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Scientists have identified a mutant strain of clonal raider ants that look like miniature queens and evolved quickly because of a single "supergene" mutation. About a decade ago, scientists observing clonal raider ants spotted something strange: Although the species is known to be queenless, a few ants were posing as queens of the colony, lording over their hardworking counterparts. These wannabe queens had wing stubs, as well as giant eyes and ovaries. Researchers had long assumed that these "workerless social parasite" ants, which depend on other workers for survival, acquired these traits one by one, through a series of mutations. But now, scientists have discovered that a single mutation of a "supergene" can turn regular clonal raider ants (Ooceraea biroi) workers into lazy queenlike parasites. "This was a shocking discovery," Waring "Buck" Trible(opens in new tab), an entomologist, John Harvard Distinguished Science Fellow and the lead author of the study in which the findings were published, told Live Science in an email. "The clonal raider ant is a queenless ant species, and no winged female adults have been observed in this species previously." The pseudo queens are born with wings that they shed as adults, but they retain visible scars. They are the same size as worker ants, but their general indifference to labor such as brood care, foraging and nest defense makes them stand out in the colony. The researchers isolated the parasites and found that their offspring also had wings, suggesting that the queenlike traits were genetic. They ran analyses to confirm this observation and discovered a mutation in a "supergene" on chromosome 13. This single mutation may be the switch that turned clonal raider ants from the "wild type" usually found in nature into a mutant variant of the same species. "That's actually really surprising, given that the parasites differ from the wild types in so many traits, including morphology [a segmented thorax], anatomy, and even behavior," Daniel Kronauer(opens in new tab), an associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior at The Rockefeller University in New York City, told Live Science in an email. "What we describe here is a mutant strain that is extremely closely related to its wild type ancestors. So it's not really a different species, but maybe what could be considered an intermediate form," Kronauer added. The researchers noted that the wannabe queens laid twice as many eggs as regular clonal raider ants. They can't let their numbers grow too big, however, because they need the workers. "When they become too common they run into problems," Kronauer said. The parasites catch their bulky wings on their pupal skin when molting, and if there aren't enough workers around to help untangle them, many of them die. The sweet spot seems to be when the parasites make up around a quarter of the colony, according to the study, published Feb. 28 in the journal Current Biology(opens in new tab). When the wannabe queens' proportion was higher, their survival rates plummeted. While some species of exclusively social parasite ant queens exist in the wild, the clonal raider ant is the first documented to have evolved wannabes within its own species. "I was very surprised to find these ants," Kronauer said. "Social parasites are typically very rare, and can only be found in a few colonies of the host species. But the crazy thing in this case is that the parasites must have arisen within the host colony via a mutation, rather than having infiltrated the colony from outside, which is the case with social parasites in the wild." link: https://www.livescience.com/supergene-mutation-turned-ants-into-parasitic-wannabe-queens

The mid-size sedan features full-width LED lighting elements front and rear and a new curved display inside. Hyundai is updating the Sonata for 2024 with a striking new exterior design. The interior is also thoroughly updated and features new display screens. We expect the Sonata to go on sale in the U.S. later this year. Hyundai is restyling the Sonata mid-size sedan with a new look that falls in line with other recent redesigns such as the Kona crossover, the Staria van, and the Grandeur sedan. It looks surprisingly different from the outgoing Sonata that first launched for the 2020 model year, and the new face is particularly futuristic. The full-width LED light strip stretching across the front is immediately noticeable, and the grille and headlights are reshaped. Out back, the taillights incorporate a similar light strip and the lower fascia looks more aggressive than before. Hyundai showed both the standard car and the sportier N Line model, and both have new wheel designs as well. The changes inside center around two large 12.3-inch screens that are now housed in a single curved display binnacle. Certain dashboard components such as the climate controls are also rearranged, and the materials appear to be an upgrade compared with before. The steering wheel is also new, and the gearshift is relocated to the steering column to free up space in the center console. We don't expect too many changes to the Sonata's powertrain lineup, which currently comprises a 2.5-liter inline-four, a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four, a turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four for the N Line, and a hybrid setup. Hyundai will reveal more details about the car soon, and U.S. specs should come within the next few months. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43413123/2024-hyundai-sonata-revealed/

Belinda Isley was devastated when her husband left, but it was the start of an excellent second act: fostering newborn kittens, travelling with friends and becoming a ‘house mom’ for a sorority Emma Beddington Emma Beddington Mon 27 Mar 2023 07.00 BST “What I thought was going to be the best year of my life turned out to really suck,” says Belinda Isley. It had started so promisingly: she and her husband had retired early (Isley worked in marketing for the state of Idaho, where they lived, and for the local university; she also worked as an artist and had a sideline in property development). Their son was at college and they had downsized, giving them more financial freedom. The couple travelled to Costa Rica and celebrated her 60th birthday with a wine-tasting trip. Then Isley’s mother died. “It wasn’t unexpected, but it was sudden,” she says. Grieving for her mother and dealing with probate were emotionally gruelling. Then, three months later, she faced another shock. “One morning, I’d made a latte for my husband. I gave it to him and he just kind of casually said he thought we should be divorced. I thought he was joking, because he was my best friend and we just had life by the tail.” Isley was “mortally wounded” – angry, sad and shocked. Eventually, though, she rallied. “I got to the point where I said: OK, you have two choices here. You can be really bitter and angry and live the rest of your life like that, or you can look really hard and, difficult as it may be, find whatever gift there is in this scenario. That marked the start of a second act full of adventure. Isley began by fostering newborn kittens that needed to be fed every three hours, which she found to be a positive way to avoid the introspection inherent in relationship breakdown. “If you focus your light outward to help people, it’s a really healing experience.” She reconnected with two old friends and went on walking adventures with one of them; they walked the Camino de Santiago and crossed England coast to coast, from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. The walks were far from easy, but the experience was transformative – spiritual, even. “When you get into nature, you get in touch with another world. It resets your body compass and your mindset,” she says. Back in the US, on the lookout for financial security, Isley learned from a friend of a friend about her experience working as a house director, or “house mom”, in a college sorority. She decided to apply for such a role, taking up her first position at 64. She is now based at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Anything from 32 to 86 girls live in the “fairly grand” sorority house; there are chefs, gardeners and handymen to oversee. Her property-developing experience was invaluable. “I’m not afraid of houses; I know when something goes wrong and what you have to do.” House mom is a full-on, live-in role in term time. “I pretty much manage everything and make sure that the girls are happy and safe and that the house runs and doesn’t fall apart. I always tell people it’s a lot of fun until it isn’t. “As happy as you think college-aged girls should be, there’s a lot going on in the world they can’t get away from,” she says. Campuses have become a target for violent attacks. Last year, Isley had to deal with a man convicted of violent crimes against women breaking into the sorority house: “That was pretty scary.” Life was easier, she thinks, when she was their age. “When I was in college, being shot in the student union was not on the list of things to worry about.” It’s important to work hard, but also to make time for fun ... a party is always a good idea Inevitably, there are personal crises and tragedies. “We have had really incredibly sad things happen,” she says. “I find myself absorbing this, which is not healthy.” What is it like, at nearly 69, to live with women on the verge of adulthood? “They’re fun to be around; they keep you young,” Isley says. “Their energy is just great.” They offer on-tap IT support and dared her to dye her hair (“I said: ‘You give me that dye, I’ll do it’ – I dyed my hair pink!”). She marvels at how clever yet lacking in common sense the students can be. She recalls a letter returned as undeliverable that was addressed using only the recipient’s Instagram handle (“You’ve gotten all the way to college and you don’t know how to address a letter?!”). Mainly, though, she admires their resilience. “For everything they’re experiencing, these girls are brave, they’re optimistic, they’re up for the challenge,” she says. Isley’s unflappable openness and warmth shine through on our video call; I am not surprised by a tribute that she forwards from one of her earliest charges, saying what a huge impact Isley had and how thankful she is for Isley’s influence on her life. What can they learn from each other at such different life stages? Isley says the girls show her that “it’s important to work hard, but also to make time for fun. Be kind, be of service, don’t take yourself so seriously – and a party is always a good idea.” In return, she teaches them tenacity: “There’s always a way to work through any problem.” Plus, as someone who can turn her hand to most DIY, Isley shows them: “A woman is perfectly capable of anything.” link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/27/a-new-start-after-60-divorce-mortally-wounding-walked-camino-de-santiago

The battle for Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city which Russia has spent months trying to capture, is "stabilising", says Ukraine's commander-in-chief. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Ukrainian troops' "tremendous efforts" were holding back Russia. Earlier this month, Western officials estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 Russian troops had been killed or injured in Bakhmut since last summer. Moscow is eager for a victory after failing to make major recent gains. Despite this, military analysts believe Bakhmut has little strategic value, with the city's importance now symbolic. The high number of Russian casualties may be the main reason Ukraine has not withdrawn from the city, analysts say. On Facebook, Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi said that while the situation on Ukraine's frontlines "is the toughest in the Bakhmut direction... due to the tremendous efforts of the defence forces, we are managing to stabilise the situation". Lt Gen Zaluzhnyi posted after speaking to the UK's Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, about the situation in Ukraine. His comments are the latest positive signal from Ukrainian officials about the long battle for Bakhmut. The UK's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday that Russia's assault on Bakhmut had "largely stalled", citing "extreme attrition" of the Russian force as a cause, and added that Russia had probably shifted its operational focus to the south and north of Bakhmut. Such moves might suggest an "overall return to a more defensive operational design" after Russia failed to achieve significant results from its attempts to conduct a general offensive since January, the UK said. Earlier this week, Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the country's ground forces, said that Russian troops near Bakhmut were "exhausted". Mr Syrsky added that while Russia had "not given up hope of taking Bakhmut at all costs despite losses in manpower and equipment... they are losing significant strength". And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently visited the frontline near Bakhmut, where he last visited in December. Footage showed him in an old warehouse giving medals to soldiers, whom he called "heroes". The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank, said on Thursday that although Ukraine was still outnumbered by the Wagner group, Ukrainian forces "continue to exhaust the mercenaries, which will enable Ukrainian forces to pursue unspecified future offensive operations". Wagner, a private, mercenary organisation, is at the heart of the Russian assault on Bakhmut. Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has staked his reputation on seizing the city. The MoD said Russia's difficulties in Bakhmut were likely to have been exacerbated by tensions between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defence. About 70,000 people lived in Bakhmut before the invasion, but only a few thousand remain. For those left behind, including elderly and disabled people, conditions are difficult. Civilians spend almost the whole day in underground shelters because of intense shelling, said the ICRC's Umar Khan, who has been providing them with aid. Mr Khan said people were being pushed to the very "limits of their existence and survival". The capture of Bakhmut would bring Russia slightly closer to controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine illegally annexed by Russia last September. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65072173

The head coach of Morocco’s national football team says ignorant racist behavior should be ignored and not given more attention than they deserve. Rabat - While the person responsible for the Islamophobic act against Morocco’s national football team in Spain has been identified, the head coach of the Moroccan team has urged Moroccans to forgive the hotel management as the racist attack was out of their control. As Muslims, we should forgive such incidents and not give them more attention than they deserve, Walid Regragui said on Monday. Morocco’s football team faced racist and Islamophobic acts at the Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel, where the Atlas Lions arrived on Sunday ahead of their friendly game against Peru on Tuesday evening. The hotel management should not be blamed for the attack as it was out of their control, Regragui stressed while speaking today at a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s game, adding that racism is part of society. Hotel personnel took several pictures of members of the Moroccan team without their knowledge. They then went on to post the pictures online while making fun of the Moroccan players and mocking the holy month of Ramadan. “Damn f*** Moros. I s*** on Ramadan and it's f*** dead,” reads one of the screenshots of the insulting posts from some of the hotel employees. Another viral screenshot included insults to the Moroccan football team and Islam. “The Moroccan team is in the Towers, you are a f*** pain,” said one of the posts. 🔴 HONTEUX ! Voici ce qu’un membre du personnel de l’hôtel où crèchent nos joueurs a publié sur son Instagram personnel : « On leur sert la m*rde du Ramadan. Leurs p*tains de croyances de 💩💩💩» « P*tain de maures de m*rde, j'e**erde le Ramadan et leurs p**ains de m*rts ! » pic.twitter.com/nyuLU4WbPc — TFT MOROCCO (@TFT_Morocco) March 27, 2023 The incident received widespread media attention in Spain, with Spanish outlets saying that the team’s stay in Spain “has been marred by some unpleasant incidents” at the Eurostars Madrid Tower hotel. According to a report from Spanish sports outlet AS, the hotel has strongly condemned the racist incident and vowed to take legal action against the individuals behind the anti-Islam and xenophobic posts. The hotel’s rating has plummeted in the wake of the racist incident, going from 4.5 to 2.9 stars. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/03/354711/regragui-as-muslims-we-should-forgive-islamophobic-incident-at-madrid-hotel

Nick Movie: Kompromat Time: January 27, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 2h 7m Trailer:

Live Performance Title: MARTIN GARRIX LIVE @ ULTRA MUSIC FESTIVAL MIAMI 2023 Signer Name: MARTIN GARRIX Live Performance Location: = Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/8

Music Title: Music Mix 2023 🎧 EDM Remixes of Po[CENSORED]r Songs 🎧 EDM Gaming Music Mix "" Signer: = Release Date: 27/03/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: = Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/6

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Possessing laughing gas is to be made a criminal offence for the first time, the government has announced. There will also be tighter controls on retailers to prevent the supply of nitrous oxide for misuse. It goes against recommendations from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which recently advised against new laws to ban nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide, sold in metal canisters, is known as NOS and is one of the most-used drugs by UK 16 to 24-year-olds. The details are expected to be released on Monday. The BBC understands the ban would be issued under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which regulates drugs based on their perceived harm and potential for misuse. It is already illegal to produce or supply the gas for its psychoactive effects under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. The law makes production, supply and importation of nitrous oxide for human consumption illegal, but not possession. The change is part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce on Monday. Laughing gas users risk spine damage, say doctors 'I showed son's ashes to people using laughing gas' A government spokesperson said: "We are concerned about the rise in health and social harms of nitrous oxide and how widely available it is to the public, particularly to young people. Therefore, we are banning nitrous oxide. "We are for the first time making possession of nitrous oxide an offence; preventing supply for misuse by putting tighter controls on retailers; and giving greater powers to law enforcement to take action against those who are in breach." Speaking on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Michael Gove said: "We are doing this because if you walk through any urban park you will see these little silver cannister which are the evidence of people regarding public spaces as arenas for drug taking. "It is unacceptable. People should feel those spaces are being looked after in a way which means they are safe for children." The levelling up secretary said the drug has an "intoxicating and potentially damaging effect on young brains and young nervous systems". Heavy use can lead to a vitamin deficiency that damages nerves in the spinal column. Several drugs charities have criticised the announcement, claiming criminalising possession could lead to the drug becoming more dangerous. Steve Rolles, senior policy analyst at the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said: "The idea that this is a deterrent effect is ridiculous it just criminalises users and will hand control of the product to criminal gangs. "This is just political theatre - if you need any proof you just need to see that they have ignored their own advisers. This is a particularly ugly example of performative politics." Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a charity which campaigns for drugs to be legalised and regulated. Prof Adam Winstock, an addiction medicine specialist and founder of the Global Drug Survey, told the BBC that getting a criminal record "is going to be a far greater harm than the risks for the vast majority of people using nitrous oxide". Reducing the risks of nitrous oxide is "better achieved with smart education, not blunt regulation that may compound existing harms and create new ones", he added. Stronger sentences Earlier this year the Home Office asked the ACMD to provide advice on whether to make possession of nitrous oxide a crime. The report recommended the substance should not be controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act - which allows the use of life sentences for those supplying or producing some drugs. The ACMD stated the Psychoactive Substances Act - which limits prison sentences to a maximum of seven years - "remains appropriate legislation". It said sanctions for the offences would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with nitrous oxide, as well as creating "significant burdens" for legitimate uses of the substance. The review also found "no substantive evidence of links between nitrous oxide and anti-social behaviour" aside from littering. Alexandre Piot, director of research at the Conservative Drug Policy Reform Group, said it was "shocking that the government feels it knows better than its own independent body of experts set up by law". "The more they don't listen to them, the more drug policy will continue to fail," he said. Nitrous oxide is regularly used as an anaesthetic in medicine and dentistry, and as a gas for making whipped cream in cooking. Anti-social behaviour Labour backed the plans to ban the sale of nitrous oxide. Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell said its use "causes a huge amount of littering disruption and anti-social behaviour". She added: "We do need to tackle at source these kind of behaviours that are blights on our community." It comes as the government unveils a new strategy to crack down on anti-social behaviour. Public drug use, fly-tipping and low-level crimes such as graffiti are to be targeted with a strategy of "hotspot" policing and "short and sharp" punishments. People who vandalise public spaces will have to repair the damage they cause within 48 hours of being given an order. A pilot, covering 10 areas, aims to show the public such acts are "quickly and visibly" punished. Ms Powell said the plans "amount to nothing". Labour have also accused the government of cutting neighbourhood policing, leading to fewer offenders being punished. "We've heard it all before from this government and I think we have to judge them by their record," Ms Powell added. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65079772

An elderly lion in an Indiana zoo transmitted COVID-19 to the zookeepers who handfed the severely ill big cat. It is the first recorded time a zoo animal has passed the virus to a human. A lion infected with SARS-CoV-2 at an Indiana zoo likely transmitted the virus to at least two of the keepers that were caring for the big cat, a new study shows. It is the first confirmed case of an infected zoo animal transmitting the coronavirus to a human, researchers say. However, such transmission is likely rare and in this case, probably resulted from the fact that the lion needed to be fed by hand, scientists wrote in the study. It's long been known that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can infect many species, and that it can pass between humans and animals. The virus likely jumped from an animal to a human in the first place, and past studies suggested that pet cats and dogs catch SARS-CoV-2 from owners at extremely high rates. Other studies showed that deer have transmitted the virus to humans, and infected hamsters in a Hong Kong pet shop sparked a human outbreak of the delta variant. However, "animal to human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has not previously been reported in a zoo setting," researchers wrote in the paper, which was posted Jan. 31 to the preprint database medRxiv(opens in new tab). (The results have not yet been peer-reviewed.) Related: Bored chimps at Czech zoos video chat during lockdown The unidentified African lion (Panthera leo), which was around 20 years old and resided at Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in December 2021 after developing a cough and becoming breathless. The 10 zookeepers who had been in close contact with the infected feline were immediately tested and all of the tests came back negative. But later in the week, three of the keepers tested positive, having not come into contact with any other infected humans. In the new study, researchers genetically sequenced viral samples collected from the lion and the infected zookeepers. The results showed that the lion and two of the keepers shared a genetically identical strain of the virus, but the third keeper's sample could not be properly sequenced. The lion was elderly — wild lions very rarely make it past their mid-teens — and suffered from a kidney disease and spinal degeneration, which meant that it needed to be hand fed. This significantly increased the chances that the keepers contracted the disease from the lion before it showed symptoms. After the lion tested positive, keepers wore respirators when interacting with the lion and all other animals at the zoo. Related: Meerkats seem to rejoice when zoo visitors return after lockdown The researchers suspect the lion contracted SARS-CoV-2 from an asymptomatic zoo keeper . The lion had received two doses of a non-human COVID-19 vaccine in September and October 2021. COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for felines, who share the same receptors for the virus as humans, meaning that they can become extremely ill or even die from the disease, New Scientist(opens in new tab) reported. The lion was euthanized several days after it tested positive, due to the severity of its symptoms. Zoo animals and COVID-19 A wide variety of zoo animals have been infected by SARS-CoV-2 including gorillas, snow leopards, hippos, hyenas and giraffes. The first zoo animal in the U.S. known to be infected with COVID-19 was a tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City back in April 2021. However, the risk of most humans contracting the virus from an animal remains very low and it is much more likely for humans to infect animals than the other way around, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(opens in new tab). "You would have to be in very close contact with such animals to get infected," study co-author Leslie Boyer(opens in new tab), the medical director of the Venom Immunochemistry, Pharmacology and Emergency Response (VIPER) Institute at The University of Arizona, told New Scientist. "People like vets, farmers [and] zookeepers who often work close to the oral and nasal regions of these animals are most at risk to such transmission." link: https://www.livescience.com/in-a-first-zoo-lion-transmits-covid-19-to-its-keepers

This brightly colored 1500-hp hypercar will burn eyeballs before forcing them into the back of its driver's skull. A 2021 Koenigsegg Regera with Candy Liquid Blue paint is up for auction on Bring a Trailer until Tuesday, April 4. The Regera on BaT is one of 80 copies Koenigsegg built from 2016 to 2021, and this example cost $3,277,636 when new—including more than $1 million in options. Its plug-in-hybrid powertrain consists of three electric motors and a twin-turbo 5.0-liter V-8 that combine for 1500 horsepower (or about 1757 hp with E85 gas). bring a trailer badge CAR AND DRIVER Let's get this straight: I can't afford to bid on a multimillion-dollar hypercar like the 2021 Koenigsegg Regera that's currently being auctioned off on Bring a Trailer, which—like Car and Driver—is owned by Hearst Autos. Heck, I can hardly afford to bid on most machines on BaT. With that said, I still log countless hours fantasizing about what I'd buy if I could. For obvious reasons, this brightly colored Swedish exotic caught my eye. Its delightfully '90s-esque custom paint is called Candy Liquid Blue. It features gold-painted accents that match myriad components hidden beneath the Regera's skin. Open its scissor-style doors and climb into a next-level cockpit where most surfaces are either made of exposed carbon fiber or covered in rich, quilted leather. The only things that diminish the meticulously crafted cabin are the fully digital gauge cluster and portrait-oriented touchscreen. The Koenigsegg Regera is one of the wildest plug-in hybrids on the planet. At its heart is a 1100-hp twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V-8, and that gas-fed engine pairs with three electric motors that altogether make 700 horsepower. However, since the separate systems reach their peak power at different points, the Regera's total output is 1500 horsepower. That power is funneled through a single-speed transmission, which was designed to save weight and significantly limit the power lost to the driveline. Back in 2019, Koenigsegg set a record for the quickest zero-to-249-mph-to-zero run. It did that in a claimed 31.49 seconds, and we showed you the obligatory YouTube video. This 2021 Regera on Bring a Trailer includes the original Monroney price sticker, which (for most of us below a certain tax bracket) might be the first and only time we'll be privy to such specific price breakdowns. Right out of the box, Koenigsegg charged just over $2 million for the Regera. After a boatload of "must-have" options, such as the $250K Environmental Power Upgrade (total output rises from 1500 to about 1757 hp when burning E85 gas) and the $285K Ghost package (various aero addenda that provide 20 percent more downforce), the final MSRP came to $3,277,636. The Regera listing still has 10 days left until the bidding ends, and the latest offer is $2.6 million, so there's still plenty of time for it to meet or exceed its original asking price. Meanwhile, it's another reminder that just because I can't afford such a wild machine doesn't mean it's not fun to dream. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43392002/2021-koenigsegg-regera-bring-a-trailer-auction/

In our weekly interview about objects, the comedian – one half of Lano & Woodley – tells us about a tried-and-true bug killer, as well as a special teapot Colin Lane and Frank Woodley – who you probably know as comedy duo Lano & Woodley – returned to the stage in 2018 after a 12-year hiatus. The pair came back to deliver a show about Orville and Wilbur Wright, the brothers who invented powered flight, and it was such a hit they quickly went to work reimagining another epic story. “Because I was in Melbourne during lockdown, I had a lot of time. So I decided to read Moby-Dick, which is 700 pages,” says Lane. “And I said, ‘Why don’t we do a story about Moby-Dick?’ And Frank just went, ‘Oh, yeah.’ So that was the entire creative discussion.” “Frank was just happy I didn’t read Fifty Shades of Grey during lockdown. Otherwise it would have been a very different show.” The pair launched their take on Ahab and his white whale last year and are taking it around the country once more from April. As Lane tells it: “we’ve been doing it for about a year so we can absolutely guarantee … we’ve cut out all the shit bits.” Whether he’s on or off tour, Lane starts his mornings with a cup of tea brewed in a special teapot. Here, he tells us why he’s so passionate about that particular vessel, and shares the stories behind two other important personal belongings. What I’d save from my house in a fire I’d take my Robur teapot, which must be 100 years old. I turned 50 a few years ago and a very old friend of mine bought it for me as a birthday gift. If we’re going on a trip for two or three weeks, I’ll take the teapot because it means that much to me. I love it so much that I’ve bought similar models for other people. There’s a guy in Melbourne who renovates them – and, look, they’re not cheap, but I can highly recommend the investment. Something I’m trying to live by lately is “buy once, buy well”. You don’t want to get into bed every night going “I hate this mattress” because you’ve got a shit mattress, just like you don’t want to go into the kitchen every morning thinking “I want a cup of tea but I hate this teapot”. I think that daily ritual of brewing your morning tea is all the better when you know it is going to be made in a beautiful vessel that has withstood decades of existence. My most useful object I’ve recently discovered there’s this thing called a Bug-A-Salt Gun. It’s about a foot long and plastic. And it’s called a Bug-A-Salt Gun because you put table salt into it and then when you’ve got an annoying fly in your house during summer, you point it in the right direction and it fires just a minuscule amount of salt at the fly, killing it. I don’t want to condone the use of guns, but when it comes to flies, it does mean you’ve got something much better than a fly swat or rolled-up newspaper. Nine times out of 10, you’ll have success. And it’s more environmentally friendly than bug spray! But it does mean that there’s always little mountains of salt around the house. The item I most regret losing I grew up in the 60s and 70s with three sisters. I had a little portable record player, and they bought me – I think it was in 1973 – Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. It was the first record I ever got. But I’ve moved in the last two or three years, and I’ve lost it. And I’m extremely disappointed because last year for my birthday, I got a turntable and speakers and everything, and that was the first record that I wanted to play. It’s one of those things where you get a little bit despondent and question your methods of moving. How can a person lose just one record? So the irony is that I’ve had to say goodbye to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. … as 2023 gathers pace, and you’re joining us from Serbia, we have a small favour to ask. A new year means new opportunities, and we're hoping this year gives rise to some much-needed stability and progress. Whatever happens, the Guardian will be there, providing clarity and fearless, independent reporting from around the world, 24/7. Times are tough, and we know not everyone is in a position to pay for news. But as we’re reader-funded, we rely on the ongoing generosity of those who can afford it. This vital support means millions can continue to read reliable reporting on the events shaping our world. Will you invest in the Guardian this year? Unlike many others, we have no billionaire owner, meaning we can fearlessly chase the truth and report it with integrity. 2023 will be no different; we will work with trademark determination and passion to bring you journalism that’s always free from commercial or political interference. No one edits our editor or diverts our attention from what’s most important. With your support, we’ll continue to keep Guardian journalism open and free for everyone to read. When access to information is made equal, greater numbers of people can understand global events and their impact on people and communities. Together, we can demand better from the powerful and fight for democracy. Whether you give a little or a lot, your funding is vital in powering our reporting for years to come. link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/mar/27/three-things-with-colin-lane-theres-always-little-mountains-of-salt-around-the-house

Nato has condemned Russia's "dangerous" and "irresponsible" rhetoric after Vladimir Putin's decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The organisation is "closely monitoring" the situation and said the move would not lead it to change its own nuclear strategy. The US said it did not believe Russia was preparing to use nuclear weapons. Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine, as well as with Nato members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Ukraine has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the potential threat of President Putin's announcement on Saturday. President Putin said Moscow would not be transferring control of its arms to Minsk and that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko - a firm ally of the Kremlin and supporter of its invasion of Ukraine - had long raised the issue with him. Ukraine says the move violates nuclear non-proliferation agreements - an accusation President Putin has denied, instead comparing it to the US stationing its weapons in Europe. But Nato on Sunday described Russia's reference to nuclear sharing as "misleading". "Nato allies act with full respect of their international commitments," Nato spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. The military alliance also accused Russia of consistently breaking its own arms control commitments, including the country's decision to suspend the new START treaty - a deal signed in 2010 which limits the number of US and Russian nuclear warheads and gives each the power to inspect the other's weapons. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged Belarus to opt out of the deal with Putin, warning the country could face further sanctions if it went through with it. "Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice," he wrote on Twitter. What is Nato and why is Finland joining? No Ukraine offensive without more weapons - Zelensky On Sunday, a top security adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of making Belarus a "nuclear hostage". Oleksiy Danilov wrote on Twitter that Russia's plans were a "step towards internal destabilisation" in Belarus and predicted anti-Russian sentiment in the country would grow. Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in her country "grossly contradicts the will of the Belarusian people" and would make it a potential target for retaliatory strikes. But Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's ministry of defence, told the BBC that Ukraine was used to nuclear threats from Russia, adding that the deployment in Belarus would not change the outcome of the war. "They cannot win this war because it is for them unsustainable, it is unwinnable, [and] they cannot defeat Ukraine because we have been living with the hypothetical threat of a possible nuclear strike from day one of the large-scale invasion," he said. Mr Sak said there was nothing new in Russia's behaviour, as it had been stationing military equipment in Belarus since the start of the war in 2022. Mykhailo Podolyak, another senior adviser to President Zelensky, characterised the move as "scare tactics" and said the Russian leader was "too predictable". Analysts at the US think tank Institute for War said the risk of escalation to nuclear war following the announcement remained "extremely low". A small number of Iskander tactical missile systems, which can be used to launch nuclear weapons, have already been transferred to Belarus, President Putin said in his address on Saturday. This will be the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based nuclear arms outside the country. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 meant weapons became based in four newly-independent states - Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan - with the transfer of all warheads to Russia completed in 1996. Russia will start training crews to operate the weapons from next week. The construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be completed by 1 July, President Putin said. The announcement comes only days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow, during which Russia and China issued a joint statement saying "all nuclear powers must not deploy their nuclear weapons beyond their national territories, and they must withdraw all nuclear weapons deployed abroad". link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65081575

The Moroccan boxer defeated Kazakh Lazzat Kungeibayeva in the heavyweight final in New Delhi. Rabat - Moroccan boxer Khadija El Mardi won the heavyweight gold medal at the IBA Women's World Boxing Championship 2023 held in New Delhi, India after defeating Lazzat Kungeibayeva from Kazakhstan in the final. The win was unanimous, with all five of the judges voting for El Mardi over her Kazakh opponent. Before this year’s tournament, El Mardi won the silver medal in the heavyweight category in the 2022 World Championships in Istanbul, as well as a bronze medal in the 2019 championship in Ulan-Ude, Russia. With the win, she has become the first Moroccan, African, and Arab woman to win an international gold medal in boxing. She also won the gold medal at the 2022 African Championships in Maputo, Mozambique, and the 2019 African Games in Rabat. Despite representing Morocco in the 2016 Summer Olympics, El Mardi had to withdraw from the 2020 Olympics due to medical reasons. Russian boxer Diana Pyatak and Azerbaijani Aynur Rzayeva won the bronze medal. The minimum weight event saw another medal for Morocco, as Yasmine Moutaqui shared the bronze with Kazakh Alua Balkibekova. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/03/354694/khadija-el-mardi-wins-first-gold-medal-for-morocco-africa-in-women-s-boxing

Nick Movie: School Of Magical Animals Time: October 14, 2021 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 1h 33min Trailer:

Live Performance Title: KAFANSKO VECE - BEC • NENAD,GILE, EMINA I CANA • LIVE KONCERT | 4.3. 2023 | OTV VALENTINO Signer Name: NENAD,GILE, EMINA I CANA Live Performance Location: = Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/8

Music Title: OBSESSED WITH YOU X ALL ABOUT HIM | TIKTOK VIRAL TREND REMIX 2023 | JONEL SAGAYNO REMIX 2023 Signer: = Release Date: 25/03/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/9

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