Russ Cook (centre) in the closing stages of his run along the length of Africa. Photograph: Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters Most people would consider running a marathon the pinnacle of fitness – but not Russ Cook. The endurance athlete has just completed a 9,940-mile (16,000km) run along the entire length of Africa. While Cook told reporters that he was a “little bit tired” and in need of a strawberry daiquiri after completing his odyssey, scientists who spoke to the Guardian suggested the road to recovery could be rockier than he anticipates. There will be some positive impacts on his health, such as increased cardiorespiratory fitness, more efficient delivery of oxygen to the muscles and better energy efficiency. But Dr Dan Gordon, an associate professor in cardiorespiratory exercise physiology at Anglia Ruskin University, warned that Cook could also expect an amplified version of what regular marathon runners experience up to 120 hours post-race: extreme tiredness, muscle soreness, joint aches and potential skin sores from sweating and clothes rubbing. He added that given the heat during Cook’s run, acute kidney issues were likely due to dehydration. Cook’s immune system will also be weakened as although some exercise gives it a boost, too much with insufficient recovery increases the risk of catching colds and flu. “As he recovers, this immune suppression will dissipate, but it is a relatively slow process,” Gordon said. The best form of recovery will be to stay active, with cycling and swimming, both good lower-impact forms of exercise, as well as stretching his muscles and sports therapy to recover the range of motion in areas not used in running that will have declined to compensate, Gordon said. Whether such ultra runs are a good idea was primarily a “philosophical question”, he said. “The human machine can do remarkable things and is also incredibly resilient. We know that as long as the pace per day is not excessive, this is achievable.” He suggested the psychological impact could be most severe, including the comedown from the exhilaration and adrenaline in the first 24-48 hours after finishing the race, and the psychological strain of a lonely experience. Martin Turner, a sports psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, said Cook would benefit from psychological support to help him process the traumatic aspects of the experience, such as being robbed at gunpoint, and to help him set healthy new goals, such as using his expertise to help others. “Humans have a tendency to hit highs and believe ‘OK, now I’m satisfied,’ but that’s not what humans are like, we’re always looking for the next thing,” he said. “We’re naturally predisposed to setting goals and pursuing them. My question would be: is he looking for something else? Potentially he’ll try to do more and bigger.” He said the key signs that fixating on exercise goals is becoming a problem were exercising through pain, injury and illness – as was the case for Cook. Indeed, many elite athletes struggle to set realistic exercise goals, he noted, and exhibit emotionally unhealthy behaviours, such as feeling frustrated when they can’t train “because you don’t want to do anything else”. Cook’s “hardest geezer” moniker could also suggest he may have wrapped his identity and sense of self up too closely with running, which Turner said could create a dependency on training. “It’s OK wanting to do things, ‘I want to push myself, meet these goals’, but when you spill over into ‘I have to do it, I have to succeed’, that’s quite unhealthy pressure. You suffer and sacrifice a lot.” Dan Lieberman, a Harvard professor and author of Exercised, said that although humans had evolved to run long distances, “we never evolved to run marathons, ultramarathons, or even insanely crazy distances like the length of Africa”. He said it “always raises concerns” when people pushed the human body way beyond what we evolved to do, though because there are so few examples of this, there is limited data around serious long-term consequences. One recent research paper looked at the hearts of runners who ran a marathon a day across the UK and only found evidence of damage in two smokers. Most casual runners need not fear. Lieberman added: “We have a lot of data on how running is a phenomenal form of vigorous physical activity that has lifelong benefits. And the good news is you don’t have to run marathons to get the full benefits.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/apr/08/hardest-geezer-russ-cook-africa-run-recovery

Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour urges Security Council to ‘elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution’. Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour speaks with the media after a meeting of the Security Council to vote on a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip [File: Andrew Kelly/Reuters] The United Nations Security Council president has referred the Palestinian Authority’s (PA’s) application for Palestine to become a full member of the world body to its membership committee. The 15-member committee is expected to make a decision about Palestine’s status this month, said Vanessa Frazier, Malta’s UN ambassador, who also proposed that the committee meet on Monday to consider the application. Malta is president of the Security Council for April. Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters in New York that the PA sincerely hoped that after 12 years as an observer state at the UN, the Security Council would “elevate itself to implementing the global consensus on the two-state solution by admitting the state of Palestine for full membership”. Last week, the PA formally asked for renewed consideration by the Security Council of its 2011 application to become a full member of the world body. The Palestinians are a non-member observer state at the UN, the same status as the Holy See. Reporting from UN headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said the PA’s membership bid was “moving forward” and highlighted that this is a significant and symbolic moment for Palestine. “This is only the second time that Palestine has been able to get this far in their bid for full UN membership. The last time was 2011 when it essentially failed in the Security Council standing committee due to a threat by the US to veto it if it ever came to a vote,” he noted. He added that for any country to become a full member of the UN, the international body’s charter says the country’s membership first has to be approved by the Security Council and then it would need to get the support of two-thirds of the 190 members of the UN General Assembly. “It is believed that Palestine has the support in the General Assembly. That is pretty much widely accepted. The issue is in the Security Council, … where any of the five permanent members could veto it, and this would then stop the process,” Elizondo said. Security Council approval requires at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the United States, Russia, China, France or Britain. Earlier on Monday, the Security Council met behind closed doors to discuss the letter from the PA. Mansour told Reuters last week that the aim was for the council to make a decision at an April 18 ministerial meeting on the Middle East. Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, said recognition of a Palestinian state would be a threat to Israel’s national security. “Granting the Palestinian statehood is not only a blatant violation of the UN Charter, it also violates the fundamental principle that everyone can understand of reaching a solution, a lasting solution, at the negotiating table,” Erdan told reporters on Monday. “The UN has been sabotaging peace in the Middle East for years, but today marks the beginning of the point of no return,” he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/8/un-security-council-refers-palestines-full-membership-bid-to-committee

A woman visiting the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the second world war in Kyiv [Vadim Ghirda/AP] Fighting At least three people were killed and eight injured in the southern city of Zaporizhzia after a Russian missile hit several apartment blocks, an industrial building as well as medical and educational facilities. One woman was killed and three others injured after Russia attacked the town of Bilopillia in the northern Sumy region with guided bombs. The attack struck the centre of the town of 15,000 people, damaging shops and a city council building. One person was killed and five injured, including three children, after Russian shelling triggered a fire and the collapse of a building roof, officials said. Officials in Zvyahel in Ukraine’s central Zhytomyr region urged people to stay indoors amid fears of “air pollution” after a Russian drone attack hit infrastructure. No casualties were reported. Russia launched 24 drones on targets across Ukraine, authorities said, with 17 brought down. Moscow requested an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s 35-nation Board of Governors over alleged Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Kyiv has denied attacking the plant, accusing Russia of spreading disinformation. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Russia had struck as much as 80 percent of Ukraine’s conventional power plants and half its hydroelectric plants in recent weeks in the heaviest attacks since Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Politics and diplomacy United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Cameron will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday during a trip to the United States where he will urge Congress to pass a $60b aid package for Ukraine that has been blocked by Republicans. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova posted a photo on Telegram showing Lavrov meeting Wang but gave no information on the content of their discussions. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-775

Music title: دعاء ليلة 21 رمضان 1445هـ - 2024م | الشيخ مشاري العفاسي | من مسجد الغانم والخرافي Signer: Afasy Release date: 2024/04/02 Official YouTube link:

Yes @WHAT IS GOING ON?

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@Osiris Has Been added to our team. Welcome...

PRO + Accepted You have a good activity Keep it up! T/C.

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Yes @Cyberpsycho?

If you are interested in becoming a Moderator without prior activity, you should contact @S e u o n g, He cares about and handles these things, but you are still new. Try to do some activity and be present a lot to prove yourself. Try to prove yourself active, interact, and read the rules carefully to avoid mistakes You must enter at least two projects in order to prove your interaction, not just work to become a moderator without projects But now I will give you Contra.

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