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Nick movie: Morbius Time: March 10, 2022 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 104 M Trailer:

It’s a strong week for student projects: first the 0-62mph world record, now this… Thought breaking 0-62mph in less than a second was impressive? So it was, but now students from the Technical University of Munich have done something equally jaw-dropping by building the longest-range EV ever. Get a load of this: the TUfast Eco team’s modified muc022 creation travelled 2,573km (1,599 miles) on a single charge… using a 15.5kWh battery. That is not a typo. They really have broken the world record for EV range with a battery that’s seven times smaller than you’ll find in a Mercedes EQS. Woah! Apparently the car doesn’t even have solar panels to top itself up on the go. Powered by a 400W permanent-magnet synchronous motor, it weighs 170kg without a driver and the drag coefficient is an ultra slippery 0.159Cd. Like a bar of soap that’s been greased in banana juice. The attempt took place in an empty hangar at Munich airport over the course of six whole days. It took so long that the students ended up sleeping in cots in the hangar, passing the old world record of 1,608.54km (999.5 miles) on day four. "Countless hours of work in addition to our studies went into preparing for the record,” said the TUfast Eco team afterwards. “This makes us all the more happy that we now hold the world record. The muc022 had already succeeded in several competitions, and now this is the crowning achievement. Our thanks go to everyone who supported us. Meanwhile the university’s president declared himself “proud” of the group’s achievement while the Bavarian minister of science congratulated the students on their “terrific success”. Mainstream manufacturers, you have been warned: give us 1,000-mile, superfast EVs, or we’re letting the youngsters take over. Link

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said he was "happy" to hear Trump's promise to "resolve all burning issues within several days" — including the war in Ukraine. Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he appreciated recent praise from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. In an exclusive interview with NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, Trump said it meant "what I'm saying is right," referring to his positions on the war in Ukraine. Trump readily claimed in the interview that if re-elected president, he would resolve the war within 24 hours, though he provided few details about how he would end a conflict that has dragged on for more than 18 months. The former president has asserted several times that he could quickly end the war. "If I tell you exactly, I lose all my bargaining chips. I mean, you can’t really say exactly what you’re going to do. But I would say certain things to Putin. I would say certain things to Zelenskyy," he said, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Putin, Russia's longtime leader, said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, last week that he had heard "that Mr. Trump says he will resolve all burning issues within several days, including the Ukrainian crisis. We cannot help but feel happy about it." Then-President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in 2017. Trump said he was pleased by Putin's comments. "I like that he said that," he told Welker. "Because that means what I’m saying is right. I would get him into a room. I’d get Zelenskyy into a room. Then I’d bring them together. And I’d have a deal worked out." This is Welker’s first interview as moderator of “Meet the Press,” and it will air in full Sunday on NBC stations nationwide. Welker, who covered Trump in the White House, pressed the former president several times to clearly explain how he would end the war. Tune into “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” this Sunday for more from Welker’s exclusive interview with former President Donald Trump. Check local listings. Trump continued to avoid an explanation of what his plan would entail, though he claimed he would "make a fair deal for everybody" when asked if he would allow the Kremlin to keep Ukrainian territory that Russian forces had illegally seized by force. Trump remains the front-runner in the polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Some of his competitors have criticized him for de-emphasizing the war in Ukraine as a U.S. national security interest, while others — such as Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — have adopted his denunciations of the contributions made by American allies, especially compared to those by NATO. Though Trump did not make clear what he would do in office regarding the conflict, he frequently argued during the interview that there would not have been a war if he had remained president. Former President Donald Trump speaks with Kristen Welker in Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday. "There was nobody tougher than me with Russia," he said. "And yet I got along with Putin. Let me tell you, I got along with him really well. And that’s a good thing, not a bad thing. He’s got 1,700 nuclear missiles. And so do we." The former president did not have much to add when Welker pressed him about the Kremlin’s brutality in Ukraine, however. She noted that Russian forces had bombed maternity wards, buried Ukrainian civilians in mass graves and kidnapped children in the occupied territory. “It’s all terrible,” Trump said in response. It is not the first time that he has declined to be overly critical of Putin, whom most American allies and members of the U.S. national security community consider an antagonist. And Trump's track record in supporting Ukraine, a U.S. partner, has been spotty. When Russia first invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Trump praised Putin as “a guy who is very savvy” and the invasion of Ukraine as “genius” in an interview with a conservative podcaster. “President Biden has been clear about how critical it is to support Ukraine against Mr. Putin’s brutal and barbaric invasion — and he’s rallied the world to do just that,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Trump's remarks, adding, “What’s at stake is not just the survival of Ukraine; it’s the unmistakeable message that in the 21st century a dictator cannot be allowed to conquer his neighbor’s territory with impunity and threaten the fundamental values of freedom and independence that matter to every American.” Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019 came after a daylong debate in Congress about whether the then-president had violated his oath by pressuring Ukraine to damage a political opponent — Joe Biden — by withholding nearly $400 million in U.S. aid to Ukraine. He also said he took the Russian president at his word at a summit in Helsinki in 2018 and dismissed U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusions that Russia had interfered in the 2016 election. “President Putin says it’s not Russia,” Trump said at the time. “I don’t see any reason why it would be.” Days later, the former president claimed he had misspoken. Link

Buildings have caught fire in Sudan's capital after heavy fighting between the army and rival forces. Videos posted online on Sunday showed the iconic Greater Nile Petroleum Oil Company Tower engulfed in flames. "This is truly painful," said Tagreed Abdin, an architect of the building, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Air strikes and ground battles have continued in Khartoum and other towns and cities since fighting broke out in April. Over one million people have been forced to flee the country, the UN has said. Located near the River Nile, the 18-storey oil firm skyscraper is one of the most recognisable landmarks in Khartoum. Ms Abdin said it defined the skyline of the city, and lamented "such senseless destruction". It is not yet clear what caused the building's cone-like structure, which has a glass facade, to catch fire. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths. The RSF has been fighting to take control of Sudan's capital The violence in Sudan began on 15 April, triggered by a power struggle between the leaders of the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It followed days of tension as members of the RSF were redeployed around the country in a move that the army saw as a threat. The Sudan War Monitor, which provides analysis of the conflict, said the RSF had attacked areas controlled by the army on Saturday, including an office block at the justice ministry. Several government buildings are reported to have caught fire as a result of the attack. Attacks on army premises continued into Sunday, witnesses told AFP news agency. Residents in a southern district of the city - where the army was targeting RSF bases - told AFP they heard "huge bangs" as they woke up. Health authorities announced on Sunday that all the main hospitals in Khartoum - as well as the Darfur region - were out of service. My family buried my grandmother while ducking bullets Sudan army accused of bombing university campus What is going on in Sudan? A simple guide Nawal Mohammed, 44, who lives at least 3km (1.8 miles) from clashes in the capital, said the doors and windows of her family home shook with the force of explosions. She described the battles on Saturday and Sunday as "the most violent since the war began". According to a group of pro-democracy lawyers, the fighting had killed "dozens of civilians" in Khartoum since Friday. Fighting was also reported in the city of El-Obeid, some 400km (250 miles) south of the city. The RSF has been fighting to take control of the capital, and the military's air strikes have been aimed at weakening RSF positions. The conflict has killed around 7,500 people and displaced more than five million. The offices of the Sudanese Standards and Metrology Organization were also set alight Link

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Nick movie: Iron Man Time: April 14, 2008 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 126 M Trailer:

The po[CENSORED]r pick-up gets the retro treatment and a trim switcheroo too Nissan has launched a special edition of its Frontier truck - better known as the Navara on this side of the pond - that pays tribute to the classic Eighties Hardbody pickup. If you're of a certain maturity, you're probably thinking Datsun. Apparently it doesn't matter. Hiren Patel, project lead designer at Nissan Design America, said: “Even if you don't recognise or remember the original Hardbody, you're still going to say, 'that's a cool truck'." He's right. Patel’s team has imitated the original's wheels with heritage-styled 17in alloys. Similarly, new wing mirrors and overriders give the pick-up some proper 'daytime television adventure series' vibes. Thankfully, gloss painted bumpers replace the cheap plastic matte finish this time around. With ‘4x4’ and ‘Nissan’ decals embellishing the doors and tailgate, we concede the Hardbody Edition does look pretty retro with its red/black colour combo. In addition to the special edition, Nissan’s also been switching around its trim levels. What was once known as the SV Premium package now becomes the SL grade. Apparently, Nissan wants the Frontier to be a consideration for both city slicking and tackling more rural terrain. It arrives with a swathe of fancy tech like heated leather front seats, daytime running lights, an electric sunroof, remote engine start and dual-zone climate control built into the SL grade as standard. Then there’s the connectivity with the Nissan Connect companion app, Apple CarPlay (wireless), Android Auto, Bluetooth and Wifi hotspot, all controlled through a 7in touchscreen display. Underneath there's a 3.8-litre direct injection V6 with a nine-speed ‘box and enough driver assist technology to park a moon-going rocket in your local supermarket car park safely. Of course, it’s also got four-wheel-drive, hill descent control, Bilstein off-road shocks and an electronic locking rear diff – if opting for the PRO-4X variant. While it hasn’t the same towing capacity as, say, the Ford Ranger (by over a hundred kilos), the newer $29,770 Frontier clearly has strong appeal. Not least because it looks like an Eighties truck. Link

Paxton was impeached for allegedly taking bribes, but ultimately members of his party chose not to vote for his conviction and removal from office. Impeached Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted on 16 impeachment articles on Saturday, thwarting an effort to remove him from office over allegations of corruption. "Attorney General Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. is hereby, at this moment, reinstated to office," said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Republican president of the Senate who also presided over the trial. While two Republican senators broke with their party to vote for conviction on some articles of impeachment, the vast majority of Paxton's party voted to acquit him following a two-week trial and a day of deliberations behind closed doors. Four impeachment articles that had been put on hold during the trial were dismissed immediately after the acquittal vote. Paxton had been suspended without pay from his post after he was impeached in the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives in May by an overwhelming vote. "The attorney general is excited and ready to get back to work, and that's what he's gonna do," said Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee. Paxton rose to prominence as a top legal adversary of former President Barack Obama's administration, and later as a key ally of former President Donald Trump's administration. Lawsuits to overturn the Affordable Care Act, legal protections of young undocumented immigrants, and the results of the 2020 election made him a po[CENSORED]r force for the right, even after he was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015. But Paxton's political support fractured this year when the state House impeached him over allegations of abuse of office and bribery. While House Republicans enjoyed an element of surprise — the investigation into Paxton was largely done in secret before House leaders went public and quickly moved for a vote — the senators faced months of political pressure leading up to the trial. In remarks following the verdict, Patrick lambasted the House for rushing Paxton's impeachment through that chamber and called for a Constitutional amendment to rework the impeachment process. Patrick has presided over the trial as its judge and said he'd stayed mostly silent throughout the summer in order to do so, but he didn't hold back on his opinion once the verdict was cast. "Our founders expected better. It should have never happened this year, and hopefully it doesn't again," he said of the impeachment. In a press conference, Texas state Rep. Andrew Murr, lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial, criticized the vote, saying, "This trial painted an accurate and clear picture of an out of control attorney general who refused to listen to the desperate warnings of his conservative lawyers that he had entrusted to help run his office." "I am proud of the case that we presented because it demonstrates considerable, uncontested, uncontroverted evidence of Mr. Paxton's corruption," he said. "We fully understood the weight of impeachment and the enormity of the pressure we would face to look away from this corruption." In a statement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said Paxton had received a fair trial. “The jury has spoken," he said. "Attorney General Paxton has done an outstanding job representing Texas, especially pushing back against the Biden Administration. I look forward to continuing to work with him to secure the border and protect Texas from federal overreach.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, posted a similar response on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "This was the right outcome, consistent with the will of the voters," he said. Paxton allies promised that Republicans who voted against the attorney general would see well-funded primary challengers, while Trump made it clear he was backing Paxton. The articles of impeachment accused Paxton of accepting bribes from, and giving legal assistance to, campaign donor and developer Nate Paul, while disregarding his official duties to the people of Texas. He was accused of improperly firing employees who reported his actions to federal authorities, lying about his actions, misusing government funds to dispute their allegations and more. The Senate agreed to consider evidence from 16 articles at trial, with four articles relating to his 2015 criminal indictment placed on hold. Paxton denied wrongdoing throughout the trial, and his attorneys fiercely defended him. They insisted that Paxton had not accepted bribes and that Paul was merely an entitled, annoying individual who had not received anything of value from Paxton. The senators-turned-jurors heard testimony from seven former senior Paxton aides detailing months of concern and alarm they felt over Paxton’s relations with Paul, and their eventual decision to take the extraordinary step of reporting their boss to the FBI. “I went to the FBI because I believed based on my experience over the previous nine months that the attorney general had abandoned his obligation to work on behalf of the interests of the people of Texas, to serve the interest of one person, Nate Paul,” Ryan Bangert, a former top aide to Paxton, said in sworn testimony last week. Link

The journey to Libyan city of Derna takes twice as long now. Driving along the road from Benghazi, fields turn into rust-red lakes. As you get closer, the traffic begins to slow. Telegraph poles pulled from the ground by the floodwaters now lie haphazardly. Cars creep around holes in the highway, on hastily-dug detours carved out by diggers. One of the closest bridges to Derna has been washed away completely. Locals stand near the ragged tarmac precipice, peering over and taking photos. Not far beyond, soldiers hand out face masks to every car - for the driver, and each passenger. Everyone driving in the other direction is wearing them, and you soon realise why. The smell of death in parts of the city feels almost impossible to describe. It fills your nostrils, part the scent of sewage, part something that's harder to identify. At times it is so strong it turns the stomach - especially as you stand overlooking the port where recovery teams tell me bodies are still washing up. Not just people but buildings, possessions and livelihoods have been washed away in the eastern Libyan city of Derna That morning they have found three. Carried in on the tide, they get trapped in the mounds of debris slowly rotting in the seawater. Broken wood, whole cars lifted and dropped on top of scattered sea defences, tyres, fridges - everything mingles and swirls together in the stagnant water. The pictures and videos which have come out of Derna have been graphic and shocking. Libyan official rejects blame for flood disaster BBC finds little foreign aid in flood-hit city CCTV shows cars swept away in Derna But watching them does prepare you for the scale of the damage the floods have done to this place. The line of the river now gapes like an open wound, perhaps a hundred metres across in places. On these mounds of mud, nothing at all remains. It's a barren wasteland. The destructive power of the water has been extraordinary. Cars lie around like toys tipped casually on their sides or resting upside-down. One has been pushed fully inside the terrace surrounding the distinctive Al Sahaba Mosque. Another is completely off the ground, embedded in the side of a building. More than 1,000 people have so far been buried in mass graves, according to a UN report Walls made of thick concrete blocks have toppled. Sturdy trees have been plucked from the ground, their roots curling into the air. Everything else though, is gone. This wasn't just thousands of people washed away, it was their homes, their possessions, their lives. Humanity has been cleansed from this part of Derna. For the survivors, life here has changed forever. There's huge grief, and palpable anger. With many more thousands still missing, Derna's mayor has warned that the total could reach 20,000 Faris Ghassar lost five members of his family in the raging waters. "We were told to stay inside our homes," he cries. "Why? They should have told us there was a storm, told us the dam was old and crumbling. "Some of these destroyed buildings were a hundred years old. It's all politics. There's a government in the west, a government in the east. It's a big problem." One of the dead was Faris's ten-month-old daughter. He reaches for his phone to show me their pictures. First alive, and then their bodies, carefully wrapped in blankets, their faces showing their ordeal. At the same time as we talk, a convoy of ministers is touring the disaster zone. They're from the eastern government, one of Libya's two opposing authorities. Their fighting has decimated the country's infrastructure. Faris claims this has proved fatal for his family. Faris Gassar, who lost his baby daughter and four other family members, asks why they were told to stay at home I asked eastern Prime Minister Osama Hamad how this could happen when the dams were supposed to keep people safe? "It was a very strong cyclone," he told me. "Too strong for the dams. This is nature, and this is Allah." On the streets, there are rumours of a full evacuation of Derna. Those left behind in the city are battling against the elements, with clean water and medical care in short supply. Almost a week after the deadly storm, the challenges facing its survivors are only growing. Link

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Nick movie: Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Time: May 25, 1983 Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 132 M Trailer:

Free trial running until 17 September, but you’ve missed your chance for a cab ride in a McLaren Imagine ordering an Uber and some maniac in a McLaren Senna turning up - a highly improbable and impractical scenario, but one that nonetheless took place in UK cities this week to promote the launch of The Crew Motorfest, Ubisoft Ivory Tower’s latest open world racing series set this time in Hawaii. With the greatest respect to the Toyota Prius, your heart hardly skips a beat when your Uber driver rolls silently up to your pick-up location in one. You’re going to be comfortable. You’re going to get there. But you’re not going to be thrilled. Ubisoft’s fleet of ‘Crew Cabs’, though, did not conform to time-honoured lift-giving tradition. Members of the public in London and Manchester could order a ride in vehicles including the aforementioned Senna, a Bentley Continental GT, a Porsche 911 and a Chevrolet Corvette. Presumably they weren’t on their way to the airport with luggage to check in. The Senna’s got many strengths, including a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine putting out 800bhp, but boot space is not one of them. There’s room for a couple of crash helmets and nothing more. Still, definitely an opportunity to amass some cool points down at Waitrose car park when you step out of one. Who’s smug about having nabbed the last Duchy Originals duck eggs now? If you feel like driving a Lamborghini Revuelto on a volcano sightseeing tour, Motorfest has a free trial running until 17 September. Play anything you like from the full game within a five-hour time limit. Link

In a wide-ranging interview with NBC's "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker," Trump said, "They were my tapes. I could have fought them." Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he did not order a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete security video at the center of an investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents. "That's false," Trump told "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker. Pressed by Welker about whether he would testify to that under oath, Trump said, “Sure, I’m going to — I’ll testify.” “But more importantly, the tapes weren’t deleted,” he added. “In other words, there was nothing done to them. And they were my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them the tapes, I don’t think.” Former President Donald Trump is interviewed by Kristen Welker. The interview, Welker’s first as moderator of “Meet the Press,” will air Sunday on NBC affiliates across the country. NBC News has also extended an invitation to President Joe Biden to sit down with Welker for an interview. Tune into “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” this Sunday for more from Welker’s exclusive interview with former President Donald Trump. Check local listings. The allegation was the basis of a superseding indictment filed in late July against Trump, his valet, Walt Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's estate in Palm Beach, Florida. That followed a federal grand jury indictment against Trump in June on seven criminal charges in connection with his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. (Nauta was also charged then.) In the superseding indictment filed as part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation, prosecutors alleged that Nauta and De Oliveira asked a third, unnamed staffer to delete security video after investigators issued a subpoena ordering that the tapes be turned over. Nauta and De Oliveira, who have both been charged with obstruction of justice, told the third staff member that "the boss" had requested that the security video be deleted, the indictment alleged. Nauta, De Oliveira and Trump have all pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have never said the video was deleted. “I think I would have won in court,” Trump told Welker. “When they asked for the tapes, I said, ‘Sure.’ They’re my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them. Just so you understand, though, we didn’t delete anything. Nothing was deleted.” Link

The thoughts of one Moroccan schoolteacher immediately turned to her pupils when she felt the 6.8-magnitude earthquake strike a week ago. Nesreen Abu ElFadel was in Marrakesh - but Adaseel, the mountain village that was home to her school and pupils, was closer to the epicentre. The Arabic- and French-language teacher returned to Adaseel where she went searching for the children. She discovered that all 32 - ranging from six to 12 years old - had died. "I went to the village and started asking about my kids: 'Where is Somaya? Where is Youssef? Where is this girl? Where is that boy?' The answer came hours later: 'They are all dead.' "I imagined holding my class's attendance sheet and putting a line through one student's name after another, until I had scratched off 32 names; they are all now dead," she told the BBC. Ms ElFadel describes her lost students - seen here before the earthquake - as "angels" They were among the almost-3,000 people killed by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Morocco, which struck on the evening of 8 September. The hardest-hit areas were those south of Marrakesh, where many mountain villages were completely destroyed. Adaseel was one of those places. Ms ElFadel recalled how she heard about what happened to six-year-old Khadija. Rescuers found the body of the child lying next to her brother Mohamed and her two sisters, Mena and Hanan. They had all been in their bed - probably asleep - during the quake, and they all went to Ms ElFadel's school. "Khadija was my favourite. She was very nice, smart, active and loved to sing. She used to come to my house, and I loved studying and talking to her." The language teacher described her students as "angels", and respectful children who were eager to learn. Despite struggling with poverty and a crushing cost-of-living crisis, the children and their families thought of going to school as "the most important thing in the world". "Our last class was on Friday night, exactly five hours before the quake hit," Ms ElFadel said. "We were learning Morocco's national anthem, and planned to sing it in front of the whole school on Monday morning." The school where Ms ElFadel worked was badly damaged by the earthquake Despite her calm voice, Ms ElFadel has been suffering with trauma. She still cannot process what happened to her students and to her school. "I don't sleep; I'm still in shock," she said. "People consider me one of the lucky ones, but I don't know how I can continue living my life." Ms ElFadel loved teaching Arabic and French to children in a village po[CENSORED]ted by Amazigh - who mainly speak their own language, Tamazight. "Arabic and French were very hard to learn, but the kids were very bright, and they were almost fluent in both languages," she recalled. She plans to continue her career in teaching, and hopes authorities will rebuild Adaseel's school - which collapsed during the earthquake. A total of 530 educational institutions have been damaged to varying degrees, including some of which have completely collapsed or suffered severe structural damage, according to official statements. The Moroccan government has temporarily halted classes in the hardest-hit areas. "Maybe one day when they rebuild the school and classes are back in session, we can commemorate those 32 kids and tell their story," Ms ElFadel said. Links