BirSaNN

we are currently planning something else... and we may add to that in the future

Talks with ministers aimed at resolving NHS strikes have made little progress, unions have said. Unite said the meetings were "a missed opportunity", while the Royal College of Nursing said they were "bitterly disappointing". Unison said there were discussions over pay but no "tangible concessions" which would enable Wednesday's ambulance strikes to be called off. However, a government source described the talks as useful and constructive. Ministers have also been meeting teaching and rail unions in a bid to avert further industrial action. The formal agenda of the talks was next year's pay settlements, and they were not expected to lead to an immediate breakthrough for the current pay disputes. Unions are calling for pay rises to keep up with the rising cost of living but ministers say any offer must be "affordable". Speaking ahead of the meetings, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not deny that his government could follow Wales by offering a one-off payment to public sector workers to ease the cost of living. Chris Mason: Could one-off payments end strikes? The strikes taking place in January Onay Kasab, from the Unite union, said the government had suggested during the talks earlier that any one-off payments would have to be based on "productivity savings". He said that some of his members were working 18 hour shifts and that it was "an insult" to discuss productivity. "We are extremely angry," he added. Business Secretary Grant Shapps, who was not involved in the talks, suggested it was reasonable for employers to link pay increases to improvements in productivity. "The principle that as a country we can afford to do more if we can make ourselves more productive seems to me to be pretty common sense stuff," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme. The Department for Health said Health Secretary Steve Barclay had requested further discussions on ideas to make the health service work better and save staff time, that could unlock additional funding. Other ambulance worker union representatives leaving the meeting were slightly more positive, with Sara Gorton from Unison saying there had been progress. "We did actually manage to talk about pay - we didn't get the tangible concessions that we might have hoped for that would enable us to call off the [ambulance worker] strikes later this week," she said. Rachel Harrison, from the GMB union, said the talks "fell well short of anything substantial that could stop this week's strikes". There was "some engagement on pay" but "no concrete offer", she said. Joanne Galbraith-Marten, from the Royal College of Nursing, said there was "no resolution to our dispute yet in sight". This week's strikes - which include planned walkouts by ambulance drivers, bus drivers, teachers and driving examiners - are all expected to go ahead. Nurses are also set to walk out for two days next week. Elaine Sparkes, from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said the talks were "more constructive" than previous meetings but "there is nothing tangible on the table" and the union would announce strike dates later this week. A government source said the health secretary discussed productivity and efficiency savings which would help decide what was affordable for the coming year's pay deal. A one-off payment for health service staff was mentioned in passing, the source said. Unions have repeatedly called for a better pay offer to be on the table before April and are said to have asked Mr Barclay to make that case to the chancellor. The source said Mr Barclay had agreed to look at their request, without making any commitments. Unions say current disputes are about this year's pay offer but earlier Mr Sunak did not address a question about the 2022-23 settlement and ministers have previously said the focus should be on next year's deal. Earlier, there were also meetings between Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and teaching unions. Following the talks, Kevin Courtney, from the National Education Union (NEU), said "no concrete progress" was made and there was no new pay offer. "There is nothing so far that would dissuade us from taking industrial action," he said. However, in a statement he later said there was a promise of further discussions on changes to pay for this year. Teaching unions covering England and Wales, including the NEU, the NAHT and the NASUWT, are currently balloting members on potential strike action. In Scotland, teachers are striking for two days this week, with a week-long industrial action planned for next week. The day of talks come as a ballot opens for junior doctors in England to decide on their own industrial action, which could begin in March. Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said there was a "chink of optimism" after Mr Sunak told the BBC on Sunday that "we want to have a reasonable, two-way conversation about pay and everything else that is relevant". However, she said this would not stop next week's planned strikes by nurses. The government has previously refused to discuss pay for public sector workers, saying it is a matter for independent pay review bodies. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64207220

And do the rodents live in these wooden structures? Beavers are renowned for building dams, which the animals construct from trees and branches they cut using their strong front teeth, according to the National Park Service(opens in new tab). The rodents also use grass, rocks and mud to reinforce these structures. But why do American beavers (Castor canadensis) build dams? Do they live in them? Put simply, beavers build dams to stay safe, which is particularly challenging considering their awkward body shape and ungainly nature. "Beavers are 40-to-80-pound [18-to-36 kilogram] smelly bags of meat with really short legs," Chris Jordan(opens in new tab), a fisheries biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Newport, Oregon, told Live Science in an email. That makes these large rodents easy prey. "When beavers are on the land, they're very awkward and vulnerable, like great big chicken nuggets waddling around that any predator would be happy to have as a meal," Emily Fairfax(opens in new tab), an ecohydrologist at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo, California, told Live Science in an email. "But when they are in the water, they're nearly invincible. They're outstanding swimmers and can hold their breath for 10 to 15 minutes. By building a dam, they create a pond, and that pond is their safety zone." These bodies of water are deep enough for beavers to hide from predators, such as mountain lions, bears, wolves and coyotes, Jordan said. Damming can also flood areas to bring beavers closer to their main source of food, he noted. This includes the bark, leaves and twigs of trees, as well as aquatic plants, such as water lilies and cattails, according to a factsheet from King County, Washington(opens in new tab). Related: What is the world's tallest tree? Furthermore, "beavers dig extensive canal networks behind their dams to spread the water," Jordan said. This can safely bring them closer to trees, but it also helps "in transporting larger pieces of food and building materials back to their lodge, dam and food cache." Although dams protect beavers, they do not dwell within these structures. Instead, they often live in oven-shaped lodges made of sticks, grass, moss and mud built in or on the shore of the ponds their dams created, according to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web online database(opens in new tab). In these lodges, they reside in family groups, known as colonies, which are made up of five beavers, on average, the King County page says. The Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), which lives in Europe and Asia, is slightly larger than the American beaver. It also builds dams, lodges and canals, a 2020 study in the European Journal of Wildlife Research(opens in new tab) noted. Beaver dams help ecosystems Beaver dams benefit not only their creators but many other species as well. "Beaver dams help slow water down and keep it on the landscape longer," Fairfax said. "This transforms simple streams into thriving wetland ecosystems. The amount of food and water available in their wetlands makes them ideal habitat for many different species. That's part of why beavers are what's known as a keystone species." Ultimately, returning beavers to their original habitats may help reduce the impacts of climate change and benefit their ecosystems in many other ways, Fairfax and Jordan noted in an April 2022 perspectives piece in the journal WIREs Water(opens in new tab). "When their dams slow water down, some of it gets stored in the soil, where plant roots can access it even during drought," Fairfax said. "That helps keep vegetation lush, so that when wildfires start, the beaver complexes are uniquely resistant to burning. These fire-resistant patches help preserve intact ecosystems; provide refuge to animals that cannot outrun, fly or swim away from the fire; stabilize river banks post-fire; and help catch and settle out ash and sediment that is suspended in the streams post-fire." In addition, vegetation from beaver damming can draw the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air and reduce flood damage, the scientists noted. When all this beaver-linked data was examined together, "it was remarkable how well-suited beavers are to not only survive changing climates, but also to accomplish some of the climate change adaptation work we as people have been trying to get done ourselves," Fairfax said. "My big takeaway from that is that we are not alone in our efforts to restore ecosystems and build resilience to climate change," she said. "Beavers, and likely other ecosystem engineers and keystone species, are doing similar things through their own innate abilities. More progress will be made if we work with them rather than against them." link:> https://www.livescience.com/why-beavers-build-dams

This lighter, more track-focused Venom F5 is still road legal and will still make 1817 horsepower. Hennessey is releasing a lighter, track-focused version of its hypercar that is still road legal. Power is unchanged at 1817 horsepower from the twin-turbo 6.6-liter V-8. The Revolution will be priced from $2.7 million, and just 24 will be built. While the Hennessey Venom F5 has yet to deliver on John Hennessey's promise it will prove itself the fastest production car in the world, that hasn’t stopped the Texas company from creating an even harder-core version. According to Hennessey, the F5 Venom is more track focused than the regular version, but it will still be street legal. Although Hennessey hasn’t made any top-speed claims for the Revolution, it will almost certainly be slower than the existing F5, which John Hennessey previously told C/D is targeting a top speed of over 311 mph (that’s 500 km/h in metric). That’s because the Revolution is carrying substantial aerodynamic modifications, with these claimed to substantially increase its peak downforce abilities. The new adjustable rear wing, with patriotic stars-and-stripes endplates, is claimed to be capable of making more than 800 pounds of positive aero assistance at 186 mph, and over 1400 pounds at 249 mph. When Hennessey first showed the F5 in 2020, it promised a track pack with a raised rear wing would follow, and the Revolution seems to be that. Although the company hasn't released any claims for total downforce, the fact that the Revolution has substantially large diffusers front and rear suggests the combined figure will be even more impressive. There are also dive-plane elements on the front bumper to help move the aerodynamic balance forward, which sounds exciting. Power hasn't increased over the regular F5 Venom coupe or the Roadster version that was announced last year. But it probably doesn't need to; a peak 1817 hp sounds like plenty, even in these inflated times. The Revolution will use the same mid-mounted 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged pushrod V-8 as other F5s, with the engine making its power peak at 8200 rpm and accompanying it with a maximum 1193 pound-feet of torque at 5500 rpm. Power will reach the rear wheels through an automated single-clutch transmission and a limited-slip differential. Mass has been trimmed from the other side of the scale, with the F5 Revolution's carbon structure claimed to be lighter than the already svelte F5. Hennessey promises that it will weigh less than 3000 pounds, 50 pounds less than it claims for the existing car. That's despite the arrival of a new high-level engine air intake that sits above the roof. Suspension settings are also promised to be more aggressive and designed for hard track use. Just 24 of the F5 Revolution will be produced, with prices running from $2.7 million. That's a figure that will likely make anybody who paid the $2.1 million that was asked for the regular F5 Venom feel like they nabbed a bargain. Or possibly that they should have waited a little longer for one of these. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42427408/hennessey-venom-f5-revolution-revealed/

Sarah never imagined that her online word-game addiction would become more than a hobby. But at the end of 2019 it led to an unexpected, long-distance love story. “I was living in Germany but spending a lot of time with my daughter in Switzerland,” says Sarah, who left the UK with her husband when she was 20. “She had had a third baby and needed some extra help. I’d also been widowed in 2018 and was still feeling a bit disoriented.” The Scrabble-style game Words with Friends soon became a nice distraction. “You can play with anyone in the world,” she says. “I would often be sitting in my grandchildren’s rooms waiting for them to sleep while I played.” When she connected with Martin through the game, they began to chat on the messaging function. “He congratulated me on a word I’d played. I’m not even sure how we got talking as I am usually a scaredy cat on the internet.” They felt drawn to each other as soon as they began to communicate. Martin was working in Adelaide, Australia, as a carer and living part-time with his teenage daughters from a previous marriage. “I just used the game to pass time after work,” he says. “But I noticed Sarah’s sense of humour was wonderful. We chatted on Words with Friends for about three months, before we moved to Facebook Messenger and started talking face-to-face through video.” It was frustrating because there comes a point where you just want to hold that person’s hand and be with them They discovered they both loved dogs, books and the same music. “We also started watching films together online and we set up a book club where we’d read the same things, put messages in the books and send them to each other,” says Sarah. They planned to meet in March 2020, but the pandemic robbed them of the chance to travel. Yet despite the difficulties the world was facing, their online relationship continued to grow. “It kept me going, as I was on my own in Germany,” says Sarah. “Having him to share things with was lovely. At the same time, it was frustrating because there comes a point where you just want to hold that person’s hand and be with them.” It would have been easy to give up on the relationship, but their commitment never waivered. Eventually, in September 2022, they were able to meet in Singapore. “It wasn’t like meeting someone for the first time because we’d known each other for over two years,” says Martin. “There was an instant coming together. It was so comfortable and exciting at the same time. We knew each other so well and had already fallen in love online.” They spent eight days touring the sights of Singapore. “In a normal relationship, you can have times of silence but you can’t do that when you’re online,” says Sarah. “When we met in person, I realised how lovely it was to be together and not even talk.” Martin says that leaving each other at the end of the trip was “incredibly hard” for them both. “As soon as we got home, we started planning the next time we could see each other. It’s been challenging because we both have commitments in our own countries.” They hope to meet again early this year and want to find a way to be together permanently. “We have some things to work out but I really want to grow old with Martin,” says Sarah. “When you’ve made that decision, the rest should fall into place.” Sarah is one of the few people Martin feels truly understands him. “She’s my best friend and I love every conversation we have. When I finish work, calling her is the first thing I do every day.” Sarah loves how funny he is. “Anyone who can make me laugh gets points with me. Despite the distance, Martin takes our relationship seriously and he’s clever, kind and curious. We love hearing about each other’s lives and can’t wait to be together all the time.” link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/09/how-we-met-we-got-chatting-in-an-online-word-game-and-fell-in-love

The drive from Kostyantynivka to Bakhmut is like dropping off a cliff of civilisation. The "pops" of outgoing tank fire tell you you're getting close to one of the most active parts of the front line in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. They also show that Russia's declared 36-hour ceasefire is in name only. "They promised there would be one, but we don't see or feel it," says Oleksandr, a Ukrainian soldier. The constant bangs of incoming artillery reinforce his point. Then, a shell lands 50 metres away from where we are speaking. I jump. Oleksandr doesn't flinch. "What is it all for?" he asks. A perfectly reasonable question while standing in the almost destroyed main square. "Everything is being ruined. Civilians are killed, soldiers are killed, our people are dying." Russian forces are on the eastern edge of the city a little over a mile away. They've thrown everything at trying to take Bakhmut since the summer in an attempt to push further west, but the city hasn't fallen. On Thursday, Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire which he said his troops would observe across the front line. It would run from Friday at midday until midnight on Saturday. He claimed it was so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas. Ukraine almost immediately rejected it. It certainly doesn't seem like a day worth marking for those left in Bakhmut. Defying Russia in the city 'at end of the world' Five ways Ukraine war could go in 2023 The Ukrainians trying to run start-ups in a war As he rakes leaves into a bin, Sergiy - a civilian - proves me wrong. "You wouldn't wish this even to your enemy, but we've celebrated Christmas as usual," he says. "We had a Christmas tree and decorations, but it was in the basement though." You don't expect to meet anyone who isn't a soldier inside the city. Only a couple of thousand people are left here out of an original po[CENSORED]tion of 50,000. Military vehicles drive with urgency along the icy roads. We can't stay in the same place for more than five minutes. Hanging around would make us a target. It's hard to imagine the shelling being more intense, but Sergiy claims it's relatively calm. "Do you see that missing roof?" he asks. "That was loud. Where the bus depot was hit, that was loud. When this lamp post was hit, that was loud. So, this is quiet." link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64199649

A new report concludes that social disparities significantly hamper educational attainment for Moroccan children. Rabat - Social disparities have long been recognized as a prime factor behind students’ educational attainment, and Morocco is no exception to the trend. A new study from the country’s Higher Commission for Planning (HCP) has shed light on the prime factors causing educational inequality. According to the report, geographical distribution and poverty are the two main factors negatively affecting education equality across Morocco. The research looked into the country’s pre-schooling system, a factor widely considered important in determining future educational attainment. Findings suggest that children in rural areas are less likely to have early access to preschools than their urban counterparts. Almost 70% of preschools in Morocco are clustered in urban areas, against 20% in rural areas, the report found, concluding that urban children are 3.5 times more likely to enroll in preschools than rural children. Another important factor in children’s educational attainment in Morocco is the family’s socio-economic background, the report explained. In addition to income, the educational attainment of the head of the house is also a determining factor in children’s educational attainment. Children belonging to families with a father having a higher education degree are 2.9 times more likely to access preschools than children whose father has never been to school, and 2 times more likely to access preschools than children whose father has only been to primary school, noted the report. The profession of the parents is also a strong factor in determining the educational attainment of children. The report shows that only 16% of children from farming families attend preschools. The number exceeds 85% for families whose heads are high-ranking profiles in managerial positions. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/01/353449/social-disparities-deepen-education-inequality-in-morocco

Nick Movie: Plane Time: January 13, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: ? Duration of the movie: 1h 47min Trailer:

Live Performance Title: Atif Aslam's Heart Touching Performance Live at Star GIMA Awards 2015 Full HD Video Signer Name: atif aslam Live Performance Location: - Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/6

Music Title: PARTY REMIX 2023 📣 Mashups & Remixes Of Po[CENSORED]r Songs 2023 📣 DJ Remix Club Music Dance Mix 2023 Signer: - Release Date: 09/01/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/7

• Name: @BirSaNN • Time & Date: 00:08 / 09/01/2023 • Screenshot: https://imgur.com/a/KcSSEzn

Rishi Sunak's openness to talks has offered a "chink of optimism" that a deal can be reached over nurses' pay, the head of the nursing union has said. The prime minister told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he was open to a pay deal that is "responsible" and "affordable". Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: "The prime minister talked about coming to the table. Now that's a move for me." But she said strikes will go ahead as this year's pay was still in dispute. The health secretary is due to hold a meeting with unions on Monday, but the government has so far only agreed to discuss a settlement for the next financial year. Nurses are already set to receive a rise for the current year, 2022-23, an average of 4.75%. This is in line with a recommendation by the independent NHS Pay Review Body in July - but the RCN says the figure is not enough to cushion the rising cost of living. Why are nurses and ambulance staff striking? Talks with health leaders highly valuable - PM In an interview on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Sunak was asked if he would be willing to talk about nurses' pay for this year. "The government has always been clear that it's happy to talk about pay that is responsible, that's affordable for the country. That's always been clear," he said. "We want to have a reasonable, honest, two-way conversation about pay and everything else that is relevant. "The most important thing is that we are talking." Last month saw nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland stage a walkout for the first time in the RCN's 106-year history. The Royal College of Nursing Scotland says it is planning industrial action while the RCN has announced further strike dates in England on 18 and 19 January. The RCN has said nurses should receive a pay increase of 5% above inflation this year, which at the peak rate of inflation would have equated to a 19% rise, although reports last week suggested it would accept 10%. Mr Sunak said: "We are about to start a new pay settlement round... we're about to start that independent process, and before that process starts the government is keen to sit down with the unions and talk about pay and make sure they understand where we're coming from." Speaking on the same programme, Ms Cullen repeated her call for the prime minister to meet her "halfway", and said the RCN had made a "significant move" by signalling a willingness to compromise. "There was a chink of optimism and there was a little shift in what the prime minister was saying," she said. "However, and this is really important, tomorrow's meeting... is not about negotiations, it's not about nurses' pay, and it's not addressing the issues that are our dispute. "The prime minister talked about coming to the table. Now that's a move for me. But it must be about addressing pay for 2022-23." \ Ahead of Monday's meeting, Health Secretary Steve Barclay suggested health workers could get a bigger pay rise in the next financial year if they agree to "efficiency" savings in the NHS. Mr Sunak was also asked about the growing numbers of people waiting for treatment and whether the NHS was in a crisis. The prime minister, who hosted a forum of health leaders and experts on Saturday to discuss how key issues in the health service could be addressed, said: "The NHS is undeniably under enormous pressure. "But actually I came away from all my meetings with a renewed sense of confidence and optimism that we can get to grips with this problem. "We've got a plan that we've got in place that we're making sure that we can actually deliver." He repeatedly refused to reveal whether he uses private healthcare, saying the question was "not really relevant" to his role as prime minister. Speaking to Sky News, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the NHS was "not just on its knees, it's on its face". He said a Labour government would implement a 10-year plan to reform the health service but defended his backing of the use of the private sector to lower NHS waiting lists. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64201968

About 90% of all species went extinct during the "Great Dying" around 252 million years ago, but in the case of one paleo-beast — the so-called gorgon — reports of its death were greatly exaggerated, new research finds. Reports of a "gorgon" mass extinction at the end of the Permian period were greatly exaggerated, new research finds. These bizarre paleo-beasts were thought to have died out along with most other life on Earth at the time, but scientists recently found that some of these so-called gorgons survived into the Triassic period. However, they didn't survive long, making them a "dead clade walking," the team said. An analysis of three specimens found in the Karoo Basin in South Africa reveals that this saber-toothed group, known as gorgonopsians, the dominant predators during the late Permian period, managed to survive the "Great Dying." During this event, which took place around 251.9 million years ago and was also known as the end-Permian extinction, about 90% of all species went extinct. Gorgonopsians were an exception — but despite their survival, their prospects weren't great. "'Dead clade walking' is a term used in extinction studies that refers to when a group of organisms technically survives a mass extinction, but is so damaged by it that they never recover, and linger on for a little bit before finally disappearing," project co-researcher Christian Kammerer(opens in new tab), the research curator of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, told Live Science in an email. Dead clades walking may last millions of years after a mass extinction "but never re-diversify or attain substantial abundance in ecosystems, so they are effectively already 'dead' from a macroevolutionary perspective," he explained. The research was presented Nov. 3 at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology's annual conference in Toronto and has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. Related: Ancient saber-toothed 'gorgons' bit each other in ritualized combat Gorgonopsians — named after the mythical and monstrous Greek gorgons, whose looks could turn people to stone — existed long before the dinosaurs emerged during the Triassic about 240 million to 230 million years ago. The researchers were aware of a partial gorgonopsian skull from the Karoo Basin dating to the Triassic period's Induan age (251.9 million to 251.2 million years ago). Other researchers had dismissed that skull, thinking it had been misidentified or incorrectly dated. But a new investigation revealed that it was "definitely a gorgonopsian," possibly from the genus Cyonosaurus, said Kammerer and lead author Julien Benoit(opens in new tab), a senior researcher of paleontology at the Evolutionary Studies Institute of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Then, the duo analyzed two additional specimens, likely also members of Cyonosaurus, from the Karoo Basin. Of the three gorgonopsian specimens, two are from sites spanning the Permo-Triassic boundary, and the third is from an early Triassic layer. It's possible that Cyonosaurus survived the mass extinction due to its small size, abundance and flexible diet. The fox-size carnivore — which sported a snout that was narrow, elongated and packed with teeth — was one of the smallest known gorgonopsians on record. Small, generalist predators typically adapt better to changing ecosystems than large, specialist predators do and are therefore more likely to weather catastrophic events, Kammerer said. "So if there was any gorgonopsian that we would expect might survive into the Triassic, it would be Cyonosaurus," he said. After the mass extinction, biodiversity crashed in the Karoo Basin, and an herbivorous, tusked animal called Lystrosaurus, which lived during parts of the Permian and Triassic, skyrocketed in numbers, "So, Cyonosaurus likely did not run out of preys," Benoit told Live Science in an email. Research is ongoing, and "further scrutiny of these sites is necessary," the team said. But the data indicate that gorgonopsians survived into the earliest part of the Triassic, which is about as surprising as a tyrannosaur surviving the asteroid slamming into Earth, the scientists joked in their conference abstract. That said, Triassic gorgonopsians were rare and from a single genus, so this dead clade walking "should still be considered a victim of the end-Permian mass extinction," the researchers said. link: https://www.livescience.com/gorgonopsians-survived-mass-extinction

Owners of other brands of electric vehicles can use the stations too, with 10,000 coming to North America, Europe, and China by decade's end, in a venture shared with ChargePoint and MN8 Energy. With EVs and their necessary charging infrastructure on everyone's mind these days, Mercedes-Benz's announcement of its own charging network is particularly timely. The automaker gave details of its plans during the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) event in Las Vegas this week. High-speed charging stations will be open to other brands, not just Mercedes. UPDATE 1/7/2023: Markus Schaefer, Mercedes-Benz chief technology officer, gave additional details about the project, which we've added below. Mercedes-Benz is set to launch a new, open electric vehicle charger network in North America later this year. Mercedes plans to have more than 400 hubs, a.k.a. stations, with more than 2500 high-power chargers, a.k.a. plugs, in operation across North America by 2027. The network will also expand to include more than 10,000 chargers in Europe, China, and "other main markets" by the end of the decade, Mercedes said. Initially, Mercedes plans for each hub to have between four and a dozen chargers, but this number could grow to 30 chargers at a hub in the future. One big reason Mercedes is willing to spend billions to acquire land and install thousands of charging stations is to improve, eventually, a Mercedes driver's EV experience, according to Markus Schaefer, Mercedes-Benz chief technology officer, who spoke to the media during CES this week. Schaefer said customers have made clear what they think about current EV charging solutions, and the level of dissatisfaction led Mercedes to decide "to do things right, the way we think things should work." That means finding safe, clean, and convenient places for the stations and a technological back end that provides benefits to Mercedes drivers. That includes discounted prices for Mercedes me Charge users and a way for Mercedes EVs to navigate you to charging stations on long trips and automatically reserve a charging appointment at an appropriate location. If you take a different route or run into traffic, the reservation can be dynamically updated without extra work by the driver. Mercedes-Benz EV drivers can manually pre-book time at a charging station from their car, for example, and the network "will prioritize Mercedes-Benz customers." From a driver's perspective, the navigation system in Mercedes EVs will be able to communicate with the charging network and then optimize the route and reserve charging sessions automatically, if needed, so you'll get where you're going on time and without any range anxiety. Schaefer said the eventual system would "probably" not push out any non-Mercedes drivers at a busy station without an open plug and will instead navigate drivers to a nearby public charging station. Even with the Vision EQXX on the display stand, Mercedes-Benz's big announcement at CES this year wasn't a new car but the news that the automaker is getting into the high-power—up to 350 kW—charging network game. The charging network will be open to drivers of any compatible EV, and the locations will be selected to be close to key urban areas, near major roads and at participating Mercedes-Benz dealerships. The stations will use Plug & Charge technology that allows payment details to be sent from the car to the charger without any extra interaction, but credit card and app-based payments will also be possible. Other Brands Are Welcome Just because the stations are open to any compatible EVs doesn’t mean there isn’t something special for drivers of the EQS or other three-pointed star plug-in models. Mercedes-Benz EV drivers will be able to pre-book time at a charging station from their car, for example, and the network “will prioritize Mercedes-Benz customers.” From a driver’s perspective, the navigation system in Mercedes EVs will be able to communicate with the charging network and then automatically optimize the route and reserve charging sessions automatically, if needed, so you’ll get where you’re going on time and without any range anxiety. Tesla led the way in automaker-operated charging stations for EVs, but almost all of its 40,000 Superchargers use a Tesla-specific adapter and are not compatible with other EVs. Rivian is also building out what it calls the Rivian Adventure Network but only has nine stations in operation. Other electric vehicle automakers rely on public charging stations operated by independent or partner companies, like Electrify America, which Volkswagen was forced to create after its diesel emission scandal. Mercedes will work with MN8 Energy to provide renewable energy for the charging hubs and with ChargePoint on other technical aspects of the hubs and chargers. Mercedes is a shareholder in ChargePoint, and the two companies already work together on the Mercedes me Charge technology in the U.S. Some of the new stations will have solar-powered lights and security features. Mercedes said it expects the North American portion of the network will cost a little over a billion dollars over the next six or seven years. Mercedes and MN8 split this cost roughly in half. link: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42408047/mercedes-high-speed-charging-network-evs/

Annalisa Barbieri has had a lifelong horror of cats. But with her family desperate for a pet, she finally relented and opened her home to Sidney. Here, she explains how she overcame her fear Annalisa Barbieri Annalisa Barbieri @AnnalisaB Sun 8 Jan 2023 12.00 GMT Inever thought I’d kiss a cat. Or like them, or be in a room with them. Cats, to me, were evil and unpredictable. A classic projection, if ever I saw one, of fear manifesting as dislike. Intense fear. Intense dislike. But then I became a mother and, as we all know, maternal love makes you do strange, selfless things occasionally. My children started asking for a cat. I said no, of course. My home was my safe place. No cats allowed. For some years they asked for a cat, on and off. Eventually, the “why we should get a cat” lists started getting toilet-roll long and I started thinking, maybe we can get a kitten. Kittens are cute. I started watching videos. Kittens were cute. We started looking. Rescue centres, breeders. Some breeders we came across were properly bonkers. One excluded us on the basis that we said we had a school fete to attend and she wrote an email thick with venom. “If you’re going to put your children before any potential kittens,” she wrote, “then you don’t deserve a cat.” Another said we couldn’t have just one but had to have two. One was already one too many for me. This did nothing to quell my fear that the cat world was not a world I wanted to be part of. Then Covid came. We got to the top of one rescue centre’s list only to be told we couldn’t meet the kitten first – it was show up and take it. I didn’t want to do this. Temperament was important. My friend Anna told me about a cat that had come via a newsagent’s advert, which turned out to be “demonic”. It’s impossible to explain the fear I felt. I was constantly on edge. I felt I’d let a monster into my house Eventually, we were offered a kitten we could meet. His owner, J, was calm and reassuring. I told her I was scared. She understood. The kitten, Sidney, was 13 weeks old, his brothers had already been taken and he had been promised to someone, but they had changed their mind. As an advocate of attached parenting, I liked that he was still with his mum. We went to see him. He was cute. “He won’t scratch,” said J, adding, “his parents are very calm and unassuming.” These were beautiful, beautiful, words to me and, for the first time since I was four years old, I stroked a cat. He didn’t scratch. Then I played with him – hide and seek. We went away, thought about it, then went back to get him the next day. I was genuinely excited. Cat phobia cured! My friends were dumb struck, “You’re going to get a cat? But you’re scared of them.” Not any more, I thought. The moment we got him home, everything changed. I felt overwhelmed and terrified. He was terrified, too, of course. I didn’t know what he wanted or what he was thinking. He was unpredictable and I don’t do well with unpredictable for reasons we’ll discover later. I felt he was trying to trap me into stroking him so he could hurt me. It didn’t help that I read an article that said, “Cats who go on their backs so you can tickle their tummies are just getting you to come close so they can shred you to pieces.” Poor Sidney kept throwing himself on his back in front me and I just ignored him. (Don’t worry, he was lavished with love and attention by everyone else.) It’s impossible to explain the fear I felt – it was enormous, irrational and all encompassing. I was constantly on edge. I felt I’d let a monster into my house. “We can just give him back,” everyone helpfully said. But I knew we couldn’t. I explained it then as I’ll explain it now: it was as if I’d opened a door in my house that I had never previously known about and this door led to a room of explosives and I couldn’t, now, just shut the door and leave it, but I couldn’t go through it, either. I was stuck. I had to deal with it – the explosives had to be defused. I was stuck. I had to deal with it – the explosives had to be defused Then the flashbacks started. These would be of a child-me hiding behind the sofa, which is strange as our sofa growing up was always against the wall and I never hid behind it. I became hysterical during these flashbacks. That first Saturday, my friend Tamsin (a cat pro, she has a Bengal) texted me. She knew something was wrong and came round, spending all day with me. I felt better with her there, her confidence made me more confident, calmer. “This is the most chilled cat I’ve ever met,” she said. But something else happened that day. I noticed that when Sidney was with her it was obvious to me he was playing, but when he did those exact same things with me – cat things – I thought he was tricking me, wanted to hurt me, because I’d got something wrong. That was a moment of realisation. Something shifted and I realised whatever the problem was me, not the cat. I had not long before recorded a podcast on trauma with psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr Jo Stubley. I started to recognise some of the things that were happening to me. Something in me was being triggered, something I hadn’t processed. I hardly knew Dr Stubley, but in desperation I emailed her. She agreed to talk to me on the phone. She said a few things that were enormously beneficial – I don’t think you should give him back, you can do this. Push yourself but don’t overwhelm yourself. It’s OK to have a safe place, where there are no cats, for you to retreat to. Spend time with Sidney, but at the first sign of feeling overwhelmed, go to your safe place. Best of all was: “I’m going to gently challenge you – cats aren’t as unpredictable as you think”. This was proper, practical advice that I could follow. Little by little I spent more time with Sidney. I realised he didn’t want to hurt me, him coming near me and rubbing his face on me was a sign of him liking me. I would have safe places where he wasn’t allowed and for some time, I couldn’t be left alone in the house with him, it was too much. But by following Dr Stubley’s advice and pushing myself gently out of my comfort zone, but never overwhelming myself, things got better. When the flashbacks came I went alongside the child and told her it was OK, that I had this now. I don’t know when things changed, it took a long time, but I know that confidence grows by doing the same thing over and over again. So that’s what I did. Until one day I found I was completely OK with it all. But what use would any of this be to me, or you, if I didn’t try to find out what had happened to me? So a year and a bit after we got Sidney, I went back to Dr Stubley to try to find out, and also tell her about my achievement, something I’m still so proud of. My friend got me a badge saying “Well done!” But first I told her a little bit about my background, my childhood, which had been very loving and supportive, but at times some of those around me had been unpredictable. I learned to tell moods by small things – body language, voice tones. I kept trying, but the trying and the vigilance weren’t always enough. At times I got hurt. Sometimes physically, many times psychologially. You don’t forget a thing like that, it’s marked on your psyche and becomes part of who you are. Dr Stubley thought I had “pockets of vulnerability” which had been triggered by my cat. One of the things I’d always struggled with was explaining why I was so afraid of cats. “Have you been bitten?” people would ask, or have you “had a bad experience?” The truth was, no, I hadn’t. “There’s something with phobias that doesn’t get talked about,” Dr Stubley explained. “We think that if someone is afraid of something, an object or animal or situation, it’s always because they’ve had a bad experience with that thing. But what we can also do is project on to these objects or animals or situations, something that’s linked to these earlier pockets of vulnerability.” My friend got me a badge saying “Well done!” She explained that I’d become very good, as a child, at keeping myself safe by “taking the temperature of the room and reading people. But along came this little creature and you couldn’t take his temperature, you couldn’t use the usual cues you had with people.” There was something else. I visibly relaxed when another person, someone who knew more than me, who gave me confidence, came into the dyad. In Sidney’s case it had been J, his previous owner, and my friend Tamsin, and to an extent Dr Stubley. But when they weren’t there, I felt like “the little child alone again with something which is unpredictable”. When Dr Stubley asked me who the stabilising adult might have been for me as a child, I started to cry. It had been my dad. “You see,” said Dr Stubley, “adversity or threat only becomes trauma if you don’t have another person to help you process it. You’ve got to have the other person to help you feel safe and to help you think about it.” Eventually I became that person for myself. My own predictable adult. It’s impossible to overstate how pleased I am with myself that I overcame this. Every time I see Sidney, I am reminded of my achievement. Sidney is indeed the calmest, most unassuming cat. He’s never scratched me. He’s never aloof. He likes me. I kiss him, a lot. He doesn’t hurt me. I can read him like a book now and that book is kind and loving. Cats aren’t unpredictable at all. After we’d had him for six months I said, “Let’s get another cat” and you know what, we did. link: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/08/what-the-love-of-cats-taught-me-about-myself

Ukraine has labelled a Russian claim that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an attack "propaganda". Moscow claimed, without providing any evidence, that a "mass missile strike" in the eastern city of Kramatorsk had killed more than 600 Ukrainian forces. It said it was in retaliation for a Ukrainian attack on a Russian base that killed dozens of Russian soldiers on New Year's Day. But the Ukrainian military says this is untrue. "This is another piece of Russian propaganda," Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, told the BBC. Russia's defence ministry said it had killed more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen in a strike on buildings temporarily housing Ukrainian forces. More than 1,300 Ukrainian troops were housed in two buildings, Moscow said. It called the attacks a "retaliatory strike" to avenge the deaths of 89 Russian troops killed in Makiivka. Ukraine says as many as 400 people were killed or wounded at Makiivka, while numbers into the hundreds have been given by Russian nationalists on social media. Moscow is yet to offer any proof of Russia's claim to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers. On Saturday, journalists from the AFP news agency in Kramatorsk, which is located in the eastern region of Donetsk, heard at least four explosions before midnight. There was further shelling in various parts of Ukraine overnight after the end of what Russian President Vladimir Putin said was a 36-hour ceasefire by Russian forces so Orthodox Christians could celebrate Christmas. Evidence suggests this so-called ceasefire was not adhered to by Moscow. Ukrainian officials said at least one person was killed in the Kharkiv region in the north-east. Explosions were also reported in the southern cities of Zaporizhzhia and Melitopol. Russia's defence ministry said that Ukraine had returned 50 captured Russian soldiers after negotiations. Kyiv confirmed that it had received the same amount of soldiers in return from Russia. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64204048

Known as Morocco’s southern perl, Marrakech maintains its position as a hotspot for international tourists. Rabat - Marrakech ranked the seventh best city to inhabit in 2022 according to the global Time Out Global Index 2022. According to the ranking, Marrakech stands out for its “community,” and “creativity.” Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city was named an “international melting pot.” The COVID lockdown had an interesting effect on the city as it spurred the emergence of local entrepreneurs and led to the proliferation of new boutiques and dazzling restaurants. “A new international storytelling festival greeted the city’s first post-pandemic visitors in February, while big players like La Mamounia are sporting sassy new looks and El Fenn launched the hottest Sunday music nights in tow,” the report explains. Known as Morocco’s southern perl, Marrakech maintains its position as a hotspot for international tourists. The city is home to some of Morocco’s most luxurious and prestigious hotels and resorts. Over the years, Marrakech attracted much international acclaim for being one of the best travel destinations in the world. In February 2022, international travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller featured Marrakech in its top 10 friendliest cities in the world. The magazine described the city as one of the most accessible cities enjoying a “mix of traditional” and modern ways of life. link: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2023/01/353430/marrakech-ranks-seventh-best-city-in-the-world-of-2022

Nick Movie: Missing Time: January 20, 2023 Netflix / Amazon / HBO?: Drama Duration of the movie: 1h 51m Trailer:

Live Performance Title: Metallica - Lollapalooza 2022 - Full Show HD Signer Name: Metallica Live Performance Location: - Official YouTube Link: Your Opinion About the Track (Music Video): 10/7

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: 08/01/2023 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: - Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): 10/6