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A man was hijacked at gunpoint by a masked gang and forced to drive his car with a suspicious object on board to a police station in Northern Ireland.The incident caused a major security alert in Omagh, County Tyrone, which led to a number of people being evacuated from their homes and cordons erected.The alert has now ended and the device is being examined to establish whether it is dangerous.The victim was hijacked by three masked men in the Fireagh Road area, off the Dromore Road in Omagh, at about 10pm on Saturday. The masked men placed a suspicious object in his vehicle, a silver Volkswagen Golf, and forced him to travel to the Derry Road area and abandon the car outside Omagh police station.Ammunition technical officers examined the object, which has now been removed from the scene.PSNI Insp Will Brown said the driver had been left badly shaken by the ordeal. “The misguided and senseless actions of those responsible have caused disruption in the local community,” he said. “Our thoughts are with the driver, who was, understandably, badly shaken by the ordeal.”He added: “Thank you to all those who were impacted and to the wider public for your patience and cooperation. We are also grateful for the understanding of those impacted by the ongoing police activity in the Fireagh Road area.“We are particularly keen to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity of the church on the Fireagh Road, or travelling between the Fireagh Road and Omagh police station between 9pm and 10pm last night.“If you saw anything suspicious, or you have dash cam which may assist with our investigation, please get in touch by calling 101, quoting serial 2015 of 6/5/23.”Alliance party councillor Stephen Donnelly said the incident took place close to his home. He said: “The thugs behind this incident are a danger to our community and must be urgently apprehended by the authorities, so I would urge anybody with any information to contact the police.“Omagh refuses to bow to those who would have our lives ruled by fear. We never have, and we never will.”DUP assembly member Thomas Buchanan said: “My thoughts are with everyone involved, but the motorist will never forget this for the rest of their days. It’s a throwback to the days when the IRA used to force people to become human bombs when targeting police and army.“It was wrong then and it’s wrong today.”Dissident republicans, in particular the New IRA, are believed to have been responsible for a number of attacks and attempted attacks on police in recent months.In February, DCI John Caldwell was shot several times in an attempted murder bid, which the police have blamed on the New IRA.Detectives also said they believed the group intended to use a number of viable pipe bombs, which were discovered in a Derry cemetery following a republican Easter commemoration parade, to attack the police.In November last year, a police patrol vehicle sustained damage after it was targeted by an explosive device in Strabane, County Tyrone.MI5 recently raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely, in response to an upsurge in dissident activity.In 1998 the Real IRA detonated a car bomb in Omagh, killing 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, the worst single atrocity of the Northern Ireland Troubles. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/07/man-forced-to-drive-car-with-suspicious-object-to-police-station-in-northern-ireland

Liverpool are now facing competition from Manchester City for one of their chief summer transfer targets, Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.Manchester United's ongoing takeover saga is causing chaos inside the football department at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag's transfer budget having been frozen to leave his summer business up in the air.Liverpool have made an enquiry over the availability of Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio, who had been earmarked as a possible replacement for Harry Maguire at Manchester United. Tottenham are ready to go "all-in" on Xabi Alonso as they look to appoint a new permanent head coach, but fear having to wait to interview him because of Bayer Leverkusen's bid for silverware will put them on the back foot.Reports in Spain have suggested Arsenal might finally have the chance to sign former Leeds forward Raphinha this summer with Barcelona unable to guarantee him enough playing time.Erling Haaland is set to land a jackpot of worth around £5m in bonuses this summer if he helps Manchester City complete the treble thanks to clauses in the deal that brought him to the club.Juventus are ready to offer Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood a way back into senior football and hope having Paul Pogba in their squad will tempt him to Italy.Brentford will make a move for young Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher as they consider their options to replace in-demand No 1 David Raya. Sheffield United are keen to bring James McAtee back to the club for their return to the Premier League if they are unable to sign his Manchester City team-mate Tommy Doyle - the club would only be able to loan one of them because of PL transfer regulations.Wigan players are in talks about going on strike and refusing to play in their final Championship game of the season against Rotherham on Monday.Swansea City boss Russell Martin will be top of Leicester City's wanted list this summer if Dean Smith is unable to stop them being relegated to the Championship.Amad Diallo is open to another loan spell away from Manchester United next season but the club would prefer to send him overseas, with the Netherlands being a possibility for the winger.Ipswich Town are determined to hold off a host of rivals to sign Crystal Palace forward Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who has impressed on loan with Charlton Athletic this season. https://www.skysports.com/football/transfer-paper-talk

The study from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, said that it highlighted a previously unknown risk of passing PCOS-related health problems across generations through the male side of a family Sons of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are three times more likely to develop obesity, a new study has shown.The study from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, said that it highlighted a previously unknown risk of passing PCOS-related health problems across generations through the male side of a family.The study is published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine.Using registry data and mouse models, the researchers determined if and how PCOS-like traits are passed from mothers to their sons.Just over 460,000 sons born in Sweden between July 2006 and December 2015 were included in the registry study. f these, roughly 9,000 were sons of women with PCOS.The researchers then identified which of the children were obese.“We discovered that sons of women with PCOS have a threefold risk of obesity and of having high levels of “bad” cholesterol, which increases the risk of developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes later in life,” said lead researcher Elisabet Stener-Victorin, professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet.Studies in mice confirmed these findings, where the researchers examined male offspring of female mice that before and during pregnancy were fed either a standard diet or a diet rich in fat and sugar, and were exposed to high levels of the male sex hormone dihydrotestosterone during pregnancy to mimic the pregnancy of normal weight individuals and obese women with PCOS.The male mice were then fed a standard diet until adulthood when their fat distribution and metabolism were examined.“We could see that these male mice had more fat tissue, larger fat cells, and a disordered basal metabolism, despite eating a healthy diet,” said Stener-Victorin.To investigate the reproductive function of the offspring and whether physiological characteristics could be passed on from generation to generation, the first-generation male mice were mated with healthy female mice that were not exposed to male sex hormones or a diet rich in fat and sugar.The whole process was repeated in the second generation to reach the third generation which is the first generation not to be affected by the mother condition.The experiments showed, the researchers said, that obesity and high levels of male hormones in the woman during pregnancy can cause long-term health problems in the male offspring because their fat tissue function, metabolism, and reproductive function deteriorate, which in turn affects future generations.“These findings may help us in the future to find ways to identify, treat and prevent reproductive and metabolic diseases at an early stage,” said Stener-Victorin. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/pcos-women-sons-three-times-likely-obesity-8596497/

Millions of eyes were on Britain, but what message did the Coronation send out about the country, aside from confirming prejudices about our dreadful weather? This is my view from the sofa - six takeaways from a historic day. We knew this would be a real spectacle, but from my front row seat (in my sitting room) much of it still felt from a bygone era. This was Britain with all its pomp on show. Golden carriages, weighty robes of state and jewel-encrusted crowns.It's hardly surprising there were so many arcane traditions, in a ceremony that dates back 1,000 years at Westminster Abbey. But who knew, until Coronation day, that swords have names?The Sword of State and the Sword of Offering - more about them later - the Sword of Temporal Justice, the Sword of Spiritual Justice, the Sword of Mercy.Or that Princess Anne would be known as the Gold-Stick-in-Waiting.Or that there are bracelets of sincerity and wisdom? Of course it felt removed from Britain in 2023, in the middle of a cost of living crisis.But as the queen of grunge, Courtney Love Cobain tweeted, she was "loving the religion & strangeness & pageantry".And so were many others. This kind of display is what distinguishes Britain from the rest of the world. We're good at it, aren't we?The historian David Olusoga said there is an argument the ceremony makes us "more aware of how ancient, how, in some ways, unlike the country, these traditions are".But among the tradition, effort had been made to ensure modern Britain was also being reflected.For me that began with the blue, almost punk-like plumage of the horses pulling the carriage in the King's procession from Buckingham Palace. Although in fact woven braids date back to Queen Victoria's coronation.We saw it in the inclusion of the King and Queen's blended family in the service. In the representatives of other faiths.In the sceptre carried by national treasure Baroness Floella Benjamin.In the women bishops who were involved in a coronation for the first time ever.There was a message of diversity and inclusion that had been carefully crafted, but nonetheless felt sincere.Another first were the girl choristers.Their voices rang out as King Charles and Queen Camilla walked into the abbey."I Was Glad" has been performed at every coronation since 1626. I've always marvelled at Sir Hubert Parry's version, composed for Edward VII in 1902.Afterwards, Gareth Malone, who will conduct the Coronation Choir at the concert at Windsor on Sunday night, told me "you'll never hear it that well performed ever again".For hours on Saturday, the abbey was filled with simply wonderful music. Malone's highlights also included the "beautiful haunting harmonies" of the new composition by Paul Mealor of Kyrie Eleison, sung in Welsh (the first time that language has been heard in a coronation service) by the opera star Sir Bryn Terfel and the "timeless, spiritual" Byzantine Chant Ensemble, in Greek.And Handel's Zadok the Priest at the time of the anointing was a particularly electric moment.From a King with a lifelong passion for music, we were treated to a composition arc, from Orlando Gibbons in the Elizabethan period through William Byrd and Handel to Vaughan Williams and on to composers of today.King Charles personally commissioned 12 new pieces for his Coronation, including a show-stopping performance by the eight-strong gospel Ascension Choir.The artistry on show was breath taking. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65488861

Nick Movie: Ravanasura Time: April 7, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: IMDb Duration of the movie: 2h 20m Trailer:

The White House has issued a warning about the potential consequences of the United States defaulting on its debt payments, as Democrats and Republicans continue to grapple over national spending. The president's Council of Economic Advisers has cautioned that if the US government fails to meet its financial obligations, it could result in economic shocks that would lead to a six percent drop in GDP and the loss of eight million jobs this summer. Moreover, the stock market could plummet by up to 45 percent in the third quarter. The economists further explained that even a brief interruption in payments could cause unemployment to rise as the economy falls into a recession. President Joe Biden is currently clashing with Republicans in the lower chamber of Congress over national spending and public debt. While the Democratic president has requested that Republicans raise the country's debt ceiling, Republicans in the House of Representatives have refused to do so unless there is an agreement to cut government spending. However, time is running out, and the Treasury Department anticipates that the US will hit its debt cap on June 1st, resulting in significant cuts in government spending, including debt payment. Suspending or raising the debt ceiling, which is unique to the US, was traditionally considered a formality while more extensive issues about public debt and national spending were resolved behind the scenes. During Barack Obama's presidency, Republicans began to adopt a tougher stance, using the vote as a political bargaining chip. Although the US technically hit its debt ceiling in January, which stands at over $31 trillion, the government has been able to navigate around it using several accounting techniques known as "extraordinary measures." Biden has proposed a meeting with congressional leaders from both parties on Tuesday. However, with time running out, it remains to be seen whether an agreement can be reached before the debt cap is hit and significant government spending cuts are triggered. The outcome of this situation could have significant implications for the US economy, employment rates, and stock market. https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1066892-is-us-going-to-default-on-debt-payments-as-white-house-warns-of-economic-disaster

Groups say Thérèse Coffey has failed to monitor and prosecute farmers for practice, which causes severe health problems Allowing farmers in England to keep fast-growing broiler chickens that suffer a wide range of health problems is contrary to animal welfare regulations, the high court has heard.The Humane League UK (THL), represented by Advocates for Animals, claims the environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, has unlawfully failed to properly monitor and prosecute farmers for keeping “Frankenchickens”.As a result of genetic selection, about 90% of the 1 billion meat chickens slaughtered each year are faster-growing breeds, reaching slaughter weight of about 2.2 kg within three to 36 days.In written arguments, Edward Brown KC, opening the case for THL in London on Wednesday, said: “These breeding practices have increased meat yield, and allowed producers to significantly reduce cost, at the expense of substantial welfare detriment … Welfare issues connected to fast-growing breeds include musculoskeletal and cardiovascular disorders such as leg weakness, ascite (buildup of fluid in the abdomen), breast muscle myopathies (diseases) and higher mortality rates, all of which are exacerbated as a result of the high-density intensive conditions in which the animals are kept.”He told the court the growth speed of faster growing breeds was 12 weeks faster than it was 50 years ago. Brown said there were “commercially viable, more slowly growing, higher welfare breeds” available, highlighting the Netherlands, where he said 100% of meat-chickens were of the slower-growing breed.The case centres on the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007 (WOFAR), which state: “Animals may only be kept for farming purposes if it can reasonably be expected, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.”Brown told the court that an RSPCA report, which he called the “most extensive analysis” in the area, “concludes that fast-growing breeds cannot be kept without detrimental effects to their health and welfare”. Nevertheless, he said there had been no prosecutions, which he claimed was inconsistent with the law.Richard Turney, for Coffey, in his written arguments, said the environment secretary had “no ‘policy’ of permitting any particular breed of chicken to be kept … nor is she primarily responsible for the enforcement of the relevant statutory provisions”.THL claims the relevant WOFAR provision “prohibits the keeping of animals for farming purposes unless it can reasonably be expected that, on the basis of their genotype or phenotype, that they can be kept without any detriment effect on their health or welfare”. But this interpretation is disputed by Turney, who said it meant “because of breeding it is impossible that the animal in question could be kept without welfare detriment”.He added: “Following assessment of the evidence by departmental welfare advisers, the secretary of state does not consider that there is scientific consensus that fast-growing meat chickens have a genetic make-up which means they cannot be kept without detriment to their welfare.”He suggested their welfare was affected by other factors, namely “environmental conditions, animal husbandry and stockmanship”.The RSPCA, which is a third-party intervenor in the case, said WOFAR was “clearly engaged by the evidence about broiler chicken welfare”.In his written submissions, Nick Armstrong KC accused Coffey of “seeking to minimise and avoid confronting the obvious thrust of extensive multi-sourced evidence”. Before the hearing, supporters of the judicial review, including Chris Packham, who was at the high court for a separate case, and Benjamin Zephaniah, chanted “justice for chickens” outside the court.The hearing is expected to conclude on Thursday with judgment reserved until a later date. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/03/frankenchicken-farming-in-england-against-animal-welfare-law-high-court-told

Is Toyota looking to bring a bit more fun and engagement to its petrol-electric hybrid vehicles?A patent filed in the US, unearthed and published by The Drive, shows the Japanese carmaker is working on a manual transmission for its hybrid cars that features a clutch that can either be controlled by the driver or the vehicle’s electronic control unit (ECU).This patent was first filed with the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) back in August 2021, but was only made public this year.In essence, this is not a clutch-by-wire system that’s controlled electronically by an actuator, but rather a system that uses a clutch master cylinder with two slave cylinders – one by the driver and the other by the ECU.The system allows the driver to override what the ECU wants to do by depressing the clutch pedal and applying more pressure than what the ECU is doing. The patent lists this as a “sport mode”.On the flip side, the ECU can cut in and de-clutch the engine from the wheels whenever it wants, which is important for hybrid cars that may need to do this to coast.It’s unclear if this kind of technology will ever make it into a production vehicle. It’s also unclear whether it would be used in a hybrid sports car.If Toyota does bring something like this to market, it will be the first time since the Honda CR-Z that a hybrid vehicle has been offered with a manual transmission.It should be noted the Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) hybrid system in the CR-Z manual could not operate in EV mode.This isn’t the first time Toyota has flirted with the idea of implementing a manual transmission in an electrified vehicle.It has previously filed a trademark with the USPTO for a simulated manual transmission designed especially for electric vehicles (EVs).It operated like a regular manual transmission and had gear-like “stages”. https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/toyota-patents-manual-transmission-for-hybrid-drivetrains

Plus: Man Utd transfer target Jurrien Timber valued at £44m by Ajax; Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo targeted by Inter Milan; Tottenham talks with Julien Nagelsmann hit another stumbling block Sam Allardyce will earn in excess of £3m if he is able to guide Leeds United away from the Premier League relegation zone, with confirmation of his short-term deal likely to come on Wednesday. John Mitchell is set to take on his first job in women's rugby, replacing Simon Middleton as the head coach of England's victorious Six Nations team.Julian Starkey, who was a prominent member of the England Athletics board, has been banned from holding such a position for three years after making a comment that suggested black athletes make good sprinters because they have to flee burglaries they commit. British Cycling is considering a new transgender policy that would prevent cyclists who were born male from taking part in elite female events, which would go against the regulations posted by world governing body UCI.Manchester United have reportedly been told they will have to pay £44m for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber if they want to sign him this summer. THE SUN Lionel Messi's exit from Paris Saint-Germain is getting closer after skipping training to fly to Saudi Arabia without the club's permission.Jack Grealish has donated £5,000 to a tribute set up after the sudden death of friend and Aston Villa fan Shawn Francis, who passed away recently at the age of 29. DAILY MAIL Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo is being targeted by Inter Milan as a possible replacement for Milan Skriniar.Sam Allardyce will inherit a split Leeds squad, if he takes over as manager at Elland Road for the remainder of the season, with the club's youngsters blaming senior players for their slide towards the relegation zone.Barcelona will consider other options, including the Asian Champions League, if they are banned from UEFA competitions following an investigation into allegations of payments to the former head of Spain's referee's committee.James McAtee will have plenty of suitors if he leaves Manchester City, either permanently or on loan, this summer with Vincent Kompany's Burnley among the clubs likely to make them an offer.Cristiano Ronaldo has been named the highest-paid athlete by Forbes, after bringing in £109m this year, while Roger Federer retains his place in the top 10 despite earning only £80,000 from his play on the court.Sven-Goran Eriksson has revealed how Manchester City's players wanted to go on strike before their historic 8-1 defeat against Middlesbrough in 2008 in protest against the club's then-owner Thaksin Shinawatra.Officials at Epsom racecourse are bracing themselves for more than 1,000 protestors trying to access the track during the Derby meeting early next month. DAILY TELEGRAPH Tottenham's talks with Julian Nagelsmann have hit a stumbling block over uncertainty surrounding the position of sporting director at the Premier League club.Leading British cyclists are scared to speak out against the sport's transgender policies for fear of being cancelled and potentially losing out on lucrative sponsorship deals.LIV Golf players including Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are set to give up their DP World Tour cards to avoid having to pay further fines for playing in the Saudi-backed series. THE GUARDIAN London Irish are facing questions from the RFU over their failure to pay players and staff on time amid fears they could be the next Premiership club to collapse. THE ATHLETIC Charlton Athletic owner Thomas Sandgaard has already rejected an improved offer for the League One club from the Anglo-American group led by former Sunderland director Charlie Methven. DAILY RECORD Celtic are unlikely to have Cameron Carter-Vickers for the start of the 2023-24 season with surgery on his troublesome knee set to rule him out for at least three months. THE SCOTTISH SUN Former Rangers and Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans has agreed a deal to play for seventh-tier West of Scotland First Division side Johnstone Burgh next season.

’tis be the season for mangoes — known as the king of fruits — which is relished by one and all. But it is not just its juicy texture and sweet taste, this delicious summer produce is also packed with numerous nutrients and health benefits. Sharing some such health benefits of mangoes, Kareena Kapoor’s dietician Rujuta Diwekar wrote on Instagram, “The food industry narrative — want fibre? Eat oats. Want polyphenols? Drink green tea? Want antioxidants? Eat dark chocolate. Guess what has all the above nutrients? Mango”. Similarly, nutritionist Mac Singh also took to the platform to compare oranges (a rich in vitamin C) and mangoes (regarded as guilty pleasure). “If we take one orange and one mango, for reference, mango ranks quite high on the charts when it comes to vitamins C, A, E, K and even folate, all of which are higher than those found in 1 orange,” he wrote. To put an end to this debate, we spoke with G Sushma Clinical Dietician CARE Hospitals Banjara Hills Hyderabad who told indianexpress.com that mangoes are a delicious fruit that not only tastes great but also offers several health benefits. Health benefits of mangoes Below are health benefits of mangoes, as shared by G Sushma. 1. High in nutrients: Mangoes are a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber. They also contain several other vitamins and minerals, such as potassium, magnesium, and folate. 2. Promote digestion: Mangoes contain digestive enzymes that can help break down protein and aid digestion. 3. Boost immunity: Mangoes are rich in antioxidants, such as beta-carotene and vitamin C, which can help boost immunity and protect against diseases. 4. Support heart health: The high fiber content in mangoes can help reduce cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease. 5. Improve skin health: Mangoes are a good source of vitamin C, which is essential for collagen production and can help improve skin health. The nutritional profile of mangoes is as follows: One cup (165 grams) of diced mango contains: – Calories: 99 – Carbohydrates: 25 grams – Fiber: 3 grams – Protein: 1 gram – Fat: 0.5 grams – Vitamin 😄 67% of the daily value (DV) – Vitamin A: 10% of the DV – Folate: 18% of the DV – Potassium: 6% of the DV – Magnesium: 8% of the DV Do mangoes cause weight-gain? Mangoes have a bad reputation for causing weight gain due to some common misconceptions. One such misconception is that mangoes are high in sugar. However, “while mangoes do contain natural sugars, they also contain fiber, which can help regulate blood sugar levels and prevent overeating. Additionally, mangoes have a low glycemic index, meaning they don’t cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels,” explained G Sushma. Similarly, Mac had written that mangoes are low in calories but high in water and dietary fiber, both of which are good for digestion. “The intake of high-fiber meals has been associated with weight loss. Fiber-rich diets improve heart health. Also, mangoes have just 0.4 g of fat per 100 gms which is negligible. Moreover, they are cholesterol-free,” he informed. Do mangoes cause acne? Another myth is that mangoes can cause acne due to their high sugar content. However, there is “no evidence to suggest that mangoes directly cause acne. In fact, the vitamins and antioxidants in mangoes can help improve skin health and reduce the risk of acne,” said G Sushma. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that like any other food, consuming mangoes in excess can lead to weight gain. Moderation is key when it comes to incorporating mangoes into your diet. “Mangoes are a delicious fruit that offers several health benefits. They are a good source of essential vitamins and minerals and can promote digestion, boost immunity, support heart health, and improve skin health. However, like any other food, it’s important to consume mangoes in moderation and as part of a balanced diet,” concluded G Sushma. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/mangoes-health-benefits-vs-mango-myths-8582887/

Explosions have been heard in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the Kremlin. Attacks were also reported in Zaporizhzhia and Odesa in the south.The air strikes come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to speak at The Hague as part of an unexpected visit to the Netherlands.He will also visit the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to assassinate President Vladimir Putin, but Mr Zelensky denied that his country carried out the attack.On Wednesday, he said: "We don't attack Putin or Moscow. We fight on our territory. We are defending our villages and cities."Mr Zelensky was speaking in Finland, where he made a surprise visit and met his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and the leaders of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.During his visit to the Netherlands, Mr Zelensky is expected to meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Dutch media said that the two were likely to discuss Mr Zelensky's demands for more military support - namely long-range weapons and fighter jets.Last January, Mr Rutte said that supplying fighter jets was not taboo, although such a move would be "a really big next step".Following the alleged drone attacks, Russia threatened to retaliate when and where it considered necessary.On Wednesday, Russian strikes on Ukraine's southern Kherson region killed 21 people. Officials said that the victims included supermarket customers and employees of an energy company who were performing repairs.And in the early hours of Thursday morning, air raid sirens rang out across many Ukrainian regions. Loud blasts were reported in Kyiv and Odesa.At the same time, a drone hit an oil refinery in southern Russia, setting part of it on fire - the latest in a series of explosions, fires and drone attacks that have occurred in Russia in recent weeks.Some commentators have argued that the alleged drone strike on the Kremlin was internally conducted and purposefully staged by Russia.The Institute for the Study of War said it is "extremely unlikely that two drones could have penetrated multiple layers of air defence and detonated or been shot down just over the heart of the Kremlin in a way that provided spectacular imagery caught nicely on camera".It said that "Russia likely staged this attack in an attempt to bring the war home to a Russian domestic audience and set conditions for a wider societal mobilisation".Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said he thought Russia had staged the attack on the Kremlin to try to "show some kind of escalation on the part of Ukraine".But other commentators disagreed, saying that Russia would have little interest in making itself look "weak" by staging an attack that makes the Kremlin look vulnerable.It would also lead to questions about how well-protected Mr Putin is - and about the effectiveness of Russian air defences. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65478242

Nick Movie: Varisu Time:January 11, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: IMDb Duration of the movie: 2H 47M Trailer:

The US economy slowed in the first three months of the year, as businesses reduced investments in the face of higher borrowing costs. The economy grew 1.1% on an annualised basis, the Commerce Department said.That was down from a rate of 2.6% in the prior quarter, despite strong consumer spending.Analysts are watching nervously to see how the world's largest economy handles a mix of higher interest rates and rising prices.The latest report on gross domestic product - the widest measure of economic activity - showed the economy has now grown for three quarters in a row.The US economy had contracted in the first half of last year as trade flows adjusted from the pandemic and higher borrowing costs led to a sharp slowdown in home sales. But a strong job market has kept consumer spending - the main driver of economic activity - resilient, despite rising living costs, helping to defy predictions of a recession.Spending was up 3.7% on an annual basis in the January-to-March period. US President Joe Biden has cast the slowdown as a necessary adjustment after the boom following the reopening from the pandemic."Today, we learned that the American economy remains strong, as it transitions to steady and stable growth," he said in a statement following the report.However, many forecasters still expect the US to fall into economic recession sometime this year."Overall, the data confirm the message from other indicators that while economic growth is slowing, it isn't yet collapsing," said Andrew Hunter, deputy chief US economist for Capital Economics."Nevertheless, with most leading indicators of recession still flashing red and the drag from tighter credit conditions still to feed through, we expect a more marked weakening soon."The US central bank has pushed interest rates to more than 4.75%, from near zero last March, moving aggressively to try to slow the economy and ease the pressures pushing up prices.Since the campaign started, inflation - the rate at which prices rise - has dropped back, falling to 5% in March, but it remains higher than the bank's 2% target.Meanwhile firms - especially in sectors such as housing, finance and tech where low borrowing costs had fuelled growth - have been growing more cautious.Recent weeks have been marked by announcements of job cuts from many big businesses, including consultancy Deloitte, manufacturer 3M, retailer Gap and tech giant Meta.Thursday's report showed the biggest drop in business investment in equipment since the pandemic in 2020, falling 7.3% on an annual basis.Analysts say they expect further pain ahead as the job market weakens and banks grow more wary of lending after a string of US bank failures last month.Retail sales have already slowed since the start of the year and consumer confidence has taken a hit."GDP growth is being held up largely by the consumer at present, but growth in consumer spending appears to have lost momentum over the past month or two," Wells Fargo economist Jay Bryson said."We forecast that the US economy to slip into recession, which we expect to be of moderate severity, in the second half of the year." https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65414174

Mercedes' F1 team is working on new projects developing parts for mass-market EVs, that include batteries, inverters and new generations of motors. BRIXWORTH, England -- Mercedes-Benz has engaged its Formula One team in the engineering process to build vastly more efficient mass-market electric vehicles, slashing development times by a quarter or more as it jump starts efforts to keep pace with Tesla.F1 technology has always eventually bled over into mass-market vehicles. But Mercedes' F1 collaboration to build more efficient EVs faster is unprecedented because it embeds that racing mindset and technological expertise directly in product development.After decades of leadership in combustion-engine technology, legacy automakers such as Mercedes have lagged Tesla in EVs. Mercedes' F1 team can help it get back in the race, said Steven Merkt, head of transportation solutions at TE Connectivity, a major supplier."Nobody feels the pressure more than Mercedes to be innovation leaders here," Merkt said. "They have got to push it out or they are no longer Mercedes."Last year, Mercedes unveiled its EQXX concept car, a super-efficient EV capable of a range of more than 1,200 km (745 miles), which was jointly developed with the automaker's F1 team in England.The EQXX took just 18 months to develop, leaning on the F1 team's experience of working rapidly to squeeze efficiency from engines and electric motors, aerodynamics and rolling resistance, the company said."We have an edge here with Formula One that others do not have," Mercedes Chief Technology Officer Markus Schaefer said. "Tesla does not have it. Other teams do not have it."Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.Speed is ever more important because newer entrants, above all Tesla, can develop or tweak models far more quickly than legacy automakers. Fast-moving Chinese EV makers have cut development time to an average of 2.5 years and are launching innovative, cheaper models in Europe.The need for speed is coupled with a push among automakers to make EVs more efficient and thereby reduce costs - by lowering weight, improving range, and using less battery materials already in short supply.Suppliers say efficiency is now baked into some EV contracts as automakers seek to make their vehicles more affordable."Efficiency is a key enabler toaccelerate adoption of EVs globally," Schaefer said.Parts of what Mercedes learned from the EQXX will feature in a new EV platform that will go into production in 2024, including aerodynamic features, parts of the powertrain and the vehicle's software system.Schaefer said applying its F1 approach, Mercedes has cut new vehicle development time from an average of 58 months to go from the drawing board to mass production to "the low 40s."For derivative models - similar models built using the same platform - the target is "the low 30s."The F1 engine team at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in Brixworth in central England is now working on at least half a dozen new projects developing parts for mass-market Mercedes models - batteries, inverters and new generations of motors, Schaefer said.'The next race'HPP advanced technology director Adam Allsopp said he took the call from Mercedes headquarters in Stuttgart that kickstarted the EQXX project standing in a former cowshed while on holiday on the Isle of Wight in August 2020. It came with a clear, tough challenge - build an EV capable of driving 1,000 km on a single charge.F1 fuel limits imposed in 2014 forced HPP to develop engines and cars that squeeze the most out of every drop and to "chase every single watt of loss" from two electric motors, Allsopp said."A fundamental part of who we are is always getting ready for the next race," Allsopp said.Applying that racing mindset, F1 engineers in Brixworth and nearby Brackley worked with a team in Stuttgart to produce the EQXX - using a flexible approach that allowed the team to move forward with development before the EV's batteries were ready and then adapt plans when they were.The EQXX featured a battery pack half the size of Mercedes' flagship EQS SUV, compact electronics hardware and a new operating system. Coupled with sleek aerodynamics, that allowed it to drive more than 1,200 km from Stuttgart to Silverstone in England on a single charge, spending 8.3 kilowatt hours of energy per 100 km.By comparison, Tesla says its long-range Model 3 spends 16 kWh per 100 km.To maintain speed for bringing elements of the EQXX to mass production in 2024 on its new compact Mercedes Modular Architecture (MMA) vehicle platform, the automaker has developed a digital model of its plant in Rastatt - the same car will also be built in Hungary and China - to "simulate the assembly process," and thus accelerate the physical changeover of the plant to build the new EVs, CTO Schaefer said.Traditionally, automakers have conducted "mid-life" upgrades on vehicle models after three or four years, but Schaefer said "updates to EVs will be way more frequent."Speed and efficiencyOthers in the auto industry are also ramping up the race for speed and efficiency.Ford has announced plans to follow Mercedes with a return to F1 racing in 2026, providing "an incredibly cost-effective platform to innovate, share ideas and technologies," CEO Jim Farley said in February.And Volkswagen has said it aims to cut its time to market for new Chinese models from four years to closer to the Chinese 2.5-year average, partly by localizing more research and development.Automakers are so focused on efficiency some now include penalties for suppliers who fail to meet efficiency targets, said Liam Butterworth, CEO of supplier Dowlais, whose sideshafts are used in nine of the world's top ten selling EVs.OneD Battery Sciences adds silicon to EV battery anodes that cut weight, reduce cost and charge batteries faster. General Motors has invested in the Palo Alto, California-based company and is researching using the technology in the U.S. automaker's Ultium batteries, both companies said. OneD CEO Vincent Pluvinage said that during the second quarter the company will announce more agreements with automakers seeking cheaper, more efficient EVs. He declined to provide further details of the deals."Increasing performance and reducing costs is the name of the game," Pluvinage said. "If you have a technology that works but you are asking a premium, carmakers are no longer interested." So far, automakers have added more batteries to vehicles to increase EV range, exacerbating a looming shortage of raw materials such as lithium and cobalt. But HPP's Allsopp said making EVs more efficient allows automakers to use smaller batteries, making them both greener and cheaper."Just throwing batteries at something is not an intelligent solution," Allsopp said. "If you find clever ways to achieve the same range: it's better for customers, carmakers and the planet." https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/mercedes-leans-f1-technology-keep-tesla-ev-race

The animal kingdom is full of deadly weapons. A lion's teeth can rip apart flesh with ferocious intensity, rattlesnakes can inject toxins into the bloodstream and hippos can kill you with their powerful jaws. These are just a few examples of deadly creatures. But which animal kills the most humans?According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(opens in new tab) (CDC), the "world's deadliest animal" is the mosquito, which by some estimates, kills 500,000(opens in new tab) to more than a million(opens in new tab) people per year. The main reason mosquitoes are so deadly? They are a vector for disease, particularly malaria."Malaria has been so persistently devastating to human po[CENSORED]tions for a long time," Shannon LaDeau(opens in new tab), a disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, told Live Science.Related: Why do mosquitoes buzz in our ears?Malaria is caused by parasitic single-celled organisms in the Plasmodium genus, carried from person to person by Anopheles mosquitoes. While the disease is rare in North America and Europe, it's common in parts of Africa, southern Asia and South America, according to Our World in Data(opens in new tab). Worldwide, malaria caused around 619,000 deaths in 2021, according to the World Health Organization(opens in new tab) (WHO).The disease is often treatable with accessible health care. But for high-risk people — such as small children, pregnant people and people with immune deficiencies, like HIV/AIDS — malaria can be very serious. According to the WHO, about 80% of all malaria deaths in Africa were in children under age 5.Mosquitoes also spread an array of other diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, West Nile virus, Zika virus and the parasitic infection lymphatic filariasis. So why are mosquitoes so effective at spreading disease? For one, female mosquitoes feed on blood, which means they very easily transfer pathogens from one person's bloodstream to another, LaDeau noted. They're also small and winged, which means they can spread easily and bite people without being noticed. Then, there's the fact that we share an ecosystem and resources. Mosquitoes rely on water to reproduce, just as humans rely on water to live, which means we tend to live in the same places."We can't fully separate ourselves from the habitat that they need," LaDeau said.Still, there are ways to reduce the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses. Even small infrastructure updates can make a big difference, LaDeau noted. For example, window screens can help keep mosquitoes outside homes, and plumbing can keep water sealed away so it's not in open pools.Those amenities are part of why malaria isn't widespread in many parts of the world with better infrastructure, she said. And in areas without these accommodations, mosquito nets can help to keep the insects away from people's beds.These preventions can also protect against other mosquito-borne illnesses, like dengue, which kills tens of thousands of people each year. But public health efforts against mosquito-borne illnesses are facing an uphill battle under climate change(opens in new tab). As the planet warms, these diseases could start to spread into new areas if local environments start to become more hospitable to these pathogens and the mosquitoes that carry them, Andy MacDonald(opens in new tab), a disease ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told Live Science.Mosquitos, however, aren’t the only supremely deadly animals on our planet. Snakes kill between 81,000 and 138,000 people every year, according to the WHO(opens in new tab), making them one of the most deadly animals to humans. And rabies, a disease spread by a bite with an infected mammal (often a dog), kills about 59,000 people each year, the WHO reported(opens in new tab).Other animals, such as freshwater snails and assassin bugs, also spread potentially deadly diseases to humans like schistosomiasis and Chagas disease, which each kill thousands of people every year, according to(opens in new tab) the WHO(opens in new tab).But only one animal rivals the mosquito for the title of most deadly to humans. A report(opens in new tab) from the United Nations estimated that homicide and armed conflict killed about 553,000 people in 2017 — making humans one of the deadliest creatures on Earth. https://www.livescience.com/animals/insects/which-animal-kills-the-most-people-every-year

An independent review has been launched to help shape the future direction of sport provision in Jersey. The formal review is being conducted by Simon Cooper, former head of sport for the mayor of London, who will publish a report with recommendations.The review will look at how the government's sport and physical activity policy and strategy are formulated and implemented.It comes five years after the establishment of Jersey Sport.The arms-length organisation has set a goal for physical activity to increase on the island by 10%, by 2030.Mr Cooper will conduct interviews with key stakeholders, assess key policy documents and, later in the review, invite anyone with an interest to contribute their views.Jersey's government said previously he was responsible for managing relations between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and public bodies, which accounted for more than 95% of the deprtment's £1bn budget.Deputy Lucy Stephenson, assistant minister with responsibility for sport, said Mr Cooper's knowledge and experience in the area was "first class"."This strategic review of the sports delivery landscape is important to understand where we are now, and what changes - if any - we need to make in order to achieve value for money and effectiveness for islanders," she said."This is an excellent opportunity to review Jersey Sport in the wider context, and to determine what barriers - if any - there are to achieving the goals set out in Inspiring an Active Jersey."The review's report is expected to published in the summer. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-jersey-65453950

Just as important as eating well is getting a good night's sleep. The majority of us choose to take medications rather than alter our lifestyles to address our problems. Numerous things we do have an adverse effect on how well we sleep, which unwittingly has an effect on our health. We can dramatically improve our quality of life by altering our sleeping habits. Priyanka Salot, Co-founder of The Sleep Company shares five behaviours that make it difficult to fall asleep: Use Of Screens Before Bed: We all enjoy using our phones, laptops, and computers in the hours before night, but have you ever questioned why doing so is bad for your health? This is so that the screen’s light won't interfere with our bodies` normal sleep cycle. This explains why so many individuals struggle to fall asleep after using their laptops or watching television right before bed. So, in order to get a good night's sleep, it is advised that you restrict screen time before bed. In fact, relaxing activities that can aid in getting ready for bed include reading a book or keeping a journal. Working Out Just Before Going To Bed: Exercise is necessary, but it's not a good idea to work out hard right before bed. Over time, it lowers the quantity and quality of sleep as well as depletes the body's energy stores. Try stretching or yoga before night instead of working out because these activities are less demanding on your energies and are less rigorous. Mattress Type: It's critical to avoid placing strain on our muscles and joints at the end of the day. It can be difficult to sleep on a mattress or pillow made of foam. Many people roll and toss in their sleep as a result of mattress pain. Avoiding a memory foam or standard mattress in favour of a SmartGRID Mattress may be a wise decision if you experience sleep interruptions or are perpetually exhausted. High Caffeine Consumption Around Dinner And Bedtime: While many of us might not be aware of it, coffee use may be keeping us from falling asleep. While it does provide us with the stamina to stay awake, it also causes our minds to race and could make us uneasy. Because of this, consuming coffee right before bed or right after dinner is like working against our will, making it harder to fall asleep. Ambiance: The impact of light and noise on sleep: Ambiance is an important factor in a good night's sleep. People rightly associate bright light as the key hindrance to sleep, but fail to understand that noise is also a major concern. It is extremely difficult to fall asleep when someone is talking loudly in the next room or outside our window. As a result, creating a quiet and supportive bedroom is an important aspect of sleep hygiene. We must not underestimate the importance of adequate sleep for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Like in every other situation, a little effort goes a long way and will have a significant impact on one's quality of sleep. https://zeenews.india.com/health/5-unhealthy-lifestyle-habits-that-hamper-your-sleep-2601845

Three-month-old Tayabullah is quiet and motionless. His mother Nigar moves the oxygen pipe away from his nose and puts a finger below his nostrils to check if she can feel him breathing. She begins to cry as she realises her son is fading.At this hospital in Afghanistan, there is not a single working ventilator.Mothers hold oxygen tubes near their babies' noses because masks designed to fit their small faces are not available, and the women are trying to fill in for what trained staff or medical equipment should do.Every day, 167 children die in Afghanistan from preventable diseases, according to the UN children's fund Unicef - illnesses that could and should be cured with the right medication.It is a staggering number. But it's an estimate.And when you step inside the paediatric ward of the main hospital in the western province of Ghor, you will be left wondering if that estimate is too low.Multiple rooms are full of sick children, at least two in each bed, their little bodies ravaged by pneumonia. Just two nurses look after 60 children.In one room, we saw at least two dozen babies who appeared to be in a serious condition. The children should have been continuously monitored in critical care - impossible at this hospital. Yet, for the million people who live in Ghor, this basic facility is still the best equipped public hospital they can access. Public healthcare in Afghanistan has never been adequate, and foreign money which almost entirely funded it was frozen in August 2021 when the Taliban seized power. Over the past 20 months, we have visited hospitals and clinics across this country, and witnessed them collapsing.Now the Taliban's recent ban on women working for NGOs means it's becoming harder for humanitarian agencies to operate, putting even more children and babies at risk.Already defeated by a lack of resources, medics at the Ghor hospital used whatever little they had to try to revive Tayabullah.Dr Ahmad Samadi was called in to check his condition, fatigue and stress visible on his face. He put a stethoscope to Tayabullah's chest - there was a faint heartbeat.Nurse Edima Sultani rushed in with an oxygen pump. She put it over Tayabullah's mouth, blowing air into it. Then Dr Samadi used his thumbs to perform compressions on the boy's tiny chest.Watching on looking stricken was Tayabullah's grandfather Ghawsaddin. He told us his grandson was suffering from pneumonia and malnutrition."It took eight hours on rubble roads to bring him here from our district Charsadda," Ghawsaddin said. The family, who can only afford to eat dry bread for meals, scraped together money to pay for the ride.For half an hour, the efforts to revive his grandson continued. Nurse Sultani then turned towards Nigar and told her Tayabullah had died.The sudden silence which had enveloped the room was broken by Nigar's sobs. Her baby boy was wrapped in a blanket and handed over to Ghawsaddin. The family carried him home.Tayabullah should be alive - every disease he had was curable."I'm also a mother and when I saw the baby die, I felt like I've lost my own child. When I saw his mother weeping, it broke my heart. It hurt my conscience," said Nurse Sultani, who frequently does 24-hour shifts."We don't have equipment and there is a lack of trained staff, especially female staff. When we are looking after so many in serious conditions, which child should we check on first? There's nothing we can do but watch babies die."Minutes later, in the room next door, we saw another child in severe distress, with an oxygen mask on her face, struggling to breathe.Two-year-old Gulbadan was born with a heart defect, a condition called patent ductus arteriosus. It was diagnosed six months ago at this hospital.Doctors have told us the condition is not uncommon or hard to treat. But Ghor's main hospital is not equipped to perform routine surgery that could fix it. It also doesn't have the medicines she needs.Gulbadan's grandmother Afwa Gul held down her small arms, to try to prevent the little girl from pulling down her mask."We borrowed money to take her to Kabul, but we couldn't afford surgery, so we had to bring her back," she said. They approached an NGO to get financial help. Their details were registered but there's been no response since then.Gulbadan's father Nawroze stroked her forehead, trying to soothe his daughter who winced with every breath she took. Stress etched on his face, he pursed his lips and let out a sigh of resignation. He told us Gulbadan had recently begun to talk, forming her first words, calling out to him and other members of their family."I'm a labourer. I don't have a stable income. If I had money, she would never have suffered this way. At this moment, I can't even afford to buy one cup of tea," he said.I asked Dr Samadi how much oxygen Gulbadan needs."Two litres every minute," he said. "When this cylinder gets empty, if we don't find another one, she will die."When we went back later to check on Gulbadan, we were told that's exactly what had happened. The oxygen cylinder had run out, and she died.The oxygen production unit at the hospital isn't able to produce sufficient oxygen because it only has power at night, and there isn't a steady supply of raw material.In a matter of a few hours, two children died of diseases that could have been prevented or cured. It's a crushing but all too familiar blow for Dr Samadi and his colleagues."I feel exhaustion and agony. Every day we lose one or two beloved children of Ghor. We have almost got accustomed to it now," he said.Walking around the rooms, we saw an overwhelming number of children in distress. One-year-old Sajad's breathing was raspy. He's suffering from pneumonia and meningitis.In another bed is Irfan. When his breathing became more laboured, his mother Zia-rah was given another oxygen pipe to hold near his nose.Wiping tears that rolled down her cheeks with her upper arm, she carefully held both pipes as steady as she could. She told us she would have brought Irfan to the hospital at least four or five days earlier if the roads had not been blocked by snow.So many simply can't make it to hospital, and others choose not to stay once they get there."Ten days ago a child was brought here in a very critical condition," Nurse Sultani said. "We gave him an injection, but we didn't have the medicines to cure him."So his father decided to take him home. 'If he has to die, let him die at home'," he told me.What we saw in Ghor raises serious questions about why public healthcare in Afghanistan is crumbling so quickly, when billions of dollars were poured into it by the international community for 20 years until 2021.Where was that money spent, if a provincial hospital doesn't have a single ventilator for its patients?Currently there is a stop-gap arrangement in place. Because money can't be given directly to the internationally unrecognised Taliban government, humanitarian agencies have stepped in to fund salaries of medical staff and the cost of medicines and food, that are just about keeping hospitals like the one in Ghor running.Now, that funding, already sorely inefficient, could also be at risk. Aid agencies warn that their donors might cut back because the Taliban's restrictions on women, including its ban on Afghan women working for the UN and NGOs, violates international laws.Only 5% of the UN's appeal for Afghanistan has been funded so far.e drove up one of the hills near the Ghor hospital to a burial ground. There are no records or registers here, not even a caretaker. So it's not possible to find out who the graves belong to, but it's easy to distinguish big graves from small ones.From what we saw, a disproportionate number - at least half - of the new graves belong to children. A man who lives in a house close by also told us most of those they are burying these days are children.There may be no way to count how many children are dying, but there is evidence everywhere of the scale of the crisis.Additional reporting by Imogen Anderson and Sanjay Ganguly https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-65449259

Nick Movie: Jung_E Time: January 20, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?:Netflix Duration of the movie: 1H 39M Traile

After Chinese gross domestic product grew by only 3% in 2022, one would have expected the government to set a growth target of at least 6% for this year. In fact, virtually no market forecast projects a lower rate. Yet, at last month’s National People’s Congress, outgoing Premier Li Keqiang revealed in his final Government Work Report that the government was aiming for growth of about 5%, the lowest target of his tenure.Under former Premier Wen Jiabao, from 2003 to 2013, China maintained an official growth target of 8%. But, in his final Government Work Report, Wen lowered the target for the first time, by 0.5 percentage points. The reason was obvious: Wen wanted to help cool the then-overheated economy. Surprisingly, Wen’s successor, Li, effectively treated 7.5% as a ceiling for growth during his 10-year term.In fact, since 2014, Premier Li has consistently revised China’s growth target a half-point downward from the previous year’s target, whether through a categorical adjustment or the introduction of a lower range. With GDP growth repeatedly falling short of the official target, one cannot help but assume that this was a response to the economy’s actual performance. If existing targets are not being met, why would the government raise them?Over the past three decades, growth targets have, to some extent, become a self-fulfilling prophecy. From 1993 to 2013, the central government’s growth target was practically interpreted as an indication of what the central government hoped for. That’s why the actual rate of growth was much higher than the government targets. Yes, there were structural forces working in China’s favor during this period. Local governments faced political incentives to implement their growth strategies — including fixed-asset investment and industrial planning — to meet the central government’s priorities and expectations.Just as rising growth targets encourage local governments to pursue growth more aggressively, falling growth targets can discourage such efforts, leading to lower growth rates that, in turn, spur the government to reduce targets further, causing a downward spiral. All of this makes it difficult to estimate China’s potential rate of growth, which is supposed to be what anchors economic policy. Why did that happen?China’s slowing GDP growth over the past decade is a reflection not of flawed policy, but of a new policy approach. From 1993 to about 2013, GDP growth was the central government’s primary objective and guided policymakers’ approach to macroeconomic management. This objective — which local governments were tasked with realizing — led to the acceleration of public capital formation, improvements in the investment environment, the crowding in of private capital and the creation of more productive capacity.This approach, however, also has its limits, resulting from rapidly increasing marginal costs. While productive investment fuels growth and development, excessive investment leads to diminishing returns and rising debts. The growth-first approach also caused considerable environmental damage, including pollution of China’s air and waters.The immediate social costs associated with this approach finally pushed China’s government to opt for a new strategy, centered on creating jobs and ensuring macroeconomic stability. On the employment front, China has already achieved considerable success: over the last decade, urban job creation has stood at around 12 million (or more) annually, far exceeding the target — more binding than the GDP target — of 11 million.China owes these gains largely to rapid progress in high-tech sectors like the platform economy and electric vehicles. New digital technologies have supported rapid growth in the service sector and bolstered resilience in the labor market more broadly.If the economy can produce enough jobs, ever-accelerating GDP growth is simply not necessary. Even as GDP growth has plummeted to about half the annual average (10.2%) in 2002-12, China has not experienced significant social unrest. Nor has there been a financial crisis or a sharp economic contraction that reverses past progress on living standards, despite the pandemic-induced slump.China will continue to reap the benefits of its shift from growth-centric policymaking to a focus on jobs. This approach is more conducive to the implementation of structural reforms needed to limit excess investment and reduce debts. It should also spur the adoption of new technologies, generating a virtuous cycle of job creation and productivity growth. Progress in these areas — as well as the convergence of productivity-growth rates across regions — is crucial for the Chinese economy’s medium- to long-term development.An unfavorable external environment further strengthens the case for China to look beyond growth. The entire global economy is grappling with declining productivity growth and falling demand — trends that will not be reversed any time soon.Moreover, we are witnessing the collapse of the institutional framework that has underpinned capital-account liberalization worldwide over the last 30 years, as geopolitical tensions lead to an unprecedented surge in cross-border restrictions. More broadly, geopolitics-driven economic policies — not least restrictions imposed on trade with China by the United States — are generating considerable uncertainty in global supply chains and financial markets.The era of high growth and low inflation is over in the advanced economies and is being succeeded by the “secular stagnation” of which former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers has long warned. In this context, emerging-market economies like China are right to abandon the illusion that high growth can be maintained indefinitely. The more likely scenario is a long period — lasting perhaps a decade — of slower growth. China is far better off focusing on employment and working to avoid a systemic financial or debt crisis than attempting to resist the inevitable. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2023/04/30/commentary/world-commentary/china-economic-growth/

By comparing the genetic blueprints of an array of animals, scientists are gaining new insights into our own species and all we share with other creatures.One of the most striking revelations is that certain passages in the instructions for life have persisted across evolutionary time, representing a through line that binds all mammals – including us.The findings come from the Zoonomia Project, an international effort that offers clues about human traits and diseases, animal abilities like hibernation and even the genetics behind a sled dog named Balto who helped save lives a century ago.Researchers shared some of their discoveries in 11 papers published Thursday in the journal Science. David O’Connor, who studies primate genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the studies tackle deep questions.“It’s just the wonder of biology, how we are so similar and dissimilar to all the things around us,” said O’Connor, who wasn’t involved in the research. “It’s the sort of thing that reminds me why it’s cool to be a biologist.”The Zoonomia team, led by Elinor Karlsson and Kerstin Lindblad-Toh at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, looked at 240 species of mammals, from bats to bison. They sequenced and compared their genomes — the instructions organisms need to develop and grow.They found that certain regions of these genomes have stayed the same across all mammal species over millions of years of evolution.One study found that at least 10% of the human genome is largely unchanged across species. Many of these regions occur outside the 1% of genes that give rise to proteins that control the activity of cells, the main purpose of DNA.Researchers theorized that long-preserved regions probably serve a purpose and are likely what they call “regulatory elements" containing instructions about where, when and how much protein is produced. Scientists identified more than 3 million of these in the human genome, about half of which were previously unknown.Scientists also focused on change within the animal kingdom. When they aligned genetic sequences for species and compared them with their ancestors, Karlsson said, they discovered that some species saw a lot of changes in relatively short periods of time. This showed how they were adapting to their environments.“One of the really cool things about mammals is that at this point in time, they’ve basically adapted to survive in nearly every single ecosystem on Earth,” Karlsson said.One group of scientists looked for genes that humans don’t have but other mammals do.Instead of focusing on new genes that might create uniquely human traits, “we kind of flipped that on its head," said Steven Reilly, a genetics researcher at Yale University.“Losing pieces of DNA can actually generate new features,” Reilly said.For example, he said, a tiny DNA deletion between chimps and humans caused a cascade of changes in gene expression that may be one of the causes of prolonged brain development in humans.Another study focused on the fitness of one well-known animal: Balto.Scientists sequenced the genome of the sled dog, who led a team of dogs carrying a lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska, in 1925. His story was made into a 1995 animated feature film and a statue of the pup stands in New York’s Central Park.By comparing Balto’s genes to those of other dogs, researchers found he was more genetically diverse than modern breeds and may have carried genetic variants that helped him survive harsh conditions. One of the authors, researcher Katherine Moon of the University of California, Santa Cruz, said Balto “gives us this guide through comparative genomics,” showing how genetics can shape individuals.O’Connor said he expects Zoonomia to yield even more insights in the future.“To have these tools and to have the sort of audacity to ask these big questions” helps scientists and others “learn more about life around us,” he said. https://www.voanews.com/a/zoonomia-genetic-research-reveals-all-we-share-with-animals-/7071713.html

There are three important days in every bald(ing) man’s life: The day you realize you’re losing your hair, the day you realize you should shave off what remains, and the day you finally do. Growing bald gracefully is about reducing the gap between these milestones as far as possible. I learned this the hard way. Before recounting my decade of denial and deceit, here are the bare-headed facts: I suffer from a type of baldness I call “the Prince William.” It combines an expanding circular patch on top (“the Friar Tuck”) and receding corners (“the Jude Law”). The two must eventually meet. Or, to put it another way: The bridge between my last strongholds of follicle activity has grown ever thinner, my hairline drifting apart like two continental landmasses. What once resembled Pangaea is now little more than a footbridge over the Bering Strait.My mother was the first to notice this tectonic shift. “You’re thinning,” she observed, hovering over my then-25-year-old self at the family table. It seemed fitting that the woman who delivered me into this world should also discover my first sign of aging. After all, losing your hair is coming to terms with the possibility of looking like a big baby again. (Although my mom recently confirmed via WhatsApp that I had a full head of hair at birth. “I don’t do bald babies,” she added, unhelpfully.) What followed will be familiar to men around the world. Realization is a creeping process of denial eroded by moments of shock and, later, resignation. Denial was believing that what wasn’t in the mirror (namely a birds-eye view of my head) didn’t exist. Shock was encountering a photo of myself, taken from above, and wondering, ‘Who’s that balding guy standing exactly where I was?’ Resignation was seeing an acquaintance across a bar, his greasy comb-over fooling only himself, and muttering to my wife: “Just don’t let me get like him.”I almost did. Another five years would pass until I conceded defeat. I moved to Hong Kong and found a miracle barber who proved that coolness isn’t a hairstyle alone. A budding breakdancer (and bald by choice: hair is something of an impediment to head-spinning), he was adept at arranging my remaining locks in a way that maintained the illusion.We had an unspoken understanding. But when I moved again last year, my attempts to explain his magic to new hair stylists became increasingly embarrassing. It felt like I was making them accomplices in my deception. “Just make it look… better?” I’d say, before removing my glasses and hoping what emerged would sustain me for another month or three. Successive barbers played along. But I, too, was fooling only myself.Instagram’s algorithms discovered my situation and began po[CENSORED]ting my feed with clips of extreme toupée makeovers. Hints from loved ones were even less subtle — like when my wife returned from a work trip brandishing a gift, only to reveal a bottle of UV-protective scalp spray. Who said romance is dead?In the meantime, I began making self-deprecating jokes and became more comfortable discussing my fate. Invariably, friends offered the same three condolences in reply: 1) That “at least” I can grow a beard, 2) that I have a “good-shaped head,” whatever that means, and 3) that, if I’m lucky, I might end up resembling the universal gold standard of attractive bald White dudes: Bruce Willis.If you find yourself reassuring a balding man that he looks like Bruce Willis, I promise you he’s heard it many times before. It is reassuring, nonetheless.As your hair thins, small clumps start sticking out in new and unexpected directions. Human hairs crave company — and when their neighbors depart, they don’t know where to go.I’d spend cumulative hours trying to convince individual strands to stick back down. Then one winter morning, as I fussed over a group of errant strays, a moment of clarity: I had grown more insecure about my hair than what lurked beneath.That evening I purchased clippers, took them to the bathroom and unceremoniously gave myself the only hairstyle I’ll have for the rest of my life. A full 10 years after diagnosis, male pattern baldness had secured its final victory. A chapter of my youth ended in a pile of limp offcuts on the shower floor.My wife told me I look much better than before. But she has to say that. My editor meanwhile assured me that I look more “athletic,” (indeed, my streamlined form may have knocked a few seconds off my swim time). Other benefits, I told myself, include quicker post-shower drying, no money spent on haircuts and time saved getting ready each morning.Soon after completing the deed, I sent a selfie to my friend Anton. “Welcome to the sexy zone, comrade,” he wrote back.Anton was the first among my friends to go bald. While I had the luxury of holding out until aged 35, he was an angst-prone 18 when he first found clumps of hair on the pillow. The denial phase lasted only until his early 20s, when it was shattered at a theater workshop by a teacher who instructed the class to “tilt over until you can see Anton’s bald spot.” He then performed what Anton described as a “little tap on the top of my head.”“I was like, ‘What the f**k?’” he recalled over Zoom. “I didn’t say it, but I felt assaulted. Not only because he tapped me on the head, but because I didn’t even know I was bald! That was the first I’d heard about it.”He soon found looking at photos of himself depressing. He too was assured that “at least” he had a beard and a “good-shaped head” — again, whatever that means. Someone told him he looked like Jason Statham, who is just the British equivalent to Willis. For Anton, going bald was “a very lonely” experience, especially at such a young age.“There is something especially isolating about something happening to you that is socially acceptable to laugh at,” he said. “There wasn’t a sense of anyone feeling anything other than, ‘Sucks to be you.’”For the record, Anton looks great bald — and I’m not just returning his compliment. Unlike me, he’s got some muscle on him. As a boxing instructor, he suits the skinhead look. In a 2012 study, which I cite simply because I approve of the results, University of Pennsylvania researchers found that images of men with their hair digitally removed were perceived to be “more dominant, taller and stronger” when compared to the original photographs.“Holding on to your hair is a lot less attractive than just getting rid of it,” Anton said. “You can look sharper. You just change the image of yourself in your mind’s eye, then you suddenly appreciate it for a different aesthetic value.“It’s taken me 35 years, but now I’m very fond of how I look,” he added. “I got to a point where I realized any criticism of my appearance isn’t based on anything other than an impression of what other people might think.”I am not massively worried about being considered less attractive. Nor am I concerned about looking older or being called a “slaphead,” as we’re disparagingly known in Britain. It’s the loss of identity I struggle with.My hairless head will, forever more, be my distinguishing physical attribute. To strangers I am now, officially, “that bald guy.” Who ordered the lasagna? That bald guy at table seven. Where’s the bathroom? On the left, just past that bald guy. Does the queue start here? No, it goes back to that bald guy.My fear that all hairless men look the same is reinforced by the fact that people keep saying I look like my dad. No one had ever noted this resemblance before. Now, suddenly, we’re like two shiny-headed, bearded peas in a pod. There is a certain poetic justice here, and I suffer regular flashbacks to the bald jokes I’d tell at my dad’s expense. He assures me he didn’t take them personally.My dad started balding at 16. By the time he was my age, his naked head was competing with the mullets and perms of the 1980s. But he appears genuinely impervious to his baldness. “I can’t remember ever being sensitive about it my whole life,” he told me over Zoom.Maybe boomers just don’t like talking about their feelings, but I believe him.“I wasn’t a cool or attractive teenager in the slightest,” he recalled. “But I managed to build up a good social life because I could make people laugh. I took a decision, fairly early on in life, that I’d only get anywhere if I relied on my wit, charm and personality. Baldness was pretty low down on my list of priorities.”Whether he’s to blame for my hairline is matter of debate. Studies of identical twins have found that heredity factors account for around 80% of men’s predisposition to baldness, though the genetics are poorly understood. An old wives’ tale dictates that hair loss is passed down via the mother, and thus your maternal grandfather’s hairline is the best predictor of your own. There is no conclusive evidence for this, however, and my dad sees “no observable pattern” in our family (his generation included one Friar Tuck, one Jude Law and one full head of hair).Lifestyle factors can play a part, and I often wonder whether my fate was hastened by eating trans fats and not sleeping enough, or by living in Beijing during some of its most grimly polluted years. But my hairline’s retreat was likely predestined. As such, I am at peace with it. Although I didn’t grow bald gracefully, I can still aspire to be bald with grace.Anton’s advice for me and fellow newcomers to his “sexy zone” is as follows: Moisturize your head daily, shave it every few days and wear hats to protect against the sun and heat loss alike. If you have a beard, keep it groomed; if you’re muscly, be aware of intimidating people and disarm them with a smile. And remember, he concluded, the way you carry yourself matters more than what is — or isn’t — sprouting from the top of your head.My dad’s advice is a little blunter: “If I were you, I would concentrate on developing your wit, charm and personality.” https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/male-pattern-baldness-experience-acceptance/index.html

Diogo Jota's injury-time winner gave Liverpool a dramatic victory at Anfield after Tottenham looked on course to salvage a point despite going three goals behind inside 15 minutes. Spurs were 5-0 down after 20 minutes at Newcastle United and swiftly found themselves three goals adrift at Anfield as Liverpool delivered an opening salvo that left them chasing what looked like a lost cause.Instead, when former Everton striker Richarlison headed his first Premier League goal of the season in stoppage time, Spurs were on the brink of rescuing an unlikely draw - until Jota capitalised on a defensive mix-up seconds later to win the game for Liverpool.Curtis Jones opened the scoring in the third minute from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross before Luis Diaz, making his first start since suffering a knee injury in October that required surgery, turned in Mohamad Salah's delivery at the near post two minutes later.Salah made amends for missing penalties against Bournemouth and Arsenal by adding the third from the spot following Romero's reckless challenge on Cody Gakpo.With Spurs fans, who were given a refund after the 6-1 debacle on Tyneside, demanding their money back once more, they staged a fightback and showed real character, Harry Kane volleying home six minutes before the interval.Spurs actually had chances to give Liverpool even more anxious moments but both Son Heung-min and Cristian Romero hit the post within seconds in the second half.But Son then raced clear to beat Alisson, giving Spurs renewed hope with 13 minutes left.Richarlison sent the visiting fans wild with a header, before Jota had the last word.Liverpool move up to fifth to retain slim hopes of Champions League football but earlier victories for Manchester United and Newcastle United make this an increasingly long shot. Sloppy Liverpool escape to victory Liverpool's late show, capped by Jota's winner, was greeted with huge relief as well as celebration inside Anfield as a fast start went into a steep decline to allow Spurs a route back into the game.Jurgen Klopp's side looked to be strolling to victory after dominating the opening phase and scoring three goals, only to then deliver a sloppy, careless and complacent performance to throw Spurs several lifelines.Liverpool's rearguard was exposed at regular intervals and they were thankful for the woodwork twice in the second half as Spurs, who looked out of contention, gratefully accepted the encouragement they were being given.Jota, who is back to his best goal-scoring form, was the match-winner with a drilled low finish past Fraser Forster at The Kop end to snatch back the three points Liverpool looked like they had thrown away.Liverpool are right in the fight for a place in Europe as they overhauled Spurs, but this was a performance that demonstrated once again the two sides to their game they have shown throughout this season. Spurs pay for slow start again Tottenham's season has been characterised by slow starts and they paid the price once more for failing to get to grips with the game in the opening phase.The worst example was in that 6-1 debacle on Tyneside a week ago, and they looked on course for a repeat here as Liverpool took advantage of Spurs sleepwalking once again to race into that early lead.Interim manager Ryan Mason will surely have warned his players about the perils of such a hesitant opening and yet they played the opening 15 minutes as if they were in a daze.It will have been even more damaging and frustrating after the manner in which they showed real heart to fight their way back into contention, clawing back the 3-0 deficit in injury time, only to cast away the point they thought they had earned.Mason was furious Jota was still on the pitch after Oliver Skipp was injured by his high boot, which summed up the frustration felt in the Spurs camp after a vital point was lost in one loss of concentration late on. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/65363996

Air strikes have pounded Sudan's capital, Khartoum, despite a truce aimed at allowing civilians to flee. The army said it was attacking the city to flush out its paramilitary rivals, the Rapid Response Forces (RSF).The fighting intensified even as the warring sides said they would extend the truce by another three days.More than 500 deaths have been reported with the true number of casualties believed to be much higher. Millions remain trapped in Khartoum.Army commander Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, are vying for power - and disagree in particular about plans to include the RSF into the army.The generals agreed a humanitarian truce after intensive diplomatic efforts by neighbouring countries, the US, UK and UN. It was extended, but did not hold.However, it remains unclear on what they will do in the next stage of the deal arrived at with US and Saudi mediation, according to the army.Before the announcement of the extension on Sunday, the army said it had conducted operations against RSF troops north of the city centre.Hamid Khalafallah, from the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, is one of those unable to flee."When there is very loud bombing and it gets closer, we take shelter in the house, try to all come to a central room, far from windows, far from walls, and so on, and just lie on the floor until it passes."When it's a bit further, we try to use the quiet hours that we get - a couple of hours a day - to just quickly go out and get what we need which is also very risky but we have to do it."'The first major aid flight, laden with medical supplies, has arrived in the country.The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says a plane landed at Port Sudan with eight tonnes of relief supplies, including health kits for hospitals."With hostilities still ongoing, ICRC teams will need guarantees of safe passage from the parties to the conflict to deliver this material to medical facilities in locations with active fighting, such as Khartoum," a statement said.More than 70% of health facilities in the capital have been forced to close as a result of the fighting that erupted on 15 April.BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams, who is monitoring events from Nairobi in Kenya, says the army will find it difficult to expel the RSF from Khartoum.For all the army's superior firepower, the RSF are highly mobile and more suited to urban warfare, our correspondent adds.Foreign countries have been evacuating their nationals amid the chaos.The UK government announced on Sunday that it would organise a final evacuation flight on Monday - two days after it said it had ended its operation to bring British nationals out. The Foreign Office (FCDO) advised those wishing to leave to travel to the evacuation point in Port Sudan before 12:00 (10:00 GMT). So far, 2,122 people have been evacuated, the FCDO statement said.A US-organised convoy has reached Port Sudan to evacuate more US citizens by ship to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. It said hundreds of Americans had already left, in addition to the diplomats evacuated by air a week ago.On Saturday, Sudanese former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok warned that the conflict could become worse than those in Syria and Libya. Those wars have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and caused instability in the wider regions.Speaking in Nairobi, he said: "I think it will be a nightmare for the world. This is not a war between an army and small rebellion. It is almost like two armies." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65440528

Ex-Global 🙂