United Nations: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that terrorism remains a “persistent threat” to development and stressed that the world must show neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities. Addressing the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting here, Jaishankar said those who act against terrorists on any front render a “larger service to the international community as a whole”. Speaking on the correlation between international peace and global development, he said that in recent times, both deteriorated in parallel. “A persistent threat to development is that perennial disruptor of peace – terrorism,” he said, adding, “It is imperative that the world display neither tolerance nor accommodation to terrorist activities.” As the world confronts conflict, economic pressures and terrorism, the limitations of multilateralism and the United Nations are visible, Jaishankar said. “The need for reforming multilateralism has never been greater,” he said, adding that today, the international situation is both politically and economically volatile. “We as members of G20 have a particular responsibility to strengthen its stability and give it a more positive direction that is best done by undertaking dialogue and diplomacy, by firmly combating terrorism, and by appreciating the need for stronger energy and economic security.” Speaking on peace and global development, he said ongoing conflicts, particularly in Ukraine and Gaza, have starkly demonstrated the costs, especially to the Global South, in terms of energy, food and fertiliser security. “Apart from jeopardising supplies and logistics, access and cost themselves became pressure points on nations. Double standards are clearly in evidence,” he said. Jaishankar stressed that while peace enables development, threatening development cannot facilitate peace. He said that making energy and other essentials more uncertain in an economically fragile situation helps no one, and called for moving the needle towards dialogue and diplomacy, “not in the opposite direction towards further complications”. In any conflict situation, there will be a few who have the ability to engage both sides and such countries can be utilised by the international community, both to achieve peace and to maintain it thereafter, he said. “So even as we attempt to address complex threats to peace, the value of encouraging a buy-in from those supportive of such goals should be appreciated,” he said. (Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ’s editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/eam-s-jaishankar-slams-double-standards-at-unga-calls-for-stronger-global-cooperation-amid-trumps-russian-oil-threat-video
Author: admin
City of Fremantle falls aggressively behind on canopy cover target, set for boost in tree planting to keep up
The City of Fremantle has fallen significantly behind its targets to boost canopy cover, and it will now need to plant trees for an additional four years just to meet 80 per cent of its original goal. However, Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge emphasized that several mitigating factors contributed to the shortfall, including reduced budgets during the COVID years, and stressed that the issue has not been ignored.
Fremantle councillors adopted the Urban Forest Plan in 2017, which outlined the number of trees the council needed to plant over the following decade to achieve its ambitious goal: increasing canopy cover from 13 per cent to 20 per cent. Despite a 2021 decision to revise targets downward by 20 per cent, tree plantings have continued to lag further behind.
In 2023, the council resolved to plant just 600 trees annually in 2024 and 2025 as part of a budget-constrained reset. The city successfully planted 600 trees this year, but this was 838 fewer than the revised target of 1,438, and a substantial 1,198 short of the initial goal of 1,798. The previous year’s planting numbers were also below target, with 533 trees planted—687 fewer than the revised target of 1,220 and 992 fewer than the initial goal of 1,525.
Over the eight years since the program began, the city has planted 5,519 trees. This represents a 33 per cent shortfall compared to its revised target of 8,264 and nearly 50 per cent less than the original goal of 10,330 trees.
Earlier this year, the council requested the chief executive to present a revised target, data on the cumulative shortfall, and a timeline for delivery. All figures are to be published on the city’s website and updated annually. To support this initiative, a budget of almost $700,000 and a full-time staff member have been allocated for 2025-26 to help manage the project.
Last week, the council voted to aim for planting 900 trees annually over the next six years. This plan is set to surpass the revised target of 10,804 trees by 2031, although this will be four years later than initially scheduled.
At the meeting, Councillor Adin Lang acknowledged criticisms from residents and the Fremantle Environmental Network regarding missed targets but described the initial goal as very ambitious.
“I guess you can have a crazy, ambitious goal, but not all of them may be achievable,” he said. “Acknowledging that and extending it by a few years is pretty sensible.”
Mayor Fitzhardinge also highlighted other contributing factors to the shortfall, introducing an amendment noting that it was caused by a lack of initial resourcing, reduced budgets during COVID-affected years, and the unavailability of high-quality planting stock.
“I wanted to just make it clear that we didn’t sort of have an ‘oops’ moment that we had a shortfall of trees,” she said. “There were fairly considered and extensive discussions of trees at every budget that we’ve considered together. It seems a bit rough to read back and just say we had a target and we missed it; there were some factors that contributed to that—it wasn’t just a blind error.”
Councillor Ben Lawver welcomed the renewed investment in tree planting, emphasizing that it forms part of a broader push to increase canopy cover.
“We also have a policy that will be coming back to a future council and other items that could potentially help us grow our urban canopy,” he said. “While it is very important that we plant street trees, and plant trees in our parks and reserves, it is the loss of trees on private property that is really dragging our canopy coverage down.”
Last year, the council found itself at the center of a saga over the protection of a century-old Moreton Bay fig tree on private land. Landowners requested the council to remove the fig from the significant tree list. Protection was stripped from the tree, then reinstated after public backlash, before being removed again.
Councillor Lang concluded by saying it was critical to deliver on targets, allocate budgets, and get trees in the ground. However, the next step would involve refining the work based on the data collected and published.
“We’re using the data and we’re going to get better,” he said. “Hopefully, we can hone in on locations we need to work on and maximize the value of what we’re planting.”
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/environment/city-of-fremantle-stumped-in-plans-to-boost-tree-canopy-cover-c-19835826
APU leads ASEAN-record Great Malaysia AI Hackathon 2025
**Hackathon Showcased Malaysia’s Rising AI Talent for the Digital Economy**
The Great Malaysia AI Hackathon 2025, hosted by the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) in collaboration with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) and Amazon Web Services (AWS), successfully highlighted Malaysia’s growing strength in cultivating AI talent for the digital economy. Officially recognised by ASEAN Records as the largest on-site AI hackathon jointly organised by academia and industry in the region, the event took place on 20 September 2025 at APU’s Technology Park Malaysia campus.
The hackathon attracted a total of 1,741 participants, comprising 1,547 students and 194 industry professionals, representing over 50 institutions. Notably, Malaysian students based at Durham and Cambridge Universities also took part, showcasing the broad reach and impact of the event.
With 20 industry mentors providing guidance and a prize pool of US$26,000 (RM110,000), the hackathon not only set a new record but also underscored Malaysia’s ambition to become a key player in the digital economy through AI innovation.
**Minister Launches Event Emphasising AI’s Importance**
The event was officially launched by Minister of Digital, Gobind Singh Deo, who highlighted the transformative role of AI in society and industry. “AI is already transforming the way we live and work. It starts with data, which must be digitised, stored and shared effectively—supported by computing power to create meaningful solutions,” he said.
He congratulated APU and its partners for their efforts and added, “With our infrastructure, ecosystem, and your creativity, Malaysia can become not just a digital nation, but an AI nation by 2030.”
**APU CEO Highlights Collaborative Effort and Global Leadership**
Datuk Parmjit Singh, CEO of APU, emphasised the collaboration behind the event’s success. “This hackathon reflects the synergy between AWS, APU, and MDEC. The overwhelming response shows the hunger for innovation,” he stated.
He also highlighted APU’s global standing: “With over 16,000 students from 130 countries, we continue to lead in digital education, being among the first in the region to offer a degree in Cloud Engineering.”
“This pioneering spirit, together with our partnership with AWS, reflects our shared vision of empowering the next generation of cloud-ready and AI-focused talent,” Datuk Parmjit added.
**AWS Applauds Talent and Increases Sandbox Credits**
Peter Murray, Head of Asia Pacific and Japan Go-to-Market at AWS, praised the participants as “the future tech leaders of Malaysia, driving AI forward.” During the event, he announced an increase in AWS sandbox credits from US$50 (RM210) to US$100 (RM420), encouraging participants to “think big, build bold, and push ideas further.”
Participants also had access to AWS services such as Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Q, enabling them to leverage cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies throughout the hackathon.
**Supported by Industry and Tech Partners**
The hackathon was supported by MDEC’s Premier Digital Tech Institutions initiative and brought together industry mentors, technology partners, and sponsors including AxrailAI, Crayon, eCloudValley, and GitLab.
The event featured insightful Tech Talks, networking opportunities, and cross-sector collaboration, fostering an environment of innovation and knowledge sharing.
**Malaysia’s Ambition as an AI Powerhouse**
The Great Malaysia AI Hackathon 2025 reinforced Malaysia’s position as a digital frontrunner in the ASEAN region. Setting a benchmark for hackathons, the event showcased the nation’s commitment to becoming an AI powerhouse by 2030.
For APU, AWS, and MDEC, this milestone event marks a significant step in shaping the future of technology in Southeast Asia and nurturing the next generation of AI and cloud computing talent.
https://www.digitalnewsasia.com/digital-economy/apu-leads-asean-record-great-malaysia-ai-hackathon-2025
Nagarjuna Is ‘Grateful’ To Delhi High Court For Protecting His Personality Rights
A New Trend in the Indian Film Industry: Actors Legally Protecting Their Personality Rights
A noteworthy trend is emerging in the Indian film industry, as actors increasingly take legal steps to protect their personality rights. Following the footsteps of prominent figures like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Karan Johar, Telugu superstar Nagarjuna recently approached the Delhi High Court to safeguard his personality rights.
On Thursday, Nagarjuna expressed his gratitude to the court via X (formerly Twitter), writing,
“Grateful to the Hon’ble Delhi High Court for protecting my personality rights in today’s digital age. The vital legal strategy and arguments were led by Senior Counsel Mr. Vaibhav Gaggar, and Mr. Pravin Anand along with Ms. Vaishali, Mr. Somdev, and Mr. Vibhav. Thank you for standing by me.” (sic)
Interestingly, Nagarjuna is the first actor to openly speak about this legal move on social media.
Why Did Nagarjuna Approach the Court?
According to reports from Bar and Bench, the Telugu star sought the court’s protection because his personality rights were being violated through unauthorized use of his pictures. These infringements included misuse in content uploaded on social media platforms as well as on merchandise.
Wider Industry Movement
Apart from Nagarjuna, other notable celebrities such as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Karan Johar, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amitabh Bachchan, and others have also taken measures to protect their personality rights. This growing trend signals a heightened awareness and assertiveness among actors in defending their personal brand and image legally.
Nagarjuna’s Upcoming Projects
On the work front, Nagarjuna appeared in two films this year: *Kuberaa* and *Coolie*. While *Kuberaa* struggled to generate significant buzz, *Coolie* performed reasonably well at the box office.
Looking ahead, the actor has a major milestone project titled *King 100* lined up, which is set to be his 100th movie. Directed by Ra Karthik, the film is reportedly scheduled for release in 2026.
Will more actors join this movement? Only time will tell, but with stars like Nagarjuna leading by example, legal protection of personality rights is becoming an important aspect of the Indian film industry’s evolving landscape.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/nagarjuna-is-grateful-to-delhi-high-court-for-protecting-his-personality-rights
Snake Swims Through Kolkata Floodwaters With Fish In Its Mouth; Video Goes Viral
**Viral Video of Snake Swimming Through Floodwaters with Fish in Kolkata Amid Heavy Rains**
A fascinating video from Kolkata, West Bengal, is making rounds on social media, capturing the attention of many netizens. The clip shows a snake swimming through floodwaters in a backyard, firmly gripping a fish in its mouth.
The snake appears to be a Checkered Keelback, locally known as *Jol Dhora* in West Bengal. This non-venomous water snake is commonly found in freshwater habitats and is harmless to humans.
The video was originally shared on Instagram by user Atreyee Mitra, accompanied by the caption: “Kolkata and its little perks, right before Durga Pujo.” Since then, it has garnered widespread reactions and engagement online.
### Netizens React
Social media users responded to the video with humorous and relatable comments, such as:
– “Kisi ki toh ex jaa rhi hai.”
– “Snake is also bengalified.”
– “Bro proved that he is bangali…”
– “Even snakes also like fish…. specialty of Kolkata.”
The video has received over 362,000 likes on Instagram and continues to attract viewers.
### Context: Heavy Flooding in Kolkata
The viral video comes amid severe flooding in the City of Joy, caused by incessant rainfall in recent days. On Tuesday, September 23, a heavy downpour resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people and widespread disruption across the city and nearby areas.
A cloudburst triggered severe waterlogging, affecting traffic and daily activities. On Wednesday, heavy rains particularly impacted Northern Park and Bhawanipur, leading to significant waterlogging even around Durga Puja pandals.
According to news agency PTI, the city recorded 251.4 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hours—the highest since 1986 and the sixth-highest single-day rainfall in 137 years.
As Kolkata copes with the ongoing flood situation, this intriguing video of the local wildlife navigating the waters has become a unique symbol of resilience and local flavor ahead of the festive season.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/viral/snake-swims-through-kolkata-floodwaters-with-fish-in-its-mouth-video-goes-viral
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian review: Course correction
Atelier, Gust’s long-running item synthesis RPG series, reached new heights with the debut of *Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout* in 2019. Gust used that momentum to sincerely attempt to reinvent what Atelier is in both systems and scale, leading to the massive and successful *Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land*.
At the same time, the series couldn’t escape a certain albatross hovering above Japanese RPGs. We saw *Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Liberator of Polar Night* hit mobile and PC as a free-to-play game featuring a gacha system. The history here is as important as it is fun to recount — *Polar Night* hardly made it a year in the global market before being shut down.
The years 2024 and 2025 have been brutal for mobile spin-offs of RPG giants, with even Square Enix shutting down games left and right, some of which had been around for five or more years. In this harsh landscape, Atelier really had no chance.
Gust seems to have responded to this situation with today’s review subject: *Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian*.
—
### Part Two: Atelier Boogaloo
Set in the same world as *Polar Night*, this game is a more traditional Atelier adventure. It features turn-based combat, characters who join the journey as part of the story, and — notably — no online restrictions or currency-adjacent gameplay limitations.
While it’s impossible to know if this was intended as a mobile game or some kind of expansion to *Polar Night*, it feels more like a course correction or pivot than an entirely new entity. Unfortunately, it’s held back by systems that feel like a mobile game being fed into a proverbial wood chipper.
You can choose between two playable characters: Rias, a scrappy girl who sifts through ruins searching for treasure (while avoiding her overprotective sister who works for the local government body), and Slade, a more serious young man who inherits a mysterious relic and an empty book linked to lost civilizations.
The two meet early on, and their goals quickly intertwine, especially as Rias discovers she can utilize the lost art of alchemy. These characters have a lot of personality and chemistry, which initially makes the game seem promising.
Rias is a particularly fun twist on the typical Atelier protagonist, beginning her story by running away from a giant, rolling “Puni” (think of it as a slime from *Dragon Quest*, but obnoxiously cuter) in a ruin — a goofy homage to *Indiana Jones*. Slade, playing the straight man to Rias’s antics, balances the duo well.
I was genuinely having a good time watching these characters bounce off each other, but soon the game’s shortcomings became apparent. It caught me off guard with how sloppy it feels overall.
—
### Slapdash Adventure
After the rising quality of the *Secret* series and the go-for-broke energy of *Yumia*, *Resleriana 2* (for lack of a better shorthand) feels slapped together in almost every way. From its low-budget aesthetic to grind-heavy, menu-laden systems that scream mobile game design, it’s hard to ignore the stark difference.
Gameplay involves running a shop staffed by identical, color-swapped fairies, alongside simple dungeons that require little thought to clear. There’s an endless supply of these fairies to throw money at and recruit for your store.
Everything you need is accessed through a small, localized hub. The story is told at a snail’s pace with shallow bonding scenes peppered throughout. Alchemy feels constrained and de-streamlined compared to other recent Atelier games, seemingly designed to encourage grinding and resource management rather than creative experimentation.
During Ryza’s rise and Atelier’s growth arc, Gust released other titles too. These included a surprise sequel to an earlier Atelier game (*Sophie 2*) and a sequel to Koei Tecmo’s *Fairy Tail* adaptation. While I had some issues with the latter (*Sophie 2* remains superior), both projects retained the oomph, polish, and strong identity characteristic of Gust’s bigger releases.
So this doesn’t feel like some reined-in spin-off, or at least it’s not explainable as such. Instead, it feels like a massive step backward — one that would be extremely confusing if not for what you find when you plug *Atelier Resleriana* into a search engine.
—
### Combat That Shines
One bright spot in *Resleriana 2* is its combat. The game returns to a traditional turn-based system from the more active combat styles of recent Atelier titles but adds some engaging twists.
Combat emphasizes teamwork with follow-up attacks and features a replenishing Ability Point system. This means fights are more about maintaining flow rather than worrying about dwindling resources. Battles move at a fast pace and reward paying attention to turn order and enemy weaknesses.
It’s also a relief to command characters as a party after several years of real-time systems focusing on individual control. This refreshing combat design helps salvage some enjoyment from an otherwise underwhelming package.
—
### Looks Like a Duck, Quacks Like a Duck… But Not a Duck?
Even though this game has its merits — after all, it’s still an Atelier game with the core loop that makes the series fun — *The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* is almost immediately compromised narratively by its ties to the previous *Polar Night* game.
Not only do characters from previous Atelier titles appear as dimension-traveling Wanderers (a clear tell of mobile game design influence; sorry, *Octopath Traveler* fans, but it’s true), characters from the first *Resleriana* and allusions to its story are presented as a big deal.
Unless you played that prior game before its shutdown in March 2025, it’s impossible to understand that context without consulting YouTube or other external sources. That’s a major problem.
—
### Final Thoughts
I’ve come to really appreciate the Atelier series over the years, despite initially avoiding it (time limits stress me out, to be honest). I’ve imported physical trilogy cartridges for the Nintendo Switch and even pre-ordered the special edition of *Ryza 2* back when I had the means.
I share this to emphasize how much of a step backward this installation feels in the series’ evolutionary trajectory.
*Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* looks and feels cheap (I hate to go there, but it’s unavoidable). It’s full of what feels like kitbashed, clumsily molded structural systems shoehorned into a single-player game that suffers deeply from its connection to a failed gacha title.
It bums me out to say it, but that’s the vibe.
—
### Availability
*Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* is available on September 26, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC. A PS5 review code was provided by the publisher for this review.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146079/atelier-resleriana-red-alchemist-white-guardian-review-score
Meet Sameer Wankhede’s Wife, Kranti Redkar: An Actor, Creator & Mother To Twin Daughters
Former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede is back in the headlines after filing a ₹2 crore defamation case against Aryan Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment, and Netflix over the series The Ba**ds of Bollywood*. While the case has sparked public speculations, it has also drawn attention to the woman standing strong by his side, his wife, actress and filmmaker Kranti Redkar. A journey into films and beyond Born and raised in Mumbai, Kranti carved her own path in the Marathi entertainment industry. She made her acting debut in Sun Asaw’ Ashi, but shot to fame with the cult hit song Kombdi Palali from Jatra: Hyalagaad Re Tyalagaad (2005). Her career has since spanned Marathi films, Hindi TV shows like Chittod Ki Rani and Simply Sapne, and even Bollywood with a notable role in Prakash Jha’s Gangaajal. In 2015, Kranti expanded her creative horizons by making her directorial debut with Kaakan, a film for which she also wrote two soulful songs. This transition highlighted her versatility, not just as a performer, but as a storyteller. Meeting Sameer Wankhede Kranti’s personal life found its anchor in Sameer Wankhede. Their love story began after graduation, when they unexpectedly reconnected at an airport. Sameer recognised her instantly and charmed her with his dimpled smile. What started as a casual conversation soon grew into a friendship and, eventually, love. Kranti has often said that what truly drew her to Sameer was his dedication to serving the country, a quality that inspired admiration and respect. Sameer later proposed, and the couple tied the knot on March 29, 2017. Parents to twin daughters The couple’s happiness multiplied when they welcomed their twin daughters, Ziya and Zyda. Family has since become the heart of their world, with Kranti often sharing glimpses of motherhood and their joyful moments together. Her posts reflect not just the glamour of her career but also the warmth of her home life. Even while balancing motherhood, Kranti continues to stay active as a creator on Instagram. She engages her followers with fun reels, family updates, and thoughtful content, keeping her bond with audiences alive. At the same time, she stands firmly beside Sameer, supporting him through professional highs and public controversies.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/lifestyle/meet-sameer-wankhedes-wife-kranti-redkar-an-actor-creator-mother-to-twin-daughters
Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian review: Course correction
Atelier, Gust’s long-running item synthesis RPG series, reached new heights with the debut of *Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout* in 2019. Gust used that momentum to sincerely attempt to reinvent what Atelier is in terms of systems and scale, leading to the massive and successful *Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land*.
At the same time, the series couldn’t escape a certain albatross hovering above Japanese RPGs. We saw *Atelier Resleriana: Forgotten Alchemy & the Liberator of Polar Night* hit mobile and PC as a free-to-play game with a gacha system. The history here is as important as it is fun to write out all the titles! That’s because *Polar Night* hardly made it a year in the global market before being shut down.
The years 2024 and 2025 have been brutal for mobile spin-offs of RPG giants, with even Square Enix shutting down games left and right—some of which had been around for five or more years. Atelier really had no chance. Gust seems to have responded to the matter with today’s review subject, *Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian*.
—
### Part Two: Atelier Boogaloo
Set in the same world as *Polar Night*, this game is a normal Atelier adventure, with turn-based combat, characters that join the journey as part of the story, and no online restrictions or currency-adjacent gameplay limitations. While it’s impossible to know if this was supposed to be a mobile game or some kind of expansion to *Polar Night*, it feels more like a course correction or pivot than an entirely new entity—and is held back by systems that feel like a mobile game being fed into a proverbial wood chipper.
*The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* lets you choose between two characters: Rias, a scrappy girl who sifts through ruins in search of treasure (while avoiding her overprotective sister who works for the local government body); and Slade, a guy whose father passed down a mysterious relic and empty book that also seem to be connected to things lost civilizations have left behind.
The two meet, and their goals immediately intertwine, especially as Rias discovers she can utilize the lost art of alchemy. These characters have a lot of personality and chemistry, making this game seem like an early win.
Rias is an especially fun twist on the typical Atelier protagonist, starting her story running away from a giant, rolling Puni (think a slime from *Dragon Quest* but obnoxiously cuter) in a ruin in a goofy homage to *Indiana Jones*. Slade is more serious, playing the straight-man role well against Rias’s antics. I was having a good time just seeing these characters bounce off each other—but soon the game itself stepped in the way, catching me off guard with how, well, sloppy it feels.
—
### Slapdash Adventure
After the rising quality of the *Secret* series and the go-for-broke energy of *Yumia*, *Resleriana 2* (I guess we can call it that?) feels slapped together in almost every way—from its low-budget look to its grind- and menu-heavy systems that are impossible not to associate with mobile game design.
Systems involve running a shop with identical, color-swapped fairies as staff, and a series of simple dungeons you don’t have to think much to get through (and find an endless array of said fairies to throw money at and recruit for your store). Everything you need to access is localized to a small hub, the story is told at a very slow pace, and it’s seasoned with shallow bonding relationship scenes with the characters you meet.
Alchemy feels held back and de-streamlined compared to other recent games in favor of encouraging grinding and resource management.
During Ryza’s rise and Atelier’s growth arc, Gust released other games. We saw a surprise sequel to an earlier Atelier game (*Sophie 2*) and a sequel to Koei Tecmo’s *Fairy Tail* adaptation. While I had my issues with the latter (*Sophie 2* rules), both of these titles still had the oomph, fidelity, and strong sense of identity as Gust’s bigger titles.
So this doesn’t feel like a sort of reined-in spin-off, or at least explainable as such. It’s like a massive step backwards—one that would be extremely confusing if not for what you get when you plug *Atelier Resleriana* into a search engine.
—
### Combat: A Bright Spot
One aspect in which *Resleriana 2* does shine is combat. It’s a move back to traditional turn-based from the more active systems in recent games, but the twists it brings to the table are fun to engage with.
It has a big emphasis on characters working together with follow-up attacks, alongside a replenishing Ability Point system that means fights are more about maintaining a flow than worrying about dwindling resources. It moves at a fast pace and rewards paying attention to turn order and enemy weaknesses.
It’s also nice to be able to command characters as a party after several years of real-time systems focusing on individual control.
—
### Looks Like a Duck, Quacks Like a Duck… Not a Duck?
Even if this game has its own merits, which it does—it’s still an Atelier game with the same core loop that makes these games fun—it is almost immediately compromised narratively as well by its connections to the previous game.
Not only do characters from previous Ateliers show up as dimension-traveling Wanderers (a clear tell of mobage adjacency; sorry Octopath 0 fans, but it’s true), characters from the first *Resleriana* and allusions to its story appear and are presented as a big deal.
Unless you played that game before March 2025, it’s impossible to get that context without consulting YouTube or something. That’s a big problem, if you ask me!
—
### Final Thoughts
I’ve come to really dig Atelier over the years after kind of avoiding them for a long time (time limits stress me out, I’ll be honest), so much so that I imported the physical trilogy carts for Nintendo Switch and even pre-ordered the special edition for *Ryza 2* back when I had the means to do so.
I say that to emphasize the weight of my words when I state how much of a step backwards on the series’ evolutionary trajectory this experience feels like.
*Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* looks and feels cheap (I hate to go there, but it’s unavoidable) to play, and is full of what feel like kitbashed structural systems clumsily molded into a single-player game that suffers from its connection to a failed gacha joint.
It bums me out to say it, but that’s the vibe.
—
### Availability
*Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian* is available on September 26, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
A PS5 code was provided by the publisher for this review.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146079/atelier-resleriana-red-alchemist-white-guardian-review-score
Meet Sameer Wankhede’s Wife, Kranti Redkar: An Actor, Creator & Mother To Twin Daughters
Former Narcotics Control Bureau officer Sameer Wankhede is back in the headlines after filing a ₹2 crore defamation case against Aryan Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment, and Netflix over the series *The Ba**ds of Bollywood*. While the case has sparked public speculation, it has also drawn attention to the woman standing strong by his side—his wife, actress and filmmaker Kranti Redkar.
### A Journey into Films and Beyond
Born and raised in Mumbai, Kranti carved her own path in the Marathi entertainment industry. She made her acting debut in *Sun Asaw’ Ashi* but shot to fame with the cult hit song “Kombdi Palali” from *Jatra: Hyalagaad Re Tyalagaad* (2005).
Her career has since spanned Marathi films, Hindi TV shows like *Chittod Ki Rani* and *Simply Sapne*, and even Bollywood, with a notable role in Prakash Jha’s *Gangaajal*. In 2015, Kranti expanded her creative horizons by making her directorial debut with *Kaakan*, a film for which she also wrote two soulful songs. This transition highlighted her versatility—not just as a performer but as a storyteller.
### Meeting Sameer Wankhede
Kranti’s personal life found its anchor in Sameer Wankhede. Their love story began after graduation, when they unexpectedly reconnected at an airport. Sameer recognized her instantly and charmed her with his dimpled smile. What started as a casual conversation soon grew into friendship and, eventually, love.
Kranti has often said that what truly drew her to Sameer was his dedication to serving the country—a quality that inspired both admiration and respect. Sameer later proposed, and the couple tied the knot on March 29, 2017.
### Parents to Twin Daughters
The couple’s happiness multiplied when they welcomed their twin daughters, Ziya and Zyda. Family has since become the heart of their world, with Kranti often sharing glimpses of motherhood and their joyful moments together. Her posts reflect not just the glamour of her career but also the warmth of her home life.
Even while balancing motherhood, Kranti continues to stay active as a creator on Instagram. She engages her followers with fun reels, family updates, and thoughtful content, keeping her bond with audiences alive. At the same time, she stands firmly beside Sameer, supporting him through professional highs and public controversies.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/lifestyle/meet-sameer-wankhedes-wife-kranti-redkar-an-actor-creator-mother-to-twin-daughters
Pimpri-Chinchwad Crime: Lawyer Defrauded Of ₹1.80 Crore By Cyber Impersonators Posing As CBI Officers
**Senior Citizen Lawyer Duped of ₹1.80 Crore by Fraudsters Posing as CBI Officers in Pimpri-Chinchwad**
In a disturbing case of online fraud, a senior citizen lawyer from Pimpri-Chinchwad was cheated out of ₹1.80 crore by imposters pretending to be officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The incident, which took place in Udyam Nagar, Pimpri, was reported to the Cyber Police Station on Wednesday.
Ganpat Balaji Kakade, a 73-year-old resident of Udyam Nagar, fell victim to the scam between September 4 and September 19. The fraudsters reportedly used Kakade’s Aadhaar card details and falsely claimed that money laundering activities were being conducted using his name. They threatened him with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case to intimidate him.
Fearing legal repercussions, the lawyer transferred a total of ₹1,80,37,000 to various bank accounts controlled by the suspects. The accused included individuals holding three different mobile numbers and four separate bank accounts.
According to police sources, the fraudsters not only threatened Ganpat Kakade but also warned him that his wife would be arrested if he failed to comply. They further cautioned the couple against discussing the matter with anyone, threatening that those people could be arrested as well. To gain the lawyer’s trust, the scammers went to the extent of sending fake PDF documents bearing the names of senior police officers.
A police official stated, “The suspects forced the lawyer to transfer funds into different bank accounts, assuring him that the money would be returned once a verification process was completed. However, the lawyer never received any refund.” Upon realizing that he had been duped, Kakade lodged a complaint with the authorities, and a formal investigation is currently underway.
This incident serves as a reminder to remain vigilant against such sophisticated scams and verify the authenticity of calls or messages claiming official authority.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/pune/pimpri-chinchwad-crime-lawyer-defrauded-of-180-crore-by-cyber-impersonators-posing-as-cbi-officers