Angel of Death

Mrs G, one of the UK's most successful breeding Ospreys, has not returned this year A female osprey that has been coming to Wales to breed for 20 years may never return, a conservation charity fears. Mrs G was due to return to Glaslyn Ospreys, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, for the 20th time this year. Her partner, Aran, arrived on 3 April without Mrs G there to greet him and he has since spent much of the time alone on the nest. Heather Corfield of Glaslyn Ospreys said staff were "upset" despite always knowing this day would eventually come. Mrs G is one of the UK's most successful breeding female ospreys and had been breeding since 2004 in the nest she and her first partner built.Over the years a total of 44 chicks successfully migrated from the nest under her care, with several of those going on to breed themselves, making her a grandmother to at least 130.The majority of UK ospreys migrate to western Africa, more than 3,000 miles away, before returning in the spring "She has been a quite remarkable bird and has made an immense contribution to the osprey breeding programme in the UK," added Ms Corfield. "Thousands of people at home and abroad have avidly followed her story for almost two decades. She will always be remembered and celebrated by Glaslyn Ospreys." Although it is not known where Mrs G spent her winters, the majority of UK ospreys migrate to western Africa, more than 3,000 miles away. Many of her offspring have been sighed in Senegal. Ms Corfield said it meant Mrs G has probably flown close to 120,000 miles migrating back and forth from Wales to Africa.Glaslyn volunteer Margaret Humphreys says visitors are "devastated" by the loss of Mrs G Glaslyn volunteer Margaret Humphreys said the loss of the osprey matriarch had broken everyone's hearts. "Everybody is really sad about it - devastated one person told me today," she said. "But we've just got to accept that she's not going to come." The charity now hopes that Aran will attract a new partner and that chicks will be seen again in the nest this summer. He has already been seen in the company of two new female ospreys who have visited the reserve for the very first time this spring. "There's a good chance we will have another breeding pair here, with Aran," added Mrs Humphreys. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-65273397

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when she didn’t hear Jennifer taking a shower and found her door locked. Possibly she ran away. But on her bed, Margie claimed to find a strange note messily scrawled in large, block handwriting, in which an unknown third party claimed Jennifer was “having some problems and needs time away”. The note allegedly transcribed Jennifer’s wishes: don’t call the police, don’t tell her friends, deposit money in her bank account. Margie and her husband, Ron, did not call the police for three days and told Jennifer’s friends she was either sick or out of the house. By the time they contacted police, the case was close to cold. Jennifer never returned home, nor were any arrests made in her disappearance. For years, Stephen was at a loss over what happened to the sister he barely knew – three and a half years apart, the two were “just naturally in different orbits”, he told the Guardian. The opening minutes of Burden of Proof, a new HBO docuseries on Stephen’s quest for truth decades after his sister’s disappearance, offer contrasting versions of Jennifer, fitting for a teenage girl barely on the cusp of adulthood. How people remembered her – funny, serious, lighthearted, troubled, open, shy – depended on who was telling the story. And as Burden of Proof examines in four hour-long episodes filmed over nearly eight years, that story shapes which details get remembered, whose discrepancies are highlighted and which doubts pull weight. https://www.theguardian.com/international

4784.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&dpr=1&s=n Birds do it, when they eat berries that have fermented in the first frost. Bees do it, when they suck on tree sap. Educated fleas don’t do it, obviously – but “many kinds of monkeys”, noted Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man, “have a strong taste for … spirituous liquors”. There is evidence that humans were brewing their own booze even before the wheel caught on, but how much do we know about how it works on our brains and bodies? Well, quite a bit. Recent decades have seen dozens of studies validate some old sayings, debunk others, and give the medical establishment a much clearer understanding of how alcohol affects us and how much it is really OK to drink. Read on to find out. The first sip You may have noticed that the effects of your first drink kick in almost as soon as it hits your mouth, but that may be more to do with your expectations than the alcohol itself. “Most people, the first time they drink, find it horrible,” says Professor David Nutt, the chair of Drug Science, an independent UK scientific body researching drugs and alcohol. “But, eventually, they come to associate the smell and taste of their favourite drink with the effect in the brain and the pleasure that’s coming.” From the mouth and gullet, the liquid moves to your stomach, where about 20% is absorbed through the stomach lining. The rest is absorbed once it reaches the small intestines, all of it ultimately ending up in your bloodstream. Food can act like a sponge and slow the alcohol’s absorption: if you are drinking on an empty stomach, the alcohol takes effect much faster. A few minutes after your first sip, once it gets to your bloodstream and into your brain, it starts to have an effect. “This is what we call the rising phase, which is what most people are looking for,” says Nutt. “Your blood vessels widen, which can make you start to feel a bit flushed, you start to feel a bit relaxed around the jaw and then you start to feel chilled and more sociable and convivial. That comes from Gaba, our main inhibitory neurotransmitter, which for most of us is turned down a bit in social situations, making us a bit anxious and tense.” Alcohol, in other words, turns up the Gaba system, helping us to relax. This can also be accompanied by a temporary feeling of warmth and drop in body temperature. This is, essentially, the good bit: you’re half a pint or a glass of wine down, and things feel great. The session As you keep drinking, dopamine kicks in. This is the “seeking” hormone that is often associated with the drive to do things, rewarding us with a little feelgood spike whenever we think about it. “This is where it gets moreish,” says Nutt. “You get a little hit, you get energised, you get loud, and as the effect starts to diminish, you want more. Alcohol releases endorphins, which are the brain’s natural opiates – and they’re also addictive, turning off your sense of control so you drink more than you planned to.” Alcohol affects the prefrontal cortex, which primarily governs cognitive control, impulse behaviour and the brain’s memory centre. This means that your judgment becomes impaired and movement is disrupted. If you drink too much, your liver starts to feel the strain. “On average, the liver can only metabolise, or break down, roughly one small glass of wine or a pint of beer an hour,” says nutritionist Hannah Macey. “When more than this is consumed, your liver becomes unable to deal with the workload so it begins to send alcohol to the heart. This leads to a fall in your blood pressure, while the newly alcohol-rich blood is now pumped to the lungs.” This means that you exhale some of your intake, which, of course, is how Breathalyser tests work. Oh, and those increasingly frequent toilet breaks you take on a night out? Alcohol limits the brain’s production of antidiuretic hormone, instructing your kidneys to release more water, causing dehydration. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/may/24/the-truth-about-booze-how-alcohol-really-affects-your-body-from-first-flush-of-happiness-to-hangover-hell

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed as "historic" last week's trip of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia, describing it as "the first time African leaders have embarked on a peace mission beyond" the continent. However, with neither warring sides agreeing to peace talks, did it make any difference, or was it just an attempt by Mr Ramaphosa to secure attention on the global stage, amid mounting problems in South Africa? An African contingent including leaders and representatives from seven countries met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the end of last week and over the weekend. There had been hopes that the trip, which was announced last month and led by Mr Ramaphosa, would work towards ending the war, which has badly affected living standards in Africa. The delegation from South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, Congo-Brazzaville, Comoros, Zambia, and Uganda put forward a 10-point proposal, including a recognition of Russia and Ukraine's sovereignty and continued unhindered grain exports. They also called for a de-escalation of fighting and for negotiations to commence with urgency, for the release of prisoners of war and for greater humanitarian support, among other requests. Both Russia and Ukraine agreed to continue engagement, South Africa said, but on Saturday Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to dismiss large chunks of the plan. Ukraine also appeared lukewarm. The conflict has led to a shortage of grain and fertiliser in many African countries, which import the commodities from Ukraine and Russia respectively. This has led to a spike in food prices around the world, especially in Africa. The Africa Development Bank says the war is directly responsible for a shortage of about 30 million tonnes of grain on the continent. President Putin has been threatening to not renew a deal to let Ukrainian grain ships headed for Africa pass through Russian-controlled ports on the Black Sea. It's not the first time Mr Putin has threatened to do this, but if he follows through this time, it could exacerbate food shortages on the continent - which Africa leaders are keen to avoid at all costs. Although it is thought unlikely Mr Putin will deliver on his threat because he needs African countries on his side to avoid diplomatic isolation. Alongside raising international awareness about the economic impact the war has had on the continent, African leaders were confronted by further calls to condemn the invasion. Ukraine's leader argued that condemning Moscow was needed to send a clear message to the Russian people that their isolation on the international stage was a result of their president's invasion of Ukraine. Both Uganda and South Africa, which formed part of the African delegation, are seen as aligned with Russia's position. Last month the US ambassador accused South Africa of violating neutrality and supplying weapons to Russia, violating its non-aligned status. South Africa denied this. s also unclear if South Africa would hand Mr Putin over to the International Criminal Court, should he visit South Africa during the upcoming Brics summit in August. The key aim of the trip was to help strengthen the case for a negotiated diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, and in that respect, it has not been a success. Both Ukraine and Russia reiterated before and after the African peace mission that they would not come to the negotiating table without certain basic preconditions. For Ukraine, it wants its borders as they were in 1991 to be reinstated. This would mean Russia withdrawing from all the territories it has seized from Ukraine in the past decade, including the Crimean Peninsula. This is something the Kremlin is deeply opposed to, arguing instead that for negotiations to take place, Kyiv would have to accept its country's "new territorial reality". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday said that talks with the Africa delegation would continue. Despite failing to bring the two sides of the conflict together, Mr Ramaphosa argues that his delegation opened the door for future talks. Given his problems at home, including crumbling infrastructure, regular blackouts and growing discontent with his government, Mr Ramaphosa may have been seeking to play up a win on the international stage. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-65951350

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