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Available in 342-hp A-Spec, 459-hp A-Spec AWD, and 500-hp Type S forms, Acura's first electric model is more expensive than its GM sibling, the Cadillac Lyriq. Acura has released pricing for the new 2024 ZDX electric SUV. It starts at $65,745 for the rear-wheel-drive A-Spec model and $74,745 for the more powerful Type S version that comes standard with all-wheel drive. The ZDX will go on sale in the U.S. starting in early spring. UPDATE 2/16/24: Acura has released the destination charge for the ZDX, so we've added that mandatory $1245 fee to the prices listed here. Acura also now says that the base A-Spec makes 342 horsepower and that the A-Spec AWD makes 459 horsepower. Acura is getting a little help from its friends in kickstarting its electric-vehicle lineup: the 2024 ZDX is the brand's first EV effort, and it's based on GM's Ultium platform that also underpins the Cadillac Lyriq. We now know how much the ZDX will cost, and its starting price of $65,745 is higher than the Lyriq's, which starts at under $60,000. Similar to the Cadillac, the Acura ZDX lineup starts off with a rear-wheel-drive, single-motor configuration producing 342 horsepower. The base ZDX A-Spec trim level is also available in a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration for an extra $4000, which offers 459 hp. The ZDX A-Spec has a 102.0-kWh battery pack estimated to provide 325 miles of range in the RWD version and 315 miles in the AWD version. ZDX A-SPEC The Type S turns up the wick with a 500-horsepower dual-motor powertrain, starting at around $74,745. Its range estimate is lower, at 288 miles. The sportier Type S features an upgraded height-adjustable air suspension with adaptive dampers, plus 22-inch wheels and larger Brembo brakes. There's an optional set of summer tires for an extra $1000. Included in the purchase of a ZDX is a choice of one of three charging packages. They all include 60.0-kWh of free charging at Electrify America stations, plus various options such as a home charging station, a portable charging kit, an installation credit, and credits at EVGo charging stations. The ZDX will start arriving at U.S. dealerships in early spring. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46486119/2024-acura-zdx-price/

Duckett produces innings of his life with rapid-fire 133 runs India’s Ashwin becomes ninth bowler to take 500 Test wickets Ben Duckett celebrates scoring his century for England against India. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images After the innings of his life, Ben ­Duckett left it to others to sing his praises and perhaps understandably so. The opener was unbeaten overnight, a rapid-fire 133 runs on the second day of the third Test ending with the promise of more to come. Instead it was over to Ravichandran Ashwin and Mark Wood to appraise the innings, the former having dominated Duckett back in 2016 – a brutal first taste of Test cricket – only to sit among the spinners taken down on the day. England had responded to India’s 445 all out by racing to 207 for two in just 35 overs. England's Ben Duckett (right) plays a shot on the way to a blistering 133 not out off 118 balls on day two against India. Duckett’s 88-ball century leads England fightback in third Test against India Read more “Ben Duckett is a phenomenal ­talent so credit to him, he’s made a wonderful hundred today,” Ashwin said after stumps, his 500th Test wicket secured. “I wanted to clap, but the hardcore competitor in me didn’t allow me to. But I’m very happy for him. A couple of the shots he hit, especially the slog sweeps, were really special.” Wood was simply “over the moon” to have his feet up after figures of four for 114 in England’s earlier toil. Not that his teammates higher up the order are likely to offer too much respite, their blistering approach unlikely to be throttled back. “To be that far behind in the game and go out and play like that showed real bravery and skill,” said Wood, glowing about Duckett’s counterattack. “The way India changed the field and then he’d hit it somewhere else, it was just such a skilful innings against a good attack. He’s a nightmare to bowl at in the nets – we try to get him to leave the ball but he never leaves any. “It’s been hot, he’s spent all that time in the field [130.5 overs]. He had that capability to then go out there and play with the freedom and clarity of mind, to play those shots and pick the right ball and still be there at the end. Ravichandran Ashwin is congratulated after taking his 500th Test wicket. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images “ Maybe he hasn’t gotten the accolades that he would like with big scores but this was his day and it was amazing to watch, especially as a bowler that’s just bowled plenty of overs.” While Duckett had enjoyed his best day to date as a Test cricketer, his old rival had locked down immortality. Ashwin, who removed Zak Crawley during a frenetic final session of 176 runs and two wickets, became the ninth bowler to reach 500 Test ­victims and the second for his country after Anil Kumble. “I’d be lying if I said 500 doesn’t mean anything. It probably does. At the moment, it hasn’t sunk in,” said the 37-year-old, before explaining how the pandemic changed his perspective. “It gave me a really good reflection of where I stood in life, what I wanted to play for. This game is all I love and I think I had lost some of that love before that and I managed to rediscover it.” Ashwin was the centre of another talking point on the day, becoming the second Indian player officially warned for running down the pitch during his innings of 37 – a breach of the laws – and incurring the lesser-spotted five-run penalty from the umpires Joel Wilson and Kumar Dharmasena. He added: “They clearly warned some of our batters yesterday for running on the pitch. I was aware of it, but my poor motor skills didn’t allow me to get off the pitch in time. If the English media and players think it was on purpose, it wasn’t. If that’s how they want to treat it, so be it. I don’t think that pitch is breaking up.” https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/16/ben-duckett-ravichandran-ashwin-mark-wood-england-india-cricket

‘Rule one is good communication.’ Composite: Getty/GNM Design You don’t have to spend a fortune to have fun with someone you adore – especially if you stop measuring yourself against other couples For the three years my partner and I have been engaged, we have tiptoed around the financial elephant in the room: how much should we spend on our wedding? We’re both freelance and our finances fluctuate, so for a long time we did what any tension-averse introverts do and didn’t talk about it. Eventually – a few months ago – we had The Chat, decided we didn’t need anything flashy to show how in love we are and settled on a small register office affair followed by a party upstairs in a pub. The point is, rule one of keeping a long-term relationship alive when financial burdens hit is good communication. “The most important thing is transparency,” confirms relationship psychotherapist Vasia Toxavidi. “There needs to be open communication and support and understanding.” Pent-up financial worries, Toxavidi says, can create “anxiety, stress and then depression, which can become almost like a loop” that is difficult to escape from. Societal pressures and the catalogue of manufactured dreams that is Instagram also play their part, leading to distorted expectations of what your relationship should be like, an illusion brought into sharper focus by money troubles. “People see certain things happening on social media and they go home and say: ‘Why aren’t you providing for me?’” says Michelle Bassam, a psychological therapist at Harley Therapy in London. “It helps not to have any expectations of each other apart from our basic self-care and being open and truthful. Then why, in moments of financial difficulty, do your expectations of your partner have to change?” There are also practical ways of lightening the financial burden. “In terms of saving specifically, one of the first things you can look at is where you’re spending the most money,” says Vicky Parry, content editor at moneysaving website Money Magpie. “For a lot of people, aside from rent or mortgage, that would be food. Look for ways in which you can get food cheap – go to Lidl, get a £1.50 veg box, freeze food, use the food-saving apps, create meal plans together.” If you’re staying in more, the urge might be to load up on even more streaming platforms, but Parry suggests using the LittleBirdie app that “goes through all your subscriptions and finds out which ones you’re using the most. My partner and I cut down £100 a month using that.” She also recommends the channel Talking Pictures TV, which specialises in classic films, for a romantic night in. “Or, if you want a day out, there are so many good things you can do for free – go to museums, go to the parks. Just be a bit creative.” In fact, creativity is key when living on a budget. “We don’t need to go out to have fun,” says Bassam. “Being together should always be enough. Have times with no telephones, no television, just each other. Have an indoor picnic, enjoy a shower together, run your partner a bath.” These small acts of kindness can be a great way of showing that you’re in it together. Another way of cementing that togetherness is to open a joint account. While there are risks involved – both parties are equally responsible for any withdrawals, which could cause problems if one person has a different attitude towards spending, and credit ratings can also be affected – it’s a way of putting that all-important transparency into action. “Joint accounts work very well because you’ve both got visuals on what’s going on,” says Stephen Page, a chartered financial life planner with Serenity Financial Planning. Joint accounts used as a way of saving, even in small increments, mean you can still have something to look forward to when financial hopes for the future take a knock. One way to have fun with your partner, for free, at home, is of course to have sex. But as lovely as that can be, financial stresses can quash libidos and dampen sexual appetite. For Bassam, it’s about focusing on intimacy rather than sex. “Intimacy is important because we feel loved and respected and needed at a time of difficulty,” she says. “It’s about enjoying each other’s company and each other’s bodies. It doesn’t have to be sex because stress can cause problems on both sides. It’s about being present: if you are with your partner, it’s not being half on your phone and half with them. It’s remembering the things you used to laugh about and things you want to share in the future.” Keeping a relationship healthy when money is tight is about recalibrating expectations, being creative, focusing on what’s important and finding fun together. But honesty is the key to unlocking all of the above. “There are three taboos – death, sex and money – and if you’re open and face that conversation about money with your partner then it leads to a deeper and more rewarding relationship,” says Page. “It takes another fear off the table.” If you’re worried about all the budget chat, the spreadsheets and the cashback apps being the antitheses of romance, then Page has a question for you: “Why wouldn’t being financially secure be sexy?” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/16/how-to-keep-love-alive-when-money-is-tight

Georgia residents and animal rights activists unhappy at proposal to house long-tailed macaques in sprawling complex A long-tailed macaque. The plan is to house a 30,000-strong mega-troop of the species, which is native to south-east Asia, in Bainbridge, Georgia (po[CENSORED]tion: 14,000). Photograph: Rahman Roslan/Dokumen Studio/The Guardian A plan to establish the largest monkey-breeding facility in the US, which would allow 30,000 macaques to roam within outfitted warehouses in Georgia, is facing a furious backlash from animal rights groups and some local residents. The sprawling, 200-acre complex would house an unusually large number of monkeys, which will then be sent out to universities and pharmaceutical companies for medical research. Over the next 20 years, the facility will assemble a mega-troop of about 30,000 long-tailed macaques, a species native to south-east Asia, in vast barn-like structures in Bainbridge, Georgia, which has a human po[CENSORED]tion of just 14,000. Safer Human Medicine, the company behind the new $396m simian metropolis, has said the monkeys will be kept in highly secured conditions, will not spread disease in the local area and will be fed fresh local produce. “We all depend on these critical primates to save the lives of our loved ones and ourselves,” the company said in an open letter to residents that featured a mocked-up picture of monkeys joyfully cavorting with toys in a light-filled, apartment-like room. But the plan faces fierce opposition, with some Bainbridge residents calling on local authorities to block the construction of the proposed primate manse. “They’re an invasive species and 30,000 of them, we’d just be overrun with monkeys,” claimed Ted Lee, a local man. “I don’t think anybody would want 30,000 monkeys next door,” added David Barber, who would live just 400ft from the new facility. Animal rights groups are also calling for the plan to be scrapped, arguing that breeding primates for medical tests is cruel and provides little benefit in coming up with new treatments for humans due to differences between the species. “This move not only further threatens the survival of these primates in the wild, it perpetuates a cycle that we should be breaking away from,” said Kathleen Conlee, vice-president of animal research issues for the Humane Society. “We urge local officials to reject the proposal to build this facility and the federal government to prioritize science that will ultimately save both human and animal lives.” The vast majority of medical testing on animals involves rodents, with only about 1% requiring primates, but the practice of conducting experiments on humans’ closest relatives has long been controversial. The National Institutes of Health said in 2015 it would no longer support biomedical research upon chimpanzees and welfare groups have called for a broader ban alongside a switch to alternative methods, such as using new technology like artificial intelligence. About 70,000 monkeys a year are still used across the US in tests for treatments to infectious diseases, ageing and neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, with researchers warning that the US is running low on available primates for tests. Safer Human Medicine has said its planned monkey mini-city will help alleviate this, while also creating more than 260 local jobs to care for the new residents, which will not be taken from the wild. The monkeys weigh about 5 to 7lbs and, as their name suggests, have very long tails. “There can often be a lot of misinformation surrounding animal research,” a spokeswoman for Safer Human Medicine said. “Our goal is to provide the Bainbridge community with the facts and accurate information about our purpose and the new facility’s operations. We still believe Bainbridge is the right place for this project and we plan to move ahead with the facility’s plans based on the approvals and support we received at the project’s outset.” The facility initially secured tax breaks ahead of construction, although those have now been withdrawn ahead of a decision by local authorities over whether to allow the project. Safer Human Medicine has said it will press on with the monkey containment plan even without the tax breaks. Edward Reynolds, the mayor of Bainbridge, was contacted for comment. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/16/georgia-monkey-animal-testing-facility

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s warning comes days after 10 Lebanese civilians were killed in Israeli air raids. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a televised speech warning Israel that it will 'pay in blood' for killing Lebanese civilians [Al-Manar / AFP] Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that Israel will pay a price “in blood” for killing Lebanese civilians, signalling the conflict across the Lebanon-Israel border could intensify. Israeli air raids on Wednesday killed at least 10 civilians, including five children, in southern Lebanon. Three Hezbollah fighters were also killed. In a televised speech on Friday, Nasrallah said, “The response to the massacre should be continuing resistance work at the front and escalating resistance work at the front.” “Our women and our children who were killed in these days, the enemy will pay the price of spilling their blood in blood,” Nasrallah said. He also highlighted that the killings had increased Hezbollah’s determination and said the group would increase its “presence, strength, fire, anger” and expand its operations. Israel “must expect that and wait for that”. Shortly after Nasrallah’s speech, Hezbollah said it had targeted an Israeli army facility in Shebaa Farms, occupied territory that Lebanon regards as its own, with missiles, adding that casualties were inflicted. ‘Lebanon will also pay a heavy price’ Hezbollah has been trading fire with the Israeli military across Lebanon’s southern border in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas, which launched a cross-border assault from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. This was followed by heavy Israeli bombardment of Gaza from the land, air and sea. The cross-border attacks have killed at least 200 people in Lebanon, including more than 170 Hezbollah fighters, as well as 10 Israeli soldiers and five civilians. Hezbollah officials have said they will stop attacking Israeli military posts when Israel’s assault on Gaza ends. But there are growing fears of another full-blown conflict between Israel and Hezbollah with tens of thousands displaced on both sides of the border and regional tensions soaring. The United Nations secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has called for the violence to stop and countries like France have also delivered a written proposal to Beirut and Israel aimed at ending hostilities and settling the disputed Lebanon-Israel frontier. But there are few signs that those efforts will bear fruit in the immediate term. On Friday, at the Munich Security Conference, where world leaders and security analysts have gathered to discuss solutions to solve global crises, Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, urged calm and said attacks on civilians needed to end. “Just two days ago, a family of seven innocent individuals was targeted in south Lebanon. The killing and targeting of innocent children, women, and older adults is a crime against humanity,” he said. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told the conference that Hezbollah was just a proxy that Iran was manoeuvring as it saw fit and that Israel would not let instability in the north continue endlessly. “If a diplomatic solution is not found, Israel will be forced to act in order to remove Hezbollah from the border and return our residents to their homes,” he said, referring to some 70,000 displaced Israelis. “In such a case, Lebanon will also pay a heavy price,” he warned and called on world leaders to pressure Hezbollah and Iran to stop the attacks. At a news conference in Beirut last week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian told reporters that Iran and Lebanon’s position was that “war is not a solution.” However, he noted that amid Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon, “Hezbollah and the resistance in Lebanon have courageously and wisely carried out their deterring and effective role.” Amir-abdollahian added that Tehran will continue “its strong support to the resistance in Lebanon, as we consider Lebanon’s security as the security of Iran and the region”. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/16/hezbollah-warns-that-israel-will-pay-in-blood-for-killing-civilians

The delay threw Senegal, usually seen as one of the most stable West African countries, into political turmoil. Senegal's President Macky Sall addresses the 35th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on February 6, 2022 [File: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters] Senegal’s top election authority on Thursday voided the government’s postponement of a presidential election scheduled for February 25 and its rescheduling for December, ruling that the moves were unconstitutional. The constitutional council cancelled the decree signed by President Macky Sall earlier this month that postponed the election, according to a judgement approved by seven members of the body and seen by the Associated Press. The National Assembly’s decision on February 5 to reschedule the vote for December 15 also was “contrary to the constitution,” the judgement said. “The constitutional council, noting the impossibility of organising the presidential election on the date initially planned, invites the competent authorities to hold it as soon as possible,” it added. The constitutional council also reiterated the fixed nature of the five-year presidential term. Opposition figures praised the court’s ruling on Thursday. “This is a decision that puts Senegal back on track. I’m not surprised because everything that was happening was too big,” former prime minister Aminata Toure, who has joined the opposition, told AFP. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had urged Sall to stick to the election timetable and sent a delegation to meet with him earlier this week. The postponement has thrown the country, usually seen as one of the most stable in West Africa, into political turmoil, with three people killed and dozens arrested during protests. Opposition and civil society groups have issued new calls for demonstrations and a peaceful march organised by a civil society collective is planned for Saturday. The council’s decision was published as several jailed government opponents were released from prison in an apparent effort by Sall to appease public opinion. “Most of my clients in politically motivated cases have been released,” lawyer Cheikh Koureissi Ba told AFP, adding that this concerned several dozen detainees. A list of several released opposition figures was given to AFP by another lawyer, Moussa Sarr. The list included Aliou Sane, coordinator of the citizens’ opposition movement “Y’en a marre” (I’m fed up); Djamil Sane, mayor of a Dakar neighbourhood; and several members of the dissolved opposition party Pastef, which is headed by opposition figurehead Ousmane Sonko. “As a result of international pressure, President Macky Sall is ordering some releases,” said Souleymane Djim, a member of a group of families of political prisoners. Sonko – who is one of Sall’s leading opponents – and his second in command, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, have been imprisoned since 2023. There is currently no news of their possible release. Several hundred opposition members have been arrested since 2021, when Sonko began a standoff with the government that sparked deadly unrest. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/16/senegals-top-court-reverses-salls-election-delay-bid

Nick movie: Invincible Season 2 Part 2 - Official Trailer | Prime Video Time: Prime Video Netflix / Amazon / HBO: N/A Duration of the movie: 2mins. Trailer:

Music title: Enrique Iglesias - Bailando ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona Signer: Enrique Iglesias Release date: 2014/04/11 Official YouTube link:

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A separate UN official expresses fears over how the US designating the Houthis a ‘terrorist’ group may affect Yemen’s economy. Houthi fighters and tribesmen stage a rally against the US and the UK attacks on sites in Yemen [File: AP Photo] The United Nations special envoy for Yemen has called for immediate action to end the “dangerous escalatory cycle” in the war-wracked country, as Houthi rebels continue their attacks in the Red Sea and Western powers retaliate with strikes on Yemen. “I am engaging the Yemeni parties and relevant regional actors to support de-escalation in the Red Sea to protect the mediation space in Yemen,” Hans Grundberg told the UN Security Council on Wednesday. “Three things need to happen in the immediate term to create an off-ramp to this dangerous escalatory cycle,” Grundberg said, calling for regional de-escalation; for all parties to refrain from “military opportunism”; and for progress towards a mediated agreement to be protected. Yemen’s Houthis have been launching attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden against ships they said were linked to Israel. The attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians and will not cease until Israel stops its war on Gaza, the rebels said. But the provocations have prompted the United States and United Kingdom to intervene, launching a series of air raids on targets in Yemen in the hope of deterring the Houthis. ‘Path to peace’ The Iran-backed rebels have been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015, months after they seized the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen’s po[CENSORED]tion centres, forcing the internationally recognised government south to Aden. As recently as December, painstaking negotiations were gaining ground and the UN said the warring parties had agreed to work towards “the resumption of an inclusive political process”. The recent Houthi attacks, in addition to Western retaliation, have thrown the peace process up in the air. However, “in my latest exchanges, I have received assurances that all parties prefer the path to peace,” Grundberg said. Hundreds of thousands of people in Yemen have died in the fighting and from indirect causes, such as disease and malnutrition. More than 18 million Yemenis need “urgent support”, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA. “Yemen is not a footnote to a wider regional story,” Grundberg warned. “The regional escalation does not negate the urgent needs in Yemen for a nationwide ceasefire.” Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said this was the first time in nearly five months that the Security Council has held an “open” meeting on Yemen. “Last year, the internationally recognised government and the Houthis were inching closer to some peace agreement, but … it’s certainly much more complicated now,” Elizondo said. Grundberg is right now focused on trying to keep the parameters of the Yemen ceasefire in place, our correspondent added, but current developments around the war on Gaza are making things more difficult. ‘Terrorist’ designation Among the complications is the US’s move to return the Houthis to a list of “terrorist” groups – a decision the UN fears could harm Yemen’s economy, particularly commercial imports of essential items, UN aid operations director Edem Wosornu said. The US move, announced last month, takes effect on Friday and hits the Houthis with harsh sanctions in response to the attacks on cargo ships. The Houthi attacks have prompted some major shipping companies to detour around southern Africa to avoid the Red Sea, a vital route that normally carries about 12 percent of global maritime trade. Wosornu said that while the humanitarian community was concerned about “any potential adverse effects” of the US designation, she noted that Washington had issued exemptions aimed at lessening the impact on civilians in Yemen. “Nevertheless, we fear there may be an effect on the economy, including commercial imports of essential items on which the people of Yemen depend on more than ever,” Wosornu told the Security Council. “Humanitarian aid cannot make up for gaps in the supply of commercial goods. Such effects may reverberate across the country. Yemen’s already fragile economy cannot handle any further major shocks,” she said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/14/un-envoy-warns-of-dangerous-escalation-cycle-in-war-wracked-yemen

Like the new CLE-class coupe, the CLE convertible is a four-seater fitting in between the C-class and E-class. Mercedes has revealed the cabriolet version of the new CLE-class. Taking over for the discontinued two-door versions of the C-class and E-class, the CLE-class coupe and convertible are both new for 2024. While the new cabriolet has only been revealed for Europe, a Mercedes-Benz representative confirmed to Car and Driver that the model will arrive in the U.S. for the 2024 model year. When Mercedes introduced the CLE-class last summer, it represented a paring down of the automaker's coupe lineup. The CLE coupe is meant to replace the discontinued C-class and E-class coupes, and now, the CLE range is growing slightly with the introduction of the CLE-class cabriolet. While only the European version has been shown so far, a Mercedes-Benz representative confirmed to Car and Driver the model will arrive in the U.S. for 2024. Like the coupe, the CLE cabriolet looks chic thanks to its upscale design, and it will offer a pair of electrified powertrains and a tech-focused interior. Under the Hood All available powertrains for the CLE Cabriolet include 48-volt hybrid system, with the electric motor providing a boost of 23 horsepower and 148 pound-feet. While Europe gets both a diesel option and a less powerful base engine, the North American version of the cabriolet will likely come in the same four-cylinder CLE300 and six-cylinder CLE450 options as the coupe. That means the base CLE300 is powered by the M254 engine, a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four producing 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Stepping up to the CLE450 brings the M256 powertrain, a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six pumping out a stout 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet. Offering some room for individuality, the softtop is available in black, red, or gray. It's power-operated and can be closed in under 20 seconds while driving up to 37 mph. Both Mercedes's Aircap wind deflection system and Airscarf ventilation system come standard, with the deflection system directing cold air over the front passenger's heads, and the Airscarf pumping out warm air. Interior Features and Tech Inside the new CLE cabriolet, the cabin matches one-for-one with the coupe. The 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster sits behind the steering wheel, and there's a 11.9-inch central touchscreen with an angle that can be adjusted from 15 to 40 degrees to prevent glare when the top is lowered. According to Mercedes, the front seats were designed specifically for this model and feature a reflective coating to prevent the leather from becoming scalding in the summer; we tested a similar setup in the previous E-class convertible and found that the seats can still get plenty hot. As in other new Mercedes models, there's an artificial intelligence assistant that can learn which comfort systems the driver uses at certain times and under certain conditions. Similar to Apple Maps suggesting a route to work or home, the system can do things like turning on the heated seats automatically when outside temperatures are low enough. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46768419/2024-mercedes-benz-cle-cabriolet-revealed/

Bears use ice to access food, but study of animals in Canada shows them struggling to adapt to more time on land amid climate crisis A male polar bear eats a piece of whale meat as it walks along the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba. Photograph: Sean Kilpatrick/AP Polar bears in Canada’s Hudson Bay risk starvation as the climate crisis lengthens periods without Arctic Sea ice, despite the creatures’ willingness to expand their diets. Polar bears use the ice that stretches across the ocean surface in the Arctic during colder months to help them access their main source of prey – fatty ringed and bearded seals. Children play at dusk in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Labrador on Saturday, March 24, 2018. Darren Calabrese 'Sea, ice, snow ... it’s all changing': Inuit struggle with warming world Read more In the warmer months when the sea ice recedes, they would be expected to conserve their energy and even enter a hibernation-like state. But human-caused climate change is extending this ice-free period in parts of the Arctic – which is heating between two and four times faster than the rest of the world – and forcing the polar bears to spend more and more time on land. New research looking at 20 polar bears in Hudson Bay suggests that without sea ice they still try to find food. “Polar bears are creative, they’re ingenious, you know, they will search the landscape for ways to try to survive and find food resources to compensate their energy demands if they’re motivated,” Anthony Pagano, a research wildlife biologist with the US Geological Survey and lead author of the study, told AFP. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, used video camera GPS collars to track the polar bears for three-week periods over the course of three years in the western Hudson Bay, where the ice-free period has increased by three weeks from 1979 to 2015, meaning that in the last decade bears were on land for approximately 130 days. The researchers found that of the group, two bears indeed rested and reduced their total energy expenditure to levels similar to hibernation, but the 18 others stayed active. The study said these active bears may have been pushed to continue to look for food, with individual animals documented eating a variety of foods including grasses, berries, a gull, a rodent and a seal carcass. Three ventured off on long swims – one travelled a total distance of 175km (more than a hundred miles) – while other bears spent time playing together or gnawing on caribou antlers, which researchers said was like the way dogs might chew bones. But ultimately the researchers found that the bears’ efforts to find sustenance on land did not provide them with enough calories to match their normal marine mammal prey. Nineteen out of the 20 polar bears studied lost weight during the period consistent with the amount of weight they would lose during a period of fasting, researchers said. That means that the longer polar bears spend on land, the higher their risk for starvation. “These findings really support the existing body of research that’s out there, and this is another piece of evidence that really raises that alarm,” Melanie Lancaster, senior Arctic species specialist for the World Wildlife Fund, who is not associated with the study, told AFP. The world’s 25,000 polar bears remaining in the wild are endangered primarily by the climate crisis. Limiting planet-heating greenhouse gases and keeping global heating under the Paris deal target of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels would likely preserve polar bear po[CENSORED]tions, Pagano said. But global temperatures – already at 1.2C – continue to rise and sea ice dwindles. John Whiteman, the chief research scientist at Polar Bears International, who was not involved in the study, said the research was valuable because it directly measures the polar bears’ energy expenditure during the ice-free periods. “As ice goes, the polar bears go, and there is no other solution other than stopping ice loss. That is the only solution,” he told AFP. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/13/polar-bears-risk-starvation-arctic-ice

After a decade of top-order batters struggling badly, the little and large combination have stylishly solved the problem England's Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett run between the wickets in the second Test against India. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP The thought crept up on me during the start of England’s ultimately unsuccessful run chase in Visakhapatnam: I hadn’t heard a certain joke in a while. You probably know it, the one that did the rounds for quite some time. That you could be anywhere in the world, switch on your phone and find that England were 20-odd for two with Joe Root striding out to the rescue. The Bazball makeover has done many things, but one of the headline change-ups is the establishment of a fully functioning opening partnership. When Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley walked out in the final session to begin the road to 399, the overriding feeling wasn’t how many wickets England would lose in a tricky late passage, but rather how many runs they’d chop off the target before the close. Such a view was testament to the Test team’s clear identity but also down to the pair’s excellence so far. The numbers have been pretty ever since Crawley and Duckett paired up in Pakistan at the end of 2022. Their first partnership was a colossal 233 on a flat one in Rawalpindi, 174 of those runs up before lunch. The average as a partnership is hovering just below 50, and they’re doing well on their own, too. Duckett is averaging 49.65 in his second go as a Test cricketer, while Crawley’s is 43.37 across his last 13 Tests. They’re both in a hurry, their strike-rates above 85. The most impressive figures will follow in the next Test at Rajkot, though. Two more innings as a pair will take them to 27 together, making them England’s longest-lasting Test opening partnership since Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook were kicking it together more than a decade ago. Rory Burns and Dom Sibley stuck it out for 26 innings, but they played a very different game to these two. It’s worth remembering the revolving door that followed up top after Strauss’s retirement in 2012, players brutally culled after a few lean scores, with Cook at the other end for another few years, presumably wondering if he’d ever find love again. There were the older heads who had served their time in county cricket (Nick Compton, Michael Carberry), and the white-ball hitters who had to do it against the red (Alex Hales, Jason Roy). There were the men down the order tasked with solving the problem from within (Root, Moeen Ali), and the ones who were quick to a first ton but didn’t make it past the summer (Adam Lyth, Sam Robson). Burns offered a touch of stability after Cook left but was forever interrogated over his homespun technique, eventually losing his spot after the 2021-22 Ashes. Crawley, his opening partner at the end of that humiliation, survived. In fact, for a time, that’s all he did, staying in the XI despite the regular nicks behind, that breakout 267 against Pakistan a long-forgotten relic of the pandemic. When it came to the end of the first summer under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, it was Crawley’s partner, Alex Lees, who was dropped, despite averaging a touch more across seven home Tests (Lees’s 25.15 to Crawley’s 23). McCullum claimed that inconsistency was expected from a strokemaking opener, that Crawley was in there to “chase great moments”. But the optics weren’t great, all this love and opportunity for a player whose longtime mentor, Rob Key, was now running the England men’s side. The introduction of Duckett seems to have been Crawley’s turning point, though perhaps he also needed some time to get used to the new way. “Even last year to some extent,” Crawley told Wisden Cricket Monthly shortly after the 2023 Ashes, “with Baz and Stokes coming in, I didn’t fully buy into it, and it wasn’t until this winter that I decided to play my own game and be more aggressive. I wish I’d done it a bit earlier in my career.” Together, it clicks. Crawley, at 6ft 5in, plonks his front foot forward and dreamily laces it straight: Duckett, working in a different climate at 5ft 7in, will plonk anything he sees outside off. There’s the righty-lefty element to deal with too, making the bowler’s existing migraine even more painful. And they’ve done the hard work, bravely freewheeling before they had records to speak of. Now they’ve shown what they can do, the loose dismissals can be easily forgiven. England’s Ben Duckett impressed when he paired up with Zak Crawley on the 2022 tour of Pakistan. Photograph: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images They’ve begun well in India, where the threat isn’t as significant in the opening exchanges. Jasprit Bumrah’s danger has been more pronounced when he’s got a sweat on and is making it reverse, while his new-ball partners Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar have largely been bystanders. There have been three stands worth at least 50, the outlier a partnership of 45 inside 10 overs. Duckett keeps getting useful starts; Crawley nabbed himself a pair of gorgeous 70-odds in the last Test. And then suddenly it hits you: these two, dealing in more shots than a student night out, are the consistent ones. The argument to pose is that England could almost do with them going the other way, harking back to the words McCullum echoed about Crawley a couple years ago. A few low scores will be forgotten if either one can deliver a knock that doesn’t just decorate an innings but headlines the match and series. But perhaps that’s just old-timer-in-the-studio chat, conventional musings on how pretty fifties win you naff all. This lot, of course, don’t really do conventional. For now, what’s clear is that this combination is working. After a decade of regularly showing top-order nurdlers and dashers the door, that will do. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/feb/14/the-spin-england-openers-crawley-duckett-cricket

Jo Cheetham (far left) at a No More Page 3 demonstration in 2013. I’d always been anxious and shy. One day I decided to speak up for something I believed in. That day I found my voice – and my people n October 2012, I attended my first ever protest. It was held outside the News International office in Wapping, east London, and was organised by No More Page 3, a campaign calling for an end to the images of topless women printed in the Sun newspaper. I was 31 and had gone on a whim, expecting a big crowd. I thought I’d observe the proceedings from a safe distance while sipping a takeaway coffee, then go home, eat crisps and watch Downton Abbey. But when I arrived, I was horrified to see that only four other people had turned up, including a man who was there by mistake. There was nowhere to hide. Someone passed me a sign and a photographer started taking pictures, and that was it. I was on the front (and only) line of a grassroots protest. I was the most unlikely person to ever become an activist. Growing up, I was frightened of so many things: prawns, nail clippers, high winds, shuttlecocks, other children, the sea. But my biggest fears were conflict, being photographed and being the centre of attention. I managed to get through school without raising my hand or reading aloud. When my name was called on the register, my friend Rachel would answer, “Here, Miss!” on my behalf, as I hid behind her. My many hang-ups followed me into adulthood. When I moved from Rotherham to London to go to university, I felt completely out of place at the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art, as most of the other students were well-spoken and well-off, with names so long and sophisticated you had to have a little rest in the middle of saying them. I had always loathed public speaking, worried that I’d say the wrong thing, but now I was also anxious about how different my voice was from everybody else’s. No one else had an accent like mine. I avoided speaking at any symposium, seminar or, worst of all, roundtable discussion. I felt anxious, lonely and miserable. One day I opened a newspaper and saw an article about the No More Page 3 campaign, and I felt a spark of interest. Page 3 had always made me feel angry and uncomfortable. Growing up in Rotherham in the 80s, I saw it everywhere: in the house, on the bus and in the chip shop. The Page 3 calendar was pinned to the wall in the doctor’s surgery, and it was in the butcher’s as well; the women hanging behind the counter with the pieces of meat. So I attended the protest, with no idea that my life was about to be turned upside down. Within a few weeks, I had joined the team at No More Page 3. The campaign was run by a group of volunteers, mainly working-class women, who were scattered across the country and communicated via a private Facebook group. We had no experience, no money and no idea what we were doing, but during the course of the next three years, we protested across the country, attended parliamentary debates, appeared on breakfast TV, performed flashmobs and sponsored women’s football teams. Seeing other women from a similar background to mine speaking passionately and articulately about issues that mattered to them gave me the courage to do the same. I started to feel less self-conscious about my Rotherham accent, and started to feel proud of where I came from. I realised that keeping quiet no longer made me feel safe; it just made me feel stifled. Cheetham (second from right) protesting with No More Page 3 at the Rochdale Pioneers’ Museum. The movement ran for two and a half years and gained support from more than 150 MPs, the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, more than 30 universities and colleges and a number of trade unions, charities and organisations. It sparked a national and international conversation about objectification and representation within the press. During that time, my No More Page 3 teammates became my closest friends and allies, and we supported one another through major events in our lives. Marriages dissolved, careers were forged, babies were born and, throughout it all, we picked one another up and cheered one another on. The Sun’s Page 3 was scrapped in January 2015 and we celebrated, but I also secretly mourned that No More Page 3 had come to an end. The campaign had given me a voice, pulled me out of my comfort zone, and introduced me to some of my best friends. It changed how I see myself, and my position within the world. I’d still rather lick a cat litter tray than do a PowerPoint presentation or address a room full of people, but now I know that I could do it if I absolutely had to. And that in itself is a miracle. Killjoy: How a Small Voice Made a Big Change by Jo Cheetham is published in paperback by Picador on 15 February, £10.99. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/14/a-moment-that-changed-me-no-more-page-3-protest

Witnesses say Israel fired on the largest health facility in southern Gaza, which has been under siege for weeks. A man inspects the damage in a room following Israeli bombardment at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, in December 2023 [File: Stringer/AFP] Dozens of Palestinians have been seen leaving the besieged Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis after Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the complex, but health officials say thousands, including critically ill patients, remain inside. Video footage shared with Al Jazeera showed crowds of displaced people, who had been sheltering inside the hospital, leaving on Wednesday. A doctor wearing green hospital scrubs walked ahead of the crowd, and some carried white flags. Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the complex on Tuesday. In a post shared on the social media platform X on Wednesday, the army said, “Hamas continues to conduct military activities” in the hospital, an unsubstantiated claim Israel has made about other Gaza health facilities it has raided during its months-long war. The Israeli military – which used drones and loudspeakers to tell people to leave Nasser Hospital – said it opened “a secure route” to allow civilians to exit, while medics and patients could remain inside. However, witnesses and medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) said those sheltering inside were afraid to leave after reports people were shot on the way out. The Israeli army also fired on people inside the hospital, including a doctor and a nurse. More than 2,500 people are still inside the complex, including displaced people, patients, medics and their families, Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Dr Ashraf al-Qudra said late on Wednesday. The situation at the hospital was already critical but the last 24 hours have made things on the ground even more “scary”, MSF’s Guillemette Thomas told Al Jazeera. “The situation is really critical for the patients and we are worried about the future,” she said. About 400 patients are in a critical condition at the hospital, she added. World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said Israel has denied the UN agency access to Nasser Hospital since January 29. “We tried several times to go there, but our requests have been denied. We heard reports about some 400 patients still being there, that 10 people have been killed, that a warehouse has been destroyed,” he told Al Jazeera. ‘They opened fire’ Dr Ahmed al-Moghrabi, the head of plastic surgery at Nasser Hospital, recorded a message from inside the facility when Israel’s evacuation orders came in. “[The Israeli army] sent a hostage with cuffed hands into the hospital asking him to tell us that we should evacuate. And when people started really evacuating, they opened fire and they shot at the people. And they killed the hostage [they had sent inside], as well,” he said. Speaking to Al Jazeera late on Wednesday, he said thousands of people, including critically ill patients, are being delayed at Israeli checkpoints as they try to flee the area. He also described the situation at the hospital as “dangerous”. Nasser Hospital, the largest health facility in southern Gaza, has been under siege for three weeks. The bodies of several people killed by Israeli sniper fire in the hospital compound have been lying on the ground for days as it is too unsafe to reach them. At least three people have been killed by Israeli snipers near the facility in the past 48 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from the city of Rafah on Wednesday, said Israeli forces have been setting up checkpoints along the road leading to Nasser medical facility as they force people to flee. “The situation, on an hourly basis, is getting much more difficult and dire for people who are trapped inside this medical facility,” he said. “Some people [who left], exposed to Israeli fire, were forced to return back again to the medical facility.” Earlier, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said Israeli forces destroyed one of the main gates of the facility. “They destroyed the northern gate of the hospital and blocked it with piles of sand and rubble. Only the eastern gate is open now,” he said, also reporting from Rafah. “There are tanks and armoured vehicles stationed in front of that gate. There are face-recognition cameras installed … From past experience, setting up face-recognition cameras and hi-tech equipment means raids and mass arrests are soon going to happen,” he added. Israeli forces have raided Gaza’s hospitals one after the other since the war, which has killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, began on October 7. In just the first 36 hours of the war, Israel targeted Nasser Hospital, as well as the Indonesian Hospital and al-Quds Hospital, killing dozens of healthcare workers. By the end of November, 30 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were hit by Israeli rockets. Currently, only six of Gaza’s hospitals remain functional. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/14/palestinians-flee-as-israel-orders-evacuation-of-besieged-nasser-hospital