Microsoft is ending support for Windows 11 SE next year, five years after it launched the operating system on low-cost laptops that were designed to compete with Google Chromebooks. Windows 11 SE was only available on devices for education customers, such as schools, and it was supposed to convince them not to switch to Chrome OS.
“Support for Windows 11 SE — including software updates, technical assistance, and security fixes — will end in October 2026,“ says Microsoft in an updated support article spotted by Dr.Windows. “While your device will continue to work, we recommend transitioning to a device that supports another edition of Windows 11 to ensure continued support and security.”
Microsoft won’t release its upcoming 25H2 update for Windows 11 SE, which means that devices will remain on 24H2 until support ends next year. Acer, Asus, Dell, Dynabook, Fujitsu, HP, JK-IP, Lenovo, and Positivo have all created Windows 11 SE laptops, and Microsoft even launched its own $249 Surface Laptop SE in 2021.
Microsoft has tried and failed to compete with Chrome OS many times over the years. The software maker previously created an S Mode that locked Windows 10 down to apps from the Microsoft Store, but it ended up frustrating users when there weren’t enough apps in the Store.
Windows 11 SE took a similar approach by encouraging schools to use Progressive Web Apps (PWA) instead of traditional win32 apps. IT admins had to create exceptions for devices to run win32 apps, and Microsoft maintained a strict list of allowed apps for Windows 11 SE.
Microsoft’s decision to kill off Windows 11 SE comes a year after Gartner warned that Chromebooks were “losing market share due to their limited customer base and inferior build quality.” Chromebook shipments have been in decline since 2022, and the PC refresh cycle this year seems to be largely focused on Windows 11 upgrades rather than an exodus to Chrome OS.
Google DeepMind is rolling out Gemini 2.5 Deep Think, which, the company says, is its most advanced AI reasoning model, able to answer questions by exploring and considering multiple ideas simultaneously and then using those outputs to choose the best answer.
Subscribers to Google’s $250-per-month Ultra subscription will gain access to Gemini 2.5 Deep Think in the Gemini app starting Friday.
First unveiled in May at Google I/O 2025, Gemini 2.5 Deep Think is Google’s first publicly available multi-agent model. These systems spawn multiple AI agents to tackle a question in parallel, a process that uses significantly more computational resources than a single agent, but tends to result in better answers.
Google used a variation of Gemini 2.5 Deep Think to score a gold medal at this year’s International Math Olympiad (IMO).
Alongside Gemini 2.5 Deep Think, the company says it is releasing the model it used at the IMO to a select group of mathematicians and academics. Google says this AI model “takes hours to reason,” instead of seconds or minutes like most consumer-facing AI models. The company hopes the IMO model will enhance research efforts, and aims to get feedback on how to improve the multi-agent system for academic use cases.
Google notes that the Gemini 2.5 Deep Think model is a significant improvement over what it announced at I/O. The company also claims to have developed “novel reinforcement learning techniques” to encourage Gemini 2.5 Deep Think to make better use of its reasoning paths.
“Deep Think can help people tackle problems that require creativity, strategic planning and making improvements step-by-step,” said Google in a blog post shared with TechCrunch.
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The company says Gemini 2.5 Deep Think achieves state-of-the-art performance on Humanity’s Last Exam (HLE) — a challenging test measuring AI’s ability to answer thousands of crowdsourced questions across math, humanities, and science. Google claims its model scored 34.8% on HLE (without tools), compared to xAI’s Grok 4, which scored 25.4%, and OpenAI’s o3, which scored 20.3%.
Google also says Gemini 2.5 Deep Think outperforms AI models from OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic on LiveCodeBench6, a challenging test of competitive coding tasks. Google’s model scored 87.6%, whereas Grok 4 scored 79%, and OpenAI’s o3 scored 72%.
Benchmark scores. Image Credits: Google
Gemini 2.5 Deep Think automatically works with tools such as code execution and Google Search, and the company says it’s capable of producing “much longer responses” than traditional AI models.
In Google’s testing, the model produced more detailed and aesthetically pleasing web development tasks compared to other AI models. The company claims the model could aid researchers and “potentially accelerate the path to discovery.”
Art scenes made by Google’s AI (Credit: Google)
It seems that several leading AI labs are converging around the multi-agent approach.
Elon Musk’s xAI recently released a multi-agent system of its own, Grok 4 Heavy, which it says was able to achieve industry leading performance on several benchmarks. OpenAI researcher Noam Brown said on a podcast that the unreleased AI model the company used to achieve a gold medal at this year’s International Math Olympiad (IMO) was also a multi-agent system. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s Research agent, which generates thorough research briefs, is also powered by a multi-agent system.
Despite the strong performance, it seems that multi-agent systems are even costlier to serve than traditional AI models. That means tech companies may keep these systems gated behind their most expensive subscription plans, which xAI and now Google have chosen to do.
In the coming weeks, Google says it plans to share Gemini 2.5 Deep Think with a select group of testers via the Gemini API. The company says it wants to better understand how developers and enterprises may use its multi-agent system.
The 1996 revision of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was not previously confirmed for the compilation, but was revealed as part of Evo earlier today.
For those who don’t know, key changes in Mortal Kombat Trilogy included the introduction of the Brutality system and the Aggressor bar, which fills as characters attack. Once full, it grants temporary movement and damage buffs.
The game originally released on PS1, N64, Saturn, PC, and even ill-fated systems like the Game.com and R-Zone. It’s still not clear which versions will be emulated here, but we’d expect at least the PS1 and N64 versions to feature.
Here’s the list of games announced so far:
Mortal Kombat – 1992
Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear
Mortal Kombat II -1993
Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, 32X
Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
Arcade, SNES, Genesis
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
Arcade, SNES
Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996
TBA
Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997
Arcade
Mortal Kombat Advance – 2001
Game Boy Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002
Game Boy Advance
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition – 2003
Game Boy Advance
Developer Digital Eclipse has also announced a selection of physical editions for fans.
On the PS5, you’ll be able to pick up a standard Blu-ray release with an Atari.com exclusive slipcase inspired by a character of your choice. Options include Standard, Scorpion Gold, Reptile Green, Sub-Zero Blue, and Smoke Black. You can pre-order for $59.99.
We still don’t actually have a release date for the game, but a recent leak suggested we can expect it on or around 30th September.
Will you be buying this game physically or digitally? Are you happy with the inclusion of Mortal Kombat Trilogy? Let us know in the comments section below.
The 1996 revision of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 was not previously confirmed for the compilation, but was revealed as part of Evo earlier today.
For those who don’t know, key changes in Mortal Kombat Trilogy included the introduction of the Brutality system and the Aggressor bar, which fills as characters attack. Once full, it grants temporary movement and damage buffs.
The game originally released on PS1, N64, Saturn, PC, and even ill-fated systems like the Game.com and R-Zone. It’s still not clear which versions will be emulated here, but we’d expect at least the PS1 and N64 versions to feature.
Here’s the list of games announced so far:
Mortal Kombat – 1992
Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Game Gear
Mortal Kombat II -1993
Arcade, SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, 32X
Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
Arcade, SNES, Genesis
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
Arcade, SNES
Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996
TBA
Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997
Arcade
Mortal Kombat Advance – 2001
Game Boy Advance
Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002
Game Boy Advance
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition – 2003
Game Boy Advance
Developer Digital Eclipse has also announced a selection of physical editions for fans.
On the PS5, you’ll be able to pick up a standard Blu-ray release with an Atari.com exclusive slipcase inspired by a character of your choice. Options include Standard, Scorpion Gold, Reptile Green, Sub-Zero Blue, and Smoke Black. You can pre-order for $59.99.
We still don’t actually have a release date for the game, but a recent leak suggested we can expect it on or around 30th September.
Will you be buying this game physically or digitally? Are you happy with the inclusion of Mortal Kombat Trilogy? Let us know in the comments section below.
Smoke rises amid destroyed buildings following an Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
Leo Correa/AP
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Leo Correa/AP
U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff arrived in the southern Gazan city of Rafah Friday, where he inspected an aid distribution center operated by the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Witkoff was accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who posted about the visit on X, saying they had gone to Gaza to “learn the truth” about the aid site, adding: “GHF delivers more than one million meals a day, an incredible feat!”
But the international community has criticized the food aid system vociferously, saying people in Gaza are starving and have been shot trying to get food.
Witkoff and Huckabee would brief President Trump “immediately after their visit to approve a final plan for food and aid distribution into the region,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and further details on future food distribution mechanisms would be published “once that plan is approved and agreed on” by the president.
Witkoff landed in Israel earlier this week to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as U.N.-backed food security experts reported that a famine was now unfolding in Gaza thanks in part to Israeli restrictions on aid entering the territory.
At the same time other world leaders have called on Israeli authorities to allow unrestricted aid flows to prevent further civilian deaths. Not only are daily deaths linked to starvation continuing in Gaza, say local medics and international aid groups, but the U.N. reported that since May more than 800 people have been killed while trying to access food from distribution sites run by the GHF.
FILE – President-elect Donald Trump listens to Steve Witkoff speak during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla.
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Evan Vucci/AP
The Gaza health authorities said Thursday that at least 91 Palestinians had been killed, and around 600 wounded, while attempting to access food and aid over just the past 24 hours. On Friday morning, even more Palestinians came under fire from Israeli troops at one site managed by the GHF, according to NPR News local producer in Gaza, Anas Baba.
The GHF was established to bypass the United Nations, and Israel has insisted on its continued operation, blaming Hamas for the violence that has often surrounded the group’s sites.
But its stance on food aid restrictions has prompted France, the U.K. and Canada to announce plans to recognize a Palestinian state, with Britain saying this would happen in September unless Israel changes course. It’s something Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, insisted at a press conference this week would leave Hamas in power, and “ain’t gonna happen.”
The U.S. State Department has said it will impose visa-related sanctions on the Palestinian Authority, headquartered in the West Bank, due to its support for cases against Israel tied to the Gaza conflict that are being heard at international courts.
The Palestinian Authority has been pushing for greater international recognition of Palestinian statehood, as a pathway to a future two-state solution involving Israelis and Palestinians.
The escalating global and domestic outrage over Israel’s policies regarding food shortages in Gaza has extended to several other European countries, and even to the U.S. Senate, where a majority of Democrats this week voted to block sales of specific American weapons to Israel.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Israeli troops that maintain a security presence near the handful of GHF sites in Gaza of carrying out war crimes during their actions against Palestinian aid seekers. NPR cannot confirm this report by HRW.
The rights group’s report, published Friday, said the “dire humanitarian situation is a direct result of Israel’s use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war—a war crime—as well as Israel’s continued intentional deprivation of aid and basic services, which amounts to the crime against humanity of extermination, and acts of genocide.”
Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW, said in the report that “Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families.”
Palestinians mourn a man killed while trying to reach aid trucks entering northern Gaza through the Zikim crossing with Israel, at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
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Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The aid system put in place by contractors at the GHF, backed by the U.S., was “flawed” and “militarized,” Wille said, and had “turned aid distributions into regular bloodbath.”
President Donald Trump said he hopes Israel will ensure the delivery of food to starving Palestinians and prevent aid diversion by Hamas.
In an interview with NBC, Trump described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a competent person” and said his administration wanted “to make sure people get fed.” He emphasized that “good management” would prevent the theft of aid, adding, “Hopefully, the Israelis will provide that.”
When questioned by reporters about Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza this week as genocide, Trump responded, “It’s terrible what’s occurring there. It’s a terrible thing. People are very hungry.”
He reiterated his claim that the U.S. had provided millions in aid to the GHF, but questions its efficacy.
“It’s a shame because I don’t see the results of it. We gave it to people who, in theory, are watching over it fairly closely. We wanted Israel to watch over it. Part of the problem is that Hamas is taking the money and they’re taking the food,” Trump said. U.N. and other aid agencies in Gaza say they have not seen their aid being diverted by Hamas and that much of the looting is driven by armed gangs, some of whom Israel has openly backed to undermine Hamas.
Emily Feng in Tel Aviv and Anas Baba in Gaza contributed reporting.
A sedated rhino is being prepared before a hole is drilled into its horn and isotopes carefully inserted, at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Alfonso Nqunjana/AP
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Alfonso Nqunjana/AP
MOKOPANE, South Africa (AP) — A South African university launched an anti-poaching campaign Thursday to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes that it says are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents.
Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population.
They’re calling it the Rhisotope Project.
Professor James Larkin drills a hole into a rhino’s horn to inject radioactive isotopes, at a rhino orphanage in Mokopane, South Africa, Thursday, July 31, 2025.
Alfonso Nqunjana/AP
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Alfonso Nqunjana/AP
Last year, about 20 rhinos at a sanctuary were injected with isotopes in trials that paved the way for Thursday’s launch. The radioactive isotopes even at low levels can be recognized by radiation detectors at airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers.
Researchers at Witwatersrand’s Radiation and Health Physics Unit say that tests conducted in the pilot study confirmed that the radioactive material was not harmful to the rhinos.
“We have demonstrated, beyond scientific doubt, that the process is completely safe for the animal and effective in making the horn detectable through international customs nuclear security systems,” said James Larkin, chief scientific officer at the Rhisotope Project.
“Even a single horn with significantly lower levels of radioactivity than what will be used in practice successfully triggered alarms in radiation detectors,” said Larkin.
The tests also found that horns could be detected inside full 40-foot shipping containers, he said.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century but has now declined to around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market.
South Africa has the largest population of rhinos with an estimated 16,000 but the country experiences high levels of poaching with about 500 rhinos killed for their horns every year.
The university has urged private wildlife park owners and national conservation authorities to have their rhinos injected.
Live Updates: Trump envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Gaza | The Jerusalem Post
Syria forms committee to investigate clashes in Sweida • US congressional aides fear terror attacks on US soil due to prolonged Gaza war • France to send Gaza aid via Jordan
Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)
August 1, 7:47 PM
Firefighters try and rescue people trapped in building in Umm al-Fahm
Rescuers stand atop an apartment building hit during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine July 31, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS/VALENTYN OGIRENKO)
A WOMAN holds an Israeli flag and another person covers her from the rain during the March of the Living at Auschwitz-Birkenau in April. Born into the post-Auschwitz covenant, we considered Jew-hatred passé, doomed, like racism; alas, today, it’s surging, the writer laments. (photo credit: KACPER PEMPEL/REUTERS)
Syria pledges to form committee to investigate clashes in Sweida
The committee would investigate reported attacks and abuses against civilians and refer anyone proven to have participated in such attacks to the judiciary.
ByREUTERS
Members of Syrian security forces ride on a back of a truck after Syrian troops entered the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday following two days of clashes, in Sweida, Syria July 15, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/KARAM AL-MASRI)
US Envoy Steve Witkoff visits GHF aid distribution site in Rafah, Gaza
The visit follows Witkoff’s arrival in Israel on Thursday and meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as ceasefire negotiations with Hamas have stalled.
A person kneels next to food supplies as Palestinians seeking aid gather near an aid distribution site run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 27, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)
France sending 40 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza, foreign minister says
ByREUTERS
August 1, 12:21 PM
Finance Ministry: US’s 15% tariff on Israel at ‘lower end,’ ongoing dialogue to reach deal
The rate set for Israel is down from the initial 17% rate issued by the US president in the executive order signed in April, which imposed tariffs on a host of nations.
US President Donald Trump points a finger as he delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 31, 2025(photo credit: reuters/kent nishimura)
Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 at the Supernova music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across the Gaza border communities.
50 hostages remain in Gaza, while 49 hostages in total have been killed in captivity.
The IDF launched large-scale attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13, 2025.
Israel struck key nuclear sites and killed senior Iranian military and IRGC officials.
28 Israelis killed, over 1,300 wounded, including several IDF soldiers, in Iranian attacks.
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that set new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect on Aug. 7 — the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and sturdiness of American alliances built up over decades.
The order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in the last several days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of the president’s self-imposed Friday deadline. The tariffs are being implemented at a later date in order for the rates schedule to be harmonized, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on a call on the condition of anonymity.
Other tariff news we’re following:
Wall Street slumps and bond yields sink following weak hiring numbers and new tariffs: Stocks slumped in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and Treasury yields fell sharply after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month. Markets are also reacting to the latest tariff news. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% and is on track to close the week with a loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 599 points, or 1.4% as of 9:44 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%.
Dozens of countries with no deals face new tariffs as trade deadline looms: Some of the United States’ biggest trading partners have reached agreements, or at least the outlines of one, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Even so, those countries face much higher tariffs than were in effect before Trump took office. And other large trading partners — most notably China and Mexico — received an extension to keep negotiating, but they will likely end up paying more.
Trump orders a 35% tariff for goods from Canada, citing a lack of cooperation on illicit drugs: Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to “do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept … traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.”
President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that set new tariffs on a wide swath of U.S. trading partners to go into effect on Aug. 7 — the next step in his trade agenda that will test the global economy and sturdiness of American alliances built up over decades.
The order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday. It came after a flurry of tariff-related activity in the last several days, as the White House announced agreements with various nations and blocs ahead of the president’s self-imposed Friday deadline. The tariffs are being implemented at a later date in order for the rates schedule to be harmonized, according to a senior administration official who spoke to reporters on a call on the condition of anonymity.
Other tariff news we’re following:
Wall Street slumps and bond yields sink following weak hiring numbers and new tariffs: Stocks slumped in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and Treasury yields fell sharply after the government reported a sharp slowdown in hiring last month. Markets are also reacting to the latest tariff news. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% and is on track to close the week with a loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 599 points, or 1.4% as of 9:44 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 2%.
Dozens of countries with no deals face new tariffs as trade deadline looms: Some of the United States’ biggest trading partners have reached agreements, or at least the outlines of one, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Even so, those countries face much higher tariffs than were in effect before Trump took office. And other large trading partners — most notably China and Mexico — received an extension to keep negotiating, but they will likely end up paying more.
Trump orders a 35% tariff for goods from Canada, citing a lack of cooperation on illicit drugs: Trump has raised the tariff rate on U.S. imports from Canada to 35% from 25%, effective Friday. The announcement from the White House late Thursday said Canada had failed to “do more to arrest, seize, detain or otherwise intercept … traffickers, criminals at large, and illicit drugs.”
