keeps striving to perfect the things that made it the top smartphone brand in the world in the first place. 

Performance: Thanks to its large 4,000mAh battery – the largest Samsung has ever placed in a phone – the Note 9 has addressed one of its predecessor's biggest drawbacks, as despite being one of the biggest phones on the market, the Note 8's battery was only 3,300mAh. Given the brightness of its display and the power of its internals, the Galaxy Note 9's longer battery life is more than welcome.

Speaking of its internals, the Note 9 is an absolute powerhouse, with its Exynos 9810 chipset and 6GB of RAM offering snappy performance at all times. The 512GB model is backed by an additional 2GB of RAM (8GB in total), which should allow for even better performance in DeX mode (which no longer requires an additional dock) and  for Fortnite to run especially smoothly on the device. 

Camera: While the Note 9's camera is almost identical to that of the Galaxy S9 Plus, that's no bad thing — users can record super slow motion video (up to 960fps at 720p resolution) and the same variable aperture functionality is available, allowing for the phone's iris to automatically adjust itself depending on how much light you have access to.

One thing has changed though: thanks to the S Pen's Bluetooth functionality, you can now use the stylus as a long-range self-timer, allowing you to take selfies while standing several metres away from the phone. 

Mini verdict: Though one could argue that most of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9's improvements are relatively minor, each one has been made in an effort to provide the best possible experience for users. 

Add them all up and what you get is a smartphone with the best screen in the world and which also offers the most storage and the best performance of any Android handset. The fact it also doubles as a super portable PC when connected to a monitor or television is also a huge potential bonus. In short, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the kind of smartphone that all others should be striving to match.

What is a Buddhist

Being a Buddhist

Buddhists generally describe themselves as happy people. But becoming Buddhist doesn’t magically change the world around us to fit our needs. So what is it that changes?

To be a Buddhist, we don’t need to wear any special clothing, change our eating habits, or give up material possessions or a social life. It’s as simple as changing our perception — not taking the obstacles that come our way so seriously, and seeing everything around us as interesting and full of potential. Simple to say but not always easy to do.

By understanding the teachings and using tools like meditation, as Buddhists we gradually alter our view of whatever is happening in life. It’s not about putting on rose-tinted glasses but rather removing veils that prevent us from seeing how things really are.

The Buddha’s teachings are a great treasury of helpful advice and each tradition emphasizes different aspects of Buddhism. When it comes to living the teachings, monks, nuns, and lay people have quite different lifestyles. What can we say here about Diamond Way Buddhists?

Diamond Way Buddhists are lay people, often with families and regular jobs, who incorporate Buddhist methods into their daily lives.

What makes you a Buddhist?

In order to be able to become Buddhist, we need to take responsibility for creating our own lives, with the confidence that cause and effect, or karma, really functions. Through our thoughts and judgments, we create habits and attitudes that either limit or free us. Through experience, we see that we create today the causes of our situations tomorrow.

If we want to take this responsibility and decide to use this chance to reach the state of a Buddha, what do we need?

We need values that we can trust. Mind is the only thing that doesn’t change. It wasn’t born and cannot die. It is always and everywhere like space. Enlightenment, or Buddhahood, is a fully developed state of mind and is the goal of Buddhism. As Buddhists, we make a connection with this state – we open up to it – and this we call taking refuge. We also take refuge in the teachings (Dharma) that bring us to the goal, in our friends on the way (Sangha), and in our teacher (Lama).

From the state of complete joy and accomplishment of enlightenment, we can do the most to benefit others. So Buddhists also strengthen their determination to pursue this goal, so that we can share it with others. And to use whatever strength and insight we get on the way for the benefit of all. This noble aspiration is known as the Bodhisattva Promise.

How do we become enlightened?

Practicing meditation, we get used to being in a state with less disturbing emotions and more joy and clarity. Then we try to bring the perspective experienced in meditation into daily life. If a difficult situation comes up, can we see it from a bigger perspective with less drama? Can we see the potential even in that person who’s triggering our emotions today?It is really important to start the day by remembering compassion. It doesn’t have to take long, but just for a moment be aware of how many beings there are and really wish that everybody becomes free from suffering. It makes a big difference if you wish that whatever you do will benefit them somehow.– Hannah Nydahl, interview in Buddhism Today

Our meditation practice is like a laboratory; we work on ourselves in a closed environment. Then we check our view and reactions in daily life — stuck in traffic, negotiating at work, or trying our best with our partners, co-workers, or children. The proof of spiritual development is being better able to handle real-life situations with grace, skill, and humor.

If this sounds reasonable and like something one can use, then it’s natural to ask where to begin.

Where to start?

The easiest way in the West is to find a Buddhist center near you, where you can get an introduction to Buddhism and learn meditation. There are usually books, magazines and recorded lectures available to check out. If you like the people and meditations in the Buddhist center, then it makes sense to visit a lecture by a Buddhist master like Lama Ole Nydahl or Karmapa when they teach in your city or country