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This story was updated 11/27/18. It will be continually updated as we learn more. Porsche stunned the world two years ago with the debut of its all-electric Mission E sedan concept, later promising it'd go into production as the Taycan in 2020. The spy photos seen throughout this post provide an early look at a Taycan prototype testing in public near Porsche's development center in Weissach, Germany. Here's everything we know about this incredibly exciting car. It's Called the Taycan At first, we thought Porsche would just call this car the "Mission E," but the company has announced that won't be the case. It'll be called the Taycan, pronounced tie-con. It's a Eurasian word that translates, roughly, to "lively young horse." "Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it’s a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances and that epitomizes freedom," Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement announcing the name. It'll Be Priced Between the Cayenne and Panamera Speaking to Automotive News, the model-line director for the Taycan, Rober Meier, said "we're expecting a price somewhere between a Cayenne and a Panamera," when asked how much the EV will cost. In the US, the Cayenne starts at just under $66,000, while the Panamera starts at $85,000. So perhaps the Taycan will start in the $75,000 range. Of course, there'll be model variants offering more performance, so consider $75,000 a base price. You Can Put Down a Deposit Now On Porsche's website, there's a form for those who want to register their interest in buying a Taycan. Once that form is filled out, a Porsche dealer will contact those interested, who can then put a deposit down on the upcoming electric sedan. A Manhattan Porsche dealer told us the deposit is $2500. The Production Car Will Look Like the Concep The Mission E concept combined futuristic looks with classic Porsche proportions to stunning effect, and thankfully the production car will too. Oliver Blume told Car magazine that the production car is "very close to what you saw two years ago at Frankfurt. It will be exciting but a bit different from the concept." The folks over at TaycanForum.com previewed the design in the rendering you see above. Don't expect the suicide doors of the concept to make production, though. It's Not An Electric Panamera Yes, Porsche already sells a sedan, the Panamera, but it's not just modifying that car to create the Taycan. Instead, the Taycan will ride on its own bespoke platform, internally called J1, with its lithium-ion battery making up the floorpan between the its two axles, just as on a Tesla.

Not all chairs are created equal. Some are for dining, some are for children, some are on trains, planes and in cars, and some are just an extension of our wardrobes (read: chair-drobes). But chairs aren’t always just for sitting – some have a little more personality. They are created for very specific things we do in our homes, and no, on this occasion, I’m not talking about the humble barstool. Furniture designe d with a very specific use in mind adds undeniable character, not to mention a talking point for your interior scheme. Black Leather Loveseat Sofa: £2,4000, Rockett St George (www.rockettstgeorge.co.uk) Also known as a courting bench, the love seat is a curled and cocooning chair designed for two. The figure-eight shape was created to facilitate free-flowing conversation, or perhaps more appropriately, flirting. These pieces are usually found in the Baroque style, upholstered in rich velvet damask fabrics and with ornate, acanthus carved wooden legs. For a contemporary update on the original 18th century styles, Rockett St George has created a sofa with moveable backing cushions that turn a rather innocent looking black leather, dimpled sofa into a love seat. Perfect for long nights of poetic whisperings and sipping good wine with that special someone, this industrial yet charming piece is a great choice for both a city home and a dark corner in a stately drawing room. Of course, 1stDibs is always a fantastic place to find antique originals or even quirkier pieces. Perhaps the only high street sofa and chair manufacturer to recognise the true potential for charm in their wares is Sofa Workshop. The brand’s wonky-armed Daydreamer model is the 21st century’s answer to the gossip chair, or telephone chair, styles which feature a built-in side table for a retro chord telephone, and subsequent gossiping. Sitters are encouraged by the Daydreamer's peculiar shape to take their chins into their hands, spending an afternoon lost in thought and fantasies. Shown here in Sanderson’s Capuchins fabric complete with delicate and inspiring botanical etchings, who could resist the temptation to daydream in such a chair? Finally, here's another one for all the lovers out there. The snuggler chair is to millennials what pattern matching your curtains and your sofa was to Generation X. In other words, snugglers are having a moment, and rightly so. Snugglers somehow boast both generous dimensions and space savviness in homes that might not be able to accommodate more than one sofa. Not only this, but their charm credentials qualify them for this very roundup. Complete with a cute name and available in a vast array of styles from almost every furniture manufacturer, the snuggler is at its core and by its name an invitation to curl up and spend time with your beaux (or your dog, obviously.)

(CNN)President Donald Trump offered his most stinging indictment yet of a Saudi effort to silence a dissident journalist, calling the series of events that led to Jamal Khashoggi's death "the worst cover up ever." "The cover up was one of the worst in the history of cover ups," Trump said from the Oval Office. "It's very simple." Later Tuesday, Trump went further, calling the episode a "total fiasco." The rebuke of Saudi Arabia's response to the death reflected Trump's growing frustration at the diplomatic crisis, which has thrust his foreign policy objectives into a harsh spotlight. It came amid an evolving administration response, which including dispatching the CIA director to Turkey to gather more details. The President has become increasingly irritated by the fallout from Khashoggi's death, multiple sources who have heard him voice his frustration told CNN. Visas to be revoked On Tuesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US will be revoking the visas of those who murdered the Washington Post journalist, and said that the administration has "identified at least some of the individuals responsible." The top US diplomat said that the State Department is also working with the Treasury Department to apply human rights-related sanctions that includes the freezing of assets and a travel ban. After Pompeo spoke, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert announced that "21 Saudi suspects in the death of Jamal Khashoggi will have their visas revoked or be ineligible for a visa to enter the United States." Another State Department spokesperson told CNN that State wouldn't be identifying the individuals because "visa confidentiality, protected by U.S. law, prohibits us fromdiscussing individual visa cases." Saudi Arabian officials have said the October 2 killing, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, was part of a rogue operation gone wrong. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News on Sunday that Khashoggi's death was a "tremendous mistake" and added that his government would punish those responsible for his "murder." Trump, however, seemed less willing to accept that official explanation. He cast the situation as a lousy attempt at concealing a crime. "Somebody really messed up," he said. "Because whoever thought of that idea, I think is in big trouble. And they should be in big trouble." He said he was expecting to hear more from US intelligence officials during a meeting on Wednesday afternoon. "However they talk about it, nothing they've done has gone well. It certainly has not been spoken of properly," he said, flanked by US military brass. "The process was no good. the execution was no good. And the cover up, if you want to call it that, was certainly no good." Khashoggi son meets King, Crown Prince Salah Khashoggi, the son of the slain journalist, and another relative, Sahl bin Ahmad Khashoggi, were summoned to the Al Yamama Palace in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported Tuesday, where they met the King and the Crown Prince. The King and Crown Prince "expressed their sincere condolences to the family of Jamal Khashoggi -- may God have mercy on him," SPA reported. Salah, who lives in the Saudi city of Jeddah, has been unable to travel outside Saudi Arabia for several months, as his passport had been invalidated, according to sources close to the family. Other members of Khashoggi's family, including his ex-wife and daughter, are currently in Dubai, add the sources. Trump: Erdogan 'rough' on Saudi Arabia He described an earlier phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as damning for Saudi Arabia. "He was pretty rough on Saudi Arabia, I would say," Trump said. In recent days, the President has complained about the negative coverage blanketing cable television and told confidantes he feels betrayed by the Saudis, who have presented shifting accounts about what happened to the journalist after he entered the Saudi consulate in Turkey three weeks ago to obtain a marriage document and never left.

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5 Essential Lifestyle Trends for 2019 London - As 2018 begins, trend followers and style conscious consumers are already looking ahead to the key themes and trends that are set to influence their wardrobes, lifestyle, and interiors. However, even though the new year may have only just begun, key retailers across the globe are already anticipating what the main trends of 2019 are set to be as they plan their upcoming collections. So what key themes are set to shape shoppers looks for 2019? FashionUnited shares 5 main trends for 2019 from forecasting insiders WGSN with you below. Seasonal Versatility Although trans-season designs have been important for a number of years now, 2019 has been highlighted as the year in which products which adapt to seasonal conditions will become mainstream. As consumers continue to travel further across the globe and climate change deepens, consumers will demand outerwear for every type of season, and a wardrobe to match. Products with interchangeable linings, detachable hoods, or sleeves and waterproof layers will be in high demand as they appeal to the urban nomads. A prime example of this trend is Ravean heated jackets. The down heated jacket comes with a 12V battery which can be used to heat the jacket (or charge your mobile phone), making it comfortable in temperatures varying between minus 23C and 12C The New Formal Over the past few years distinctions made between casual wear and formal wear have been increasingly blurred, thanks to the rise in athleisure wear, more relaxed office dress codes as well as the emergence of new work and home lifestyles. However tailoring is set to make a comeback in 2019, as power dressing makes its way back into the workplace as well as into consumers social lives. A little more rebellious than before, key dress codes will include oversized or boxy blazers paired with streetwear bottoms, such as joggers. Early influencers of this trend include the Louis Vuitton x Supreme collaboration for AW ‘17, Mix Master and Theory’s 2.0 collection. Multi-tasking Mirrors Multifunctional and modular trends are not just influencing the fashion industry - they are also driving design trends across interiors. One of the main trends set to go mainstream in 2019 is multi-tasking mirrors. What does this trend exactly entail? Think mirrors which are incorporated into furniture, or double-tasking mirrors which also work as a lighting device, entertainment systems, and even health trackers - don't be surprised if by 2019 your mirror will be telling you you're running low on vitamin D or running late for a meeting. A clear example of the future of mirrors comes from US retail giant Amazon, who recently filed for a patent for a “blended-reality” mirror, which could offer consumers the possibility to try on any outfit, in any location from the comforts of their home. The blended-reality mirror would use a system of cameras, projectors, displays, mirrors, and lighting which could add layers of pixels to a moving image on a screen based on a real-time basis.

This post is being continually updated as we learn more about the 2020 Bronco. The Ford Bronco is coming back. Ford confirmed the return of the legendary off-road SUV at the Detroit Auto Show in 2017, and we expect the 2020 Bronco will make its debut there next January. Naturally, Ford hasn't released many further details on the 2020 Bronco, other than one teaser image, but we know it's based on the 2019 Ranger, which debuted earlier this year. Here, we've compiled all we've heard about the new Bronco, including the details we can glean from the Ranger. Ford released the very veiled teaser image above earlier this year, and graphic designer Michael Clark put together speculative renderings for us. Here's what we think the Bronco will look like, at least in profile: The last-generation Bronco was based on the F-150, but Ford product head Joe Hinrichs told us the 2020 will be based on the new Ranger. Someone claiming to be a Ford designer on Reddit said that the Bronco will be similar to the Everest, a Ranger-based SUV sold in other markets. Former Ford Chief Technical Officer Raj Nair, however, contradicted that assertion—he said the new Bronco will be a unique vehicle, not a reworked Everest. Size-wise, he said we expect something smaller than the original Bronco but bigger than the 1980s Bronco II. And if you're worried the new Bronco will be a glorified Explorer, don't be. He followed it up by saying "people have an idea of what a Bronco should be. Certainly, we have an idea of what a Bronco should be, and we're going to be looking forward to bringing that to our customers." We wouldn't be surprised if Ford's new Bronco shares engine and transmission offerings with the Ranger since they'll share a platform. For the US market, the new Ranger gets a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder derived from the Focus RS. Ford hasn't released detailed specs for the Ranger's engine, but it has confirmed that it'll be equipped with a 10-speed automatic. Ford did, however, confirm in its 2018 Q1 earnings call that the Bronco will get a hybrid drivetrain of some sort. Interestingly, there's a chance the 2020 Bronco could get a manual transmission. Per anonymous sources who spoke to Bozi Tatarevic over at Jalopnik, Ford is working with Getrag on a new seven-speed (!) manual for possible use in the Bronco. There's a chance this gearbox—or any manual, for that matter—might not come to the production Bronco, but here's hoping. A manual Bronco might not be a big seller, but it would give this 4x4 some serious enthusiast cred, and better position it against the Jeep Wrangler, which offers a six-speed stick. The alleged Ford designer on Reddit did say that the Bronco will get an off-road version to take on the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. That fits with Nair's assertion that the Wrangler will be the Bronco's chief competitor. As for a Raptor, that's anyone's guess. Ford is making a Ranger Raptor, but it'll only be sold in Asia-Pacific markets. Ford Performance boss Jamal Hameedi didn't rule out the possibility of a Raptor-ized Everest at the Ranger Raptor's launch, so perhaps there's some hope for the Bronco. It's unclear if Ford will offer a true throwback, two-door Bronco, or solely a four-door, which would surely be a bigger seller. Previously, we heard Ford isn't planning on building a two-door Bronco, but a teaser shared by the automaker makes it seem like a two-door is possible. We've also heard that the Bronco could get solid axles front and rear. Dana, the same company that makes the upgraded axles for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, said recently that it will supply driveline components for the Bronco and Ranger. Interestingly, as Jalopnik first discovered, it seems like Ford's 2004 Bronco concept will make an appearance in Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's upcoming film, Rampage, which is due out next spring. While we don't expect the production Bronco to look like this, it's inclusion in the movie likely has something to do with Ford's partnership with The Rock. In other words, the fact that The Rock is Instagramming this isn't a coincidence. Recently, an anonymous Ford source told Gear Patrol that the Bronco would look like a four-door version of the Brazilian Troller SUV (pictured below). The Bronco's base price should be around $30,000, which is about the same as a 2018 Wrangler Unlimited. It's not yet confirmed, but we'd be shocked if the 2020 Bronco didn't debut at next year's Detroit Auto Show. Watch this space in January 2019.

The Elysee is worried about the radicalization of the movement of yellow vests and possible new violence at the December 8 rally. And this, despite the decline of the executive on the rise in fuel for the year 2019. The government clearly does not believe that its announcements, including the abandonment of fuel increases for the year 2019, will have an immediate effect on the mobilization of yellow vests. On the evening of December 5 - shortly after the Elysée intervened to correct Matignon, who had advanced a simple moratorium on the issue - the presidential palace said fear "very great violence" at the next rally, scheduled on Saturday 8 December. 690/5000 The Elysee is worried about the radicalization of the movement of yellow vests and possible new violence at the December 8 rally. And this, despite the decline of the executive on the rise in fuel for the year 2019. The government clearly does not believe that its announcements, including the abandonment of fuel increases for the year 2019, will have an immediate effect on the mobilization of yellow vests. Courtesy of Matignon, who had advanced to a simple moratorium on the issue - the presidential palace said "very great violence" on the next rally, scheduled on Saturday 8 December. "There is a real radicalization of some yellow vests, as we have seen in the immediate appearances since [December 3] but also in their remarks. They are radicalized by violence and politically, "said a source from the Interior Ministry to AFP, citing a" mobilization on the part of the ultra-right and ultra-left ". They are putschists. We are in a nutshell (They are putschists. We are in a coup attempt) The intelligence services go even further, since they reported to the Elysee "calls to kill and carry guns to attack parliamentarians, the government, the executive and the police. police forces, "according to Le Figaro. The daily said that a large ministry has even been instructed to forbid its staff and ministers concerned to visit their workplace this weekend. A real insurrectional climate that gives cold sweats to the executive: "They are putschists. We are in a coup attempt, "says a source to the presidential palace in the columns of Figaro. Launched at the end of the rally on December 1, the calls for an act 4 of the mobilization of yellow vests on social networks evoke, for some, a reversal of institutions: "Dissolution of the National Assembly", "Manu, we arrive ! "," Starting Pot of Macron! ", Or" All in the Bastille ". And the spread of anger to other sectors will not reassure the Elysee. Doped by the craze caused by yellow vests, ambulance, farmers, high school students and students, or road, are grafting, increasing the actions in recent days.

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Name of the oponent: @HICHEM Theme of work: Type of work (signature, banner, avatar, Userbar, logo, Large Piece):Avatar Size:150X250 *Text:Neymar Watermark: csblackdevil / csbd Stop votes ( min. 4 - max. 8 ):8 Working time:1h Rejected

Cottage cheese began life in America as an easy, economical way for colonial cooks to make use of milk left over after they skimmed off the cream. By the 1970s, its amicable presence in recipes and on diet plates had made it a star. Fame is fickle, and so are the nation’s eaters. Cottage cheese fell out of favour, and now spends its days hanging out in stodgy pint containers near the sour cream, while yoghurt sprawls out across acres of the dairy case, dressed up in cute little tubes, flip tops and French glass jars. America loves a comeback though, and there are plenty of people who are betting that cottage cheese is primed for one. “Every seven years or so another wave comes through where we try to reposition cottage cheese,” says Dave Potter, president of Dairy Connection in Madison, Wisconsin, which sells custom cultures and enzymes to cheesemakers. “That’s about where we are now.” This time, with help from both big food companies and small-batch cheesemakers, it might actually work. On the mass-market side of the equation, the nation’s largest dairy producers are targeting younger people looking for a protein-rich, natural snack they can eat instead of a meal. (Cottage cheese can have twice the protein of some yoghurts, though it has a lot more sodium.) A couple new players have jumped in, including Muuna, the first product from Israel’s largest food manufacturer to be sold in the United States. American companies like Dean Foods, the nation’s largest dairy company, have given their cottage cheeses makeovers, packing them into smaller, sexier packages and asking retailers to move them away from the sour cream and closer to the yoghurt. New lines have interesting mixes of fruit and nuts, and some producers are experimenting with millennial-friendly additions like probiotics and chia seeds. Flavours are expanding beyond dusty stalwarts like pineapple to include Kalamata olive, habanero chile or cumin. The goal, according to industry analysts, is to “uncottage” cottage cheese – or, as one dairy executive put it, “Chobani it”. But the road back is not going to be easy. Yoghurt outsells cottage cheese by roughly 8 to 1, says John Owen, a senior food and drink analyst who prepared the annual cheese report for Mintel, a market research company. Even though yoghurt sales have started to flatten, American shoppers still bought $8.5bn (£7.6bn) worth in 2017. “Yoghurt got adopted by big food in the way cottage cheese never did,” he says. To use the terminology of food marketers, yoghurt wears a “health halo”. Cottage cheese, long linked to the drudgery of dieting, instead is fighting a punishment halo. “Yoghurt always had a better back story than cottage cheese,” says Jonathan Kauffman, author of Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat. Kauffman, like many people, has let cottage cheese fall out of rotation: “It’s one of those foods I don’t eat, but I feel like I should.” It wasn’t always this way. Cottage cheese was once a reliable character actor, standing in for meat during two world wars, filling in for ricotta and starring on diet plates. It gave heft to salad bars and made a regular appearance (with fruit) on Richard Nixon’s lunch tray. By the mid-1970s, the golden era of cottage cheese, producers in every state were pumping out more than £1bn a year. Yoghurt was considered a weird, sour interloper reserved for European expatriates and health nuts. But then came the 1980s. Fruity, sweetened and sometimes frozen yoghurt had caught on and cottage cheese was going nowhere but down. The rise of Greek yoghurt in the early 2000s knocked it to the mat. Potter thinks salvation won’t come at the hands of Big Cottage Cheese. Mass production, he says, is part of what killed it in the first place. By the 1980s, large corporations had absorbed most regional dairies, and much of the nation’s cottage cheese had become a flat-tasting, low-fat commodity with rubbery curds stabilised with starches and gums. “Really good cottage cheese is a hard product to make that doesn’t take well to automation,” Potter says. Unlike yoghurt, which is a matter of adding a culture to milk and waiting for it to thicken up, cottage cheese is one of those foods that is deceptively simple to produce but difficult to do well. It’s like making really good scrambled eggs, but takes hours. You have to take it low and slow. “Good cottage cheese takes a little craftsmanship,” says Potter, of the Dairy Connection. That’s where cheesemakers like Sue Conley and Peggy Smith, founders of Cowgirl Creamery in Marin County, California, come in. In the 1990s, Conley learned to make cottage cheese from Potter. It was one of the first cheeses she and Smith produced when they opened their original creamery in Point Reyes Station, California, in 1997. The key is very fresh skim milk from a well-run local dairy, Conley says (they get theirs from nearby Bivalve Dairy, which is certified organic and grazes its 200 Holsteins on pasture). Next comes a simple starter culture that feeds on milk sugars to create lactic acid. Overnight, luscious, tender curds slowly form. In the morning, cheesemakers cut them into pieces no bigger than peas. They cook and stir the curds for about one and a half hours to release some of their acidity. Then, the cheesemakers drain the whey and wash the curds three times. The last step is the dressing, which is the term for milk or cream that is added to the curds to make them creamy. The dressing determines the fat content of the cottage cheese, and is where most of the flavour lies. Cowgirl Creamery uses creme fraîche, and calls its pleasantly tart product “clabbered cottage cheese”. The cheese will be sold in Northern California and online, with plans to expand distribution on the west coast in the fall. It’s not inexpensive. A 5.3 ounce container will cost a little less than $3. Conley suggests eating it the way cheesemakers do after they finish a batch: rip open a bag of barbecue-flavoured potato chips and use it like a dip. Cowgirl Creamery interrupted production in 2012 because the process requires a lot of water and California was in a terrible drought. But this month, the creamery has started making the cottage cheese again at its Petaluma, California, facility to the joy of people like Janet Fletcher, a cheese writer who published a love letter to it in The San Francisco Chronicle. “I abandoned cottage cheese when I left home,” she wrote. “Tasting Cowgirl Creamery’s superb product made me want to welcome cottage cheese back into my life.” When cottage cheese is good, it’s delicious, something the cheesemonger Kate Arding found when she tasted Cowgirl Creamery’s version before production stopped. Arding, who grew up eating (and not really liking) cottage cheese in Britain, began a quest to persuade sceptical customers. “They’d taste it and get this glassy-eyed look,” she says. “You could see their faces just change.” The cheese has been entered in the American Cheese Society’s annual competition, held each summer, where cottage cheeses are just beginning to get noticed. Last year, Traderspoint Creamery in Indiana and Cabot Creamery in Vermont entered. Cabot took second place in one of the society’s fresh, unripened cheese categories. Cottage cheese is also nudging its way into the winners’ circle at the World Cheese Awards, the largest cheese event in the world. At the 2017 competition in London in November, cottage cheeses from Spain and Luxembourg took silver awards, and two others from Spain and Austria won bronze awards. To be sure, cottage cheese and its pressed cousins like paneer and queso fresco remain more po[CENSORED]r in other countries. And in March, Tablet Magazine included cottage cheese on its list of the 100 most Jewish foods. Rekindling the love affair may be wishful thinking. There are a lot people who just are never going to like cottage cheese. One is Kevin Pang, a food writer in Chicago who recently wrote of his revulsion for The Takeout, a food website affiliated with The Onion. “There’s something about its connotation with cellulite,” he says in an interview. And then there’s the texture. “Us Chinese, we love the slippery and the slimy, like tendon and jelly fish,” he says. “But cottage cheese, man. I just can’t do it. And I’ve eaten horse.” Even Ed Townley, chief executive officer of Cabot, isn’t convinced that cottage cheese is poised for a comeback, even though his company makes about £5m a year.

It's hard to say which member of the Hawke family is more famous in Romania — Hollywood actor Ethan or his mother, Leslie. That's because since first travelling to the eastern European country in 2000 as a Peace Corps volunteer, Leslie has, through the OvidiuRo humanitarian foundation she co-founded with Maria Gherghiu, sent thousands of children to school. 'Fretful life' With a politician as father, Hawke started volunteering early: she has memories of handing out flyers and trying to convince people to vote for John F. Kennedy when she was just eight years old. At the time, she had dreams of becoming a movie star. Instead, by the time she graduated university at 21, Hawke had given birth to her son, Ethan, and divorced her husband. Her first job, in a shop, was far from the Hollywood glamour she had once aspired to. Still, Hawke climbed the corporate ladder to become a book editor — but in 2000, she felt she needed a break from her "own fretful life." "I was making a good living but it all went to maintaining my big city lifestyle — between the Central Park West apartment, the dog-walker, my wardrobe, Sunday brunches and the occasional exotic vacation," she said. In a major change, she joined the Peace Corps. It was "the best thing that ever happened" to her, Hawke revealed to Sandra Pralong in "More Romanian than Romanians" — a book compiling testimonies from foreigners living in the eastern European country. 'Hopelessly naive' That first trip to Romania was a real eye-opener for Hawke, who, accustomed to a luxurious life in New York, was struck to see children openly begging in the street. One of them was Alex, an 8-year-old boy begging barefoot in the middle of traffic in Bacau, a city in the east of the country. For two days she observed passers-by ignoring the child as if he was invisible until on the third day, she finally worked up the nerve to introduce herself. He told her he was orphaned. But she soon discovered that was far fom the truth when his mother turned up at the shelter Hawke had taken Alex to, irritated that Hawke had broken "the economic chain" of the family. Begging is illegal in Romania but authorities often ignored the problem partly because of a local self-defeating "asta este" (that's it) mentality, and partly because as policemen asked Hawke: "Which would you prefer they do — steal or starve?" Undeterred by local officials who branded her American attitude "hopelessly naive", Hawke joined forces with Romanian teacher Maria Gheorghiu. Together they launched their foundation in 2004 as well as a training programme for mothers and children, inspired by Alex. 'Not making a long-term difference' Through the programme, mothers were supposed to receive money provided their children went to school every day. The idea was based on a similar project for homeless men Hawke was familiar with in New York. "Originally what I wanted to do was help some kids on the streets in Bacau into school," she told Euronews. Maria Gheorghiu and Ethan HawkeOana Tomozei "And then we wanted to get the authorities and the general public to understand how important it is to educate all of Romania's children — and not just turn a blind eye to the situation," she added. But as the children grew older, Hawke and Gheorghiu saw that sending them to school was not enough — the initial "success stories" had instead turned into quiet tragedies. Alex had dropped out of school in the hope of finding a better life in Italy, while another girl had gotten married in her teens. "We couldn't ignore the evidence. We weren't making a long-term difference," she said. Functional illiteracy According to Eurostat data, Romania tops the EU ranking for functional illiteracy — whereby reading and writing skills are inedequate to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level — with 40% of pupils unable to understand a text upon first reading. The percentage of school drop-outs is also significantly higher than the EU average. Hawke and Gheorghiu found that the younger siblings of the children they'd helped, who started school at 4 or 5 years old, were faring much better. They therefore decided to eradicate the problem at the root, by providing help early in childhood, before children made it onto the streets. Their flagship "Fiecare copil in gradinita" (Each child in kindergardden) programme was launched in 2010 to provide education to the poorest, most marginalised children. Parents who send their children to kindergarden receive a 50 lei (€11) social ticket at the end of each month to buy food, sanitary products or material for school. In 2016, the programme was taken over by the state, which now pays the social ticket to families whose monthly income is lower than 284 lei (€61). Still, according to OvidiuRo statistics, while over 110,000 children aged between 3 and 6 years old are currently living in poverty in Romania, only 60,000 were enrolled to receive support to attend kindergarden in 2017. 'Ability to adapt' "If you want them to stay in school until they have marketable skills, if you want to lower the school dropout rate, you have to provide quality early education," Hawke stressed. "After-school and second-chance programmes, by themselves, are too little too late. When combined with quality early education, they do work in helping disadvantaged children succeed in school," she added. Children benefitting from the programme will be monitored until 2020 in order to get a generational scope on the results. Hawke then plans to leave Romania to return to her native US. But she is positive about her adoptive country's potential for change. "Romania's problems are serious but they are on a relatively small scale and on a entirely corrigible scale," she told Euronews. "Romania has formidable resources and a legendary ability to adapt at times," she said.

The Toyota RAV4 has been redesigned inside and out for a new generation, in time to fight it out with an ever-growing list of contenders in this crucial segment. And a crucial segment it is, as the RAV4 is no longer the niche offering that kicked off this nameplate in 1994 -- the model has eclipsed the Camry and Corolla when it comes to sales. The RAV4 has been a part of the American landscape for well over 20 years now, long enough for most buyers to start to take for granted what a revolutionary model the Recreational Active Vehicle 4 Wheel Drive was when it first debuted. The all-new model also seeks to return to its SUV roots, shifting away a bit from the car-like, crossover-style proportions of the outgoing model while increasing versatility, fuel efficiency, usability and, most importantly, driving dynamics. The RAV4 in Adventure trim I sampled days ago strongly suggests Toyota has hit all of these targets, while injecting a healthy dose of an SUV feel and experience back into its best-seller. When it comes to exterior design, the all-new model is now more of a pocket 4Runner, rather than a very tall station wagon with car-like looks. Shorter overall but sporting a longer wheelbase along with greater ground clearance, the RAV4 boasts a lower center of gravity and structural rigidity that has been improved by 57 percent. The rugged appearance and wider stance reinforce this look, as do the black fender flares and off-road trim of the Adventure flavor. The thin, tense lines of the outgoing model have been replaced by a hexagonal grille that's wider at the bottom than at the top, mimicking the look of Toyota's pickup truck lineup, while the larger headlights sweep back from the sides of the grille, sitting above separate daytime running light housings. Out back, the D-pillar now curves inward toward the center of the vehicle rather than out toward the tail, giving the RAV4 a more classic, coiled look, along with a shorter and flatter roof. The taillights have been reworked as well, adopting the rhomboid shapes and corners of the rest of the vehicle's surfaces, with a pronounced spoiler bill completing the sporty look. A thin black stripe bisects the upper portion of the D-pillar, lending the new RAV4 a trendy "floating roof" look that can be paired with a two-tone color scheme that offers a contrasting white roof. Under the hood is a 2.5-lliter four-cylinder paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, good for 203 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. A hybrid version is on the menu as well, pairing the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder with an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission, or ECVT, and two electric motors, serving up a maximum of 219 hp when pressed into action. But a combined 39 mpg is perhaps the sweeter number to consider if opting for the hybrid -- which is actually the performance model this time around. Based on the Toyota TNGA-K platform that currently underpins the Camry and Avalon, the RAV4 will be offered in a variety of trim levels in gas and hybrid form, with the Adventure trim spun off the well-equipped XLE and XLE Premium models. The Adventure trim offers all-wheel drive as standard, as you might expect, in addition to Dynamic Torque Vectoring on this off-road-oriented trim, offering several terrain modes including mud & sand and rock & dirt, as well as snow modes. The Adventure trim also serves up a unique grille design, special 19-inch wheels, roof rails and an optional two-tone color scheme, in addition to the larger black fenders. As with the rest of the gasoline range, which spans from the base LE model to the XLE, XLE Premium (again, Adventure can be paired with these two) to the range-topping Limited trim, the RAV4 offers the Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 suite with a pre-collision warning system with pedestrian detection, road sign assist, lane tracing assist and lane departure alert, in addition to dynamic radar cruise control and automatic high beams. A 7-inch touchscreen display is standard on the gasoline models, while an 8-inch display is optional. Apple CarPlay with Waze is on the menu as well, in addition to Toyota+Alexa connectivity and services. The Execution The new RAV4 easily serves up the promised dynamics on the road, greeting us with a well-tuned steering and a nicely planted suspension feel, as well as easy-to-predict road manners. The new four-cylinder paired with the eight-speed transmission offers a quick-enough takeoff as we climb in to go for a spin. And that initial takeoff comes with the eight-speed carefully rowing through the gears, not letting the engine rev itself into the red. Still, step firmly on the accelerator and the four-cylinder roars into action -- and plenty of roar makes its way into the cabin; the amount of engine noise is on the generous side, even if tire and wind noise are nicely kept in check. California's Pacific Coast Highway offers plenty of spectacular vistas, as well as occasional challenges, and that's where I take the new RAV4 for a shakedown cruise. Even though this isn't a demanding route, at least when other traffic is taken into consideration, I get a chance to push the new RAV4 a little past its comfort zone on the narrow, winding roads, with the suspension generally keeping things in check in the corners, with only modest body roll and not too much protest from the tires. Accelerating from 30 mph to 60 mph is easy enough but not completely drama free, as this is where the four-cylinder likes to remind me that it's working hard even if the transmission stays predictably smooth -- Toyota sorted this gearbox pretty well, even if a little more power would have permitted the RAV4 to dance in traffic with more confidence. When it comes to ergonomics and interior design, the new RAV4 represents a gradual improvement over the outgoing model that should please most drivers, permitted you prefer the separate "tabletop" infotainment screen instead of one integrated into the dash. The dash itself is a little more symmetric and a little more practical this time around, featuring a couple of integrated parcel shelves trimmed with soft-touch plastics in this Adventure trim level. The design of the doors has been revised as well, and visually it's an improvement, offering a leaner and more rugged appearance. Perhaps the biggest improvement when it comes to the look of the interior is the absence of large plastic trim pieces on the door grips and dash that have a dull metallic look; if you've sampled the outgoing model you'll remember them as aiming to give the interior a more upscale look but never quite achieving it. The interior of the new RAV4 oozes substance and weight, as the doors shut with a heavy and satisfying thunk. The center stack and the console have likewise been redesigned, featuring a shorter gear shifter and a number of buttons for driving modes; thankfully, these have not been hidden in infotainment system submenus and are readily findable on the fly. The appearance and layout of the center stack is a small triumph of ergonomics and interior design, sporting easy to read buttons and dials, as well as a conductive charging pad for phones. A small pocket has been incorporated into the dash to the left side of the steering wheel for extra convenience, while the armrest and center console have been raised to elbow height, giving the front cabin a more substantial feel and appearance. Still, there are a few ergonomic head-scratchers: The passenger seat, unavailable with power, does not adjust up or down, only back and forth, in addition to reclining. Cargo room has also shrunk a bit over the outgoing model even though the floor itself is longer -- blame the shape of the D-pillar for that. And the RAV4's lane tracing system -- a new addition that uses lane markers to monitor the vehicle's position and to add corrective inputs -- is a little too much of a worrier: lane departure alert chimes are a little too frequent on the winding mountain roads even when we weren't driving over the lane markings. Engine noise is still on the high side despite the absence of some obvious source like a CVT, even though the hybrid model has one of those.

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