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Paleontologists have suggested that thin, lizard-like lips concealed the gigantic teeth of T. rex and other predatory dinosaurs, but not all experts are convinced. Po[CENSORED]r depictions of the superpredator Tyrannosaurus rex snarling to display its gigantic, knifelike teeth are scientifically inaccurate, new research suggests. Theropod dinosaurs — a group of bipedal, mostly meat-eating dinosaurs that included T. rex, Velociraptor and Spinosaurus — may instead have concealed their deadly chompers behind thin lips that kept their teeth hydrated and tough enough to crush bones. Paleontologists had already suggested that T. rex may have had lips, and there has been debate whether carnivorous dinosaurs looked more like present-day crocodiles, which don’t have lips and have protruding teeth, or if they more likely resembled monitor lizards, whose large teeth are covered by scaly lips. "Dinosaur lips would be more similar to those of many lizards or amphibians," Thomas Cullen(opens in new tab), a paleobiologist at Auburn University in Alabama, and lead author of the new study, told Live Science in an email. "It would be a covering of skin and scales extending from the edge of the jaw enough to cover the side view of the teeth somewhat, and allow the mouth to close with a tight seal that prevents the teeth from being exposed." Teeth need to be hydrated to stay sturdy and healthy, co-author Mark Witton(opens in new tab), a paleontologist, paleoartist and visiting researcher at the University of Portsmouth in England, told Live Science. "Crocodiles and alligators — their teeth are always breaking because they're not as strong, because they're not kept hydrated." link: https://www.livescience.com/t-rex-had-thin-lips-and-a-gummy-smile-controversial-study-suggests

The electric sedan, finally revealed in production form, will come to the U.S. in 2024 and could offer more than 350 miles of range. Volkswagen is finally revealing the 2025 ID.7 electric sedan in production form. It uses the company's MEB platform and comes with a 282-hp electric motor and a choice of two battery packs. The ID.7 will go on sale in the U.S. in 2024. Volkswagen is taking a step forward with its electric motors and battery packs in the 2025 ID.7 sedan. Compared with the ID.4 crossover, it boasts a more powerful electric motor and a larger battery pack that should enable more range. We're seeing the ID.7 without its camouflage for the first time, although we've already driven a prototype. This new model will arrive in the U.S. in 2024. The ID.7's standard powertrain setup will be a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive configuration with a 282-horsepower electric motor. That's more powerful than the RWD ID.4's 201-hp motor, and the ID.7 will come standard with a 77.0-kWh battery pack. A larger 86.0-kWh pack will be optional and VW claims a WLTP range of 435 miles with that option. That should translate to over 350 miles on the U.S. EPA cycle, with the smaller battery pack coming in around 320 miles by our estimates. That's competitive with the Tesla Model 3 and the Hyundai Ioniq 6, the ID.7's main competitors. There's no word on whether a more powerful dual-motor all-wheel-drive version is coming later on. The ID.7 looks like a somewhat conventional four-door mid-size sedan, but it does have a hatchback design that provides good cargo space. The rear seats fold to expand the cargo area, too. In the passenger compartment, there's a new 15.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that will hopefully improve upon the ID.4's overly complex software. The cabin also appears to be spacious for five passengers. An augmented-reality head-up display will be standard, and features including massaging seats and a driver-assistance system with automatic lane changes will be available. We should learn more about detailed U.S. specs for the ID.7 later on, including pricing and EPA figures. It will be built in Germany and should start reaching U.S. dealerships sometime next year. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43607443/2025-volkswagen-id7-specs-revealed/

Laurens, 45, met Alona, 33, on a flight and offered her ‘the cheesiest opening line’. Soon afterwards, she agreed to accompany him to his cousin’s wedding. They now live together in Tanzania When Laurens boarded a flight from Phuket to Bali in April 2011, the only thing on his mind was sleeping. “I’d gone straight from the bar to the airport and I was so hungover,” he says. “It was not my most glorious moment.” He had recently completed his medical training in anaesthesiology in Brussels and was taking a well-deserved break. “I’d been travelling in Fiji and Asia and was making my way to Bali for my cousin’s wedding.” Due to exhaustion, he barely noticed Alona sitting next to him until they were about to land. “I was on a gap year working in Thailand and was taking a trip to Bali,” she says. “We both went to sleep but when we woke up we started talking.” Laurens asked her if she was travelling for business or pleasure, admitting “it was the cheesiest opening line”. They clicked straight away and continued chatting until they had picked up their luggage. “My uncle came to get me from the airport and suggested we offer Alona a lift,” says Laurens. During the journey, the pair exchanged contact details and he asked her to join him the next day for a party with his cousins. They got on so well that, afterwards, he invited her to the wedding, too. “I ended up ditching my friends,” says Alona. “It was a Muslim wedding and I only had beach clothes, so I made myself an appropriate outfit from a scarf that I turned into a dress,” she says. “My family were definitely gossiping about me because I brought a girl I met on the plane,” laughs Laurens. They spent the next few days in Bali, driving around on scooters and talking about their lives. “He told me his dream was to move to Africa, where he was born,” says Alona. “At the time, it seemed like a holiday romance, so I didn’t take it seriously.” She soon returned home to Finland, where she was studying tourism. A month later, Laurens visited her and they decided to give things a real go. He was working in Brussels as a doctor but they stayed in touch and visited each other whenever they got the chance. “In 2012, we also spent a few months together in Thailand while I completed an internship at a diving centre,” she says. In 2014 they moved in together in Brussels and, in 2018, they followed Laurens’ dream and moved to Tanzania. “I work as a consultant and Alona works for a safari company,” he says. The couple got engaged in early 2020, just before the pandemic and, shortly after, Alona became severely unwell. “At first we didn’t know if it was Covid, but it turned out to be cerebral malaria,” says Laurens. “I was scared to take her to the hospital with the virus circulating, so I set up an intensive care unit for her at home and looked after her there.” For 10 days it was “touch and go” but thankfully she made a full recovery. They married in Finland that summer, as soon as they were able to travel to Europe. “I got appendicitis the day before the wedding, so we ended up getting married in the hospital after emergency surgery. We had some cake with the guy I was sharing the room with,” says Laurens. Alona admires how her partner loves helping people. “Laurens is very generous. I think he gets that from his mum,” she says. “He’s also intelligent and funny. We always laugh together.” Laurens loves that his wife knows exactly what she wants. “She pushes me to do more in my life. She is so open to any adventure and she’s always finding new experiences.” link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/apr/17/how-we-met-i-had-gone-straight-from-the-bar-to-the-airport-then-i-sat-next-to-her-on-the-plane

Opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza has been sentenced to 25 years in jail in Russia for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was found guilty of treason, spreading "false" information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an "undesirable organisation". The Russian-British former journalist and politician is the latest of several Putin opponents to have been arrested or forced to flee Russia. He has denied all of the charges. Last week, he said in a statement: "I subscribe to every word that I have said... Not only do I not repent any of this, I am proud of it." "I know that the day will come when the darkness engulfing our country will clear," he added in remarks posted online. "Our society will open its eyes and shudder when it realises what crimes were committed in its name." Mr Kara-Murza's 25-year sentence was the maximum sought by prosecutors and is the longest sentence an opposition figure has received since the war in Ukraine began. It took only minutes for the judge to rule on his case - a process that can sometimes take a long time in Russian courts. The judge said Mr Kara-Murza would serve his time in a "strict regime correctional colony" and that he would be fined 400,000 roubles ($4,900; £4,000). The tough sentence is a sign that in today's Russia the authorities are not only determined to silence critics but also to neutralise anything or anyone they believe represents a threat to the political system. The BBC was not allowed access into the courthouse and only a handful of journalists from Russian state media were granted access, along with the defendant's mother and lawyer. Instead, reporters and foreign ambassadors crowded into a separate room to view proceedings on two TV screens. Speaking outside the court after the sentencing, Mr Kara-Murza's lawyer, Maria Eismon, said the tough sentence was "terrifying" but also a "high appreciation" of her client's work. "When [Mr Kara-Murza] heard it was 25 years, he said: my self-esteem even rose; I realised I'd been doing everything right!" she said. Ukraine war: Where are Russia's opposition leaders now? Mr Kara-Murza played a key role in persuading Western governments to sanction Russian officials for human rights abuses and corruption. He was arrested a year ago in Moscow, initially for disobeying a police officer. More serious charges were levelled at him once he was in custody. Mr Kara-Murza's case was partly based on a speech he made to politicians in the US last year, where he said Russia was committing war crimes in Ukraine with cluster bombs in residential areas and "the bombing of maternity hospitals and schools". Those claims have been independently documented - but deemed false by Russian investigators who said the defence ministry did "not permit the use of banned means… of conducting war" and insisted Ukraine's civilian po[CENSORED]tion was not a target. Another charge stemmed from an event for political prisoners at which Mr Kara-Murza referred to what investigators called Russia's "supposedly repressive policies". Last week, a copy of a speech he made to the closed court was released, in which he said his trial reminded him of a Stalin-era show trial of the 1930s. "I only blame myself for one thing," he added. "I failed to convince enough of my compatriots and politicians in democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime poses for Russia and for the world." His sentence has been widely condemned, with the British government summoning its Russian ambassador. "Russia's lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. Outside the courthouse, the ambassadors of the United States, Britain and Canada expressed their solidarity with Mr Kara-Murza and his family. "The court decision is an attempt to silence dissent in this country," said US ambassador Lynne Tracy. "Criminalisation of criticism of government action is a sign of weakness, not strength." The campaign group Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, has described the verdict as a "travesty of justice" and called on Russia to "immediately vacate the verdict and unconditionally free him". Amnesty International has said the sentence is "yet another chilling example of the systematic repression of civil society". Mr Kara-Murza comes from a well-known Soviet dissident family. His father, Vladimir Sr, was also a critic of the government. He received British citizenship when he moved to the UK as a teenager with his mother and he later attended Cambridge University. He began his career in journalism before becoming an adviser to Boris Nemtsov, another prominent Russian opposition leader and politician who was shot dead in Moscow in 2015. Mr Kara-Murza was involved in the passing of the Magnitsky Act in the US - a key piece of legislation that helped secure the adoption of sanctions targeting human rights abusers in Russia. He nearly died twice after being poisoned and moved to the US with his family to recover. He later returned to Russia but refused to leave after the invasion of Ukraine, despite the growing risk to those who opposed the government. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65297003

Hakimi's mother said that if her son had not made the fortune transfer, he would not have been able to get rid of Hiba Abouk. Rabat - In response to rumors that her son's fortune had been transferred into her name, Achraf Hakimi's mother, Saida Mouh, has said that she was not aware of any such transfer but stressed that if her son hadn't done it, he would be unable to get rid of Hiba Abouk. Mouh told Moroccan media that Hakimi had not disclosed anything to her about the situation, and that “if he has taken any action to protect himself, I'm unaware of it.” Hakimi’s mother continued, “What's the problem if the news is true? If my son does not do this, he will not be able to get rid of that woman [Hiba Abouk].” According to recent reports, Abouk will receive nothing from Hakimi's fortune and assets because everything is registered under the Moroccan footballer's mother's name. Spanish news outlet Marca reported on Friday, April 14 that Abouk was requesting half of Hakimi's property and wealth but she discovered that he has nothing to his name. According to the same source, Hakimi's mother has been receiving his wages on her bank account for some time, and she is the sole beneficiary of his income and wealth. The Moroccan international and PSG right-back and the Spanish-Tunisian actress Hiba Abouk divorced last month. Hakimi is one of the most expensive players in Africa and is regarded as one of the world’s best right-backs. In 2022, the International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) featured the Moroccan player in its list of the 100 most expensive players in terms of his estimated transfer value. Data published in 2022 by the football-focused news website GiveMeSport indicated that the PSG right-back is the sixth highest paid African footballer, earning more than $215,000 per week. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/04/355010/hakimi-s-mother-my-son-didn-t-inform-me-of-fortune-transfer

Nick Movie: One Ranger Time: May 5, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 1h 35m Trailer:

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PRO

This was a presidential visit which required delicate diplomacy. US President Joe Biden's task was to sum up the achievements of the 25 years since the Good Friday peace deal against a backdrop of all-too-frequent political instability in Belfast. He said the return of the power-sharing devolved government at Stormont was "critical" for Northern Ireland. But he followed that up by adding: "That's a decision for you to make, not for me to make." The remark was simultaneously challenging and sensitive. The White House will have been aware that a tone which could have been interpreted as overbearing would have fuelled unionist hostility towards a president who they have often criticised in the past. But Mr Biden's visit seems to have gone down reasonably well with the leader of unionism. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said the president had made clear he hadn't come to "interfere" and that Mr Biden had "recognised the need to bring balance to what he had to say". The DUP is vetoing the formation of a governing coalition at Stormont - the home of the Northern Ireland Assembly - in protest against Brexit trade barriers with the rest of the UK. Mr Biden speaks often of his Irish roots but in Belfast he talked about his English ancestry. He also mentioned the contribution made to the founding of the US by immigrants from an Ulster Scots background - the community which is associated with modern-day unionism. That was surely an attempt to appeal to those in Northern Ireland who have been suspicious that US involvement in the peace process has been tinged with an Irish nationalist agenda. The president's overriding message was that the US remained committed to Northern Ireland and was ready to invest. Mr Biden even suggested Northern Ireland's economic output could triple "if things continue to move in the right direction". The incentive was obvious - more stability would bring in more dollars. The industries he mentioned are already bright spots in the Northern Ireland economy - cybersecurity, life sciences, green energy. And the biggest round of applause during the speech came when the president pointed out Northern Ireland actor James Martin, who was recently on stage at the Academy Awards when the short film he starred in won an Oscar. 'Churn of creativity' It was a way of highlighting Northern Ireland's global reputation as a hub for TV and film production. The projects which have been based here have included Game of Thrones - one of the biggest TV series of recent years. Mr Biden seemed to suggest that the creative industries could be substantially expanded - he described Northern Ireland as a "churn of creativity". While the president has now moved across the Irish border, his economic envoy Joe Kennedy is staying on in Northern Ireland for a few days. line Read more about Biden's visit Biden hails young people of Northern Ireland Is this a missed opportunity for Stormont? Why Ireland is so important to Joe Biden line He will lead a trade delegation from the US later this year. No-one can be sure if the devolved government will be in place when the corporate executives make their transatlantic journey. The DUP has said it won't be swayed by any particular US input in deciding whether and when to allow power-sharing at Stormont to return. The party is continuing to examine the new deal between the EU and the UK - the Windsor Framework - to assess whether it removes unionist concerns about Brexit trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. There was no expectation that President Biden's arrival would herald a sudden breakthrough. The most fulsome praise for him came from non-unionist parties. The Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill, who is in line to be first minister if the devolved government is restored, said Mr Biden's visit was a "special moment". It is likely that the president's schedule in Northern Ireland would have been more extensive if the political circumstances had been more favourable. For example he did not accept an invitation to address the Stormont assembly, which was established by the Good Friday Agreement. However the prevailing view among those who witnessed his speech is that Mr Biden handled the sensitivities with skill and gave Northern Ireland a worthwhile moment in the worldwide spotlight. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-65244335

Three species of marine worm have been described by scientists in Japan, who named them after folkloric demons because of their spooky glow. Three new species of rare glow-in-the-dark worms that have a "striking resemblance" to demons described in folklore have been discovered in Japan. The newfound species, named Polycirrus onibi, Polycirrus aoandon and Polycirrus ikeguchii, belong to a family of animals known as bristle worms, which are normally found in the shallow waters of Japanese rivers and streams. Researchers published their findings March 29 in the journal Royal Society Open Science(opens in new tab). The creatures give off a blue and purple luminescent glow so they appear like hazy will-o'-the-wisps at night — meaning that they may have provided inspiration for old tales of Japanese demons, or "yokai," the study authors suggest in the paper. The names are inspired by Japanese folklore. For instance, "onbi" (or demon fire) is a will-o'-the-wisp yokai that takes the form of a small, floating ball of light that appears in remote mountains and forests to lead unsuspecting travelers astray. "Aoandon" is an incarnation of human terror, made from the combined fear of groups of people who gathered to tell ghost stories by the light of blue-paper lanterns. As the stories were told — the superstition goes — the lanterns slowly winked out and their dimming pale blue light revealed an apparition of a demonic woman in a white kimono with sharp, blackened teeth; claws for hands and horns erupting from beneath her long, dark hair. "Ikeguchi," meanwhile, is the only name that doesn't reference Japanese folklore. Instead, it honors the former director of the Notojima Aquarium, who helped discover the worm. Polycirrus worms are named for the tentacles that sprout from their mouths that enable them to sift through river sediment for food. The genus belongs to a diverse family of worms called bristle worms, or polychaetes — ancient animals, dating back to at least the Cambrian period 505 million years ago, that have survived each of Earth's five mass extinction events. Bristle worms are named for their coarse, sometimes toxic, bristles and they have been spotted in nearly every aquatic habit; including parked next to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius) hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. The researchers now want to figure out how these newly discovered worms create their ethereal light. Bioluminescence is "a treasure trove of interesting and unusual chemistry," and understanding the mechanisms behind it would help research in medical and life sciences, study lead author Naoto Jimi(opens in new tab), an assistant professor of marine biology at Nagoya University, said in a statement. "We intend to use our findings to deepen our understanding of the molecular nature of this phenomenon and apply this knowledge to the development of new life sciences technologies," he said. link: https://www.livescience.com/rare-demon-fire-worms-discover-in-japan-bear-a-striking-resemblance-to-ancient-demons-scientists-say

With video: GM shows a Chevy ZR2 pickup prototype in Nevada that gives us a good feeling that the new Bison will have teeth. Let the performance wars begin! Chevrolet Performance engineers showed a camouflaged ZR2 Colorado to an assembled group of journalists that had just finished a first drive of the 2023 Colorado ZR2. They did not expressly admit that it was the new ZR2 Bison, but we discovered the word "Bison" on a sticker attached to one of the prototype DSSV Dampers that was on the truck. No longer an accessory showcase, the Bison is now a higher-performing ZR2 variant that rides on unique long-travel suspension and 35-inch tires that conspire to raise the truck an estimated two inches over a standard ZR2. McCarran, Nevada—Just as we were catching our breath and celebrating the finish of a three-day Vegas-to-Reno off-road blast across the Nevada desert, Chevrolet Performance engineers rolled out a distinctive camouflaged ZR2 that sent our jaws dropping. That it had massive 35-inch tires (actually, LT315/70R-17) on beadlock-capable rims was unmistakable, but a quick look underneath showed this to be much more than a garden-variety ZR2 with taller tires. Two Inches Taller For one, the truck stood about two inches taller than a regular ZR2 parked next to it. The one-inch-larger radius of the 35s explains half of that, so the rest is an additional inch of suspension lift. The Multimatic DSSV dampers were engineering sample "take-apart" pieces, which indicates this new ZR2 variant will have unique suspension tuning, which makes sense considering the taller stance and larger tires. But it also appeared that the new high(er)-performance ZR2 also had extra suspension travel above and beyond the 9.9 inches of front travel and 11.6 inches of rear travel found on a regular ZR2. This speculation was not merely due to the higher stance and extra fender gap, but also by the presence of unique Chevrolet Performance–branded hydraulic front and rear bump stops, there to cushion the landing and soak up the extremes of compression travel when driven at high speeds off-road. Why We Recognized This as a Bison What makes us think this higher octane ZR2 is a Bison? For one, the new ZR2 Desert Boss is the accessory showcase variant this year, and that leaves headroom for the Bison to be transformed into an extreme performance model. Secondly, and most certainly, we found the word "Bison" on one of the ID stickers affixed to one of the tunable engineering-sample DSSV dampers. Inside, there wasn't much to see except different seat trim: black with a dash of red. No badges or embroidered logos were in evidence. And we didn't see anything remarkably different under the hood during the brief, almost accidental glimpse that we got. But that's not definitive because the usual plastic cover was there, and the standard ZR2's 2.7-liter turbo engine's output—310 horsepower and 430 pound-feet—could be ratcheted up by less obvious means involving software and turbo boost. Now We're Excited Whatever the engine story turns out to be, the prospect of a genuine ZR2 Bison with a tangible performance difference has our motor running. And that is exactly what we feel the new ZR2 Bison will become, thanks to the prototype we saw with a taller stance, 35-inch tires, and long-travel suspension with hydraulic bump stops. The mid-size truck performance wars are in full swing, and we're here for it. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43608776/chevrolet-zr2-bison-pickup-prototype-spotted-video/

Politicians, media moguls, doctors, teachers and even Harry and Meghan have all thrown in their hats. So is grit and perseverance over? Gaby Hinsliff charts the rise of the quitters ce doesn’t necessarily mean you have to.’ Illustration: Martin O'Neill/The Observer The Observer Work & careers Feel like quitting your job or your relationship? Maybe you should… Politicians, media moguls, doctors, teachers and even Harry and Meghan have all thrown in their hats. So is grit and perseverance over? Gaby Hinsliff charts the rise of the quitters Gaby Hinsliff Gaby Hinsliff Sun 16 Apr 2023 07.00 BST When Julia Keller dropped out of graduate school at the tender age of 19, she was fully expecting a parental lecture on why she should tough it out. Instead, to her relief, her father offered to come and fetch her. What had felt like a terrible failure at the time actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she found her niche in journalism instead, working her way up over the next couple of decades into a senior position as book critic and feature writer at the Chicago Tribune newspaper. But when Keller decided just over a decade ago to quit journalism, too, in order to write fiction, this time her mother was horrified. “Her generation, even more than mine, was very much, ‘You do not quit a good job that is paying you a fair salary! Your working conditions are not terrible, you’re not in a Dickensian workhouse, how dare you quit?’” she explains over Zoom from Ohio. “She just could not fathom why anyone would do that.” But Keller, who has since published a series of mystery novels, doesn’t regret her decision and nor do most of the quitters she interviewed for her new book, Quitting: A Life Strategy. Its subversive message is that if at first you don’t succeed – or even if you do – then maybe just give up. There is, she argues, too much of a premium placed on the ability to grit your teeth and persevere through misery. “Why does that even matter? Because you can get through something that’s really unbearable. But why does that give you some kind of cachet, when the truth is that changing often is the more courageous thing to do?” Just because you could persevere with a toxic relationship, job, religious faith or political allegiance doesn’t necessarily mean you have to, she writes; not when quitting might be “an escape hatch, a long shot, a shortcut, a leap of imagination, a fist raised in resistance, a saving grace…” Although it can also, she concedes, be a “potential disaster”. Her argument certainly strikes a contemporary chord. New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern and Scotland’s ex-first minister Nicola Sturgeon have both recently resigned midterm, arguing it’s time for new chapters in their lives (although the recent news about Sturgeon’s husband means her resignation may be seen in a different light). Meanwhile the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have conducted a media blitz to explain why they quit the royal family. Susan Wojcicki stepped down as CEO of YouTube in February and Sheryl Sandberg quit Meta, Facebook’s parent company, last June. Almost two-thirds of junior doctors have considered leaving their jobs Almost two-thirds of junior doctors have considered leaving their jobs, according to a survey by the British Medical Association, and almost half of teachers plan to do so. Nor is this longing to quit confined to highly paid professionals. Last year’s TikTok trend for “Quit Toks”, often gleefully celebrating the act of telling the boss where to stick his low-paid job, saw users live-streaming resignation emails or posting videos of themselves turning off the lights as they left the office. Not everyone can afford to leave a steady job in the middle of a cost of living crisis, of course, which may be why the much-predicted Great Resignation post-Covid hasn’t quite materialised in Britain. (Although there was a spike in the number of people moving jobs in summer 2021 after a sharp fall when recruitment was frozen during lockdown; a rise in economic inactivity among the over-50s, meanwhile, appears more driven by ill health than hedonistic early retirements.) But growing interest in four-day weeks, home working and “quiet quitting” – refusing to go beyond the bare minimum at work – suggests at the very least a desire to claw some time back. Once upon a time, quitting at your professional peak was seen as something exhausted working mothers did when work plus family became too much (full disclosure: I did it myself 13 years ago, leaving a job I loved as political editor of The Observer in an attempt to get a life back). But now the desire to quit seems to be kicking in far earlier, with a recent survey by Grazia magazine finding three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds felt less motivated professionally post-pandemic. A generation raised to be constantly hustling – polishing CVs while still in sixth form, juggling a side job, fighting over the last affordable rented flat in London – may finally be pushing back. Yet for many of us, Keller argues, quitting remains shrouded in guilt and shame, associated with failure rather than with pursuing a different kind of success. Why is it still so hard to let go? Ten years ago a psychologist called Angela Duckworth gave a Ted Talk that has now been viewed more than 29m times. In a previous career as a maths teacher, she said, she’d realised her highest-achieving pupils weren’t necessarily the smartest. Something other than IQ seemed to determine their success. So when she retrained as a psychologist, she set out to research predictive factors for achievement in everything from children’s spelling competitions to corporate sales and military training. Successful people stick to their plan and don’t give up The secret sauce, Duckworth concluded, was what she called grit, or “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals”. Successful people stick to their plan and don’t give up, she argued, both in that talk and in her bestselling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Duckworth admitted she wasn’t sure exactly how to teach this quality. But she cited her fellow psychologist Carol Dweck’s concept of “growth mindset”, or the theory that ability isn’t fixed and can be boosted through effort, including persevering with challenging tasks. Having caught the attention of David Cameron’s government, which in 2014 launched a £4.5m fund to develop children’s “character, resilience and grit”, the growth mindset theory has been widely preached in British schools. But what looked like a relatively cheap, easy way of boosting children’s attainment hasn’t always lived up to the hype. One study by a team at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found only a small correlation between growth-mindset programmes in school and academic scores, suggesting they may not make much difference (Dweck has since argued that while she still believes in the theory, it hasn’t always translated well into classrooms). Some psychologists have meanwhile questioned what Duckworth’s idea of grit adds to what’s long been known about conscientiousness boosting achievement. Keller, meanwhile, fears the belief that success is just a matter of never giving up may obscure the role of structural economic inequalities and encourage people to blame the poor for their own poverty, on the grounds that maybe they just didn’t try hard enough. link: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/apr/16/want-to-quit-your-job-or-your-relationship-maybe-you-should

Ukraine is front and centre of a number of classified Pentagon documents which a 21-year-old US National Guard airman is suspected of leaking online. The leaks include details about the West's military assistance to Ukraine, such as weapons deliveries and training, and perhaps more revealing, dire assessments of the war by US officials, making public concerns that for some time had been discussed in private. The timing of the leaks is sensitive for Kyiv. The military is expected to launch a counter-offensive within weeks, in what is likely to be a crucial phase in the nearly 14-month-long war that is believed to have killed tens of thousands of people. Such is the anxiety here that, last month, the defence ministry urged people to stop discussing potential plans. One leaked document, quoted by the Washington Post, said the Ukrainian army faced challenges in massing troops, equipment and ammunition, and could fall well short of its original goals for an expected counter-offensive. The document warned that only modest territorial gains could be achieved in Russian-occupied areas. It is grim but hardly surprising. One senior Ukrainian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that the problems faced by the army were already known, and that the revelations would not affect relations between the two countries. "[The leaks] aren't the main problem. The problem is what's happening on the front line," the official said. "The decision to provide weapons doesn't mean they get to the front lines immediately. It takes weeks, sometimes months." For months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has talked openly about ammunition and weapons shortages; others have repeatedly complained of delays in the delivery of aid promised by Western countries, while the Ukrainian army grapples with difficulties in mobilising fresh troops. Major territorial gains for Ukraine would undoubtedly boost morale and could also help efforts to secure additional military support. But the opposite could result in pressure on Kyiv to consider negotiating with Moscow. Few Ukrainian officials have reacted in public to the leaks, and the revelations have not attracted significant media coverage. Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said the leaks did not affect the military's plans as "everything will be decided at the last moment". "All the speculation about the plans of the Ukrainian military," he said, "in particular regarding the counter-offensive, are utterly baseless". link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65277838

In 2022, freight transported via rail generated a record turnover exceeding MAD 634 million ($62.7 million), up 19% compared to 2021. Rabat - Railway traffic in Morocco returned to pre-pandemic levels at the end of 2022, signaling a recovery from the COVID-19-induced economic crisis. According to a statement from Morocco’s national railway operator ONCF, “traffic activities recorded a remarkable recovery compared to 2021, returning to and even exceeding the pre-COVID performance.” The statement further adds that “at the end of December 2022, all indicators show a considerable improvement.” In 2022, ONCF received a total of 46 million passengers, a 33% annual increase from 34.5 million passengers a year earlier. The improved traffic generated a turnover of MAD 2.2 billion ($217.7 million), up 42% year-on-year. In addition to cargo shipping, ONCF trains transported 370,000 cars and 1 million tons of coal, the statement explains. The improved traffic was cemented by the positive performance of Morocco’s high-speed electric train “Al Boraq.” Four years after its debut, the train has transported more than 4.2 million passengers in 2022, with a 60% annual increase in customers. The high-speed train generated a turnover of MAD 562 million ($55.6 million), up 63% from the results reported a year earlier. Reports suggest that with ONCF’s use of green energy to power Al Boraq, the company now sources 25% of its energy needs from renewable sources. As for freight transport, ONCF maintains that it continued to show strong resilience in 2022 recording overall a sustained improvement. The railway operator transported over 20.9 million tons of goods last year, generating a turnover of MAD 1.7 billion ($168.2). Rail freight in 2022 generated a record turnover exceeding MAD 634 million ($62.7 million), up 19% compared to 2021. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/04/354998/railway-traffic-in-morocco-back-to-pre-pandemic-levels

Nick Movie: Blue Beetle Time: August 18, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 2 hours 45 minutes Trailer:

Live Performance Title: Skeng Loud Up Aidonia Birthday Party, Live Performance, Ochi Signer Name: Skeng Loud Up Aidonia Live Performance Location: = Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/8

Music Title: EDM TikTok Hay 2023 ♫ BXH Nhạc Trẻ Remix Hay Nhất Hiện Nay - Top 15 Bản EDM TikTok Hot Nhất 2023@@ Signer: = Release Date 04/16/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: = Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/7

US President Joe Biden's aircraft has landed at Knock airport as he returns to his roots in County Mayo. Mr Biden has links to the county through his great grandfather Edward Blewitt. The president is due to speak at a homecoming celebration outside St Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina on Friday night. A crowd of up to 20,000 people are expected to line the streets of the town for the event. President Biden and his sister Valerie Biden Owens were greeted by dignitaries at the airport. "It's good to be back," he said. It is thought that the president will be presented with a brick from a fireplace that is the last surviving piece of his ancestral home in Ballina. Mr Biden is making a couple of stop-offs on his way to Ballina, including Knock Shrine, a pilgrimage site for Catholics. In 1879 locals said they saw an apparition of Mary, Joseph, John the Evangelist, angels and an altar with a cross and a lamb (representing Jesus). According to Irish tourism sites, 1.5m pilgrims visit Knock Shrine every year. It is understood President Biden will make a private visit to the Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar that is dedicated to his son Beau, the former Delaware Attorney General, who died from brain cancer in 2015. The president will also visit the North Mayo Heritage Centre. Its family history research unit works with people around the world who want to trace their ancestry from Mayo. 'Welcome home' The mayor of Ballina, Mark Duffy, said people were eagerly awaiting the president's arrival. "This is a homecoming event, it's a welcome home where he has family and friends in the area," he told BBC News NI. "I hope there is respect given to that because they are true ties, they are sincere links, it's not engineered, it's not fabricated. "It's meaningful for the president, it's meaningful for the people here in town." link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65270569

Inbreeding among an endangered po[CENSORED]tion of orcas off the coasts of British Columbia, Washington and Oregon is a cause for concern. Southern Resident killer whales, a small po[CENSORED]tion of orcas living in the Pacific Ocean off the northwest coast of North America, are so isolated that they've taken to inbreeding, which has contributed to their decline, a new study finds. While scientists have long suspected that inbreeding has been occurring within the group, it wasn't until researchers conducted genomic sequencing that they saw how dire the situation had become. The international team of researchers found that the orca group they studied — which included 100 living and dead orcas (Orcinus orca), of which 73 are still alive — had "lower levels of genetic diversity" and "higher levels of inbreeding" when compared with other North Pacific po[CENSORED]tions, according to a study published March 20 in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution(opens in new tab). One reason for this decline is the group's limited geographic range, which stretches between British Columbia and Oregon. "They're a little more genetically isolated from other po[CENSORED]tions," study co-author Michael Ford(opens in new tab), a research scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, told Live Science. "There's also less episodic interbreeding between [them and] other po[CENSORED]tions." Studying the genetic makeup of the po[CENSORED]tion "filled a major gap" in researchers' understanding of why this po[CENSORED]tion of orcas "is failing to thrive," according to a NOAA statement(opens in new tab). Related: Orca appears to adopt (or abduct) a baby pilot whale "The sequencing revealed that several of the whales were the result of inbreeding between a parent and one of its children," Ford said. "Another 20% were bred between first cousins." He added, "inbreeding is definitively a problem for this po[CENSORED]tion." In general, killer whales begin reproducing when they're 10 years old, hitting their reproductive prime in their early 20s. However, the Southern Resident orcas had "less than half the chance of surviving through their prime years to reach 40, compared to the least inbred individuals," according to the statement. Additionally, females with the lowest level of inbreeding can expect to have 2.6 offspring in their lifetimes, while highly inbred females will have an average of 1.6 calves, according to the statement. However, the researchers cautioned that inbreeding is likely not the only factor leading to the po[CENSORED]tion decline. Human impacts such as boat traffic and pollution have also taken a toll on the animals, according to the statement. "Some of their core habitat is in an urban environment with a lot of small boat and large ship traffic that may directly disturb them or impact their ability to effectively hunt for salmon," Ford said. "They're also known to be fairly contaminated with both legacy and more recent contaminants." Those include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were banned in the United States in 1979, and para-phenylenediamine (PPDs), a chemical often found in flame retardants, Ford said. However, the researchers have found that other orca po[CENSORED]tions aren't affected nearly as much by these chemicals. "There are transient po[CENSORED]tions of killer whales that have even higher levels of contaminants than the Southern Residents, and they seem to be doing OK," Ford said. "[These human-related factors] are likely to be impacting the po[CENSORED]tion and I think we have good reason to believe that they are potential problems, but actually proving that like we did for inbreeding is difficult." link: https://www.livescience.com/inbreeding-may-be-causing-orca-po[CENSORED]tion-in-the-pacific-northwest-to-crash