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AMMAN - Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Tuesday Israel was placing many obstacles to the entry of aid into Gaza, worsening the plight of Palestinians there.
Safadi, speaking at a press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong, said the hurdles meant only 10% of the total needs of more than two million Gazans under siege were being covered.
"The reality now is that Israeli measures are preventing sufficient aid from arriving and only a fraction is being delivered," he said.
Israel, which screens goods going into Gaza and holds back aid it deems to be used for military purposes by its enemy Hamas, denies hampering aid.
Israel was also preventing aid from reaching northern Gaza where Israel's bombardment and its occupation for weeks had wiped out infrastructure and much of its residential buildings, Safadi said.
The United Nations humanitarian office said on Friday that Israeli authorities were systematically denying it access to northern Gaza to deliver aid and this had significantly hindered the humanitarian operation there.
Jordan, which has been in the forefront of Arab neighbours pushing Israel to allow more aid, is the only country that airdrops aid to Gaza to two military field hospitals it runs.
It succeeded in getting Israel to allow the World Food Programme (WFP) to send deliveries to Gaza through another land route that begins from Jordan that has helped to ease pressure on the main Rafah border crossing, which is limited in capacity.
"Even the aid that is arriving is not reaching all of Gaza, some of it is arriving to the south and when we talk of the north there are big Israeli impediments preventing the delivery of aid there," he said
Safadi also blamed Israel for not heeding a call by a U.N. Security Council resolution that was adopted last month that called for allowing safe unhindered and expanded humanitarian access.
"Unfortunately this has not happened till now and this is due to the Israeli position which rejects allowing enough aid and refusing to adopt more effective ways to speed up delivery of aid," Safadi said. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/jordan-says-israel-is-placing-big-impediments-to-aid-for-palestinians
| 2024-01-16T13:40:50Z
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WARSAW -Polish truckers who have blockaded some border crossings with Ukraine since November will suspend their protest until March 1 after signing an agreement with the government, the infrastructure minister said on Tuesday.
Polish drivers had been demanding that the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers entering Ukraine.
The truckers also want empty trucks from the EU to be excluded from an electronic queuing system in Ukraine.
"We've signed an agreement. The outcome of the agreement will be the discontinuation of protests at road border crossings in three towns: Korczowa, Hrebenne, Dorohusk," Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said.
"The protest will be stopped till March 1," he added, saying that further talks were ongoing.
Tomasz Borkowski of the Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers told Reuters before the signing ceremony that the protest would be suspended from 1100 GMT on Wednesday.
"We agreed certain conditions, we will give the government time to work as it is a new government," he said.
The main points of the agreement include monitoring of solutions worked out jointly by Poland and Ukraine to ease the situation of EU-registered drivers in Ukraine, talks with the EU regarding its agreement with Ukraine and talks with the European Commission on financial support for Polish haulage companies.
The deal provides for more road checks to stop Ukrainian truckers from carrying out services not provided for under the EU-Ukraine agreement.
Edyta Ozygala, one of the leaders of the truckers' protest in Dorohusk, said that the action could be renewed at any time if the agreed conditions are not fully met.
"If the effects are unsatisfactory, we will come back," she said.
Ukraine says the blockade has caused serious economic losses and has hampered its war effort. It says cross border transportation has increased because of the war and the fact that its main export and imports routes through the Black Sea were blocked.
"The key reason for the growth in the number of transportations by Ukrainian hauliers is the response to the consequences of the Russian armed aggression," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a social media post on Monday. "Transportations of fuel, humanitarian and military cargo take up about 20% of total traffic."
Polish farmers decided to suspend a protest at the border crossing with Ukraine at Medyka after the government agreed to their demands earlier this month. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/polish-truckers-reach-deal-with-govt-will-suspend-protest
| 2024-01-16T13:41:00Z
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Daniel Radcliffe had fans talking on Monday evening when he stepped out with his long-term partner, Erin Darke, at the Primetime Emmy Awards and referred to her family as his "in-laws", hinting that the pair had secretly wed. However, Daniel has since broken his silence in response to the headlines.
The Harry Potter star was in attendance at the glitzy ceremony after being nominated for his role in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, in which he played the titular character, and so was present on the red carpet and giving interviews ahead of the Emmys kicking off.
Chatting to Laverne Cox who was hosting red carpet coverage for E! News, Daniel said it was his family's view of the film he was most interested in. "Honestly, the people whose opinions I cared most about the movie were my in-laws," he said candidly. "They are huge Weird Al fans and they kind of got me into it. But they were very happy, thank God."
Host Lauren then responded by referring to Erin as Daniel's "wife", however Daniel did not correct her.
Although fans would be delighted to see the pair – who recently welcomed their first child together – get hitched, it turns out they haven't become husband and wife just yet.
A statement from the actor's representatives told the Independent: "They've been together for 10 years hence the reference," before adding that news of them marrying is "not true."
The two were dressed to the nines as they arrived at the Emmys with Daniel looking very dapper in his burgundy tuxedo jacket. Erin, meanwhile, looked stunning in a gorgeous lilac floral gown adorned with lace and delicate jewels. The Good Girls Revolt star paired the look with simple makeup and her hair in curls.
Daniel, 34, and Erin, 39, also an actress, met on the set of the film Kill Your Darlings in which they portrayed on-screen love interests. However, the famous couple prefer to keep their private life away from the spotlight.
But more recently, Daniel gave insight into his life as a father-of-one after the couple welcomed their son in 2023. The Woman in Black actor was appearing on Today Show's 4th Hour with Hoda and Jenna alongside Jonathan Groff and Lindsey Mendez – with whom he was starring in the Broadway show, Merrily We Roll Along – when he made a comment about his little one.
MORE: Daniel Radcliffe makes honest confession about welcoming baby son with Erin Darke
Speaking about how fatherhood was treating him, he said: "It's awesome. I think I've been, really… I think a lot of people said, 'Just get through the first six months after then after that it gets better.' But I've kind of really enjoyed the first six months."
He continued: "I don't know what I imagined, honestly, but it's great. He's incredible and I'm just in awe of my partner." Daniel also told E! in a previous interview: "The short answer is it's awesome and he's the best thing that's ever happened," before adding: "The long version? It's frankly terrifying to have a human being in the world that I care this much about.
"Everything he does is going to affect how I feel about my life for the rest of my life. So, you know, that's intimidating."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/511353/daniel-radcliffe-breaks-silence-over-rumours-of-marriage-to-long-term-partner-erin-darke/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:07Z
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Andy Murray appeared deflated following his first-round defeat at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. The two-time Wimbledon champion had lost 6-4 6-2 6-2 by 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Hinting that this may have been his final Australian Open tournament, Andy said in a press conference: "It's a definite possibility that will be the last time I play here. I think probably because of how the match went and everything.
"While you're playing the match, you're obviously trying to control your emotions, focus on the points and everything. When you're one point away from the end, you're like, 'I can't believe this is over so quickly, and like this.'"
He added: "In comparison to the matches that I played here last year, it's the complete opposite feeling walking off the court. I wish I involved the crowd more. Just disappointed with the way I played and all of that stuff. (It's a) tough, tough way to finish."
Andy is one of the most successful British sports stars of all time, becoming the first British male tennis champion since the 1930s. He won Wimbledon for the first time in 2013 before repeating his success in the 2016 tournament.
"Last year was a slightly different story," he added. "Physically I held up well against two really good players. Very different situation sitting here. So the time frame narrows a little bit for me to get to a level that I want to be at.
"It was a poor performance. It was very, very flat. It was an amazing crowd. I felt like they were trying to pick me up, support and get behind me. Usually I would always engage the crowd and get them going and bring some energy."
The 36-year-old later told Eurosport's Laura Robson about how much he struggled. "[At] times in the last year, I really, really struggled and I haven't really enjoyed it that much," he confessed. "I still feel like I can play good tennis, but it's not happening when I go out there on the match court and that's where it matters, not in practice."
Andy, a five-time finalist at the Australian Open and a three-time grand slam winner, recently opened up about plans to retire, saying: "I haven't made any definite decisions on that. Yeah, it's obviously something that I need to think about and see exactly when that is."
He continued: "I have spoken to my team about it. I've spoken to my family about it multiple times. It's not like it hasn't been something that's been on my mind."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511352/andy-murray-emotional-confession-about-future-australian-open-exit/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:13Z
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It's no secret that David and Victoria Beckham's daughter Harper takes the crown for being one of the best dressed celebrity children in the business. At just 12-years-old, the mini fashionista has already graced the front row at Fashion Week, purchased her first Prada, and in an exciting new milestone, has collaborated with her mum on a new fashion collection.
In a post shared to Victoria's Instagram page last week, the fashion mogul delighted her 32.6 million followers with a photograph of her daughter, Harper. The youngest Beckham looked utterly angelic as she posed on the steps of a Parisian hotel, wearing a delicate satin column dress in a balletic ivory hue.
Harper slicked her honey-blonde hair into a low ponytail, clutching a 'Chain Pouch' bag from her mother's eponymous fashion label.
In a surprising revelation, VB revealed that Harper made her fashion design debut on the dress she modelled.
"I designed this exclusive Midi Cami Dress with #HarperSeven to wear at my #VBSS24 runway show in Paris!!" wrote Victoria, adding: "I love the colour and how simple, yet elegant the silhouette is, paired with my Mini #VBChain. Kisses xx."
Fans flocked to the comments of her post to chime in on the exciting news. "One of the classiest dressed celebrity kids around. Love it," penned one fan, as another wrote: "It's lovely. Age appropriate and elegant."
"So elegant and yet not making her look older than she is. Just beautiful!" added a third fan.
It's not known in what capacity Harper gave her input into the design of the chic cami dress available on Victoria Beckham for £790, though putting her name to a designer garment all before she becomes a teenager is a pretty impressive feat.
Harper first debuted the dress when she joined her family in Paris to support VB's Paris Fashion Week show for her Spring/Summer 2024 collection.
Stepping out hand-in-hand with her dad David, all eyes were on the mini style muse as she occupied the front row with Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Pamela Anderson, and Anna Wintour.
It's not the first time Victoria has collaborated with her family members on her fashion collections.
Romeo Beckham's girlfriend Mia Regan ticked fashion design off her bucket list when she collaborated with her potential future mother-in-law on a denim collection for her fashion label.
The capsule collection is described as "Mia Regan’s dream denim wardrobe," and was created with VB herself to "champion carefree cuts and lived-in washes."
With a 70s-meets-90s-inspired influence, Mia and Victoria released six unique styles resulting in an entirely modern energy, with puddle flare jeans defined by carpenter loops, XL box-pleat seams and low-slung fits.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/511354/harper-beckham-exciting-milestone-with-victoria-beckham/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:19Z
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Zara Tindall swapped her riding gear, and her glamorous race day attire for that matter, as she stepped onto the red carpet wearing a smart-casual look. Princess Anne's daughter, 42, was seen alongside her husband and former rugby player Mike Tindall having flown back from their time in Australia for the world premiere of the Netflix documentary Six Nations: Full Contact at Frameless in London.
The royal was seen wearing a pair of black fitted cigarette trousers with a split at the ankle which she belted with a mid-blue satin open-neck blouse. Zara added a stylish tailored coat by Club Monaco in a dark blue checked pattern and she added a touch of glamour in the form of black pointed-toe pumps. She carried her 'Micro Lottie Bag in Black Pebble' by Aspinal of London with the long chain strap bunched up in her hand for a casual feel.
Zara kept it simple with her hair and makeup. The mother-of-three's bobbed hair was worn in loose waves which appeared to have been combed through for a natural look. Her skin was lit from within and she added a simple lip oil to allow her mauve smokey eye to do the talking. For jewellery, Zara popped a fine gold chain around her neck and a pair of pearl-adorned gold hoop earrings. Her husband Mike, 45, also opted for a smart-casual look pairing dark-wash jeans with white trainers, a white open-neck shirt, and a done-up double-breasted navy blazer.
The red carpet appearance soon after Zara and Mike's return from their equestrian-orientated trip to Australia. The pair were seen at the Magic Millions Polo Carnival on the Gold Coast, with Zara sporting an array of Ascot-worthy looks. The royal looked stunning in a waist-defining dress – the high-neck midi dress from Leo Lin, which featured billowing sleeves and a gorgeous peach and blue rose print. She embraced one of the biggest shoe trends of the moment when she chose a pair of silver heels and rounded off the ensemble with a navy statement fascinator with orange floral accents.
In a more casual moment, Zara went to Instagram to take royal fans shopping a the Pacific Fair shopping centre. The royal dressed for the warm Aussie weather choosing her first summer look of the season – a mid-length striped shirt dress with three-quarter-length sleeves rolled to the elbow with a pair of casual white trainers, a tan leather crossbody bag, and a pair of oversized sunglasses. In an exclusive interview with HELLO! Zara said that her annual trip to Queensland has made Australia feel like a "second home". She added: "Mike and I both love the vibe and personality of Australia," Zara says. "It really suits us with the outdoor lifestyle and everything that comes with it. What is not to love about being here? It feels busy but being by the beach and in the middle of summer is also relaxing, especially coming from the depths of our winter right now back home."
DISCOVER: Mike Tindall channels wife Zara Tindall in hilarious photo from lavish Australia trip
Zara, the Olympic eventing rider, even got to take part in the Pacific Fair Magic Millions polo and showjumping. She told HELLO!: "It's always a great fun match with the other ambassadors, and with Mike alongside the field helping out on the commentary team, it is so much fun. The exhibition horse run down the Surfers Paradise foreshore is a real highlight. Those are the photos that really show off the Magic Millions carnival across the world, the real magic of what it is like here and how amazing it is."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/royal-style/511338/zara-tindall-wows-satin-fitted-trousers-loved-up-red-carpet-mike/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:25Z
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Carrie Underwood's sprawling 400-acre ranch just got a makeover, and her children had front row seats to the transformation.
The American Idol alum shares her two sons Jacob, four, and Isaiah, eight, with her husband, Mike Fisher, but rarely shares photos of them.
So, when she posted a snapshot of her youngest from inside her family home on Monday fans were delighted.
Carrie revealed they'd received snow and shared an image of their snow-coated yard and her son marveling at the winter wonderland through the window.
She added three heart and three snowflake emojis below the image in which Jacob was clinging to the window as the scene unfolded in front of him.
The country singer lives in Franklin, Tennessee and has the most incredible property. Carrie and Mike reportedly spent $3 million on their sprawling land in 2011 and went on to build their dream home complete with private horse stables and a lake.
In 2016, Carrie told Country Living: "My husband, Mike, and I are designing our forever home. My must-haves are a wood-burning fireplace, a porch swing, and rocking chairs."
She regularly shares photos from their picturesque pad which boasts a number of impressive assets, including a show-stopping greenhouse.
The 40-year-old enlisted the help of Epic Gardening last year to transform her palatial greenhouse into a stunning space where she could grow all her own fruits and vegetables.
Being a healthy mom is something Carrie prides herself on and she looks after her body and wellbeing. In addition to regular workouts, she also eats a healthy diet which she broke down for fans last year.
Taking to Instagram, she detailed her day including what she eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. "I don't eat a lot of breakfast," she confessed. "I wouldn't eat anything if I wasn't going to work out. But I get really hungry when I work out."
She opts for an Urban Remedy protein bar first thing, but confessed she avoids dairy on days when she's performing because it can affect her voice.
The singer gets a little energy boost with caffeine. Carrie "starts the day off right," with a cup of coffee and has a mid-afternoon fix too. She teams her hot beverage with a dark chocolate and salted almond bar.
When it comes to lunch, Carrie showed off a plate of food consisting of two hard-boiled eggs, a pile of edamame and some lupini beans too. "I eat these literally every day as a snack," she said. "Because they have a lot of protein and I like beans. I love eggs, I eat a lot of them."
While she switches up her dinner when she's home with her family, when she's performing, it's always the same. "5pm dinner time. Same dinner every show day. No exceptions... 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, veggies and hummus."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletterand get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511355/carrie-underwood-son-magical-discovery-at-family-home-heartwarming-photo/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:31Z
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I am a firm believer that everybody has a beach body and deserves to feel confident and comfortable whether seaside, poolside or just sunning in the garden. Enter cute, stylish and sexy tummy control swimwear that's comfy, has extra support and helps to make you feel like your best self.
I've long been a fan of shapewear-style swimsuits – they help highlight your best assets, no matter what age or stage of life you're in, even post-pregnancy and menopause.
If you want to make the most of your curves, I've tracked down a whole range of fabulous swimwear that has a supportive shapewear effect from popular retailers and brands, from Marks & Spencer to H&M.
How I chose the best tummy control swimsuits
I've trawled through hundreds of tummy control swimsuit styles to find the best looks that are flattering, well-made and have a great fit. While we here at HELLO! aren't able to try on every swimsuit in this edit, we only chose swimsuits that ticked the following boxes:
- Style: While more staid styles might be the taste of some, we decided to look for trendy swimsuits with not just tummy control but also a chic, fun or sexy silhouette - and in some cases, all three!
- Price: We included swimsuits from various price points with the aim to have tummy control options for every budget.
- Popularity: Having written about swimwear for HELLO! Online for years, I have studied the numbers and know the types of looks our readers want and love - and there are some swimsuit looks and brands that have proven to be winners time and time again.
- Flattering fit and details: I personally shop tummy control swimsuits for myself, and I've made sure to include swimsuits from different compression levels, from light compression to shapewear-style looks, as well as swimsuits that have good coverage and support. In as many cases as possible, I've focused on swimsuits with details you can adjust so you can find the best personal fit for your unique body, like a zip front or adjustable straps.
So if you’re ready to take the plunge, take a look at where you can buy the best tummy control swimsuits of 2024.
Best tummy control swimsuits to shop now
TRENDING: Marks & Spencer tummy control swimsuit
Editor's note
"I can tell you from experience that HELLO! shoppers LOVE an M&S tummy control swimsuit, and this season’s version is currently trending on the Marks & Spencer website. I recommend shopping quickly as they often sell out, and while re-stocking does sometimes occur you may not want to take the chance!
If you're not into black swimsuits, I advise checking out the full range of M&S tummy control looks, they're too good to miss. Including a £59 two-pack, perfect to stock up for your next holiday."
The details
- Colourways available: Black
- Sizes: 8 - 24
- Bust support: Padded, non-wired
- Composition: 83% polyamide, 17% elastane (exclusive of trimmings), Lining - 100% polyester, Mesh - 87% polyamide, 13% elastane, Padding - 100% polyurethane
- Care: Wash at 40°C delicate
Made from recycled nylon and featuring M&S’ Magic 360 Control as well as adjustable straps, the ruched front and cross-over design make this best-selling swimsuit one of the most flattering silhouettes you can find.
H&M tummy control swimsuit
Editor's note
"If you're like me, you can't resist the affordable and always on-trend looks at H&M. But did you know the Swedish retailer has its own line of shaping swimsuits? Like H&M's main collection, the stylish seasonal tummy control swimwear won't break the bank."
The details
- Colourways available: Black, Navy Blue
- Sizes: 4 - 22
- Bust support: Cups with removable inserts
- Composition: Shell - Polyamide 64%, Elastane 36%; Lining - Polyester 88%, Elastane 12%. Partially made from recycled materials
A snug-fitting v-neck swimsuit with a chic knot, this one-piece has adjustable straps and silhouette-optimising details, like a shaping effect at the waist and medium back coverage. Note that shoppers say the fully lined one-piece runs a bit small for size.
CUPSHE tummy control swimsuit
Editor's note
"Cupshe's ultra-flattering swimsuit has gone viral - it has more than 22,000 five-star ratings on Amazon. The back of this one-piece is to die for, with a sexy lace-up look. It's such a hit with shoppers, with one saying, 'I'd been struggling with self confidence but I felt amazing as soon as I put this on.'"
The details
- Sizes: XS-XXL
- 25 colours and prints available
- Fabric: 80% Chinlon, 20% Spandex
This tummy control one-piece swimsuit features a trendy ruffled plunge neckline, lace up back and a snug, supportive fit throughout the torso - it’s designed to give you a fabulous, flattering look.
Miraclesuit slimming swimsuit
Editor's note
“Just because you’re looking for a tummy control swimsuit, doesn’t mean you have to give up on sexy details. I love the mesh panel in this Miraclesuit look - a nod to the cutout trend. It’s very snug though, shoppers recommend sizing up if you want a looser fit."
The details
- Sizes: 6-16 US
- Colours: Nova (teal), Black, Sumatra (brown), Olivetta (olive green)
- Fabric: 69% Nylon, 31% LYCRA Spandex
This Miraclesuit one-piece is designed to accentuate your bust and minimize your waistline - it has a v-neckline, soft cup bra, a scoop back and moderate cut leg.
Amazon bestseller: Eomenie tummy control swimsuit
Editor's note
“Hi, Barbie! If you love a bold and glam beach look, this top-rated Amazon best-seller with a peek-a-boo faux-bikini style is for you. It runs up to size 22-plus US, and if you’re not into pink don’t worry - it comes in over 30 colour combinations from colour block to prints.”
The details
- Sizes: XS - 22-plus
- Colours: 30+ colour and print combinations
- Fabric: 82% Nylon, 18% Spandex
A criss-cross one-piece bathing suit with a two-piece illusion, with flattering ruching at the waist, a high cut design, and adjustable straps and padded support for a better fit at the bust.
Amazon Plus-Size Tummy Control Swimsuit
Editor's note
”Amazon is an all-around great place to find sculpting swimsuits from both unknown and top swimwear brands. We had to include this eye-catching zip-front plus-size look that has a 4.4-star review average with more than 3,500 five-star ratings.”
The details
- Colourways available: 9 colours, 4 prints
- Sizes: 10-28
- Bust support: Built-in bra
- Composition: 82% Polyamide, 18% Elastane
This Delmira one-piece features a built in bra, flattering rouching, a high-rise back and lower cut leg for more coverage - but a front zipper so you can show off as much or as little cleavage as you want.
MAGISCULPT tummy control high waisted bikini
Editor's Note
“If you’re looking for something with bust support, check out Simply Be's Magisculpt Swimsuits, with underwire and tummy control. I particularly love the possibilities of the mix-and-match underwire bikini tops and briefs. The look is super flattering, with Old Hollywood pin up vibes, and shoppers give the pieces top ratings.
In the US, shop a similar tummy control bikini looks with mix and match options at Swimsuits for All.”
The details
Magisculpt bikini top
Magisculpt bikini brief
SimplyBe’s Magisculpt twist front, wired bikini top boast serious bust support - and the matching briefs from the collection also feature the line’s signature power mesh fabric for a firming effect.
NEXT tummy control swimsuit
Editor's note
“With affordable prices and up-to-the minute styles, Next’s tummy control suits are some of the most popular to shop. The convertible looks are great - just remove the straps and you have a bandeau swimsuit for line-free tan.”
The details
- Colours: Green Leaf Scenic Print, White/Blue Floral
- Sizes: 6-26, Tall also available
- UPF rating: 50+
Featuring adjustable and removable straps, this print one-piece tummy control swimsuit also includes figure-flattering details, like ruched high legs, side-tie details and tummy shaping mesh.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/510789/swimsuits-with-tummy-control-flattering/
| 2024-01-16T14:14:38Z
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STANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information has revealed priority areas for advancing the creative industry, as it plans to formulate a new сoncept for the development of creative industries for 2024-2029, Kazinform reported on Jan. 15.
The document will be based on this year’s extensive analysis of the creative sector. The analysis will be conducted with the United Nations Development Program, involving creative specialists, experts and regional representatives.
The priority areas include understanding regional specifics through analyses and recognizing individual needs in each region.
The ministry emphasized the importance of legislative support, noting that adopting the corresponding law creates a favorable legal environment conducive to the growth of creative industries.
Financial instruments play a pivotal role, with the establishment of the Creative Hub International Center and investment mechanisms, designed to provide funding and support for talent within the field of creative industries.
Infrastructure development is a key aspect of the strategy, as creative hubs and centers are intended to provide the infrastructure and platforms for talented people to implement their ideas, exchange experiences and develop projects.
The ministry highlighted strategic planning, aiming to develop and approve the long-term development concept that will serve as a guiding framework for the industry’s growth.
The promotion of the creative industry involves hosting an international forum with the participation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and representatives of creative industries.
There is also a strong emphasis on education and international cooperation. The ministry seeks to enhance the education system in the field of creative industries, providing training for specialists with the involvement of international experts to improve the quality and competitiveness of the creative industry.
According to the ministry, this comprehensive set of measures aims not only to stimulate the growth of creative industries but also to create favorable conditions for talented people, promoting economic development and enhancing the country’s global competitiveness.
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https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakh-ministry-outlines-key-priorities-for-creative-industry-development/
| 2024-01-16T14:20:07Z
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ASTANA – Kazakhstan adopted the roadmap for the development and support of volunteering for 2024-2026, reported the Culture and Information Ministry’s press service on Jan. 12.
The previous roadmap for 2021-2023 also resulted in a threefold increase in the number of volunteer organizations in Kazakhstan, though the ministry does not specify the numbers.
The volunteering infrastructure now includes a national office and 20 regional front offices. With over 60,000 registered volunteers, the Qazvolunteer online platform has facilitated more than 150 volunteer projects and more than 700 initiatives.
Kazakhstan has also previously adopted amendments to the law on volunteer activities to encourage citizens to participate in volunteering.
A mobile group of professional volunteers is set to be established in Kazakhstan to address emergency consequences. Hundred and thirty-six volunteer organizations work with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, involving over 47,000 volunteers. They undergo regular training, with over 3,500 trained in the past three years.
The country’s volunteers provided significant support to the Abai Region, which suffered from forest fires. The national volunteer network raised over 224 million tenge (US$495,050) to support the families affected by the forest fires.
The network has also collected humanitarian aid to Türkiye, sending over 500 tons of aid and 150 yurts. Kazakhstan contributed over $10 million to the Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) fund.
Volunteers are engaged in preventive measures such as fire prevention, addressing gas leaks, and ensuring the safety of water bodies. In 2023, volunteers participated in over 1,700 preventive events.
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https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakhstan-adopts-roadmap-to-develop-volunteering-in-next-three-years/
| 2024-01-16T14:20:13Z
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ASTANA – Kazakhstan seeks to increase the share of e-commerce in its total retail volume to 20% by 2030, said Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev at a Jan. 16 government meeting, reported the Prime Minister’s press service.
Shakkaliyev highlighted that e-commerce has become one of the new drivers of global economic growth.
Its volume reached two trillion tenge ($4.4 billion) in 2022. In the first 11 months of 2023, this figure increased to 2.2 trillion tenge ($4.8 billion). The share increased from 12.5% to 13% of the total retail volume.
Smailov noted that the global e-commerce market is expanding, and its share is expected to exceed 25% of total retail sales by 2025. This growth is driven by changes in the business processes of online and offline stores and new formats for placing and advertising products, which attracts buyers and saves their time.
“We should use this opportunity as an additional sales channel for Kazakh products on the global market. At the same time, we need to develop domestic online stores, ensuring the seamless operation of payment systems, transport and logistics infrastructure, and courier services,” said Smailov.
He also addressed the significance of consumer rights protection. Amendments were incorporated into the bill, which is currently under consideration by the Parliament.
He pointed out the need to enhance digital literacy among the population and businesses, proposing the establishment of e-commerce training centers across Kazakhstan.
Smailov emphasized the necessity for bonded warehouses in Astana, Almaty and Shymkent, which would simplify the process of delivering goods to both domestic and foreign customers. He urged the ministry and KazPost national postal operator to launch the construction of these facilities this year.
Smailov outlined plans to establish a container hub in Aktau and a full-fledged e-commerce logistics center in the port of Kuryk by the end of March. These initiatives hold strategic importance in the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
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https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/kazakhstan-plans-to-increase-e-commerce-share-to-20-by-2030/
| 2024-01-16T14:20:20Z
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ASTANA – A visa-free regime between Kazakhstan and Seychelles took effect on Jan. 6, Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Aibek Smadiyarov announced at a Jan. 15 briefing, reported the ministry’s press office.
The agreement was signed by the governments of Kazakhstan and Seychelles in New York on Sept. 22.
Citizens of both countries can now travel visa-free for single or multiple entry, exit, transit, and temporary stays. The period of stay should not exceed 30 calendar days from the moment of crossing the state border, with a total allowance of 90 calendar days within 180 calendar days.
If Kazakh citizens plan to stay in Seychelles for more than 30 days, they must obtain a Seychelles visa in advance.
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https://astanatimes.com/2024/01/visa-free-travel-between-kazakhstan-and-seychelles-comes-into-effect/
| 2024-01-16T14:20:26Z
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The Traitors star Paul Gorton has taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to discuss the hit show as fans share the same complain about the second season of the BBC show.
The popular reality series, fronted by Claudia Winkleman, sees a group of contestants attempting to root out the 'Traitors' in their midst. If they find them all, they win a huge cash prize. If they don’t, then the Traitors remaining in the game take the prize pot for themselves. With the show airing on BBC One on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, fans have taken to social media to complain about the long wait between episodes.
One person wrote: "They need to have episodes on every day like why am I waiting till Wed!" Another person added: "Sorry not falling for Diane being murdered. We always have to wait till next episode to find out who's been murdered... Massive cliffhanger for Wed!! Can't fool us Traitors."
Another wrote: "Personally, I think #TheTraitors should be out every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. This gap is unbearable," later adding: "HOW IS IT STILL TWO DAYS TILL THE TRAITORS."
However, Traitor himself Paul Gorton was quick to reply, writing: "You’ll be thankful for the days off after you witness what’s coming."
The star has remained tight-lipped on social media about what the outcome of the show might be, which is even more frustrating for viewers who were left screaming at the television after the latest episode ended on a cliffhanger, keeping the audience guessing about whether the Traitors were actually successful in their latest murder!
In the episode, the three remaining Traitors Paul, Harry and Miles were tasked with murdering someone "in plain sight". While in season one this meant giving someone the "kiss of death", in the latest episode, they were told to ensure someone drank from the 'poisoned chalice'. Having found the wine glass they needed to do the deed, Miles pretended that he didn’t realise that he had poured himself a glass of fizzy rose, and asked Diane to swap.
Although Diane offered to take the glass, the episode left viewers hanging about whether she actually took a sip from the cup. Taking to Twitter/X following the show, one person posted: "Diane getting killed off with pink rosé fizz is camp and iconic," while another person added: " I don’t mean to be delusional, but look at her face. That face knows what’s happening right now. She isn’t going to drink it. She’s going to pour it out and call him a traitor. I will not believe she drank it. Diane, PLEASE don’t drink it."
A third person added: "Hoping to wake up in a world where this cuts to a VT of Diane explaining in her crisp Northern Irish brogue that she knew EXACTLY what was going on and the chalice was going absolutely nowhere near her lips."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511359/the-traitors-paul-gorton-hints-whats-next-fans-share-complaint/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:02Z
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Jamie Lee Curtis revealed she caught a "moving" moment between Today host Hoda Kotb and her two daughters backstage at Studio 1A on Tuesday.
The Hollywood actress appeared on the program to chat about her new children's book, One More Sleep, but before heading onto the set, captured Hoda on a video call with her daughters, Haley Joy, six, and Hope Catherine, four.
Whilst chatting with Hoda on the Today sofa, Jamie revealed she was moved by the touching moment. "I heard you before the show Facetiming with your children," she said. "It was a private moment but I was near you and it was moving to me."
Time and time again Hoda has shown she's a doting mom to her two girls, who she shares with her ex-fiancé Joel Schiffman, and has previously spoken about prioritizing her children.
"I think Savannah and I are both late bloomers in the mom department," she told People in 2018. "And I think it makes us appreciate it so much more. I think there's something about waiting for something and having our children and realizing what our priorities are, and you're right — we have our loves in order. I feel the same way Savannah does, like I race home. And you can't believe that someone is so excited that you just opened the door. I'm like, 'Oh my God!'".
Elsewhere in Jamie's interview with Hoda, the Freaky Friday star spoke about embracing her 60s and feeling excited about what's to come – something Hoda can also relate to.
"65 is a moment of reflection and excitement," said Jamie, who celebrated her birthday in November. "For me, I feel more excited, more turned on creatively. I have a new book, I'm heading to go make a movie, I got to be in a TV show.
"I'm much less hard on myself, I'm very much in acceptance of what I look like and I own what I think and feel. I say what I mean, I mean what I say and I try not to say it mean. That's a way to grow into my old age."
Hoda, too, has previously spoken about embracing life in her 60s. The mom-of-two, who turns 60 in August this year, previously said she is "so excited" about her upcoming milestone birthday during an episode of Today with Hoda & Jenna in December last year.
"I feel vibrant, excited, and I feel like I'm evolving," she said. "I feel like I'm different. I feel like I'm different than I was a month ago, six months ago, a year ago. And, it's like this great, crazy adventure and I think we used to dread it."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511360/jamie-lee-curtis-hoda-kotb-moving-moment-daughters-backstage-today/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:08Z
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The taboo surrounding menopause has been well and truly broken, with the subject spoken about openly on a daily basis – but now that we've busted the stigma, Ruby Hammer, 62, thinks it's about time we reframed it too.
"It's very good to have that taboo lifted so that we're able to talk about menopause, but with that did come a cloud of negativity and depressing chatter," Ruby laments. "When I was going through menopause, it felt like every aspect of life was being painted as a downward slide, but I found that there are extremely positive aspects.
"Yes, some negatives might come with menopause, but look at the other bits you've gained and you will come through this. Menopause is just another chapter in life."
Here, Ruby shares her refreshing take on midlife, including the amazing plus sides to menopause that nobody speaks about.
1. You get a second wind.
"Everything is clearer and with that clarity, you might get a second wind, whether it's leaving your job, splitting with a partner or taking on new challenges," says Ruby. "You realise that life is too short and you do a life declutter, making space for only good things."
2. Your periods are gone!
We may lament that with the end of fertility we feel we've lost our femininity, but Ruby points out the joy of no more periods – so no more carrying tampons and no more contraception.
"One of the nicest, simplest, stupidest benefits of menopause is the fact that you don't have to go into a blind panic because you've forgotten to take my contraception," Ruby says.
READ: 7 genuine reasons my fifties are my best decade yet
"Plus, you save a bit of money not having to buy tampons – and there's not the stress of realising you don't have any when your period arrives early, and you don't end up feeling run down every month. I used to get cold sores on the second day of my period – not anymore!"
3. You find new clarity
"All sorts of silly things suddenly don't bother you," Ruby explains. "We've got one life, and we realise little things aren't worth dwelling on. You fine tune yourself a little bit.
"There's a clarity that comes in all aspects of life and you are more confident and I think that's so positive because much of the narrative surrounding menopause says you lose your confidence, but it's not always the way."
4. You set yourself new, realistic benchmarks
"Menopause is about creating a new benchmark for yourself. Rather than trying to be who you were at 21, 31, or 41, enjoy where you are now.
READ: Menopause made me feel like an imposter – but now I'm more liberated than ever
"Don't hold yourself to the same standards. Sure, maybe you can't run like you did in your thirties, but you still can run!" Ruby celebrates.
Midlife also gives us the ability to accept where we are now and not compare ourselves to former versions. "I don't sleep as much as I used to before the menopause," says Ruby. "But I don't beat myself up that I haven't had eight or nine hours.
"I'm really grateful for the seven I get. I have to recognise that having only seven hours hasn't affected me in any adverse way."
5. You gain new perspective
In menopause, we come to appreciate ourselves more as we are now, and how we used to be. "Any time spent lamenting my body over the years was a waste of that body," Ruby says.
FEEL INSPIRED: I changed my entire life at 54 – here's what happened
6. You find joy where you can
"In menopause, I found ways to live life nicely with a bit of joy where I'm able to. Don't waste your energy on things because we don't have that much time."
Read more inspiring stories from women living their best lives in their Second Act
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/511366/incredible-positives-menopause-ruby-hammer/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:14Z
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Even for those of us who aren't 2024 brides, wedding season feels like it's approaching thick fast (cue: outfit panic). So if you're the one in the hot seat saying "I do" later this year, the feeling is bound to be accelerated.
As a late 20-something-year-old, I always find myself looking at bridal trends to add to my Pinterest board in the hope that soon I shall be shopping for my own. But in the meantime, let me window shop for you instead...
Lots of the trends floating around mainstream fashion agendas are also high on the bridal dress code for 2024: think 3D florals, bows and sheer lace. If statement detail isn't for you, the quiet luxury aesthetic is still trending, with simple silk gowns and 90s minimalistic silhouettes also popular in collections this year, giving classic looks a touch of contemporary.
Whether you need a registry office outfit, a gown for a chateau in the South of France gown or a whimsical balmy summer dress for a beach-clad ceremony, here’s the 2024 bridal collections you need to know about.
Whistles
For those who are looking for timeless minimalism, Whistles’ new collection is for you. Feminine, pared-back silhouettes are at the top of its design agenda. A handful of new season styles have been added to its signature heroes collection including a corset top and skirt for those wanting to eschew a dress, a cowl-neck maxi with a tie back (pictured), a classic v-neck dress and more. Quiet Luxury never looked more elegant.
Galia Lahav
The bridal maestros at Galia Lahav presented its ‘Amor’ and ‘Encanto’ collections for Spring 2024. Whilst Amor is its couture collection inspired by the opera Carmen, my eyes were immediately drawn to Encanto which “celebrates the power of weddings & the blossoming of true love.”
From feminine sheer lace to translucent glitter corsets and 3D florals, the Encanto collection is perfect for brides who want to combine statement elegance with classic silhouettes.
Dune
Lest we forget, footwear is an important part of the day, whether style or comfort is at the top of your agenda. Dune unveiled its SS24 footwear and accessories collection at the end of December, and its styles are varied enough to suit every bride, from sandals to wedges, flats to trainers. The Melodie's ribbon tie pair are perfect for incorporating the balletcore trend into your day, whilst Devotional 185 are the ultimate pair for high-octane opulence.
Rixo
Rixo’s “New Bridal” collection infuses modernity with its signature vintage designs. Classic silk jacquard featuring cut-outs, 60s mini dress silhouettes with trending bows and one-shoulder sequin dresses with gilded heart waist belts. Depending on what you're shopping for, Rixo's website breaks its bridalwear down into registry, ceremony and party.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511368/bridal-collections-you-need-to-know-about/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:20Z
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Meghan Markle has shared a rare home video with TV host and neighbour Ellen DeGeneres after the Duchess adopted Ellen's pet chicken, Sinkie.
The clip was shared by Ellen on her personal Instagram account alongside the caption: "Update: Sinkie is fitting right in at her new home." Whilst Meghan didn't make an appearance in front of the lens, she did make her presence known right at the end of the video update with a sweet "Hi". See the moment in the video below...
Animal lovers Prince Harry and Meghan warmly welcomed Ellen's chicken into their thriving coop after Sinkie struggled to bond with Ellen and her wife Portia's other rescue chickens.
On Instagram, Ellen explained that she'd been forced to re-home her beloved chicken who had only just recovered from a broken fibula bone. Sharing the news with her fans, the 65-year-old wrote: "Sinkie's leg is fixed but our chickens were still picking on her so she had to be rehomed."
She continued: "Luckily our friends Harry and Meghan's coop had room for one more. Not sure yet what her royal title will be."
The comedian's fans went wild in the comments section, with one writing: "Gotta love Harry and Meghan. I'm sure Archie and Lili will take excellent care of little Sinkie," while another penned: 'So happy she is safe and yes, being treated like royalty."
A third remarked: "Sinkie, is lucky. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will spoil her" and a fourth chimed in: "How beautiful! I'm sure she'll be very happy at Archie's Chicken Inn."
Ever since they relocated to California in early July 2020, Meghan, Harry and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have welcomed a menagerie of animals into their sprawling home. Indeed, during a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple shared a sneak peek of their charming chicken coop bearing the moniker 'Archie's Chic Inn, Established 2021'.
Beyond this, the family-of-four are also besotted with their growing pack of dogs. Meghan and Harry have adopted several pet pooches in recent years, with Harry, 39, joking that he now has "five children".
During a video call organised by WellChild Awards, the duke quipped: "I tell you what, we all need a dog that keeps us calm. I've got three in this house now. So, we basically have five children."
It's thought that the couple currently own an eight-year-old rescue Beagle called Mamma Mia, another Beagle called Guy and a black Labrador named Pula.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511346/meghan-markle-new-video-montecito-home-chicken-coop/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:26Z
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Winter is tough on the skin isn’t it? The central heating, the ice cold weather outside, the chocolates over Christmas, not to mention the booze! Come January my skin is begging for forgiveness, and it’s desperate for some TLC.
Just before the holidays I was sent a Tatcha gift set of mini favourites, as part of this paid-for content and full of little mini versions of the brand’s best-selling skincare. The £71 set is still available to buy and honestly, these minis were so cute and a great way to try out a skincare brand before you invest in the full-size product. I'd wanted to test out the range for a while, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Here’s what was included and my honest opinion about each…
The Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil
Oil cleansers and I usually don’t get along and while I love the silky texture and the scent, my skin usually has a break out soon after. But, I’d heard great things about Tatcha's Camellia Cleansing Oil so I gave it a try, convinced I'd need to give it away to my sister after the first use.
Like with a lot of oil cleansers, this works especially well as a first cleanse on the face, breaking down the makeup. I wear a lot of makeup every day so I usually have to double cleanse or even triple cleanse. This one worked a treat and my skin really enjoyed it. And guess what?! No breakout. I was shocked.
I probably don’t need to tell you how to use a facial cleanser but you dispense the oil into dry hands and massage onto a dry face for 10 seconds. You then rinse and pat dry.
Would I buy the full size?
Yes, I definitely would. So far my skin hasn’t had a bad break out (much to my sister's disappointment) so that’s a really good sign. It melted makeup well and was lovely to use.
The Tatcha Deep Cleanse
Moving on to The Deep Cleanse. This is perfect for me, like I said, I wear a lot of makeup and need all the help I can get in order to have nice clean skin. To apply you begin with wet hands and a wet face, you squeeze a small amount into your palms and rub together to create a creamy foam. Gently massage the face avoiding the eye area and rinse thoroughly.
Would I buy the full size?
Absolutely! At £41 the full size isn't cheap but I think it's worth it as I think it’ll last a while as a little goes a long way. The gentle exfoliating cleanser contains natural luffa fruit and wild rose that lifts dirt, minimises excess oil, and unclogs pores leaving skin soft and hydrated.
Tatcha The Essence
This was the one product I was desperate to try. I’ve never used an Essence before and I know TikTok beauty lovers all rave over the Tatcha one. How do you use it? Well, good question. After cleansing you pour a palmful into your hands and press gently into the skin on your face and neck. What does it do? Tatcha claims it's key for juicy skin, which I want ahead of my 40th birthday. It's rich in amino acids, and the essence works to support natural cell turnover and supports the skin’s ability to retain moisture
Would I buy the full size?
This is quite steep at £102 which is wild that it could technically slip through your fingers. I didn't want to like it as much as I did (probably because it's going to make a dent in my bank account now) but I've been using it daily after cleansing my skin in the evening before my serums and cream and I've noticed that all my products absorb and sink in better and quicker, and above all I've noticed it left my thirsty skin really hydrated.
Tatcha The Water Cream
I am fond of a water cream in the summer months so I might keep this one saved for when I go away in April. It will make a nice addition to my pack of holiday minis. With this one you just massage a pearl-sized amount onto face, neck, and décolletage in upward strokes, morning and night. This felt so light on the skin and I can see why it’s a hit with the Hollywood celebrities and influencers.
Would I buy the full size?
As I prefer a rich cream, probably not. But it’s a real joy to use and I will definitely pack this little one for my holiday as this moisturiser is cooling on the skin and clinically proven to refine pores and smooth texture with a BHA alternative.
Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream
Formulated with a special blend of hyaluronic acid and Okinawa algae, this moisturising cream works to hydrate and plump the skin. It also contains antioxidant-rich Japanese purple rice, which helps to protect skin against stress and pollution.
As it’s meant to be ideal for dry skin, Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream is perfect for me - especially as I prefer a moisturiser with a rich texture in winter. It's also a skin brightening lilac shade.
I did notice the glowy effect and it didn’t irritate my skin. In fact, after using this I felt like I’d been to the spa. My skin was no longer drying out for help.
Would I buy the full size?
Some might say the Dewy Skin Cream is over hyped but I think it’s so perfect for cold weather. The cream feels so hydrating on the skin and it works nicely under makeup, too. So yes, it’s a yes from me.
Tatcha The Rice Wash
I love the Tatcha Rice Wash and I have purchased this before. It’s a gentle, effective, cream cleanser that washes away daily build-up without stripping skin for a soft, luminous complexion. You just have to dispense into dry hands and massage onto a dry face for 10 seconds and then rinse. For centuries, Japanese women have rinsed the delicate grains of rice in preparation for cooking and have repurposed the leftover milky water within their beauty rituals. Known as the first wash of rice, this nutrient-rich byproduct serves as a vital source of vitamins A, B2, B12, and E, as well as moisturising proteins that soften and boost the luminosity of hair and skin.
Would I buy the full size?
100%! If you wear a lot of makeup for work and you like your face to feel super clean but also not irritated, this is the one.
We hope you love the products within this article created in collaboration with our brand partner Tatcha. Our team of expert editors and writers has independently selected these products for this promotional piece. We will receive compensation for this article, and commission when you click on the links or purchase a product. Prices accurate and items in stock at time of publication.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/511053/tatcha-skincare-review-of-bestsellers/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:32Z
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Frankie Bridge showed off a selection of her favourite workwear-inspired outfits on Instagram on Monday, and there was one piece that had me running to H&M.
I love the high street brand for its gold dust buys that look expensive without the premium price tag. Frankie’s latest? A luxe-looking black bouclé-style jacket.
Short and slightly oversized with a rounded neckline, it has a cool dropped shoulder cut, plus long sleeves and silver hardware buttons.
I headed into H&M to try it on, and it was the first thing I saw as I walked into London's Regent Street store - the star of the show. It has that kind of cropped tweed Chanel jacket aesthetic and feels really great quality. It’s fully lined and when trying it on it was surprisingly warm, with a heaviness you get from more pricey materials.
Frankie styled hers as part of an office look, worn over a black roll neck with a studious grey maxi skirt from Topshop, black tote bag and statement silver earrings. She captioned the look: "Cropped jackets I predict are going to be a big trend this season. They’re a great piece to wear in your casual wardrobe too!"
The chic black jacket pairs so well with a midi or maxi skirt, sharpening the silhouette, but it could be dressed down with denim or wide-leg trousers. Bouclé-style jackets have been big news in recent seasons, and Princess Kate has worn her sell-out Zara blazer in both red and white as part of more casual ensembles.
This H&M piece is also not too dissimilar from the black Celine jacket Meghan Markle wore with Moussy Vintage jeans and Chanel ballet flats to the 2022 Invictus Games.
When I tried it on, I styled the jacket more casually like Meghan, pairing it with straight-leg jeans and leather heeled ankle boots for a comfortable outfit that’s so easy to throw on and go but still looks put together. I’d also wear it with leather trousers and trainers or ballet flats for ultimate comfort.
Retailing for £37.99, it comes in an impressive range of sizes from XS to 4XL. No surprise, it had mostly sold out when I got to store, so my usual size small wasn’t available but I still loved the medium for a more oversized look.
The thicker material and cropped cut make it ideal for layering during the transitional seasons. With spring just around the corner, it’s also the perfect replacement for your longline coat as we move into the warmer months.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/511341/i-tried-frankie-bridge-trending-cropped-black-jacket/
| 2024-01-16T14:58:38Z
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DUBAI/BAGHDAD - An Iranian missile strike on targets in northern Iraq set off an unusual row between the neighbouring allies on Tuesday, with Baghdad recalling its ambassador in protest and Tehran insisting the attack was intended to deter threats from Israeli spies.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards hit what they called an Israeli espionage centre in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Iranian media reported late on Monday, while the elite force said they also struck in Syria against the Islamic State.
The strike appeared likely to deepen worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on Oct. 7, with Iran's allies also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
There has also been concern that Iraq could again become a theatre for regional conflict after a series of U.S. strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces. Those strikes came in response to dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in the region carried out since Oct. 7.
The Guards said the late Monday attack, Iran's first direct military strike in the region linked to the Gaza war, was in response to Israeli 'atrocities" against several of its commanders and those of Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.
In protest at the strike, Iraq recalled its envoy from Tehran and summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad, with the foreign ministry saying Baghdad would take all legal steps against what it called a violation of sovereignty.
The strikes, on a residential area near the U.S. consulate in Kurdistan's capital Erbil, were condemned by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as a "crime against the Kurdish people" in which at least four civilians were killed and six injured.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos after the attack, Barzani also said the Iranian allegations of an Israeli espionage base were groundless.
Israeli government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.
Defending the attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries but it was Iran's "legitimate right to deter national security threats".
In addition to the strikes in Kurdistan, the Guards said they "fired a number of ballistic missiles in Syria and destroyed the perpetrators of terrorist operations" in Iran, including the Islamic State.
'RECKLESS'
Islamic State claimed responsibility for two explosions in Iran this month that killed nearly 100 people and wounded scores at a memorial for top commander Qassem Soleimani.
The Guards said the attacks would continue "until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood", referring to the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month who had served as military advisers there.
France accused Iran of violating Iraq's sovereignty and Washington condemned the attacks as "reckless", while American officials said no U.S. facilities were struck and there were no U.S. casualties.
Iran, which supports Hamas in its war with Israel, accuses the U.S. of backing what it calls Israeli crimes in Gaza. The U.S. has said it backs Israel in its campaign but has raised concerns about the number of Palestinian civilians killed.
Iran has in the past carried out strikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, saying the area is used as a staging ground for Iranian separatist groups as well as agents of its arch-foe Israel.
Baghdad has tried to address Iranian concerns over separatist groups in the region, moving to relocate some members as part of a security agreement reached with Tehran in 2023.
Three armed drones were shot down early on Tuesday over Erbil airport, Iraqi Kurdistan's counter-terrorism service said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-aligned Iraqi militias, have claimed responsibility for similar previous attacks.
U.S. and international forces based in Iraq and Syria have been on high alert amid dozens of attacks, mostly claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, over Washington's backing of Israel in the Gaza war. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/iran-strike-triggers-row-with-iraq-as-fears-of-regional-turmoil-grow
| 2024-01-16T15:11:20Z
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PARIS - France's highest court on Tuesday rejected a request by French cement maker Lafarge to dismiss charges of complicity in crimes against humanity as part of an investigation over how it kept its factory running in Syria after war broke out in 2011.
The ruling, which upheld an earlier decision by a lower court, means the probe into the company's criminal liability on the grounds of the highly symbolic crimes against humanity charges can continue.
The company, however, scored a partial win as the court dropped charges of endangering the life of its staff.
Lafarge, which became part of Swiss-listed Holcim in 2015, has been the subject of an investigation into its operations in Syria since 2016, in one of the most extensive corporate criminal proceedings in recent French legal history.
The cement maker has previously admitted, after its own internal investigation, that its Syrian subsidiary paid armed groups to help protect staff at the plant amidst the civil war that had shaken the country for years.
But in a fierce legal battle, involving dozens of lawyers and thousands of pages of documents, Lafarge has been rejecting some of the charges French prosecutors have been looking at, including that it was complicit in crimes against humanity by paying money to the armed groups.
The company had argued French authorities had no formal jurisdiction for prosecuting charges of war crime involvement abroad, which the court rejected in Tuesday's ruling.
But the company also contested it could be guilty of endangering the lives of its local staff by keeping employees in their jobs amid a deteriorating safety situation.
Lafarge had stated there was no special obligation to protect them as French labour law wasn't applicable and the Cour de Cassation on Tuesday followed those arguments. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/lafarge-can-be-charged-with-complicity-in-crimes-against-humanity-over-syria-plant-french-court-says
| 2024-01-16T15:11:30Z
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DAVOS - Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Jan 16 the kingdom could recognise Israel if a comprehensive agreement were reached that included statehood for the Palestinians.
“We agree that regional peace includes peace for Israel, but that could only happen through peace for the Palestinians through a Palestinian state,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
Asked if Saudi Arabia would then recognise Israel as part of a wider political agreement, he said: “Certainly.”
Prince Faisal said securing regional peace through the creation of a Palestinian state was “something we have been indeed working on with the US administration, and it is more relevant in the context of Gaza”.
After the eruption of war last October between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas that rules Gaza, Saudi Arabia put on ice US-backed plans for the kingdom to normalise ties with Israel, two sources familiar with Riyadh’s thinking said, in a swift reordering o its diplomatic priorities.
The two sources told Reuters there would be some delay in the US-backed talks on normalisation of Saudi-Israel ties, which is seen as a key step for the kingdom to secure what it considers the real prize of a US defence pact in exchange.
Before Oct 7, when Iran-backed Hamas fighters launched an attack on southern Israel, both Israeli and Saudi leaders had signalled they were moving steadily towards establishing diplomatic relations that could have reshaped the Middle East. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/saudis-could-recognise-israel-if-palestinian-issue-resolved-foreign-minister
| 2024-01-16T15:11:41Z
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COLOMBO - Sri Lanka sent hundreds of soldiers to key hospitals to help look after patients on Thursday, as hospital orderlies and administrative staff launched a one-day strike nationwide over allowances.
Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst financial crisis in over seven decades which has sent the cost of living soaring and forced the government to increase taxes and limit public employees' perks.
"Following a request from hospital directors, 615 soldiers and 19 officers have been deployed at 25 hospitals," military spokesman Major General Rasika Kumara told Reuters.
The soldiers are engaged in non-medical support including offloading ambulances, moving patients and record keeping, he added.
Sri Lanka's once vibrant public healthcare system is struggling as healthcare workers migrate, public healthcare expenditure is trimmed and costs increase.
Sri Lanka's Cabinet approved a monthly transport allowance of 70,000 rupees ($214) for doctors this week, sparking protests from other healthcare workers who responded with the strike.
"Healthcare workers deserve to be treated the same," Ravi Kumudesh, convenor of the Health Services Trade Union Alliance, told reporters.
"The government is giving relief to doctors but leaving out other hospital staff who are also part of giving critical care to patients. That is why they are on strike." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/sri-lankan-soldiers-sent-to-key-hospitals-as-health-workers-strike
| 2024-01-16T15:11:51Z
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed defence cooperation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Davos on Tuesday.
Particular emphasis was made on air defence and long-range capabilities, Zelenskiy said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He informed Blinken and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan of the battlefield situation, plans for 2024, and the means needed to fulfil them.
Kyiv is increasing efforts to ramp up domestic military production to ensure stable supplies and become less dependent on foreign partners, which face their own shortages and cannot meet Ukraine's battlefield needs.
"We... emphasised that greater defence cooperation and co-production will increase Ukraine's self-reliance while decreasing its reliance on foreign military and financial aid," Zelenskiy said. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T15:12:02Z
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BENGALURU - Goldman Sachs beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Jan 16 as its equity traders capitalised on a market recovery and revenue from asset and wealth management rose, offsetting weaker investment banking.
Stock markets have rallied as economists and investors grow more confident the US will avoid a recession. Market participants are also debating when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, which could act as another catalyst for activity.
“This was a year of execution for Goldman Sachs,” chief executive officer David Solomon said in a statement. “With everything we achieved in 2023 coupled with our clear and simplified strategy, we have a much stronger platform for 2024.”
The bank’s shares climbed 1.3 per cent in trading before the bell. They were up 12.3 per cent last year, compared with gains of 27 per cent for JPMorgan Chase and 10 per cent for Morgan Stanley.
Goldman’s equity trading revenue jumped 26 per cent in the fourth quarter, while its revenue from asset and wealth management rose 23 per cent to US$4.39 billion (S$5.89 billion).
The unit also booked a gain of US$349 million from a deal to sell part of its wealth business to an independent wealth manager.
Investment banking fees fell 12 per cent to US$1.65 billion, as a decline in mergers and acquisitions offset gains from debt and stock sales.
Revenue from fixed income, currencies and commodities trading fell 24 per cent as weakness in interest rate products and currencies dragged down gains from mortgage products.
The bank’s profit was US$2.01 billion, or US$5.48 per share, for the latest quarter, compared with US$1.33 billion, or US$3.32 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected a profit of US$3.51 per share, according to LSEG data.
Headcount
Goldman had a headcount of 45,300 at the end of December, 1 per cent less than in the third quarter and nearly 7 per cent lower than in the year-earlier period.
The bank laid off thousands of employees in 2023, including cuts to its workforce in January that were the largest since the 2008 financial crisis.
Goldman is among the banking giants that will pay a special assessment fee to refill a government deposit insurance fund that was drained of US$16 billion by the collapse of two regional banks last year.
It recognised a $529 million expense tied to the fee in the fourth quarter.
Platform solutions boost
Goldman’s platform solutions unit, which houses some of its consumer operations, reported a 12 per cent jump in revenue to US$577 million.
The jump was driven by higher average credit card balances, which cushioned the hit from markdowns related to the portfolio of GreenSky loans held for sale.
Goldman has been slimming down its ill-fated consumer business, after a reorganisation in 2022 that saw it merge its traditional mainstays of trading and investment banking.
GreenSky, which facilitates home improvement loans for consumers, was sold to a consortium of investment firms led by Sixth Street Partners.
Four years after introducing a credit card with Apple, the Wall Street giant also faces a costly exit from a partnership that is seen by other lenders as too risky and unprofitable.
Goldman may need to reduce the value of its stake to tempt bidders to take its place in the partnership, Reuters reported in December 2023.
Goldman’s provisions for credit losses fell to US$577 million in the quarter from US$972 million a year earlier.
Meanwhile, it reduced reserves of US$160 million by transferring its General Motors credit card portfolio to a category of assets known as held for sale. General Motors is looking for a new partner to replace Goldman Sachs. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/goldman-sachs-beats-profit-estimates-as-equity-traders-ride-market-rebound
| 2024-01-16T15:12:12Z
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MUMBAI - HDFC Bank, India’s biggest private lender, posted a bigger-than-expected profit for the third quarter on Jan 16, bolstered by robust loan growth, and said it will soon start work on listing its non-bank consumer financing business.
Indian banks have consistently clocked double-digit loan growth over the past few months as demand for credit has stayed strong. The festive season, which began in the fiscal third quarter, has also helped boost demand for retail loans.
HDFC Bank, the first major lender to post results for that period, reported a standalone net profit of 163.73 billion rupees (S$2.64 billion), higher than both analysts’ expectations of 156.51 billion rupees, as per LSEG data, and its profit of 159.76 billion rupees in the previous quarter.
This is only HDFC Bank’s second quarterly report since it merged with parent Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), meaning its results are incomparable on a year-over-year basis.
The bank’s net interest income – the difference between interest earned and paid – rose about 4 per cent quarter-over-quarter to 284.71 billion rupees, but missed estimates of 286.47 billion rupees, as per LSEG data.
Its core net interest margin was 3.4 per cent on total assets and 3.6 per cent on interest-earning ones, versus 3.65 per cent and 3.85 per cent, respectively, in the previous quarter and a blended 4.1 per cent in its last ever quarter as a standalone company.
Gross loans rose 4.8 per cent sequentially, while deposits edged up 1.9 per cent, the lender said, adding gross bad loans were steady at 1.26 per cent of assets.
HDFC Bank is hopeful of building momentum on deposit growth in 2024-25, chief financial officer Srinivasan Vaidyanathan said in a post-earnings call, adding that the lender expects to start the process of listing HDB Financial Services, which provides secured and unsecured loans, in the next few months.
HDFC Bank took a 97 basis points hit on capital due to higher risk weights on unsecured loans, but said growth in unsecured loans has been modest.
Separately, the bank said its exposure to alternative investment funds (AIFs) was 12.2 billion rupees, but was completely provided for.
In December 2023, the Reserve Bank of India barred all entities under its regulation from investing in AIFs that have investments in recent borrowers, or must provision against such exposure, if an exit wasn’t possible. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/indias-hdfc-bank-beats-q3-profit-forecast-plans-listing-consumer-finance-unit
| 2024-01-16T15:12:24Z
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BENGALURU - Morgan Stanley’s profit dropped in the fourth quarter, hurt by a combined US$535 million (S$717.8 million) in one-time charge that offset gains from a rebound in investment banking activity.
The bank, alongside rival large-cap banks, are paying a special assessment fees to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to replenish a fund that was drained by almost US$16 billion in March 2023 after the collapse of mid-sized US lenders.
It paid US$286 million in special assessment fees to the regulator and US$249 million as legal charge.
“We begin 2024 with a clear and consistent business strategy and a unified leadership team. We are focused on achieving our long-term financial goals and continuing to deliver for shareholders,” chief executive officer Ted Pick said in a statement.
Mergers and acquisitions activity fell to its lowest level in 10 years globally in 2023, according to data from Dealogic. High interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook have weighed on confidence, keeping companies on the sidelines.
Still, several high-profile initial public offerings and merger announcements at the end of last year sparked optimism about a nascent recovery in 2024.
Morgan Stanley’s investment banking revenue rose 5 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year ago.
Its net income fell to US$1.5 billion, or 85 US cents per diluted share, in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with US$2.2 billion, or US$1.26 per diluted share, a year ago.
The results compare with fellow Wall Street giants that reported lower profit on Jan 12, clouded by special charges and job cuts.
Rival Goldman Sachs’ profit jumped 51 per cent in the fourth quarter as its equity traders capitalised on a nascent recovery in markets.
Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley agreed to pay US$249.4 million to end years-long criminal and civil investigations into its handling of large stock trades for customers. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/morgan-stanley-profit-falls-as-one-time-charge-blunts-investment-banking-rebound
| 2024-01-16T15:12:34Z
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SINGAPORE - Shareholders of local insurance provider Income Insurance (Income) now have an additional option to sell their shares in the company, following a change in its legal structure in September 2022.
The new option, announced on Jan 12, will enable retail and individual shareholders to sell their Income shares through local brokerage Phillip Securities. The shares will subsequently be converted to tokens and traded on private digital securities exchange Alta.
Phillip Securities is a subsidiary of PhillipCapital, which is a shareholder of blockchain-powered Alta. In 2022, the value of orders placed on the platform amounted to US$32 billion (S$42.9 billion), and it hit US$195 billion in 2023, a rise of 500 per cent.
The move is expected to make it much easier for existing shareholders to sell their shares in Income, a public non-listed company, by shortening the process from months to a matter of days.
Alta chief executive Kelvin Lee said: “Trading is made easy due to the simplified transfer, clearing and settlement process, which also results in lower costs.”
Under Income’s previous cooperative structure, shareholders had the option to redeem their shares at par value or $10 each.
After NTUC Income Insurance Cooperative corporatised and transferred its business to Income Insurance in 2022, co-op shareholders received an equivalent number of Income shares on a one-for-one basis, but the option to redeem was no longer available.
“To fulfil this need, Alta partnered Phillip Securities to provide liquidity for Income shareholders,” Mr Lee said.
“Investors can utilise our exchange for price discovery. We expect demand to be healthy following Income’s corporatisation exercise, as investors seek a venue to trade shares,” he added.
Being a public non-listed company means that while the public can own shares in Income, the shares are not available for trading on a stock exchange and are typically traded directly between two parties. In the absence of a market share price, shareholders can reference its net asset value (NAV) per share to get an indicative value of the shares. As at Dec 31, 2022, Income’s NAV per share was $29.07, according to information provided by the company.
Based on the calculations presented in an independent report dated Dec 22, 2023, by boutique investment firm KT Capital Group, Income shares could now be worth between $18.60 and $21.70 each.
Mr Lee added that Alta will make the Income shares available to its global network of investors and has already received orders to purchase the shares.
Once sold, however, retail investors may find it much harder to repurchase Income shares, as Alta is currently permitted to offer tokenised securities to institutional and accredited investors only.
An Income spokesperson said Alta and Phillip Securities are independent third parties and not agents of Income, adding that the company does not endorse or recommend their share liquidity programme.
“Shareholders of Income Insurance should seek independent financial advice and conduct their own due diligence before making their own independent decision on whether to use the services offered by Alta and Phillip Securities.”
The Income spokesperson noted that shareholders can still continue to privately trade their shares on terms that are mutually agreed upon based on a willing seller, willing buyer basis.
The spokesperson added that the 2022 corporatisation exercise was undertaken to better position Income for growth and provide greater operational flexibility to serve its customers.
“Income Insurance remains strong financially, and its capital adequacy ratio maintains well above regulatory requirements. As one of the leading composite insurers, Income now serves over 1.4 million customers in Singapore.”
Income is among the leading composite insurance companies that are permitted to provide both life insurance and non-life insurance premiums in Singapore.
According to research by KT Capital Group, it is the largest property and casualty insurers and among the top five life and health insurers in the Republic.
The spokesperson added: “Shareholders may see potential benefits in the long-term growth and success of the business.”
Income currently has an AA- rating by S&P Global Ratings with a stable outlook post-corporatisation for 2022 and 2023.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/business/income-insurance-shareholders-given-option-to-sell-shares-on-private-digital-exchange-alta
| 2024-01-16T15:12:45Z
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SINGAPORE – Seven people aged 18 to 27 were arrested for their suspected involvement in a recent spate of SMS banking-related phishing scam cases.
They were nabbed after a two-day, island-wide anti-scam enforcement operation conducted by officers from the Commercial Affairs Department on Jan 15 and 16, the police said on Jan 16.
Preliminary investigations showed that those who were arrested had allegedly facilitated the scam cases by sharing their bank accounts and Internet banking credentials, and/or disclosing Singpass credentials for monetary gains.
In January, the police received several reports of SMS banking-related phishing scams, where the scammers would impersonate DBS bank or the bank staff through spoofed SMSes to phish for victims’ banking credentials, resulting in unauthorised transactions made from the victims’ bank accounts.
In these cases, the victims received unsolicited SMSes – from both overseas and local numbers, or short codes – claiming to represent DBS/POSB bank.
The SMSes warned the victims of possible unauthorised attempts to access their DBS bank accounts and instructed them to click on the embedded URL links to verify their identities and stop the transactions.
The victims were directed to spoofed DBS bank websites after clicking on the links and misled into providing their Internet banking credentials and one-time passwords (OTPs), which the scammers were able to use to make unauthorised withdrawals.
Six of the seven arrested, aged 19 to 27, will be charged in court with the offence of abetting unknown persons to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system.
First-time offenders can be jailed up to two years, or fined up to $5,000, or both.
An 18-year-old male teenager will be charged in court with the offence of disclosing Singpass credentials.
First-time offenders can be jailed up to three years, and fined up to $10,000, or both.
The police reminded the public to always reject requests by others to use their bank account or cellphone lines as they will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.
The police advised the public to download the ScamShield app and set up security features, such as enabling two-factor or multifactor authentication for banks, and transaction limits on Internet banking transactions, including PayNow and PayLah.
Before sharing banking credentials over the phone or on WhatsApp, people should check with authorised sources, as the police do not ask for banking credentials and OTPs via such channels, they said.
If their banking details have been disclosed, people should report it to the bank immediately.
If social media users’ accounts have been compromised, it should be reported to the respective platforms, and their friends should be informed so that they do not fall prey to scammers who may use the compromised social media accounts for impersonation purposes.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the anti-scam hotline on 1800-722-6688.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/7-arrested-for-alleged-involvement-in-sms-banking-related-phishing-cases
| 2024-01-16T15:12:55Z
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SINGAPORE – A 71-year-old would have lost about $1.5 million to an investment scam had it not been for the actions of the police and bank staff on Jan 11.
In a media statement on Jan 16, the police said that the victim had made “large-sum” payments to different bank accounts after a foreign acquaintance promised him quick returns on investment opportunities.
The transfers – the sums of which were not disclosed – were subsequently detected by both the police’s Anti-Scam Centre (ASC) and Standard Chartered Bank. It is unclear if any of the transactions were successful.
The ASC then told the victim, through an SMS message, to be wary of scams, while the bank’s anti-fraud team temporarily suspended his access to digital banking.
The intervention by ASC and Standard Chartered Bank officers helped the victim avoid losses totalling about $1.5 million, said the police.
In investment scams, the culprits usually approach targets through social media platforms or instant messaging and dating applications, they added.
The scammers would then promote investment schemes such as those involving cryptocurrency, foreign exchange or stocks, portraying them as lucrative opportunities.
Victims who invested in the purported schemes realise they have been scammed only when they find they cannot withdraw their money.
The police advise the public to check and clarify information against sources, such as the Financial Institutions Directory, the Register of Representatives and the Investor Alert List on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s website before making any investment decisions.
They added that people should alert their friends and family about potential scams and report fraudulent transactions to their bank immediately.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/elderly-scam-victim-avoids-losing-15-million-after-police-and-bank-detect-investment-ruse
| 2024-01-16T15:13:05Z
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SINGAPORE – There was a spike in dog abuse cases here in 2023, with 69 reported cases, said the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) on Jan 16 in response to queries from The Straits Times.
There were 202 cases of dog abuse between 2019 and 2023, SPCA added, with 2023’s figure making up a third of the five-year total.
SPCA received reports of 48 cases in 2019, 20 cases in 2020, 30 cases in 2021 and 35 cases in 2022.
Nine of the cases in 2023 involved dog trainers.
SPCA executive director Aarthi Sankar said that pet owners should engage trainers who use only humane training methods, which do not employ physical force on the animals.
She also warned against hiring dog trainers who use training tools such as shock, choke or prong collars.
“It is essential to check reviews of the trainers and do your research before engaging their services,” Ms Sankar said, adding that training dogs takes time and that owners should be wary of trainers who promise immediate positive results.
“The SPCA also advises against engaging trainers who exclude pet guardians from the training process. Training is a two-way process and your participation will help you bond with your pet, and equip you with the right skill sets and mindset to guide your pet,” she said.
Ms Sankar’s comments were in response to a video posted on Instagram on Jan 15 showing two employees at dog training firm Xavian and Pack pushing and hitting dogs.
In the video, one of the men pushes down on a dog’s back to get it to sit. When the dog stands back up, the man uses both his arms to shove the dog down again and it eventually sits.
The other man drags another dog, before appearing to hit its body and head to get it to stay in place.
The firm’s owner has said that the pair have since been suspended and the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) said it is investigating the matter.
Ms Sankar said that businesses that conduct dog training should have stringent recruitment processes and regular training for employees.
Businesses should also develop a code of conduct that their employees can adhere to and go through assessment and obtain the relevant certification from government bodies before being allowed to handle animals without supervision, she added.
The AVS launched its Accredited Certified Dog Trainer Scheme on Dec 10, 2022, for dog trainers to improve their capabilities in managing dog behaviours.
Under the scheme, which is voluntary, dog trainers will get certification from any of the four following international animal behaviour and training organisations: the International Association of Animal Behaviour Consultants, the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, the Animal Behaviour Society, and the American College of Veterinary Behaviourists.
Dog trainers who wish to apply for the scheme may visit AVS’ website for more information.
Dog owners who wish to engage an accredited trainer may also refer to a list on the same page.
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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spike-in-dog-abuse-cases-in-2023-with-9-involving-trainers-spca
| 2024-01-16T15:13:16Z
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Banglaesh allrounder Nasir Hossain has been banned for two years from all forms of cricket, with six months suspended, for breaching the sport's anti-corruption code, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old admitted three charges of failing to disclose that he was "approached to engage in corrupt conduct", receiving an iPhone as a gift and not cooperating with the investigation after being charged by the ICC in September.
"Mr Hossain has chosen to admit to the charges and has agreed to the sanction in the place of an Anti-Corruption Tribunal hearing," the ICC said in a statement.
"Subject to him satisfying the conditions in respect of the suspended part of the sanction, he will be free to resume international cricket on 7 April 2025."
Hossain, who has played 19 tests and 65 one day internationals for Bangladesh, has not represented his country since 2018. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/bangladeshs-hossain-banned-for-two-years-on-corruption-charges
| 2024-01-16T15:13:26Z
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CARDIFF - Warren Gatland has no ill-feeling towards Louis Rees-Zammit, who dropped a bombshell on Tuesday when he quit rugby union to try his hand at American Football just minutes before he was to be named in his Wales' Six Nations squad.
Rees-Zammit, 22, was to become a central figure for Wales coach Gatland in the next cycle up to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, but instead will pursue a career in the NFL.
"I'm always one of those people who don't dwell on things," Gatland told reporters. "I don't let it affect me too much. He's made that decision. I want to wish him all the best, like I would with all players and coaches.
"Sometimes they get chances to move on. I've always been supportive of that. If that's been a dream of his, trying to make it in that environment, he'll always regret it if he doesn't take it."
Former England back row Lawrence Dallaglio says Rees-Zammit's decision is a sign of the times in rugby.
"Some may see this as a strange choice but it says a lot about the pathways in rugby that players are looking elsewhere," Dallaglio said on the social media platform X.
"At 22, good luck to him. Take a sabbatical and if it doesn't work out, come back. If I was playing now, I would consider 12 months in Japan post Rugby World Cup to freshen up."
With Leigh Halfpenny having retired and Liam Williams in Japan, making him ineligible for selection, Rees-Zammit would have been an option for Wales at fullback.
"Cai Evans can play fullback. We see him as one to develop," Gatland said. "Tom Rogers can play there. Long term, I think that's his position. He's probably not quick enough internationally as a winger, although he's done a good job.
"Ioan Lloyd can play there (fullback). We've got lots of options. Cam, at the moment, may not be available for the first couple of games as he has a jaw injury."
Gatland named lock Dafydd Jenkins, 21, as Wales' second youngest captain after Gareth Edwards, 20, a bold move after hooker Dewi Lake and back row Jac Morgan shared the duties at the World Cup. Both are currently injured.
"He's (Jenkins) the type of guy who gets on with his job. He's one of the last out of the gym. He works hard on his preparation and on the laptop looking at the opposition. He'll lead by example," Gatland said.
Number eight Taulupe Faletau is unlikely to feature in the Six Nations having not played since breaking his arm at the World Cup. He now has a calf problem.
"It will probably keep him out for the Six Nations," Gatland confirmed. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/disappointed-gatland-believes-rees-zammit-had-to-follow-his-heart
| 2024-01-16T15:13:37Z
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France lock Bastien Chalureau has been cleared of racism by a court of appeal after the Montpellier player had been handed a prison sentence for violence based on ethnicity, French media reported on Tuesday.
Chalureau was handed a six-month suspended prison sentence in 2020 after being found guilty of "acts of violence committed because of the victim's race or ethnicity".
The Montpellier player, who admitted to acts of violence but denied making racist comments, had appealed against that conviction.
"Bastien Chalureau's honour has been cleared," his lawyer David Mendel was quoted as saying by Le Parisien.
"There were no racist insults in this case. Bastien Chalureau is not proud of the violence he committed, but he's not racist.
"It's been an ordeal that has lasted for several years... I am satisfied for this athlete who, as I speak, is training, will continue to train and progress as he has always done for several years."
Chalureau had always insisted that he was not racist amid an outcry over his call-up into the Rugby World Cup squad last year.
"Since the first day I've admitted my mistakes but denied racism allegations. I am not a racist," a tearful Chalureau had said last year.
"I wanted to come and say it out loud... because it is something that affects also my team and my family." REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/frances-chalureau-cleared-of-racism-charge-in-assault-case
| 2024-01-16T15:13:47Z
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EDINBURGH - Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has largely gone with his tried and tested after naming four uncapped players in a 39-man squad for their Six Nations opener against Wales in Cardiff on Feb. 3, the Scottish Rugby Union said on Tuesday.
Props Alec Hepburn and Will Hurd, utility back Harry Paterson and winger Arron Reed were all included for the first time by Townsend. Hepburn qualifies through his father, who was born in Scotland, likewise Reed from Sale Sharks.
Leicester Tigers' loosehead Hurd represented Scotland at under-20 level while Paterson, who can play both at wing and full-back, won caps for Scotland in sevens rugby.
The rest of Townsend's squad, for which a captain is still to be named, has much of a familiar look, with 15 players from Glasgow Warriors, 13 from Edinburgh and a further 11 who ply their trade outside Scotland.
Scotland squad:
Forwards: Ewan Ashman, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Andy Christie, Luke Crosbie, Scott Cummings, Jack Dempsey, Rory Darge, Grant Gilchrist, Richie Gray, Matt Fagerson, Zander Fagerson, Alec Hepburn, Will Hurd, Johnny Matthews, WP Nel, Jamie Ritchie, Pierre Schoeman, Sam Skinner, George Turner, Glen Young
Backs: Adam Hastings, Ben Healy, George Horne, Darcy Graham, Rory Hutchinson, Huw Jones, Blair Kinghorn, Stafford McDowall, Harry Paterson, Ali Price, Cameron Redpath, Arron Reed, Kyle Rowe, Finn Russell, Kyle Steyn, Sione Tuipulotu, Duhan van der Merwe, Ben White. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/scotland-name-four-uncapped-players-for-six-nations
| 2024-01-16T15:13:58Z
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MELBOURNE - Alexander Zverev said at the Australian Open on Tuesday that he saw no reason to stand down from the ATP Players' Council ahead of his court case in Germany on physical abuse charges.
Zverev, who rejects the allegations, is due to appear before a Berlin court on May 31 on charges of abusing his former girlfriend, a court spokesperson told German media.
The hearing in May comes after the tennis player appealed against the penalty order and fine of 450,000 euros ($489,780) imposed on him in October by the Berlin district court.
He had been ordered to pay the fine for physically abusing the mother of his child, the German tennis player's lawyers said at the time.
"Why would it not be?" he said at Melbourne Park when asked whether it was appropriate that he continued on the council, an elected body which acts as the voice of the players in decisions about the men's professional tennis tour.
Zverev said he believed he retained the confidence of his fellow players.
"Nobody has said anything to me. I don't have a reason not to believe that," he said.
The former world number two has repeatedly rejected the claims by his former girlfriend Brenda Patea that she was a victim of bodily harm during an argument in 2020, his lawyers have said.
The pair had a daughter in 2021, though by that time they were no longer together.
Zverev flatly rejected the idea that there was a body of opinion that he should not be playing professional tennis at all pending the court case.
"Journalists are saying that, some, who are actually interested more in this story to write about and more about the clicks than the actual truth," he said.
The 26-year-old beat compatriot Dominik Koepfer 4-6 6-3 7-6 (3) 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday. REUTERS
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DAVOS/DUBAI -Disruptions to Red Sea shipping caused by Houthi attacks will push up prices of consumer goods, an executive from port and freight operator DP World said on Tuesday as a missile struck another vessel in the region.
The Iran-allied Houthi militia has threatened to expand its attacks to include U.S. ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.
Attacks by the Houthis on ships in the region since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers - an escalation of Israel's more than three-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.
DP World CFO Yuvraj Narayan said he expected that disruptions would hit European consumers hardest.
"The cost of goods into Europe from Asia will be significantly higher," Narayan told Reuters at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
"European consumers will feel the pain ... It will hit developed economies more than it will hit developing economies," the Dubai-based logisGreek tics company's finance chief added.
War risk insurance premiums for shipments through the Red Sea are rising, insurance sources said on Tuesday.
A Malta-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier was targeted and hit by a missile while northbound in the Red Sea 76 nautical miles northwest of the Yemeni port of Saleef, a security firm and two Greek shipping ministry sources said on Tuesday.
The vessel, the Zografia, was sailing from Vietnam to Israel with 24 crew on board and was empty of cargo when attacked, one of the Greek sources said. "There were no injuries, only material damage," the source added. It was still sailing but would probably reroute for safety checks.
Underlining concerns, Japanese shipping operator Nippon Yusen, also known as NYK Line, instructed its vessels navigating near the Red Sea to wait in safe waters and is considering route changes, a company spokesperson said.
Ocean Network Express, a joint venture between Japan's Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Nippon Yusen, said last month it would reroute vessels or temporarily pause journeys and move to safe areas.
However, shipping giant Maersk sent two container ships through the Red Sea carrying goods for the U.S. military and government.
Container vessels have been pausing or diverting from the Red Sea that leads to the Suez Canal, the fastest freight route from Asia to Europe. Many ships have been forced to circumnavigate South Africa's Cape of Good Hope instead.
GAZA CEASEFIRE CALL
The U.S.-led coalition meant to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea is weak because regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have not taken part, Yemen's vice president said on Tuesday.
"This Bab al-Mandab corridor is of interest to the whole world and to the region, so regional intervention is key," Aidarous al-Zubaidi told Reuters in an interview, referring to the narrow strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Zubaidi's separatist Southern Transitional Council is part of an alliance that opposes the Houthis in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Houthi attacks on commercial ships were connected to the war in Gaza. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom's priority is finding a path to de-escalation through a ceasefire in Gaza.
Also speaking in Davos, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said it was important to keep global supply chains "stable and smooth".
About 12% of world shipping traffic transits the Suez Canal via the Red Sea.
Vessels supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar are among the many ships being forced to sail around Africa via the Cape of Good Hope. That diversion can add about nine days to the normally 18-day trip from Qatar to northwest Europe. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T15:14:19Z
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DAVOS, Switzerland - Governments around the world need to make consistent and coherent policy decisions to speed up the global shift towards a low-carbon economy, said panellists at a discussion during the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2024.
At the same time, companies should be willing to commit to paying a “green premium” when choosing costlier but more environmentally friendly technology, which will net them benefits in the long run.
These points were raised by representatives from the First Movers Coalition who took part in a panel on scaling up green solutions to avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis.
The discussion included Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng, and took place on Jan 16 in Davos, Switzerland, where the WEF is being held from Jan 15 to 19.
The First Movers Coalition is a grouping of over 95 companies and 13 government partners.
Launched in 2021 at the COP26 environmental conference in Glasgow, the coalition is led by the WEF and US Department of State, and aims to promote the development and deployment of sustainable technologies of the future.
Singapore joined in 2022.
At present, much of government policy overemphasises the supply side of the problem, such as carbon pricing, said panellist Carlos Torres Vila, chairman of Spanish bank BBVA.
In contrast, the First Movers Coalition focuses on aggregating and increasing demand for near-zero-emission goods and services.
To speed up progress towards decarbonisation and get all parties – rather than just first movers – on board, government policies need to change, he added.
Dr Tan was asked how to get governments to join these efforts.
He said Singapore tries its best to work with different governments, such as with the United States on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, which includes collaboration on the transition to clean economies.
Both countries are also collaborating on a feasibility study of the entire Asean regional power grid, to create a framework that will uplift over 650 million people in the region, he added.
“Those are small steps, but actually each step is a very significant milestone. And I think we need to accelerate them,” said Dr Tan.
He added that government continuity is also important in this space.
“That consistency, in terms of making sure that trust has been built, can actually bring us a lot further,” he said.
On carbon premiums, Dr Tan noted that Singapore started imposing a carbon tax in 2023.
“It’s a ratchet up. I think we’re one of the first countries in our region to do so. It’s a very bold step,” he said, adding that premiums collected will go into research areas such as renewable energy or low-carbon technologies.
Earlier in the session, Dr Tan highlighted that governments can act as enablers of low-carbon technologies and markets.
He gave the example of how Singapore is looking to develop low-carbon ammonia solutions on a commercial scale, and has shortlisted six consortia to put forth proposals on the subject.
An announcement on this front will be made towards the end of January.
This would move Singapore another step closer to being one of the first countries in the world to test and deploy a direct ammonia combustion power plan and to support the holistic assessment of ammonia bunkering for shipping, said Dr Tan.
In his opening remarks, US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry said the barrier to achieving a low-carbon global economy is not that the various stakeholders do not know what to do, or that solutions are not available.
“It’s that we’re not doing any of what we need to do big enough and fast enough. And it is a challenge, a major crisis, with respect to our ability to be able to win this battle,” he said, adding that money is critical to the effort.
Companies in the First Movers Coalition are committed to spending more on green solutions, even if they have to explain the choices to shareholders, he pointed out.
“It is only by making that decision that we’re going to be in a place where we get to accelerate this transition fast enough,” he said.
“The only issue for all of us, is not whether or not we’ll get to a low-carbon economy globally. We will. The only question is will we get there in time to meet the challenge of the scientists in order to avoid the worst consequences of this crisis – that is what is at stake,” said Mr Kerry.
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LISBON – Bobi the Dog’s title as the world’s oldest canine was suspended on Jan 16, after the Guinness World Records began to have doubts about his real age.
He died in October 2023 at the official age of 31 years and 165 days, eight months after the record-breakers’ hall of fame declared on its website that he was the world’s oldest living dog.
The pure-bred rafeiro – a Portuguese race of livestock guard dog whose life expectancy is usually between 12 and 14 – was also declared the oldest dog ever, breaking a nearly century-old record held by Australian cattle dog Bluey, who died in 1939 aged 29 years and five months.
“While our review is ongoing, we have decided to temporarily pause both the record titles for Oldest Dog Living and (Oldest Dog) Ever just until all of our findings are in place,” a Guinness spokesman told AFP.
The reference site for extreme achievements did not say what had raised their suspicions.
But sceptics cited by British and US media said Bobi’s feet appeared to be a different colour in photos of him as a puppy and snaps of him in his dotage.
And Lisbon vet Miguel Figuereido told AFP in 2023: “He doesn’t look like a very old dog... with mobility problems... or with an old dog’s muscle mass.”
Guinness World Records insisted the suspension was “temporary, while (the review) is ongoing”.
Bobi, who was officially born on May 11, 1992, cheated death in his first days of life.
He and three other puppies were from a litter born in a wood shed owned by the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros in central Portugal.
Because the family already owned so many animals, the parents decided to get rid of the newborn puppies, recalled Bobi’s owner Leonel Costa, who was eight at the time.
They unwittingly left one puppy – Bobi – behind and were eventually persuaded by Mr Costa and his sister to keep him.
Mr Costa attributed Bobi’s longevity to the tranquillity of country living and his varied diet.
He was never chained up or put on a lead and used to roam the woods around the village before he got too old to move much and spent his days lolling around the yard with the family cats. AFP
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BUDAPEST - Help for Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion should not damage the European Union's budget, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday.
Hungary has opposed aims to revamp the EU budget to channel 50 billion euros to Kyiv and provide more cash for other tasks such as managing migration. EU leaders are set to hold a summit on Feb. 1 at which they will discuss the issue.
"If we want to help Ukraine, which I think we need to do, we have to do it in a way that doesn't harm the EU's budget," Orban told a news conference.
"But to give away 50 billion euros from the EU budget for four years in advance is a violation of the EU's sovereignty and national interests. We do not even know what will happen in a quarter of a year."
Orban was speaking after meeting Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who like his Hungarian counterpart has said there is no military solution to the war in Ukraine, nearly two years after Russia's invasion.
Orban said any financial facility for Ukraine should be separate from the EU budget. He said Hungary's proposal for creating such a mechanism was based on allocating aid on the basis of gross national income (GNI).
"If Brussels accepts this, then there'll be help for Ukraine, outside the budget," he said. "If not, then I'll be sad to halt this process." REUTERS
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PARIS - The French island of La Reunion lifted a cyclone alert at noon (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, as cyclone Belal that struck the Indian Ocean island a day earlier had moved away and no longer posed a threat, local authorities said.
"(The cyclone) no longer represents a danger to our territory," the authorities said, still advising a degree of caution even though weather conditions were improving.
The lifting of the red alert means local businesses can restart activities but residents were advised to stay at home if possible. Nurseries would open from Wednesday but schools would remain closed until Monday, the Prefecture of La Reunion said.
La Reunion now faces the task of dealing with the significant damage caused by Belal, which brought wind gusts of up to 200 km/h and power outages across the island, but still proved less cataclysmic than feared.
Almost 130 firefighters, 10 gendarmes and 15 power network specialists were scheduled to arrive to La Reunion from neighbouring Mayotte and from continental France. REUTERS
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DONETSK, Russian-controlled Ukraine - Residents of the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine lined up on Tuesday to register their support for Vladimir Putin in a presidential vote where he is sure to win re-election.
Russia claimed Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions as its own territory in September 2022 in a move that Ukraine and most countries at the United Nations condemned as illegal.
Conducting the March election in these areas is important for Moscow as a means of demonstrating that it has integrated them as "new territories", even though it does not fully control them militarily. Ukraine says the exercise is illegitimate and void.
Putin needs to gather 300,000 signatures by Jan. 31 in support of his candidacy because he has put his own name forward for re-election instead of being nominated by a political party.
Supporters in Donetsk said they were happy to add their names to the list.
"This is our future, our life, our tranquillity. We want the end of war. I think he will help us in this, as president," one woman, Olga, told reporters.
Nearly two years into the conflict, there is no sign of an end to it and neither side has made any significant breakthrough for many months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday that every reduction of pressure on Russia would add years to the war. REUTERS
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MADRID - Four factories in Spain owned by French tyre maker Michelin are planning to halt output again on the weekend of Jan. 20-21 due to delays in the delivery of raw materials caused by the crisis in the Red Sea, the company's Spanish subsidiary said on Tuesday.
The United States and Britain launched a series of strikes on Yemen last week, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia, whose attacks on international shipping have disrupted one of the world's most important routes since December.
A dozen shipping lines have opted to divert ships that previously used this route via southern Africa, increasing the crossing time for supplies to Europe by about 10 days.
Michelin had already suspended work shifts at its Spanish plants on the weekend of Jan. 13-14 due to longer delivery times of raw materials it needs to produce rubber and that are delivered by sea from Asia, the company told Reuters.
Spanish newspaper Expansion reported earlier on Tuesday that Michelin would halt work for a second weekend and the company later confirmed to Reuters the stoppage would take place on Jan. 20-21.
Michelin's move in Spain is similar to measures taken by other manufacturers such as automakers Tesla and Geely-owned Volvo Car, which last week announced they were suspending some production in Europe due to a shortage of components.
Michelin's Spanish factories are the company's second-largest rubber producers but the unit said it had sufficient stocks of rubber to cope with the ongoing situation while it maintained supplies of raw material by sea, and was not planning to take any additional measures in Spain.
Spanish retail and food industry association, Aecoc, has also said the Red Sea crisis was having "a significant impact" on major companies involved in the manufacturing and distribution of food, textiles and technology products. REUTERS
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RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Huddling around a bewildering tangle of cables and extension leads plugged into a hospital power outlet, displaced Gazan men are pursuing a critical but elusive goal: getting their phones charged.
In wartime Gaza, a charged phone is nothing less than a lifeline. It serves to check on loved ones after Israeli bombardments, helps find out where food and water might be available, and provides light in tents after darkness falls.
"Every day we come here for three or four hours and waste time to charge our phones," said Mohammed Abu Skheta, who fled with his family, including a baby boy, from Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza to a tent in Rafah, southern Gaza.
"It's a dream to fully charge it. It's very difficult. You can charge it to 50 or 60%, 70% at most," he said.
The charging spot outside the Emirati Hospital in Rafah is popular because it is free. The hospital allows displaced people to plug cables into its power sockets, which are fed either by solar panels or by a generator, when there is fuel for that.
Elsewhere, some households or small businesses that have solar panels allow people to charge, but often for a fee, which not all can afford.
"My financial situation is difficult, so I have to look for an alternative, such as charging at a hospital or shop, without paying money," said Abu Skheta.
Phones are not the only devices in need of regular charging. Mohamad Abu Taha, a barber in Rafah, said he was relying on a solar panel at the family home to recharge his electric razor in between jobs.
"For almost every haircut, I send my nephew to charge the razor. I have to inform the customer that if it's sunny I can work, if not then I cannot," he said.
One tailor in Rafah has got around the lack of electricity by converting a dismantled child's bicycle into a pedal dynamo to power his sewing machine.
NO PLACE TO CHARGE
The war in Gaza started when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 hostages, of whom more than 130 are still being held captive, according to Israel's tally.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has responded with a siege, bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza which have killed more than 24,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Most of the population is displaced, and severe shortages of food, water, electricity and medicines have resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations.
Charging a phone has become one of the challenges of daily life, as time-consuming and frustrating as the search for bread or water.
"We came here to charge, but there is no place," said Mahmoud Marouf, who is displaced from Jabalia in northern Gaza, and had brought a battery similar to the ones in cars to the charging spot at the Emirati Hospital.
Alongside phones, people bring such batteries to charge so that they can then power devices they need in their tents.
Volunteers at the hospital organise a rota allowing people to charge for a certain period of time. The system helps avoid tensions by giving access to precious sockets to as many people as possible, but demand is too high to satisfy everyone.
Marouf said he needed to charge his battery to power medical devices for his children, who have respiratory conditions.
"We got them a large battery and came to charge it, because hospitals are full," he said.
Despite the tedium, those lucky enough to have a spot waited patiently for their phones to charge as much as possible.
"It lasts us for one day, or one day and a half at most, not more. We use it for lighting only," said Mohamad Al-Shamali, who is displaced from Gaza City.
"Calls and telecoms are down so we don't have internet. We try as much as we can to secure lighting, to see the roads we are walking on and inside the tent we are in, no more than that." REUTERS
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MOGADISHU - A suicide bomb blast in Somalia's capital city Mogadishu killed three people and injured two others, Somali authorities said on Tuesday, with the militant group al Shabaab claiming responsibility for the attack.
While being pursued by police, a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Al Hindi restaurant in Mogadishu's Hamar Weyne district, police spokesman Sadik Ali said.
The al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab group said in a statement that the blast had targeted local security officials. It said there were casualties, without providing a number.
Al Shabaab frequently attacks military outposts and civilian and government targets as part of a campaign to topple Somalia's government and establish its own rule based on its interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. REUTERS
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DES MOINES, Iowa – Republican candidates trying to stop Donald Trump from being the party’s White House nominee are shifting to New Hampshire, a week ahead of its nominating contest, after the ex-president scored a record win in Iowa.
Trump took over half the votes in the Iowa contest on Jan 16, propelling him towards what looks set to be a close and acrimonious election campaign against President Joe Biden.
The two rivals have dramatically different policies on a range of key issues, from relations with Nato allies abroad to economic and tax policies, abortion rights and immigration at home.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, finished well behind Trump in second place in Iowa, edging out former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, 51, into third.
Ms Haley, who has previously spoken of how voters in New Hampshire can “correct” the Iowa result, is polling second to Trump in the state, with Mr DeSantis far behind.
“Underestimate me, because that’s always fun. I love you Iowa, but we’re on to New Hampshire,” Ms Haley told supporters on Jan 16.
The north-eastern state is well-known for its relatively moderate, libertarian-minded brand of Republicanism.
Moreover, the primary contest in New Hampshire is “semi-open”, meaning voters that are not registered with any party can participate, which can reward candidates perceived to be centrists.
Trying to take advantage, Ms Haley has campaigned heavily in New Hampshire while Mr DeSantis bet heavily on Iowa.
Ms Haley was to hold a rally in northern New Hampshire on Jan 17 with the state governor, Mr Chris Sununu, who has endorsed her.
Mr DeSantis is set to hold a town hall event, and Trump will deliver remarks at a country club in the south-east.
Trump, 77, is the only current or ex-US president to be charged with criminal activity, but he won by an unprecedented margin for an Iowa Republican contest, strengthening his case that his nomination is a foregone conclusion given his massive lead in national polls.
He won 51 per cent support, Mr DeSantis 21 per cent and Ms Haley 19 per cent, with 99 per cent of the expected vote tallied. That victory margin far surpassed the previous record of 12.8 percentage points for former senator Bob Dole in 1988.
Trump is hoping to fast-track the normally months-long Republican selection process with a series of convincing early primary wins to force out his rivals.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy ended his bid after winning just under 8 per cent of the vote, and he endorsed Trump.
Legal woes
Reacting to the Iowa result on X, Mr Biden tried to frame the November election as a battle against “extreme MAGA Republicans”, a reference to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan, and urged supporters to donate to his re-election campaign.
Trump claims falsely that his 2020 election loss to Mr Biden was due to widespread fraud and has vowed, if elected again, to punish his political enemies and introduce new tariffs on imports.
He has also vowed to end the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours, without saying how.
He has drawn criticism for increasingly authoritarian language, including comments that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country”.
Still, his performance in Iowa showed his enduring popularity among Republican voters even after the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters and his 91 criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election, retaining classified documents and falsifying records over hush money payments to a porn star.
Trump has used his legal travails to raise funds and boost his support as he protests his innocence and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt”.
He holds a 37-point lead among Republicans, according to the most recent nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Nearly two-thirds of Iowa caucus-goers embraced his false claims about voter fraud in 2020, saying they did not think Mr Biden legitimately beat Trump.
More than 60 per cent said Trump would still be fit to serve as president even if convicted of a crime.
Trump faces four prosecutions, setting up the unprecedented prospect of a president being convicted or even serving from behind bars, with the courts almost certainly weighing in at every stage.
“Absent a quick consolidation of the field, Trump appears to be on a fast track to the nomination,” said Mr Jimmy Centers, an Iowa-based Republican strategist.
Still, both Mr DeSantis and Ms Haley vowed to press ahead.
“We’ve got our ticket punched out of Iowa!” Mr DeSantis told supporters in West Des Moines on Jan 16.
But Mr DeSantis’ campaign is in trouble, and he risks funding problems going forward after failing to deliver a breakthrough performance in Iowa despite campaigning heavily there.
Iowans braved life-threatening temperatures to gather for the state’s first-in-the-nation caucus, as the 2024 presidential campaign officially got under way after months of debates and rallies.
“Trump is very narcissistic. He’s very cocky, but he’s going to get stuff done,” said Ms Rita Stone, 53, a Trump backer who attended a caucus at a West Des Moines high school. REUTERS
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Many people might have raised their eyebrows when they saw Danny DeVito attending the Emmys with Rhea Perlman, who he has been separated from since 2012. But the duo seemed perfectly friendly as they made their way down the red carpet together.
Rhea was at the Emmys as part of a reunion with fellow cast members from Cheers, while Danny appeared with the rest of the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia cast to pay tribute to a number of iconic series in television - including his ex-wife's own show.
Danny wasn't afraid to joke about his ex-wife's success, as his own show has never been nominated for an Emmy. "Even Rhea won four for Cheers", he quipped.
Despite their separation, the couple have stayed close. Their three kids, Lucy - who joined her parents on the red carpet, Grace and Jake have all grown up. But what is the secret to their post-split harmony?
Louella Alderson, relationship expert and co-founder of dating site So Syncd, exclusively shared her thoughts with HELLO!
“It's heartwarming to see Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman continue to support each other even after their separation over 10 years ago", she said. "This speaks to the strong bond they have built over their long marriage and as parents to their three children."
"While it isn’t always easy for couples to maintain a friendly relationship after divorce or separation, it shows that Danny and Rhea had a deep connection that they felt was worth sustaining despite deciding to go their separate ways after 30 years of marriage. When this is done for the right reasons, it’s a testament to the purity of the love for one another."
She continued: "Sometimes, a romantic connection between two people can change over time and fizzle out, but it doesn't always mean that the love and care for each other is gone."
"In cases like Danny and Rhea, they had 40 years of history together, and that bond can continue to exist even after their marriage has ended. Some couples can find a way to move past the hurt and disappointment of a failed marriage and maintain a strong friendship."
In fact Rhea has spoken about how difficult it was to reconcile after their separation.
Speaking to Julia Louis-Dreyfus on her Wiser Than Me podcast, the Barbie actress revealed: "I'm not going to like sugarcoat it, it was difficult. It was very difficult at first. There were a lot of reasons as to why we separated, which I'm not going to go into. But it took time for us to come to this somehow pretty decent understanding and relationship with each other."
Louella added that "their appearance at the Emmys together speaks volumes about their love for each other as people rather than just ex-spouses. It's admirable that they continue to support each other in different aspects of their lives."
This backs up another thing that Rhea confirmed on the podcast, which is that: "Danny and I have always loved each other. We have three amazing children together, and we really agree on almost everything important. Our relationship] is much better because all the tense stuff is gone. Not in your face, I'm not in his, he's not in mine."
It's important to note that Rhea and Danny never got divorced, and they never plan to. Their relationship stands out in an industry where often famous couples suffer deeply messy divorces and splits.
Relating to this, Louella added couldn't help but praise the duo for their approach.
"In Hollywood, where relationships are often scrutinized and breakups can be messy, seeing Danny and Rhea come together in support of each other sends a positive message about the potential for amicable separations and maintaining healthy relationships after divorce", she said.
"However, every situation is unique, and it may not always be possible for couples to stay friendly after a separation. That’s okay too. There are many reasons why marriages don't work out, and it's important for individuals to look after their own well-being and happiness. It appears that in Danny and Rhea's case, remaining in each others' lives was the best decision for them and their family."
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Andre Agassi, 53, has been happily married to fellow tennis star Steffi Graf, 54, since 2001, but they have remained tight-lipped about their wedding and have shared next to no photos with fans. Luckily, one unearthed picture has shared a rare peek at Andre's beautiful bride, who chose an unconventional gown for their "private" ceremony.
Their love story began in 1999, shortly after Andre scooped the French Open title and divorced his first wife Brooke Shields. After dating for two years, Andre and Steffi tied the knot, announcing in a joint statement: "We are so blessed to be married and starting this chapter of our lives. The privacy and intimacy of our ceremony was beautiful and reflective of all we value."
The couple appear to have barely aged a day since their nuptials, with the groom sporting a wide smile in a dapper morning suit with striped trousers, a black tailcoat and a patterned grey tie. Also grinning for the camera, Steffi looked stunning in an ivory floor-length gown with a modest silhouette including long sleeves, a rounded neckline and a fitted waist leading to an A-line skirt.
Instead of traditional bridal white, the dress appeared to have a subtle gold jacquard print that caught the light, contrasting with her fuschia pink and white floral headband. A matching drop bouquet with trailing greenery and a long veil completed her bridal ensemble, while she kept her beauty look relaxed, styling her blonde hair straight.
Eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre made some rare comments about his wife – who won 22 Grand Slam singles titles and the Australian Open singles title four times – in an interview with Repubblica. He described her as "very different from me," stating: "She is like my mother. She is the solid rock in my family, a certainty, and she is predictable." The tennis coach added Steff is "also active, precise, so well organized."
Speaking of the lessons he's learnt in his marriage, Andre joked during an appearance on The Fox radio: "You pick your battles. The first battle that I didn't pick was bringing home my trophies, because if I bring home my trophies she brings home her trophies."
The couple are doting parents to two children: a son called Jaden, who was born in 2001, and a daughter called Jaz, whom they welcomed in 2003. Despite their accomplished tennis careers, Steffi and Andre revealed there's "no pressure" for their two children to follow in their footsteps. During a chat with HELLO! in 2017, Andre said: "No, not at all… My son's into baseball and my daughter gets into a lot of different things seasonally – dance one year, one part of the year kickboxing. She's really active, but there's no pressure. It's their choice and I'm glad they didn't choose tennis."
He continued: "It's a tough world. I want them to have choice and ownership of their choice. I didn't have that. I learnt what I don't want to do in many cases from my father."
PHOTOS: 10 tennis stars' gorgeous weddings: Roger Federer, Andy Murray and more
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| 2024-01-16T15:46:23Z
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It was a difficult start to the year for much of Hollywood following some heartbreaking celebrity deaths – but it wasn't all sad news as January also revealed some new celebrity couples.
Following breakups and divorces, the likes of Barry Keoghan,Joe Jonas, and Selena Gomez found themselves embarking on new relationships, much to the delight of their fans. With several months of the year still to come, we can't wait to see which other A-listers will find love.
Below are just some of the famous faces who have embarked on new relationships in 2024 so far…
Barry Keoghan and Sabrina Carpenter
Saltburn star Barry Keoghan and singer Sabrina Carpenter were romantically linked in January after they were spotted on an apparent dinner date in LA in December.
While neither of them has spoken out about their rumored romance, the duo was photographed together leaving Luna Luna – an experimental art museum in Los Angeles – on January 13, and according to reports they "shared a little kiss" while at the venue.
Barry split from Alyson Sandro, whom he first met in a London bar in February 2021, in the summer of 2023. The couple share a son, Brando, one.
When questioned about the separation, the 31-year-old Irish actor responded with admiration for Alyson's parenting, telling GQ, "She's done a great job, and she's an incredible mother." He chose not to delve further into the details of their split.
Sabrina, meanwhile, has been previously linked to Shawn Mendes and briefly dated singer and actor, Joshua Bassett.
On January 3, Joe and Stormi were photographed boarding a private jet in Cabo San Lucas before they were spotted together in Aspen, Colorado, the next day, according to a photo obtained by DeuxMoi.
Stormi fueled romance speculation when she shared a photo of herself wearing a hat that Joe was also seen previously wearing, and they were pictured in pap shots together on a ski lift. Neither has confirmed their romance, yet.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco
Selena Gomez and record producer Benny Blanco have known each other for years and in 2019 they collaborated on the song, I Can't Get Enough, and her 2023 tune, Single Soon.
However, their relationship went from professional to romantic in 2023, with Selena confirming they had been dating for six months when quizzed by fans in December.
It was in January 2024 though that they went 'official', with Benny sharing a loved-up photo of the couple on Instagram. They also attended the Golden Globes on January 7. Although they didn't walk the red carpet together, Selena shared a photo of her and Benny kissing behind the scenes.
On January 15, Selena and Benny made their red carpet debut at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. Benny was ever the supportive boyfriend, blowing Selena a kiss as she headed off to mingle.
Selena has described Benny as "the best thing that's ever happened to me" and while she didn't walk away with a Golden Globe, she shared a photo of the couple kissing on Instagram after the ceremony, writing: "I won".
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| 2024-01-16T15:46:29Z
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Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet recently hit headlines following their loved-up display at the Golden Globes on Sunday January 14, and fans can't get enough of the famous couple.
The Kardashians star and Wonka actor have been together since April, and while they are notoriously private, the few times they have been pictured together have created a fan frenzy.
As a result, the couple have potential to earn a staggering amount of money in just seconds, if they decide to join forces to collaborate on social media.
A spokesperson for Vegas Gems revealed that Kylie and Timothee could charge up to $1.6M for a single, collaborative, sponsored post on Instagram.
Kylie has just under 400 million followers alone and could charge up to $1.2M per post, while Timothee has 18.9M followers, and could charge up to $274k for a story.
Talking to HELLO!, the spokesperson analysed the findings, explaining: "In a world where double-taps are the ultimate currency, Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet's joint sponsorship debut would unleash a digital storm, all with a single Instagram post.
"Already standing as one of Instagram's top earners, the prospect of Kylie teaming up with her award-winning beau could shake up the sponsorship scene and score them a massive seven-figure deal.
"Given Timothy’s association with iconic brands like Cartier and Chanel, coupled with Kylie’s endorsements with brands like Clavin Klein and Puma, it would be reasonable to expect significant interest from various major brands in this opportunity."
Prior to their public debut at the Golden Globes, Kylie and Timothee have largely kept their relationship private. However, in December, fans went wild after Kourtney Kardashian's stepson, Landon Barker, posted a video on Snapchat from the Kardashian's famous Christmas Eve party, featuring a man who appeared to be Timothee in the background chatting with Kylie.
Kylie and Timothee were also pictured kissing at Beyoncé's concert during a date night, which was referenced during his recent interview with MTV.
Josh Horowitz asked him what his favorite concert of the year was, telling him: "You went to Beyoncé. That is documented, I will say."
"Oh, yes, yes, yes. That was great, that was great. Hard to be present," he replied, alluding to the viral kiss. The pair have been pictured over the past few months at various events, including a NYFW dinner and at the U.S. Open, where again, they were pictured kissing.
The Hollywood star opened up about his romance with Kylie in an interview with GQ back in October. Timothee opened up about his wish to lead a private life, and interviewer Daniel Riley joked that if he wanted to do that, he shouldn't hang out with such famous people.
Timothee replied: "This reminds me of that recent South Park episode with the Worldwide Privacy Tour," which focused on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveling around the world while asking for privacy. "Sometimes, people are going to be hella confused when you say you’re trying to live a private life," he said.
Read more HELLO! US stories here
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| 2024-01-16T15:46:36Z
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LeAnn Rimes is taking to social media with a difficult update, sharing with her nearly one million followers on Instagram that she'd recently undergone surgery.
The 41-year-old singer started off discussing how January had been a tough month for her usually, because she'd "either been going through dental surgeries or recovering from a vocal hemorrhage around this time, which was all pretty depressing."
She then added that while this month had been "joyful and easeful," she had undergone a minor surgery on Friday and wanted to speak up about it to encourage women to get annual screenings.
"Several months back, I had my annual pap smear, which came back abnormal," she explained. "In fact, I've had abnormal paps since I was 17 and through regular pap smears and colposcopies, my doctors have been keeping an eye on any cellular changes that could be taking place.
"After my latest abnormal pap smear and colposcopy revealed that I had high grade cervical dysplasia, I consulted with my doctor and we jointly decided that a LEEP procedure would be in my best interest, in order to remove the high grade, abnormal, pre-cancerous cells."
LEEP, or Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure, is described by John Hopkins Medicine as requiring "a wire loop heated by electric current to remove cells and tissue in a woman's lower genital tract," as part of "the diagnosis and treatment for abnormal or cancerous conditions."
LeAnn revealed that she elected to be under anesthesia for the procedure, saying: "I've had enough trauma in my life already, so I prefer to be out and comfortable. That, my friends, is advocating for your overall, mental wellness and comfort and I HIGHLY recommend it!"
She opened up about being candid when it came to her health challenges in the past, explaining why she considered it important to share what one is going through to inspire others to learn and make smart choices as well.
MORE: Celebrities who have battled breast cancer: Olivia Newton-John, Kylie Minogue & more
"So, ladies, please don't put off getting your annual pap. my men, too… make sure you get your annual physical, minus the pap smear."
The country star advocated for early screenings and encouraged women to have further conversations about issues like cervical cancer and general wellness.
MORE: LeAnn Rimes shares unfortunate news with fans as she details recovery from illness
"I believe, the more shares and conversations we have around women's wellness, the more we take the ewww factor out of talking about vaginas and put the power back in our hands, to be able to take the best care of our bodies that we can."
LeAnn was praised for her candid approach and for being so vulnerable and open about her journey, with many fans wishing her a speedy recovery while others complimented her resilience.
MORE: LeAnn Rimes' painful health condition that made her want to hide
"Amen!! bless your inner warrior for staying on top of your wellness and health and for sharing your journey," one wrote, while another opined: "Love you babe. Thank you for being such a leader and amazing woman," and a third added: "Thank you for that reminder that we have to make our health a priority," with several others revealing their personal journeys as well.
To learn more about cervical cancer and all it entails, go here
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/511372/leann-rimes-health-update-undergoes-surgery-read-statement/
| 2024-01-16T15:46:42Z
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It's an undisputed fact that the Kardashians know how to throw a party, and as a result every time their kids have a birthday, you can't help but envy the elaborate get-togethers they put on with amazing themes.
As Chicago West turned six, Kim made sure her daughter's birthday bash was no different. The mom of four threw an incredible party for her youngest daughter with a theme inspired by Bratz dolls.
Kim gave fans an insight into the incredible bash on her Instagram story, where she shared photos and videos.
The SKIMS entrepreneur had transformed her house into a Bratz runway, with cardboard cutouts of Chicago as a Bratz doll dotted around the room in outfits. The six-year-old totally twinned one of the cut outs, as they both wore a pink long sleeved dress with fur cuffs and skirt. It seemed to mark out that Chicago has a passion for fashion, like the iconic dolls do.
The cut outs lined up near a pink runway with an arch that had the birthday girl's name emblazoned in the iconic Bratz typography along the top.
The runway was surrounded by plush pink stools for guests to sit at and watch who went down the runway, and pink balloons flooded the room, with giant pink baubles in the background.
The birthday cake looked utterly decadent, as when you cut into the bright pink heart cake, a number of sprinkles poured out of the baked creation.
It seemed Chi-Chi, as she's called by her family, was surrounded by her cousins as Rob Kardashian's daughter Dream made a rare appearance as she sang happy birthday to the six-year-old.
Kim was sure to pay an adoring tribute to her six-year-old daughter, sharing photos of the two walking around 2023's Annual Kardashian Christmas Eve Party hand-in-hand.
The furry white and blue dress Chi-Chi wore that evening was a similar style the one she's seen in at her birthday - but rather noticeably it seemed to work in coordination with Kim's own furry snow queen dress, which was archival Thierry Mugler.
Kim wrote: "Happy 6th Birthday Chicago! I honestly didn’t know too much about what raising a Capricorn girl would be like but you make it so easy and fun and silly!!! I can already see the determination and ambition you have within you. You are so smart, sweet, silly and so lovable to everyone around you especially your cousins! It’s magical to see you all together and all the love that exists between the tribe. I love you so much Chi Chi and can’t believe you are 6 years old! I’m so so so happy to be your mommy!"
Lucy Shripton, Founder of The Sleep Nanny and parenting expert at The Baby Show recently spoke to HELLO! about Kim's parenting style, observing that: "While Kourtney is a self-confessed 'gentle' parent, Kim recently highlighted the importance of 'tough love.' When she recently discussed her issues around bedtime, she showed that she is a proactive parent, dealing with the good and the harder sides. A bit of tough love for children as privileged as the Kardashians can be a good thing so they don’t grow up expecting the world."
"The fact that Kim is so candid and honest about the joys and chaotic side of parenting makes her more relatable for her fanbase but also helps her kids to understand her more, encouraging them to be better behaved."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511376/inside-kim-kardashian-daughter-chicago-pink-themed-party-birthday-cake/
| 2024-01-16T16:30:09Z
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Jason Kelce may have just played his last ever game of professional football, after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The NFL star, widely considered to be one of the league's best centers, capped off the 2023-24 football season after a difficult 32-9 wild card playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While the six-time All-Pro, 36, has yet to release a personal statement announcing the retirement news, both ESPN and NFL Network report he was emotional after the game, and brought up his retirement to his teammates.
After the game, Jason declined to be interviewed by reporters in the locker room, and was described by an ESPN broadcaster as "a man filled with emotion," while his wife Kylie Kelce also tearfully looked out onto the field.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni had nothing but praise for Jason when speaking about potentially losing his center, and per ESPN, said: "I love him," adding: "He's special and I love him. He's one of the most special guys I've been around. He's always got a place here."
Though Jason played the entirety of his football career with the Eagles, he briefly became a free agent last year when his contract expired after the Eagles lost the Super Bowl to his brother Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs, and played this season under a one-year contract.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also commended his teammate's lasting impact after the game, declaring: "He's a legend in the city – really in the league."
MORE: Jason Kelce shares rare details of marriage with wife Kylie as he receives Sexiest Man Alive title
In his 13-year career, Jason made it to the Super Bowl twice – the Eagles won their first ever Super Bowl in 2018, defeating the New England Patriots – and is only one of five centers in NFL history with at least six All-Pro selections; the other four, Jim Otto, Bulldog Turner, Dermontti Dawson and Jim Ringo, are part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which Jason is expected to eventually join.
Further speaking on his teammate's impressive career, Jalen added: "I don't want to do a disservice to him and the things he's been able to do and overcome. His journey to where he is now didn't come easy."
MORE: Travis and Jason Kelce's dad Ed reveals health condition
He also revealed: "It's been a long, long time coming for him, and every year since I've been here it's been, 'Are you going to come back?'" about the potential of Jason's retirement.
Though Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson hailed him as "one of the best to ever play the game" over his 13-year career, Jason proved to be especially popular during his last two seasons.
Him and his brother Jason – and even their mom Donna Kelce – became increasingly popular as a duo after they faced off in last year's Super Bowl, and frequently go viral over moments from their successful podcast, New Heights, plus, Jason was also included in People's Sexiest Men of the Year list in 2023.
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| 2024-01-16T16:30:15Z
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As a mum to four daughters, former popstar Jamelia has brought up her girls to love and look after their hair. The 43-year-old tells HELLO!: “I wanted my daughters to have a better relationship with their hair than I did at their age. So I had to become the representation I wanted them to see.”
New stats from haircare brand SheaMoisture reveal that only half of the black and mixed-race women over 45 who took part feel confident enough to embrace their natural texture without fear of judgement - and Jamelia is on a mission to change that.
Jamelia, who plays Sharon Bailey in Hollyoaks, tells HELLO! how important it is to feel joy around our hair, explaining: “The shoot felt so celebratory and affirming. Often campaigns around Afro hair are about the struggle, strife and the hard things, which do exist – but I love being a part of a campaign celebrating the joy around our hair.”
Here, she tells us about keeping things natural...
Jamelia's earliest hair memories
“Until I was seven, I had dreadlocks. I absolutely loved them – I grew up around Rastas, everyone had locks. They were cut off just before I started school. Looking back, I understand that that decision was about blending in, not standing out too much.
“When I started at a prestigious, predominantly white secondary school, my mum relaxed my hair. Again I can understand why, and I wasn’t against it. It was to blend in. I mention these things because they happened and I wasn’t aware of the conditioning behind it. It was just ‘get on with it’.”
Struggles in the industry
"When I had relaxed hair, stylists could get away with not knowing what to do, but when I decided to go natural, I was in for a shock. Nobody knew what to do with my hair, to the point where I had to learn how to do my own hair for everything. Now, there are hairdressers that specialise in natural hair, but at the time, the spaces I occupied didn’t have a clue.”
“Now when I enter spaces that don’t have a clue what to do with my natural texture, I insist on somebody learning. You feel like the bad guy, having to explain why it’s not okay that I’m sitting in the corner doing my own hair and everybody else gets their hair done. I’ve been doing that the whole time my hair has been in its natural form. It’s been difficult but I’m proud that I’ve created change for the next Jamelia with her Afro hair. The entertainment industry still has a long way to go.”
HAIR CARE: My dehydrated curls need extra love in winter - here’s how I look after them
Confidence going natutral
“We have to be brave enough to wear our hair in its natural form. Whether you’re at work or picking the kids up from school, there are so many opportunities for us to unknowingly celebrate ourselves. When I was younger, I didn’t see any black or mixed-race women with their natural hair and loving it.
“The more that we live out loud and celebrate ourselves and affirm each other, that’s what brings about change. Being an example to my daughters, I’ve seen that they don’t have any of the hang-ups or fears that I had. Every single time we’re out, they always say to someone: ‘I love your hair, your hair looks beautiful,’ and it’s really beautiful to witness because you never know what that one sentence has done for that person.
DISCOVER: How much should you be spending on haircare? Experts explain
Inspiring the next generation
“We can help our children appreciate their natural hair by making the hair-doing process as pleasurable and enjoyable as possible. My five-year-old, even the baby, knows when it’s time to get their hair done. I give them a couple of chocolates, they watch their favourite thing that they’re never allowed to watch at other times and they actually get excited. Now, my five-year-old asks for a new hairstyle.
“I’m also very gentle. A lot of us, especially my generation, have had that experience of the pain, sitting between your mum’s legs.
“Get your kids involved in the process, too. I let my five-year-old choose a hairstyle on Pinterest and then I’ll make it happen. The other day she wanted to have a unicorn horn – I’m big on allowing them to express themselves. Above all else, every single time I do their hair, I say: ‘Your hair is so beautiful. I love that style. It looks so gorgeous.’"
BLACK JOY: How moments of love, tenderness and care soften the hurtful sting of racism
Jamelia's haircare heroes
“I love wash day. I take it very seriously and I’m committed to having a really luxurious experience. Wash day is a whole day for each of us in my house. I wash mine once a week and the girls’ once every fortnight. My one-year-old actually gets her hair washed every two days because she’s putting food and everything in her hair.
“I love to clarify, do a conditioner and then co-wash. After that, a deep treatment with a bit of heat – I still put the plastic bag on my head. I know there must be something invented to stop doing that but I’m used to doing it over the years. I air-dry using the band method [stretching out multiple bands along sections of your hair].
"We’ve got a variety of textures in my house. I love the SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil shampoo and both conditioners. I also use the Moringa and Avocado range for my daughters’ hair and the Coconut and Hibiscus gel.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/511334/jamelia-celebrates-natural-hair/
| 2024-01-16T16:30:21Z
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Lila Moss has paid homage to her supermodel mother Kate, who celebrates her 50th birthday today.
The iconic mother-daughter model duo have had many a memorable fashion moment together, from Met Galas to brand campaigns. But to mark her mum's milestone birthday, Lila simply shared an adorable throwback photo of the two on her Instagram.
She captioned the sepia-toned photo, which shows Kate holding 21-year-old Lila when she was a baby: "happy birthday mummy! i love you to the moon and back and back again xxxx"
In the image, a fresh-faced Kate is pictured wearing a round neck t-shirt with statement-tiered dangle earrings, embodying her signature elevated basics off-duty style agenda.
Lila's adoration of Kate is also exhibited through doing what they both do best: fashion. Alongside following in her mother's footsteps on the runway and modelling for the likes of Fendi, Miu Miu and Versace (all before her 20th birthday, we should add), she often champions looks that are straight from her Kate's style book: from 90s satin slips to sheer dresses.
Though a sartorial icon in her own right, the apple certainly doesn't fall far from the tree where her style agenda is concerned.
Other famous faces have taken to Instagram today to send Kate love including her close friend and fellow style icon Rita Ora who said: "So grateful for ALL of our memories to many for me to put into one post! Thank you for your guidance all of these years and your loyalty and your work ethic is 0 to none."
Sadie Frost - who celebrated Kate's birthday with her on a tropical island said: "happy 50th birthday @katemossagency … it was so so special celebrating your pre birthday with some of our beautiful friends … there was so much fun and laughter amongst our celebratory circle #spiritualwarrior"
We can't wait to see more iconic fashion moments from this new chapter in Kate's life.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511375/lila-moss-kate-moss-50th-birthday-tribute/
| 2024-01-16T16:30:27Z
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From the girlfriend whose only gift request is a shiny diamond to adorn on her fourth digit to the BFF who deserves much more than what money could ever buy, we’ve collated a list of the best Valentine's Day gifts to give to the women in your life come cupid day.
How we chose the pieces:
Price: Each item in this list boasts luxury je ne sais quoi, however, ranges from a price point of £45.00 to £4,500.00.
Occasion: Each gift in this list is specialised to be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for her.
Why you should trust me:
I am Hello! Fashion’s Fashion Features Writer. With a love for all things fashion (the quirkier the better), I can usually be found playing dress-up in my own wardrobe, watching Gilmore Girls for the eigth time or finding new outfit inspo and DIY musts on TikTok, nothing in my closet is safe from a safety-pin bow embellishment. I have been in the styling world for almost 5 years now, specialising in editorial features, luxury campaigns and music videos. As for the world of magazines, I have worked for various digital and print publications around the world, focusing on fashion. Basically, fashion is my bread and butter.
The Three Stone Round Brilliant Engagement Ring
Vrai
For the aforementioned girlfriend who wants nothing more than to be a fiance, why not pop the question on the most romantic day of the year with a decadent diamond ring from one of the world's most acclaimed lab-grown diamond jewellers, Vrai? I am in love with their Three Stone ring, as everyone knows three lab-grown diamonds are better than one.
Wander matelassé nappa leather hobo mini-bag
Miu Miu
If it’s good enough for Alexa Chung, then it’s good enough for the love in your life. Unofficially this season's most cultivated bag, the Miu Miu Wander bag in luxurious Nappa leather will be sure to give your lover butterflies. If you’re unsure what colour out of the nine on offer, go for bright red because after all, it is love day.
31 Le Rouge Lipstick
Chanel Beauty
There's nothing more romantic than gifting a luxury lipstick in a shade you know they already love and wear on repeat. 31 Le Rouge by Chanel is the brand's most exclusive lipstick to date, exuding luxury in more ways than one. If you’re unsure of what colourway to get, rest assured that the iconic shade Rouge Premier is very well respected amongst beauty gurus and fashion lovers alike
Heart Key Ring
Aspinal of London
If there’s one day of the year that you can lean into red heart-shaped motifs and get away with it, it’s V Day. If you’ve agreed on gifting small sentimental gifts this year then this personalisable red leather key chain from Aspinal of London is perfect. Not only is it practical and cute, but every time your beau unlocks the front door they’ll be reminded of you, which is likely a lot.
Reykjavik Scarf
Louis Vuitton
We all love a gift that’s both chic and practical and this Louis Vuitton Reykjavik Scarf in cherry red is both. Made from 100% cashmere and adorned with Louis Vuitton’s iconic monogram woven into the fabric, this is a gift that will trump all others.
Engravable Heart Signet Ring
Missoma
A keepsake that they’ll cherish forever and always, this engravable heart signet ring from Missoma will quickly become their most prized possession. Easily stacked with an existing flourish of rings or perfect on its own, this gold-plated ring is perfect for anyone who loves a little glam in their life.
Patent leather slingback pumps
Prada
Just like how I imagine Cinderella felt when her hoof fit the glass slipper, your Disney princess will evoke the same energy when slipping into her new pair of Prada patent leather pumps. A timeless style that will go with everything in her wardrobe, these slingbacks are the gift that keeps on giving.
Mesmera necklace
Swarovski
The best part about gift giving is finding something that the recipient would never buy for themselves. A treat so precious and loved that they couldn't possibly purchase it for themselves without feeling a tad guilty. That’s where you come in. If you’ve ever been shopping with your love, then you’ll know there are countless window shopping opportunities where an audible sigh leaves their body, followed by a faint whisper usually along the lines of “I wish I could have that”. Well, now’s your chance to prove that you’ve been listening all along and gift them something they’ve always wanted, much like this insanely decadent Mesmera necklace from Swarovski.
Dioralps Puffer Jacket With Belt
DIOR
Perhaps part of your Valentine's Day gift is an opulent ski slope retreat. If that's the case then your love day recipient is going to have to dress the part and what better part to play than a Dior downhill skier? This timeless monogrammed puffer will service your beau both on and off the slopes for many winters to come.
Oran Sandal
Hermès
Nothing screams “I love you’ quite like a pair of luxury shearling slippers from Hermès. Perfect for those who love to stay stylish in the comfort of their own home, these iconic ‘H’ cutout sandals are as chic as it gets.
HELLO!'s selection is editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items our editors love and approve of. HELLO! may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. To find out more visit our FAQ page.
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| 2024-01-16T16:30:33Z
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BRUSSELS - The European Union imposed sanctions on Tuesday on Yahya Sinwar, the political leader of Hamas in Gaza, over the Palestinian militant group's deadly attack on Israel last October.
The decision by the European Council, which considers Hamas a terrorist organisation, makes Sinwar subject to an asset freeze in the 27-nation bloc and bars EU citizens from conducting financial transactions with him.
"The Council decided today to add one individual to the EU terrorist list," the EU executive said in a statement.
"This decision comes as part of the European Union's response to the threat posed by Hamas and its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023."
Hamas gunmen who entered Israel from the Gaza Strip killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, triggering an Israeli offensive to eliminate Hamas and secure the hostages' release that is now in its fourth month.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed what he said was a "just and moral decision" by the EU.
"This decision is also a result of our diplomatic efforts to strangle the resources of the Hamas, to delegitimize them and prohibit all support to them," Katz wrote on social media platform X. "We will continue to eradicate the root of evil, in Gaza and wherever it raises its head."
Taher Al-Nono, media advisor to Qatar-based Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, accused the EU of bias and called for an end to what he said was its "double-standard policy".
"These are ridiculous and silly sanctions, because everyone knows that Yahya Al-Sinwar has no assents or money, neither in Palestine nor outside it," he told Reuters.
"Such a decision has no value against Hamas, but the idea of imposing sanctions on the leaders of resistance and Hamas, which is resisting the (Israeli) occupation, as granted by international law, shows bias to the occupation." REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:43:49Z
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, running for a new six-year term in an election that his opponents say is a parody of democracy, said on Tuesday that past U.S. elections had been rigged by postal voting.
"In the United States, previous elections were falsified through postal voting ... they bought ballots for $10, filled them out, and threw them into mailboxes without any supervision from observers, and that's it," Putin said, without providing evidence.
Putin's opponents say the March election in Russia is no real contest as the president wields unchallenged power and his main rival, Alexei Navalny, is serving more than 30 years in jail on charges that Navalny says were trumped up.
They say the use of electronic voting creates scope for authorities to manipulate the vote in Putin's favour without detection. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:43:59Z
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BRUSSELS - A new breakaway European soccer competition proposed last month would not really be open to outsiders and would cut the revenues of non-elite clubs by more than half, one of the Super League's biggest critics said on Tuesday.
Javier Tebas, the president of the Spanish league, said that LaLiga and other domestic leagues would lose 50-55% of their revenues from a mid-week Super League competition, according to a 2022 study by KPMG.
"With the new model it's even worse," he told a small group of reporters.
European soccer governing body UEFA currently provides 96 spots in the group phases of its competitions based almost exclusively on performance in domestic leagues.
The latest Super League proposal envisages three tiers, but only gives 20 spots to its third tier league based on domestic performance, with just two teams promoted per year to the second or top tiers.
"It does not fulfil European sports law... It really is closed," Tebas said.
Tebas said this was far less open than a 2019 idea to offer access to all tiers of a three-tier European league, but which European clubs widely rejected.
The new proposal by promoter A22 is a revision of one made in 2021, when 12 major clubs proposed a breakaway league with no relegation for core members.
That new plan emerged on Dec. 21, the day the European Court of Justice delivered a verdict that gave hope to both sides, by ruling against the principle of governing bodies UEFA and FIFA restricting a new league, but not necessarily saying such a league must be approved.
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez, an ardent Super League supporter, said the ruling marked "a before and after" for football.
Tebas said he had not seen European clubs warming to the idea of league, noting some of the biggest, such as Manchester City and Bayern Munich, had publicly come out against.
Tebas said that, although interest in a Super League appeared limited for now, one had to be on guard.
"You don't always need to be worried, but you must be busy," he said. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:44:10Z
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England women's head coach Sarina Wiegman has found a "home away from home" with her team, the Dutchwoman said on Tuesday after signing a contract extension that will keep her in charge for the 2027 Women's World Cup.
The new deal was announced a day after Wiegman won FIFA's Best women's coach prize for 2023 after taking England to the Women's World Cup final for the first time in August, two years into her tenure as head coach.
"This is my home away from home," the former Netherlands player and head coach told reporters in London.
"One of my personal goals was to try and get into another culture and learn about it and connect people, that remains a challenge but I feel at home.
"Working for England, it is the biggest federation worldwide. England is at the highest level with the competition, with the players, with the way the FA approaches women's football," she added.
"We view Sarina as the number one coach in the world in the women's game and I would say (the deal amount) is according (to that)," the English FA's CEO Mark Bullingham said of Wiegman's new contract.
Wiegman, who led England to their first ever Women's European Championship title in 2022, said the team was yet to deliver on its fullest promise.
"I feel with this team we can grow so much more, I just wanted to do another tournament with this team too... it is really nice to work in England and I see a lot of potential," she said. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/football/wiegman-finds-home-away-from-home-in-england-job-says-team-can-grow-more
| 2024-01-16T16:44:20Z
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Sebastien Loeb won the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to claw back four minutes from Audi's overall leader Carlos Sainz and keep the Spaniard under pressure.
The nine-times world rally champion, who lost his way and precious time in the desert on Monday, finished the 417km stage from Ha'il to Al Ula four minutes and 14 seconds ahead of Sainz despite being slowed by two punctures.
Sainz's lead over the Prodrive Hunter driver, who is chasing his first overall win in the endurance event, was trimmed to 20 minutes and 30 seconds.
"The gap is still big, but we still have three stages to go. So, we'll see and we'll continue to push for the next three days," said Loeb.
Brazilian Lucas Moraes was in third place overall for Toyota but an hour and 12 minutes off the lead.
Triple Dakar winner Sainz was helped by team mates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel, the former going ahead to open the road and the latter following Sainz in case assistance was needed.
"At the end it was very stressful inside the car and very difficult to navigate. The three cars were together, so it was good, I knew I had some support behind me," said Sainz, the father of the Ferrari Formula One driver and namesake.
Peterhansel, a record 14-times Dakar winner on two wheels and four, said he saw Sainz hesitate a few times during the last 200km when having to lead.
"Carlos is in a good position. But Sebastien is capable of recovering 10 minutes a day, or even more if he goes to the limit," said the Frenchman.
"So, I can understand why Carlos is stressed. Having 20-25 minutes is good, but if you have a technical problem, you lose them very quickly."
Both Ekstrom and Peterhansel are out of contention for overall victory, with Audi bidding to become the first to win the event with an electric drivetrain.
The car uses an energy converter, featuring a 2.0 litre four cylinder turbo engine, to charge the car's high-voltage battery while driving.
In the motorcycle category, Honda's Adrien Van Beveren took his second stage win of this year's event with American team mate Ricky Brabec second.
Brabec extended his lead over Botswana's Ross Branch, fifth over the stage, from 42 seconds to seven minutes and nine seconds.
"I made a couple of stupid mistakes, but that's the first bad day of the rally for me, so we'll take it," said Branch.
"The pressure is kicking in now for everybody. It’s crunch time and I would have liked to have been up there a little bit closer today, but that's racing." REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:44:31Z
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SINGAPORE – Sentosa, Marina Bay and the Singapore Sports Hub could provide the backdrop when the Republic hosts the World Aquatics Championships in 2025, the first South-east Asian country to do so.
At Sport Singapore’s Spotlight Series on Jan 16, Singapore Aquatics president Mark Chay unveiled a promotional video for the event, which attracts over 2,000 athletes.
The Sports Hub will be the focal point, with plans afoot to hold the swimming and artistic swimming events at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, while water polo and diving will be at the nearby OCBC Aquatic Centre.
Open water swimming and high diving will be at Marina Bay area and Sentosa respectively.
Chay, who is co-chair of the local organising committee, said the World Aquatics Championships and World Aquatics Masters Championships will be in July and August to coincide with National Day celebrations.
Training camps for some of the 200 national federations may be hosted at local and international schools, he noted.
He added that aside from the high-performance offerings, the championships also presented opportunities to mark the country’s 60th year of independence.
He told The Straits Times: “We are still in the planning stages, and it is a work in progress, but it gives a picture of how Singapore could host the event.”
Japan, China and South Korea are the only other Asian countries to have staged the marquee event. Qatar will host the 2024 edition in February.
Said Chay: “A lot of the success we have in hosting events in Singapore is due to the private sector being innovative and thinking outside the box to be able to deliver the standards.
“I hope people in various industries like technology or fintech can be part of Singapore’s story for 2025.”
He was among the 350 stakeholders at the inaugural Spotlight networking series for the sports and fitness industry, where Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong announced several new initiatives and events to boost the sector.
The Sport Data Exchange Singapore, a web-based platform that facilitates the sharing of data among players in the sport ecosystem, was launched.
For the first time, national agency SportSG will avail data from its annual National Sport Participation Survey and selected datasets on ActiveSG facility and gym usage.
Among the benefits is helping sport facility operators, events management companies and fitness instructors to better understand demographics and trends for their businesses.
The Enterprise Innovation and Capability Development Grant, to drive collaborative research and development between sport and adjacent industries and upskill sports professionals, was also enhanced and will fund projects up to $1 million, up from the previous quantum of $180,000.
The inaugural Singapore Urban Sports and Fitness Festival – bringing together a mix of fitness racing, urban sports, mass workouts and sports conferences – will take place in August.
Mr Tong said: “We are on the cusp of a major breakthrough in sports, wellness, innovation and technology.
“With Sport Singapore and our assets at Kallang Alive, we want to be at the centre of that innovation.
“We want to drive these innovative solutions that will enable wellness in Singapore, enable Singaporeans to enjoy sports and push the boundary for all our elite sportsmen and sportswomen to push higher, faster and longer.”
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| 2024-01-16T16:44:42Z
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LONDON - Ronnie O'Sullivan's verbal spat with fellow Englishman Ali Carter following his eighth Masters title at the weekend is being looked at by the World Snooker Tour.
O'Sullivan accused Carter of being "not a nice person" and in need of counselling after his opponent criticised the 48-year-old's behaviour during the final at London's Alexandra Palace.
Carter accused the world number one of "snotting" -- clearing his nose -- "all over the floor".
"He (Carter) has got issues. He's got to go and sort his life out," O'Sullivan, nicknamed "The Rocket", said in response to the claims.
"He's got to go and see a counsellor or something. He's got to deal with that because that isn't any good.
"I don't talk to him. I haven't spoken to him for 20 years. I played with him when he was a kid, shared a lot of stuff with him. For him to come out and trash talk me like that, everybody knows what he's like, he's got issues. Why has he got issues with me? I'm not having it. I don't care."
O'Sullivan, who had a run-in with Carter in 2018 when the two players 'shoulder-barged' each other during a match, also accused his opponent of being a nightmare to play against.
"He's a nightmare. To have to play snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. (He's) not a nice person, not a nice vibe that he leaves around the table," the seven-time world champion said.
Asked for a comment on O'Sullivan and Carter's latest stand-off on Tuesday, a World Snooker Tour spokesman said the comments "were under review." REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:44:52Z
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Emma Raducanu spoke of finally being pain free as she began her Australian Open campaign with an impressive 6-3 6-2 defeat of American Shelby Rogers on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Briton won the 2021 U.S. Open in stunning fashion as a qualifier but struggled for form in 2022 and suffered an injury-ravaged 2023 in which she was sidelined since April.
A year ago in Melbourne she managed to win a round just weeks after surgery to have a cyst removed from her knee and later in the year needed a wrist operation.
But the way she moved around the court and struck the ball against Rogers, augurs well for a rapid climb back up the rankings from her current 296.
"(Last year) I travelled here on a wheelchair," she told reporters. "I only started hitting three days before the match. That whole process was a lot of stress. We weren't sure if I was going to be able to play here.
"I think this year and now there's just a lot more calm. It's amazing to be pain-free with the wrists. I honestly didn't know if I'd ever get to this stage.
"I had pain for so long. I was playing since before the U.S. swing in 2022 all the way before surgery. It was difficult because I wasn't able to train, I wasn't able to practice."
Raducanu, who scraped in to the main draw because of her protected ranking and some withdrawals of other players, was caught in a whirlwind of publicity after her remarkable run to the title at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
At times the expectation on her shoulders seemed to weigh heavily, but she looked serene on Tuesday as she delighted a supportive crowd with a classy display to set up a second round against China's Wang Yafan.
She said working with coach Nick Cavaday has been a calming factor after chopping and changing her team at regular intervals since her Grand Slam breakthrough.
"Just think setting things up how I really like. Just people around me, I think it's pretty calm now," she said. "It's nice to be with Nick. I've known him since I was a kid, feel very comfortable there.
"Just all aspects really of my life I feel like are calming down and settled. Obviously when you come back after eight months, have experienced three surgeries, you're just really grateful to be able to move freely." REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:45:02Z
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EDINBURGH - Scotland coach Gregor Townsend may have had sleepless nights weighing up his back row options for the Six Nations, believing versatility is key after leaving stalwart Hamish Watson out of his squad for their opener against Wales on Feb. 3.
Watson and experienced centre Chris Harris are two notable absentees from the 39-player selection named by Townsend on Tuesday, which includes four uncapped players.
Competition for places is strong, especially in the back row of the scrum, with Jamie Ritchie, Rory Darge, Jack Dempsey, Matt Fagerson, Luke Crosbie, Josh Bayliss and Andy Christie making the cut.
"It has been difficult to debate the strength of players, players who have done well for us in the past, those who are playing well for their clubs right now and players who are coming back from injury like Matt Fagerson and Jack Dampsey," Townsend told reporters.
"We look to get a blend of having flankers who can play six or seven, as well as players who can play number eight. That means Hamish Watson has missed out on this occasion."
Christie was absent from the World Cup in France through injury but gets a chance to impress.
"He came back at the start of the season and has played almost every game for Saracens. His consistency is good and he can play across the back row," Townsend said.
"Josh (Bayliss) has only been back in the last few weeks but has looked sharp. We are delighted he is fit at the right time."
Scotland have also selected five centres, including Rory Hutchinson, who last played against Argentina in 2022.
"Hutch has always been a player that has been close to the squad, but over the last few weeks has had to compete hard to play in a very good Northampton team. He has shown his skills-set in attack, but also a real edge in defence.
"Chris Harris has missed out. He is someone who has been an outstanding player for us and who works so hard for the team."
Scotland head to Spain for a training camp in the week before they play Wales in Cardiff, where they have not won since 2002. Townsend did enjoy a 14-10 win in Llanelli in 2020.
"Cardiff is a special place to play and we haven’t won there for a number of years," he said.
"It is a challenge we feel is right for our group after the way the World Cup ended, to show who we are and what we learnt (in France)." REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:45:13Z
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NEW YORK - Millions of Americans awoke on Tuesday to snow, freezing rain and frigid temperatures as an Arctic blast gripped much of the United States, ending a nearly two-year "snow drought" in New York City and putting much of the West into a deep freeze.
Record-breaking cold was expected across the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains and Midwest on Tuesday, with wind chills below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 34 degrees Celsius) reaching the mid-Mississippi Valley in the morning.
The lowest temperature in the country on Tuesday morning was -36 deg F (-38 deg C) in the small Colorado town of Briggsdale, population 134.
"That's crazy," Katie Sizemore, a barista at the Blue Mug Coffee Bar in Greeley, Colorado, said when told she was near the coldest spot in America.
Greeley, about 30 miles south of Briggsdale, was about 13 degrees warmer than its neighbor to the north, but Sizemore said the locals were nonetheless bracing for the cold by dressing in extra layers and cranking up heaters.
"We don't go outside for very long," Sizemore said.
In New York City, which had not received more than an inch of snow in almost two years, residents woke up to see a winter wonderland outside their windows. Manhattan's Central Park was covered by 1.4 inches as of Tuesday morning, ending a "snow drought" of 701 days without more than a dusting.
"The streak has ended!" the New York office of National Weather Service posted on Facebook, prompting users to comment on what most saw as a welcome surprise.
Overnight, 4 to 5 inches of powder painted Washington, DC white, while 2 to 3 inches fell in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
An additional 2 to 4 inches were expected throughout New England, extending into New York state, before a brief mid-week reprieve from the frigid weather, the NWS said.
Snow also blanketed the Appalachians and Western North Carolina, with Southern states experiencing unusually cold snaps, according to Bob Oravec of the NWS's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
Nashville, Tennessee, "which doesn't see a lot of heavy snow," received 6-8 inches, Oravec said. Residents of Mobile, Alabama - in the heart of the Deep South - woke up to freezing rain and a rare 31 F (-0.5 C).
Nationwide, at least five people have died as a result of the weather since the weekend, including two from hypothermia in recent days in Oregon, local media reported.
A series of major power outages this weekend were mostly fixed, but more than 50,000 customers were without electricity in Oregon on Tuesday morning. Tens of thousands were in the dark in Lousiana, Texas, and Alabama, according to data from PowerOutage.us.
The operator of the Texas power grid asked the state's residents to conserve electricity on Tuesday morning due to high demand amid the winter storm.
More than 3,000 flights in to, out of, or within the United States were canceled or delayed, with Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport and New York's LaGuardia Airport experiencing some of the worst disruptions, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:45:23Z
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KINSHASA - Police in Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday dispersed a small protest in the capital Kinshasa against the provisional results of the December legislative election, the latest flare-up in tensions over the disputed poll.
Around 50 supporters of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) party briefly took to the streets on Tuesday morning to dispute the number of seats the party won.
They set tyres on fire and chanted slogans critical of the electoral commission before police moved in, beating some participants and arresting others, a Reuters reporter said.
The police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The protesters said the make-up of the National Assembly does not reflect the MLC's true election performance. The party is led by Defence Minister Jean-Pierre Bemba - an ally of re-elected President Felix Tshisekedi - and a member of the ruling coalition.
Tshisekedi's UDPS party won 69 seats in the December parliamentary election, up from 35 in the 2018 election, placing it ahead of more than 40 other parties. The MLC won 19 seats, compared to 17 in 2018, according to the provisional results announced this week.
Congo's opposition parties have repeatedly denounced the election as fraudulent and called for a re-run - a demand authorities have dismissed.
The fallout from the vote threatens to further destabilise Congo, the world's third-largest copper producer, and the top producer of cobalt, a battery component needed for the green energy transition.
Divisions within Tshisekedi's ruling Sacred Union coalition, which held over 390 seats in the outgoing legislature, could jeopardise the majority he needs to name a new government.
A senior MLC member, who did not wish to be named, said he believed the number of seats that the MLC had officially won was too low, but that the party did not endorse protests.
The results of the legislative vote followed the Constitutional Court's confirmation of Tshisekedi's landslide re-election in the disputed Dec. 20-24 general election. Voting was marred by allegations of fraud, widespread logistical setbacks and other irregularities.
Independent observers and several Western leaders have also raised doubts about the vote's credibility. The election commission has acknowledged irregularities took place but said they did not affect the results. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:45:34Z
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BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's President Javier Milei was en route by commercial jet to the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland on Tuesday, taking selfies with passengers on board and criticizing what he called the event's "socialist agenda".
The trip marks the right-wing Milei's first overseas tour since he took office last month following a rapid ascent for the relative political newcomer who made his name as an acid-tongued economist and television pundit.
At home he is battling to fix Argentina's worst economic crisis in decades with an austerity package that he hopes can tame annual inflation above 200%, build up foreign currency reserves now in the red and lure back investment.
While he has moderated after a brash election campaign where he often wielded a chainsaw to reflect his plans to slash the size of the state, Milei has stood by some of his more extreme pledges including plans to eventually shut the central bank.
Asked by reporters on his flight about his plans at Davos, he said he aimed to "seed ideas of freedom in a forum that is contaminated by the 2030 socialist agenda, which will only bring misery to the world".
Milei took selfies and videos with surprised passengers on board, a reflection of his penchant for the dramatic but also underscoring how he has been able to click with regular people in Argentina fed up with the political status quo.
On his personal account on X, Milei re-posted videos from on board the plane. His spokesman Manuel Adorni explained in a post that the president had traveled commercial to save what he calculated as over $300,000.
Milei traveled with a small delegation including his foreign minister Diana Mondino, Cabinet chief Nicolás Posse, Minister of Economy Luis Caputo and his sister Karina Milei, who is also the Secretary General of the Presidency.
In addition to Davos, the delegation will meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva, a week after reaching an agreement with IMF staff over the latest review of the country's troubled $44 billion program. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T16:45:36Z
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VIENNA - An Austrian man who held his daughter captive for 24 years and fathered seven children with her could be transferred from a unit for the criminally insane to prison where he would be eligible to apply for release, a court official said on Tuesday.
The 88-year-old man, widely known as Josef Fritzl but who now has a new name, was sentenced in 2009 to life imprisonment in the special unit. If transferred to a regular jail, he could apply for early release on parole 15 years after his conviction.
He was convicted of incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.
An expert opinion on Fritzl's medical condition is being assessed to see if he can be transferred to a regular detention facility, a spokesperson for the regional court of Krems said. Austria's Kronen Zeitung was first to report the expert opinion.
The court spokesperson said it was unclear how long such an assessment would take, estimating it could range from weeks to a couple of months.
If transferred to prison, Fritzl's lawyer could in a second step submit an application for early release.
His lawyer told German daily Bild she had already prepared such an application, adding the aim would be to transfer the man to a nursing home.
Fritzl imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth in the basement of the family home when she was 18. Three of the seven children he fathered with Elisabeth lived with her until they were freed in 2008.
Fritzl and his wife fostered the other three surviving children after Fritzl claimed Elisabeth had given birth to them and then abandoned them to join a religious sect.
He burnt the remains of the seventh child, who died shortly after birth, in the house furnace. REUTERS
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GENEVA - The world needs to take far more action to slash greenhouse gas emissions, with soaring temperatures a huge concern, the new head of the United Nations’ climate agency warned on Jan 16.
Ms Celeste Saulo said humanity was facing one of its toughest challenges and had the duty to sculpt a brighter future.
“We are far from having enough action in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, and that is really a concern,” she said in her first press conference as secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
“Humanity is facing one of its most complex challenges – climate change,” she said.
“Over the next years, we have an opportunity, a duty and a possibility, to shape the narrative on climate action.
“We are not mere observers; we are architects of a sustainable future.”
She said adapting to climate change was no longer a choice but a necessity, as was building up the capacity to resist and recover from climate-related disasters.
“Under my leadership, we will fortify early warning systems, enhance data accessibility, and make science and timely, life-saving information accessible to all,” said Ms Saulo.
“It will not be an easy road, but if we have strength and determination, we will ride it for our global family and for generations to come.”
Ms Saulo, 59, had run the Argentinian National Meteorological Service from 2014 before becoming the WMO’s first woman leader, taking office earlier in January.
She wants to make sure everyone on the planet is covered by first-class early warning systems for incoming weather hazards, and improve global greenhouse gas monitoring through integrated space- and surface-based observations.
She said her imprint would be “on the how, not on the what”.
“If we fail at implementation, we would be failing the world. Here is where my strength will be focused,” the WMO chief said.
Ms Saulo said 30 countries were particularly prone to climate hazards and needed rapidly improved early warnings. They are mostly small island states and countries in Africa.
“By the end of 2024, we will show you concrete results at the level of those 30 countries,” she pledged.
Ms Saulo said resource mobilisation for climate action was far too slow and bureaucratic. “Sometimes when they make a decision, it takes two to three years to have the money in place. We cannot allow those timescales for action.”
The 2015 Paris climate accord aimed to limit global warming to well below 2 deg C above pre-industrial levels – and 1.5 deg C if possible.
The WMO said on Jan 12 that the 2023 annual average global temperature was 1.45 deg C above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) – the warmest year on record.
The nine hottest individual years on record were the last nine.
“What the atmosphere is telling us is that the trend is there, and we should really be worried about this trend,” said Ms Saulo. AFP
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MOSCOW - A court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior officer in the National Guard to six years in a prison colony after convicting him of buying equipment unable to protect the bridge which links southern Russia to Crimea, the TASS state news agency reported.
TASS said that Colonel Sergei Volkov had purchased two radar-based air defence systems for 395 million roubles ($4.5 million) which were meant to be able to bring down Ukrainian attack drones by suppressing their signal.
A military court in Moscow had determined that the equipment - which was also meant to protect a gas pipeline running from southern Russia to Crimea - needed modernising and upgrading to be effective and had found Volkov guilty of abusing his position, it said.
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that Kyiv and the West do not recognise and say was illegal.
Volkov was reported to deny his guilt, saying he had acted within the law, and that the equipment was in fact intended to protect National Guard troops in various locations.
The Kommersant newspaper reported that Volkov's oversight had left the bridge being "within range of (Ukrainian) fire."
The road and rail bridge was a flagship project for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opened it to road traffic to much fanfare by driving a truck across it in 2018.
After Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the bridge became a prime target for the Ukrainian military and special services.
It was severely damaged in October 2022 by a massive explosion.
Russian officials said the blast was caused by a lorry that exploded while driving over the bridge, killing three people. A few months later, in July 2023, Ukrainian security services claimed responsibility for the explosion. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/russia-jails-officer-for-buying-wrong-hardware-to-protect-crimean-bridge-from-ukrainian-attack-tass
| 2024-01-16T16:46:07Z
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KYIV - Ukraine's border authorities said that Polish truck drivers who had been blocking three crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border lifted their blockade at two of them on Tuesday.
"Today, Polish strikers unblocked the Korczowa-Krakowiets checkpoint. As of this hour, about 300 trucks are queuing to enter Ukraine from the Polish side," the customs service said on the Telegram messaging app.
Later the border service said protesters had halted their blockade at the Rava-Ruska crossing.
"Registration and passage of freight vehicles across the border in both directions is going ahead in the usual manner," the service said.
It said that nearly 700 trucks were waiting to enter Ukraine at the two crossings.
Polish hauliers had been demanding that the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers entering Ukraine.
Poland's infrastructure minister said earlier on Tuesday that truckers who have blockaded Ukraine crossings since November would suspend their protest until March 1 after signing an agreement with the government.
Ukraine says the blockade has caused serious economic losses and has hampered its war effort. It says cross-border transportation has increased because of the war and the fact that its main export and imports routes through the Black Sea were blocked. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-polish-protesters-lift-blockade-of-two-border-crossings
| 2024-01-16T16:46:18Z
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the West on Tuesday to show a united front against Russian President Vladimir Putin and to step up its support for Kyiv to ensure that Moscow did not prevail in the war.
Western hesitation in its backing for Kyiv and fears of an escalation in the war with Russia were costing time and could prolong the fighting by years, he told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"In fact, Putin embodies war ... He will not change ... We must change. We all must change to the extent that the madness that resides in this man's head or any other aggressor's head will not prevail," Zelenskiy said.
Nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Zelenskiy told the forum he strongly opposed freezing the conflict along its current lines.
"Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products," he said.
The forum comes as Kyiv's troops are going onto a more defensive footing after a major counteroffensive last year was unable to break through Russian defensive lines in Ukraine's occupied south and east.
Kyiv is now focused on trying to secure Western assistance held up by political wrangling in the U.S. Congress and Brussels, reforming its conscription effort to replenish manpower and addressing artillery shortages at the front.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech, Zelenskiy said he had received "positive signals" about the unlocking of financial support from the European Union.
He said he hoped that the United States would approve further aid within weeks.
Zelenskiy met senior officials earlier on the sidelines of the forum, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and international investors such as executives from JPMorgan. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-urges-western-unity-to-stop-russia
| 2024-01-16T16:46:28Z
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NIR OZ, Israel - Israelis released from captivity in Gaza reconvened in their ravaged border village on Tuesday to hold a solemn first-birthday ceremony for the infant of a family still held hostage.
Kfir Bibas was eight-months-old when Hamas-led Palestinian gunmen stormed Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 as part of a cross-border killing spree in southern Israel, and became the youngest of some 240 people taken back to the Gaza Strip as captives.
Hamas has said that Kfir, his four-year-old brother Ariel and their mother Shiri were killed in the Israeli offensive that ensued, while their father, Yarden, survived. But in the absence of Israeli corroboration, relatives and friends back home have refused to let hope die for the whole family's safe recovery.
A bower of ginger balloons - a nod to Kfir's hair colour - stood in the abandoned Nir Oz kindergarten, and his pictures signalled places at a table where celebrants should have sat.
"We're marking a birthday to a kid who's not here. We make him a cake, we put balloons, pictures, and blessings and everything and he's not here," Shiri's cousin, Yosi Shnaider, told Reuters. "It's crazy."
Kfir would turn one-year-old on Thursday, at which point he would have spent a third of his life as a hostage. Meanwhile, Nir Oz has been frozen in time and trauma, with more than a quarter of residents either killed or taken captive, and survivors fleeing.
Israel recovered around half of the hostages in a November truce, among them Nir Oz resident Sharon Alony Cunio and her three-year-old twin daughters Emma and Julie. Cunio's husband remains incommunicado in Gaza, however, with 131 other hostages.
Worry for their fate grips a country that, after the worst attack in its history, has settled into the grim resolve of war - especially as Israeli officials, based on various sources of information, say at least 25 hostages have died in captivity.
"I can't sleep. I suffer from nightmares. The girls ask about their father constantly," said Cunio, who visited her now-burned out home in the formerly placid agricultural collective.
"I wake up in the morning with one purpose only - David made me promise him that I will fight for him. That I will scream his despair to the world as he is unable to do so."
Hamas on Monday aired video purporting to show the bodies of two other hostages who it said were killed in an Israeli strike. Without immediately confirming their deaths, Israel disputed the Hamas account in the video it deemed "psychological torture".
Qatari and Egyptian mediators have been trying to cobble together a new truce that might free some more hostages, even as Israel presses on with its devastating offensive to destroy Hamas and the Palestinian militants vow to fight on. REUTERS
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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/freed-gaza-hostages-mark-birthday-of-baby-still-in-captivity
| 2024-01-16T16:46:38Z
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My favorite quote of all time is that of General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett (The TV Series Blackadder Goes Forth): “If nothing else works, a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.” The perception of the war and the calls for negotiations are but two examples of the former.
The calls keep popping up at irregular intervals despite the lack of empirical data suggesting that it would solve anything at all. Between 2014 and 2022, Ukraine held approximately 200 rounds of negotiations with Russia in various formats as well as 20 attempts to establish a cease-fire. For Russia, the negotiations had three purposes: To stop the West from arming Ukraine; to keep the West from engaging directly in the war and most importantly, to ensure victory by non-military means. It was never planning to withdraw and end the war.
On the contrary – and despite hundreds of negotiations -Russia chose to turn peace into a crisis, conflict, and full-scale war.
The many calls for negotiation ignore the effects the proposals have on Russia’s war efforts. They help fuel the war. They confirm its belief that the West will falter, and that victory is within reach.
The calls are also made despite the effect they have on the West. They create the notion that peace is achievable by political means, undermining the US and Europe’s urgent need to invest in security and defence. It reduces the sense of urgency and the need to mobilise the Defence Industrial Base (DIB), rebuild the Armed Forces of the NATO member states and build sustainability. Creating a false hope for peace, the call for negotiation undermines Western support for Ukraine.
The calls are feeble efforts to describe a non-existing way out of a broader confrontation that the West is doing its best to avoid and Russia is doing its best to pursue.
Still, the cynical, ignorant, the naïve, the incompetent or the pro-Russian voices are allowed to inject the folly of negotiation into the public debate.
I recognize that the words chosen are not particularly diplomatic. However, after 10 years of half-hearted attempts – 10 years of increasing horror, suffering, and devastation – it is time to draw a line and acknowledge that the time for diplomacy is behind us.
Russia does not need negotiations to end the war. It simply needs to stop fighting and withdraw. Russia only needs the negotiations to secure a Russian victory.
Just look at the Minsk Agreements from 2014 and 2015.
The Minsk agreements were nothing but a Russian trap and an integrated part of its Hybrid War. The Minsk agreements were accepted as a “peace agreement” even though they were signed under duress and would never have led to peace. One of their obvious shortcomings was that they did not cover the full scale and scope of the Hybrid War Russia was waging. It did not include Crimea. It did not include the maritime domain. It did not limit its use of non-military means.
Russia demanded changes to the Ukrainian constitution and, consequently, a federalization of Ukraine. This would have allowed pro-Russian forces to effectively block any Ukrainian alignment with the EU and NATO. They would be able to stop the reform process. The loss of Western support would have followed suit, leaving Ukraine at the mercy of its aggressive, imperialistic neighbor.
The Minsk Agreements did buy Ukraine time to regenerate and rebuild its Armed Forces. Unfortunately, the agreements concurrently stopped the West from supplying lethal aid to allow Ukraine to re-establish deterrence. The agreements, however, allowed Russia to prepare for a full-scale war. It continued the ongoing process of modernizing its Armed Forces, building new bases and relocating military forces close to Ukraine’s international border, militarise the Crimean Peninsula, establishing, manning, equipping, training, and testing the 1st and 2nd Army Corps inside Donbas, uphold its Hybrid War.
The Western resolve was tested and found lacking mostly because of the Minsk Agreement. It demonstrated extreme cynicism by signing on to a “peace plan” (Minsk Agreement and Protocol) as the only alternative for a peaceful resolution of the war, even though it by default could not possibly secure peace.
When discussing the notion of negotiations 10 years into the war, one first needs to address some key questions. Who are the parties to the war and who should negotiate? What should be negotiated? Why should “someone” negotiate? Are the parties seeking negotiations?
Who should negotiate?
Russia does not see Ukraine as a sovereign and independent country. It is seen as an inevitable part of the Russian Federation. Parts of Ukraine are viewed as Russia’s historical territories. According to Putin, true sovereignty of Ukraine is possible only in “partnership” with Russia. The two populations are falsely portrayed as one people, sharing the same ethnicity, culture, history, and language. Ukraine was never Russia’s enemy.
On 14 December 2023, Putin referred to the war in Ukraine as a “civil war between brothers who stand on different sides [of the conflict]” for which the West is responsible. The point is – and in the words of Vitaliy Portnikov – “the Russian president does not care about the opinion of Ukrainian society at all. He is not going to conduct any negotiations. He treats Ukraine as a rebellious imperial province whose will to resist must be broken by years of war of attrition”.
The West, however, was always defined as Russia’s enemy. Russian foreign policy focuses on its conflict with the West. Not Ukraine.
It’s reflected in its historical narrative It is manifested in President Putin’s article ”On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians“ from July 2021. It is stated in the article “Where has chaos gone? Unpacking instability” by the former advisor of President Putin, Vladislav Surkov, published only three months before the full-scale invasion. It is echoed in Russia’s “ultimatums” to NATO and the US on 17 December 2021. It is stated in Russia’s new foreign policy doctrine identifying the West as an existential threat. It is not least reflected in its actions, having waged a Hybrid War against both the US and Europe for years.
Russia has strenuously argued that it is at war with the West. It accuses the US, NATO and the EU are waging an information war, economic war, proxy war, hybrid war and total war against Russia. Sanctions are portrayed as an act of aggression.
The Kremlin is arguing that its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is a part of its total war for national survival. On 14 March 2023, President Putin stressed that “For us, it is a fight for the survival of Russian statehood, because our adversary [the West] […], have one goal – and we know this from previous decades – which is to destabilise us and pull our country apart.”
In July 2023, Colonel-General Andrey Mordvichev, who has been commanding the Central Military District and Russian Central Grouping of Forces in Ukraine, indicated that Russia might have plans to expand the war in Ukraine to Eastern Europe. When asked about how long the war in Ukraine will last, Mordvichev responded that he believes Russia has to attack Eastern Europe. Ukraine is just a stepping stone to other attacks.
His words were recently echoed by the Swedish Chief of Defence, Micael Bydén, stressing that Russia’s war in Ukraine is a step, not an end goal in its ambition to establish a sphere of interest.” The German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, pointed out that Europe could be facing dangers from Russia by the end of this decade. Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia, believes that Europe has 3-5 years to prepare for a possible military threat from Russia.
Russia’s war in Ukraine is only a part of a broader confrontation with the West as it is seeking parity with the US and China. Parity at the cost of the West.
Calling for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine is, therefore, rather senseless. Russia is waging war against the West. The Russian Federation is seeking strategic parity with the US. Ukraine is only a small – but crucial – object in its strategy to achieve Great Power status. Ukraine unlocks the economic, technological, demographical, and geostrategic preconditions to establish the power needed to exercise its influence on the European continent.
That’s not to say that Ukraine is not fighting for its very existence. It is. Russia does, however, not see itself fighting Ukraine, but the West that is “fighting Russia, with the help of Ukrainians”.
If calls for negotiations are to have any meaning at all – irrespective of their chance of success – they should call for negotiations between the West and Russia.
What should be negotiated?
The war started on 20 February 2014 despite Russia’s feeble attempt to deny its direct involvement. Russia not only invaded and illegally invaded Crimea, but it also occupied parts of Donbas, started a Hybrid War across Europe, tried to destabilise Ukraine from within, started a maritime blockade of Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov and restricted the Freedom of Navigation in the Black Sea.
If we allow ourselves to uphold the rather naïve idea that Ukraine is the end goal of Russia’s war, we need to recognize that Russia had no territorial claims in Ukraine.
Russia recognized its international borders in 1994 when signing the Budapest Memorandum, promising to respect Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty in the existing borders. It was reaffirmed in the “The Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation” in 1997. The treaty recognised the inviolability of existing borders, respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment to peaceful settlement of disputes, and the non-use of force or threat of force. It was finally formalised in the 2003 “Treaty between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on the Ukrainian-Russian State border”.
The Crimean Peninsula was acknowledged as Ukrainian right up until the moment Russia invaded and illegally annexed the territory.
Russia stresses that it has never rejected negotiations. Russia “only” demands “denazification, demilitarisation, and a neutral status for Ukraine”. Additionally, Ukraine must accept the “new territorial reality“: Russian illegal annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea (beyond what it is presently occupying). According to former President Medvedev, “Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk (Dnipro – ed.), Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Kyiv are Russian cities, like many other temporarily occupied ones.” Medvedev highlighted that talks would not change Russia’s plans to seek Ukraine’s surrender.
I will explain the folly of negotiating any of these demands later. At this stage, it suffices to say that the Russian demands are equal to the elimination of Ukrainian statehood.
When calling for negotiations and territorial compromises, however, one needs to realize that these are not what’s on the table.
Russia is seeking the elimination of Ukraine. That’s not negotiable. Russia might be willing to discuss the timeline (e.g., a temporary ceasefire along the present frontline), but its operational level objective remains the same. Full control over Ukraine.
When calling for negotiations one must acknowledge Russia’s strategic demands.
On 17 December, Russia published both a draft treaty between the USA and the Russian Federation “on security guarantees”, as well as a draft agreement on “measures to ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization”.
NATO was being told to refrain from any further enlargement. Russia wants to regulate NATO force posture in all countries that joined the Alliance after 1997 (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia). Having started wars in Europe, Russia wants to limit the Alliance’s ability to forward deploy units in response to its aggressive foreign policy.
By demanding the USA to refrain from flying heavy bombers or deploying surface warships, including in the framework of the Alliance, in areas “where they can attack targets in the territory” of Russia, they call on NATO in principle to refrain from operating in the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Barents Sea and the Arctic, as well as the airspace over Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
The USA is being told to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Europe and eliminate all existing infrastructure on the continent.
Russia is in essence demanding a sphere of interest covering not only Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine but also a greater part of NATO territory.
It is asking the US to withdraw from Europe to the benefit of Russia. It is seeking to redefine the international security architecture.
Should we accept negotiations on these terms, or should we defend our shared values and counter Russian aggression? Calling for Ukrainian concessions will only help strengthen the Russian ultimatums.
Why should “someone” negotiate?
Ukraine has been exposed to 10 years of Russian aggression. A low-intensity conflict has turned into a full-scale war. It is fighting for its right to exist. Presently, 17,8% of its territory is illegally occupied.
The humanitarian costs are massive. While OHCHR has recorded “only” 29,500 civilian casualties so far, information indicates that as many as 150-200,000 might have been killed. The city of Mariupol alone is believed to have suffered 100,000 – 113,000 killed.
More than 6.34 million Ukrainians are refugees and 3.67 million internally displaced persons. Approximately 14.6 million people – a staggering 41% of the current population – now need humanitarian assistance and protection. Additionally, millions have been forcibly displaced to Russia. Ukraine’s demography has undergone dramatic changes due to Russian aggression.
Ukrainian cities and settlements are subject to massive and methodical destruction by Russia. The total amount of direct damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure caused due to the war as of June 2023 exceeded $151,2 billion. 167,200 residential buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Ukraine’s energy sector, industrial and agricultural base are being devastated. With 156,000 square kilometers of territory mined, it has become the most mined country in the world.
A joint assessment from March 2023 by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Commission, and the United Nations, estimated that the cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine to US $411 billion. Ten months later, the estimate has increased.
Ukraine has also partly lost access to the sea and its maritime resources in its Maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. The maritime cluster – and therefore the Ukrainian economy – is greatly suffering from the Russian maritime blockade and its continuous attacks on its ports and infrastructure. Since 18 July, 180 port infrastructure facilities have been entirely or partially destroyed.
Ukraine, being exposed to genocide, crimes against humanity, ecocide, and massive destruction, desperately wants peace.
If Ukraine believed that negotiations would secure peace, security, and stability it would eagerly seek a political solution to the war. More than 200 rounds of negotiations with Russia in various formats have, however, been held between February 2014 and October 2022.
On 4 October 2022, President Zelensky signed a decree that banned Ukrainian talks with Putin, leaving the door open to talks with a future new president of Russia. “He does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia,” Zelensky said.
The decree was signed in response to President Putin’s decrees on 29 September to illegally annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In a ceremony in the Kremlin, he said Russia would formally incorporate Ukraine— and that the people living there would “be our citizens forever.” The Federation Council unanimously ratified legislation to annex the Ukrainian oblasts on 4 October, following a similar vote in the State Duma the day before.
Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories have since been exposed to an intense “passportification” campaign to force them to accept Russian citizenship. They are “subjected to threats, intimidation, restrictions on humanitarian aid and basic necessities, and possible detention or deportation – all designed to force them to become Russian citizens.”
The Ukrainian decree on negotiations is not least, a result of 10 years of war, atrocities, horror, and destruction. Nearly ten years of negotiations allowed Russia to prepare for a full-scale war.
When Putin allegedly was quietly signaling that he was open to a Cease-Fire in Ukraine, Ukrainians couldn’t hear him over the sound of explosions. On 29 December, Russia launched 158 missiles and drones against Ukraine.
Putin wants to freeze war in Ukraine, claims NYT. Should we believe it?
Given past experience, the ever-escalating war, the level of suffering and destruction, the Russian prerequisites for negotiations and, not least, the fundamental nature of the war, who can rightfully ask Ukraine to negotiate on whether they should live or die?
That is what is at stake.
Ukraine is fighting for its right to exist. Russia is fighting for Great Power status in which the defeat and integration of Ukraine into the Russian Federation is crucial. Having started an unjust and unprovoked war there is no turning back. It has turned friends into enemies. It is either victorious (and a future Great Power) or defeated (and a pariah state in the international community).
The war is, however, no less fundamental for the West. European security is inevitably linked to an independent, sovereign and complete Ukraine. In the words of Borrell: “If Ukraine loses, we lose.”
Ukraine has long defined its preconditions for negotiations. It demands the restoration of territorial integrity, respect for the UN Charter, compensation for all damages caused by the war, punishment of every war criminal and guarantees that this will not happen again. President Zelensky has since presented his 10-point peace plan. The plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops, cessation of hostilities, and restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia.
Ukraine’s formula for peace: Russia withdraws from Ukraine, returns POWs and deportees, pays reparations – Zelenskyy
Russia should be forced to withdraw. Ukraine should not be forced to negotiate (e.g., by limiting or stopping Western defense aid).
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war.” (Winston Churchill to Neville Chamberlain)
Are the parties seeking negotiations in good faith?
For those who care to listen, both Russia and Ukraine have stated their prerequisites for negotiations. Only one of them is according to international law.
There are no signs whatsoever of Russia seeking negotiations in good faith. It did not need to start an unjust war only to seek peace through negotiations. Ten years of an ever-escalating war has shown that Russia only sees negotiations as a tool to influence key policy and decision-makers, media, and public opinion in the West. It is a means to secure a Russian victory.
There is, however, no mismatch between its strategic narrative and its actions on the battlefield if one cares to dig deeper than just its hints of negotiation. It demands a Ukrainian surrender while trying to defeat it on the battlefields: at Land, at Sea, in the Air Space, the Cyber Space and the Cognitive Space. In Ukraine, Europe, and the US.
More importantly, Russia has clearly stated its demands to the US and NATO. The Alliance quickly rejected most of its ultimatums from December 2021. Its prerequisites for negotiations with Ukraine are even less acceptable than its demands to the US and NATO.
Russia is not seeking peace. It is seeking domination.
So why are negotiations presently pointless?
- Russia didn’t start a war in 2014 to end up with no gains 10 years later. On the contrary, an ever-escalating war demonstrates that its strategic aim and objectives remain unchanged. It intends to win and believes that victory is still within reach for lack of Western resolve.
- The war is fundamental. One cannot possibly ask Ukraine to negotiate about their rights to exist. Nor should one expect an imperialistic and aggressive Russia to give up its Great Power ambitions. Both are willing to fight for their aim and objectives, despite only one being just and legitimate.
- More than 200 negotiations and 20 ceasefire agreements did not stop the full-scale invasion. The process has demonstrated that Russia only sees negotiation as a tool to influence key policy and decision-makers, media, and public opinion in the West. It is a means to secure a Russian victory. Ukrainian sovereignty and independence have never been an objective as it in Russia’s perspective, does not exist.
- Russia has violated about four hundred different international treaties to which Ukraine is a party. This includes the UN Charter; UN Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism; UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; the Corpus of conventions governing the laws and customs of war; International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict; UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Russia has violated the CSCE Final Act 1975, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Statute of the Council of Europe. It has not least violated the Budapest Memorandum and the “Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation, and Partnership between Ukraine and the Russian Federation”. Russia cannot possibly be trusted to honor a Peace Agreement. Even if Ukraine successfully evicts Russian forces from its territory, Russia will remain a constant threat.
- The idea that Ukraine has no independent identity and no basis to continue to exist as an independent state is deeply rooted in the Russian mindset. Ukraine is, therefore, not a party to Russian negotiations. Russia is only seeking a Ukrainian surrender. Since the “Russia-Ukraine War” is only a part of a broader confrontation between Russia and the West – a battle between the autocratic Russian World and the liberal democracies – any calls for negotiations must be addressed to the West.
- Ukraine has long defined its prerequisites for talks, one being the withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, and restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia. That is its starting point for any future talks with Russia. Ukraine – not NATO, the EU, or the US – decides when negotiations on the war in Ukraine are relevant. Negotiation is presently not on the table.
- Given the fundamental nature of the war, any “Peace Agreement” will be only temporary. Freezing the present frontline would be at the peril of Ukraine and, consequently the West. It would be enormously advantages to Russia. Ukraine would be left without any territory to trade when absorbing the initial shock of the next assault. “Major urban areas with total pre-war populations of over five million (a bit over 11% of Ukraine’s total pre-war population) are within 160 kilometres (100 miles) of the current front lines.” While Russia would be able to rest its forces, force generate new forces, rebuild stocks of missiles, ammunition, and drones, and not least, concentrate forces for a decisive assault, Ukraine would be forced to maintain its present forces at high readiness along a 1,200 km long frontline. It would be economically exhausting and tremendously dangerous.
- If Russia succeeds in forcing the West – and consequently Ukraine – to compromise, it will be seen as a Russian victory. The costs of failure will be enormous. The US and NATO have demonstrated their shortcomings and, consequently, lost their ability to deter future conflicts. Russia will emerge as an even more assertive, aggressive, and militarily qualified Great Power at NATO’s borders.
- Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Having held more than 200 talks to avoid a war Russia was determined to win, it is high time to acknowledge that negotiations cannot possibly resolve the war in Ukraine nor the broader confrontation. Negotiation will not stop Russian aggression. Peace can only be restored through resolve and military power.
Unless, of course, one believes that “a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through.”
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/9-reasons-negotations-with-russia-are-utterly-pointless/
| 2024-01-16T16:54:20Z
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In its latest intelligence update, the UK Defense Ministry says that despite some territorial gains, the Russian offensive in the Donbas region has stalled in the face of staunch Ukrainian resistance against encirclement attempts of strategic towns. Meanwhile, Ukrainian marines keep maintaining a bridgehead in Kherson Oblast.
The ministry wrote:
- Over the last week, neither Russian nor Ukrainian forces have taken any significant ground. Despite progress in late December 2023 in capturing Marinka, Russia has been unable to capitalise and advance either westwards towards Kurakhove or south towards Novomykhalivka.
- The encirclement of Avdiivka likely remains Russia’s key line of effort; however, to date Russia has made very limited territorial gains at a significant cost in both materiel and personnel. The northern town Stepove remains under Ukrainian control which secures access to the Avdiivka supply route. Russian attempts to isolate the town are unlikely for at least the next week.
- Ukrainian marines continue to maintain their bridgehead at Krynky on the eastern bank of the Dnipro, despite Russian attempts to dislodge them. They will highly likely continue to contest this territory for the next week.
Read also:
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/uk-intel-russias-eastern-assaults-bog-down-as-ukraine-stymies-encirclements-maintains-bridgehead-in-south/
| 2024-01-16T16:55:00Z
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The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s parliament) supported the law no. 10062 on creating a unified electronic database of persons liable for military service and the automatic issuance of combatant certificates for Ukrainian combat veterans, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine reported.
This law is part of the Ukrainian government’s attempts to amend Ukraine’s legislation related to mobilization, military registration, and military service amid the ongoing war of attrition against Russia, which requires Ukraine to mobilize all available resources effectively.
After long and complicated discussions, 249 of 450 Ukrainian MPs voted in favor of the bill no. 10062. This law will unlock the digitalization of the Ukrainian army and allow information to be stored in military cloud storage facilities of NATO member states.
Consideration and adoption of a draft law by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine includes discussion and approval of the main provisions in general, discussion and approval of the article-by-article, and as a whole (consideration in three readings or votes). The Verkhovna Rada considers draft laws according to the procedure of three readings (three rounds of votes). Thus, draft law no. 10062 was adopted in the final reading and will become law.
The Defense Ministry of Ukraine issued a statement to support the law no. 10062. This law will improve the register of conscripts, persons liable for military service, and reservists, the Defense Ministry of Ukraine commented on Facebook.
“The draft law introduces the possibility of creating and using a digital military registration document (certificate) and will create a register of servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Special Transport Service, which will allow for the provision of online services to Ukrainian servicemen,” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry commented.
On 26 December 2023, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, held a briefing in Kyiv for journalists where he addressed various crucial topics, including military mobilization and demobilization, the situation on the frontlines, and strategic planning for 2024.
Discussing mobilization, Zaluzhnyi stated that the military command is constantly formulating requests for crucial resources such as ammunition, weapons, and human resources.
Regarding the mobilization figures for the next year, Zaluzhnyi noted that these are calculated based on the current military complement, the formation of new military units, and the projection of potential losses in 2024. He emphasized the confidentiality of these figures, stating, “It’s a military secret.”
Related:
- UK intel: Russia’s eastern assaults bog down as Ukraine stymies encirclements, maintains bridgehead in south
- Ukrainian intel: Russia’s recent missile attacks targeted Ukraine’s defense industry
- Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief addresses mobilization and frontline situation in briefing
- Zelenskyy addresses key issues in year-end press conference
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/ukraine-passes-law-to-enhance-military-readiness-and-veteran-welfare/
| 2024-01-16T16:55:40Z
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The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified that at least 592 civilians were killed or injured in Ukraine in December 2023, which constitutes a 26.5% increase compared to the previous month, mostly due to intensified Russian air attacks.
“The number of reported civilian casualties, some of which are still pending verification, suggest that the increase was even higher. The increase in civilian casualties in December breaks a trend of decreasing numbers of civilian casualties in 2023,” the report published by Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reads.
The report attributes the rise in civilian casualties in December primarily to escalated missile and loitering munitions attacks by Russian armed forces on December 29 and 30 across Ukraine. Such attacks accounted for 34% of civilian casualties in December, up from 16% in November. The majority of civilian casualties (84%) and damage to educational and health facilities (92%) persisted in areas under government control.
The report mentions two significant incidents:
- On 29 December, massive missile attacks targeted Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Lviv, as well as other towns and villages in Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Cherkasy and Kyiv oblasts. At least 21 civilians were killed (11 men and 10 women) and 85 injured (51 men, 29 women, three boys, and two girls) in the attacks.
- On 30 December, a missile strike in Kharkiv injured 26 civilians (13 women, 11 men and two boys). A supermarket, a small shopping center, a barber shop, several stores, a coffee place, and at least five residential buildings were damaged.
Read also:
- Police: Russia bombs Donetsk’s New York, injuring three
- Russian missiles strike Kharkiv hotel, injuring 11, including Turkish journalists
- Russia’s attacks on Donetsk Oblast kill 12 civilians, injure 10 more over past day
- Death toll from Russia’s late December missile strike on Kyiv rises to 29
- Military: Ukraine downs 114 of 158 missiles and drones during Russia’s “most massive” air attack
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/un-26-5-surge-in-ukraine-civilian-casualties-in-december-due-to-intensified-russian-air-attacks/
| 2024-01-16T16:56:20Z
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Beauty
These Are The 21 Best New Perfumes To Shop Now
And the five biggest fragrance trends to know.
If the wild popularity of #FragranceTok is any indication (the hashtag currently has 2.2 billion views), beauty lovers are all more obsessed with perfumes than ever before. The days of testing fragrances only in the hopes of honing in on a signature scent seem to be a left in the past. And who wouldn’t want to explore the options of having a robust scent wardrobe? With all kinds of brands ranging from designer to niche constantly coming out with new fragrances, there are endless promises of new personalities you can slip in and out of with just a spritz.
In the hopes of increasing your fragrance collection, it might be hard to know what to buy that will not only expand your fragrance horizons, but also satisfy your sensibilities (especially when shopping almost exclusively online). So, we asked some of the top perfume creators about the types of scents everyone is going to be loving this season, from the nostalgic to the unexpected. Read on for the five biggest upcoming fragrance trends and the new perfumes you’ll be lusting over this season.
1. Going Nuts
Tasty gourmand scents including notes of vanilla, chocolate, and caramel have been increasingly popular over the past few years and the trend shows no sign of slowing down. But now, the next evolution of delectable perfumes is here: buttery and sweet nut-inspired scents. “We're nuts for nuts,” says Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn. “The nutty aspect [of gourmands] lends an even more addictive quality when done right,” she says. If you like fragrances that smell like dessert, scents with pistachio, almond, hazelnut, and even peanut notes are just the right topping.
2. Fruit Salad Scents
“Fruits are all the rage right now,” says Shapiro, and the combinations of produce that make up these new scents are more abundant than a smoothie bar. Of course orange and pear are classics, but we’re also seeing cherry, apple, lychee, peach, and even more flavors. The reason we love them? “Juiciness can convey a range of emotions,” says Shapiro, so depending on the final recipe, fruity scents convey playful youthfulness or come-hither sensuality, she says. You can take your pick.
3. Garden Fresh Fragrances
On the other side of the farmer’s market (and on the tail end of the past summer’s “tomato girl” trend), leafy, green vegetable scents are also on the rise. “Fresh, earthy fragrances with unique vegetable notes offer a more interesting scent experience from traditional floral and fruit notes,” says Maison Margiela fragrances’s master perfumer Olivier Cresp. Vegetable scents, he says evoke simplicity and peaceful memories of connecting with nature. Think of smelling like a healthy snack as the counterbalance to the hyper-feminine fragrance trends — these fragrances are light, uplifting, and totally genderless.
4. Even Better Ambergis
If you actually do not want to smell like something someone wants to eat, the category of woody and musky “skin scents”, called ambergris, might be more appealing to you. This season however, these fragrances are getting upgraded from super subtle to more striking, when used in conjunction with other notes that give them a little more oomph. D.S. & Durga perfumer David Moltz particularly thinks people will love ambergris when mixed with ozone notes (these are the notes in airy, fresh fragrances) that make the ocean-like and earthy elements smell even more realistic.
5. Classics With A Twist
Nostalgia has been a driving force in fragrance shopping for so long, but Moltz believes people are finally getting more experimental with their fragrances choices again, post-pandemic. However, bridging that gap is easier when you mix something you know you love in with the new. “We like well-made things of old but want them new and fresh,” he says. These are certainly not your mother’s fragrances, even if they might remind you of them.
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https://www.nylon.com/beauty/best-new-fragrances-2024
| 2024-01-16T17:06:56Z
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Duchess Sophie stepped out for her first public outing of the year and she has shown that classic pieces like suede boots and structured jackets never go out of style. The royal, 58, looked so elegant as she was spotted visiting the Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea on Tuesday wearing a cream knitted turtleneck cashmere jumper by N.Peal and a coordinating midi skirt from Gabriela Hearst. She teamed the piece with a flattering tweed jacket in an emerald green shade from Guiliva Heritage that featured a built-in waist tie that cinched in the royal's silhouette.
Prince Edward's wife sported her staple chestnut brown suede knee-high boots with a pointed toe and was seen holding an envelope clutch by Sophie Habsburg in the same shade to tie together her block colour look. Sophie wore her hair in a casual blowdry with endless effortless appeal and ditched her no-makeup makeup look in favour of a warm brown smokey eye that complemented her icy blue eyes to perfection. The final touch was a pair of delicate huggie hoop earrings in gold to match the hardware on her clutch.
The royal's visit to the Katherine Low Settlement marked the charity's 100-year anniversary. The organisation has worked to reduce poverty and isolation and bring the community in Battersea together for ten decades. KLS has royal roots – the charity was opened by the late Queen Mother, the then-Duchess of York, in 1924 and Her Majesty also returned for a visit in 1964 to mark its 40th anniversary.
The Duchess paid a visit to the settlement today to learn more about its work and to show her appreciation to the staff and volunteers for their hard work. The visit was an enriching experience for the royal who toured the Settlement visiting an Elders’ chair dance class and met those attending a sewing group for women newly arrived in the UK. She also sat in on a ‘Love to Learn’ mentoring session for children and young people and ended the day with a brief reception where she met more members of the local community and unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.
Sarah Gibb, Chief Executive of KLS said "It was an absolute honour for us to welcome Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh to Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea today. This year marks the charity's 100th anniversary of bringing the Battersea community together and we are thrilled to start our centenary year with a Royal visit. KLS has been lucky enough to have had four previous Royal visits, since it was founded in 1924, and we are extremely grateful for each and everyone of these visits."
It is not the first time the royal has rocked those incredible suede boots. Sophie put the block-heeled style from Gianvito Rossi with her bright cornflower blue coat by go-to designer Suzannah London that she wore undone to reveal a tweed midi dress in cream with a high neck when she attended Princess Kate's carol concert at Westminster Abbey last December. But this royal re-wear does not mean that Sophie always stuck to her usual style over Christmas.
She stepped out with her husband and children Lady Louise, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16, for the Christmas Day service at Sandringham wearing an animal print aesthetic. Sophie paired a khaki ankle-grazing coat dress by Claire Mischevani with the ‘Love 85 Brown Croc Embossed Pumps' from Jimmy Choo, a new feathered fedora hat by Juliet Millinery, and an envelope clutch that blended leopard and snake prints for an unconventional festive look.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/royal-style/511381/duchess-sophie-elegant-stylish-suede-boots-cinched-jacket/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:24Z
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If you've ever tried martial arts, be it a super-fun boxercise class or training in a classic kickboxing gym, you'll know how addictive it is. As you punch and kick through the session, you find yourself feeling empowered and strong, and best of all, it's the perfect way to release tension after a stressful day – because sometimes a relaxing bubble bath just doesn't cut it.
Our passion for martial arts workouts is on the rise, with Pinterest reporting a 200 per cent increase in searches for mixed martial arts training, while jiu-jitsu and shadow-boxing have seen search increases by 30 per cent and 60 per cent respectively over the past two years.
So why are we all so keen on martial arts inspired sessions? I was converted to this kind of workout several years ago, becoming hooked on Les Mills Body Combat sessions and David Lloyd's Ignite programme, before booking into Bronx Boxing Club classes in Camberwell, which sees the sessions taught by former pro-boxers, honing in on real techniques used by boxers.
As someone who normally loves a Taylor Swift spin, boxing classes are quite the departure, but stepping out of my comfort zone into an entirely different kind of workout made it so inspiring when I saw myself getting to grips with the footwork and feeling stronger as I pummelled the boxing bags.
Fellow HELLO! martial arts fan, Bryony Gooch, 25, took up Muay Thai this year at Safari MMA and felt similarly inspired, loving how it changed her approach to fitness. "I love that I'm gaining a proper skill by learning Muay Thai. I think it's easy when exercising to focus purely on the aesthetic benefits rather than what else you're getting out of it."
"When I was purely going to the gym I didn't really feel like what I was doing could help me in the real world, besides lifting heavy things. I've never had great hand eye coordination or felt particularly strong despite exercising regularly. Martial arts has empowered me a lot more to feel capable and confident."
What are the benefits of martial arts workouts?
"Combining elements of combat sports such as mixed martial arts (MMA) into fitness workouts provides a great high-intensity, fun, stress-relieving, endorphin-boosting workout," says Alastair Crew, product head of Blaze and Battlebox at David Lloyd Clubs.
Mood boosting sessions
A martial arts workout is a great way to zone out and release any tension in a positive way. "Boxing and kickboxing have a proven track record of helping to release stress," confirms Alastair. "Any physical exertion can help relieve a build-up of mental pressure; punching and kicking a bag feels good! It provides everyone with the opportunity to channel their stress into something proactive and in turn helps rebalance brain chemistry."
Nicola Munnion, a Les Mills trainer said her clients love combat sessions, adding: "I’ve heard some people refer to it as their anger management where the intense aerobic nature of the class simply helps them let go of any built up stress, anger or tension they may feel before they complete the class. No matter how you feel before you start a class of this nature you will always leave feeling more centred and emotionally stable."
INSPIRATION: I've only ever done Pilates – here's what happened when I tried a 6-week HIIT challenge
A sense of accomplishment
Learning something new – as we do when we're new to martial arts - is a huge mood-booster, according to wellness expert Dr. Radha Modgil.
"When we step out of our comfort zone, we learn more about ourselves," explains Dr. Radha. "We become more resilient in terms of discovering skills we never knew we had and building confidence and self-esteem, as well as opening ourselves up to new opportunities.
"When we step out of our comfort zone, we rediscover the skills, talent, and potential and the sense of openness we had as a child," Dr. Radha continues.
This is certainly the case when we try martial arts for the first time. "These types of workouts provide a technique challenge, so over time you learn new skills and improve your techniques, which can be extremely rewarding to see how you have progressed and become more competent," Alastair explains.
Ben Grant, the Ignite Lead at David Lloyd Clubs agrees, adding: "I love that post-class feeling of success and accomplishment, nothing beats the rewarding endorphin high after a workout!"
READ: Brain fog? Try this super simple way to clear it
Nicola loves the improvement element too, saying: "You can see and feel marked improvement the more you do it, which adds to the feeling of success you leave the class with.
"This sense of achievement is empowering, and can help us feel more confident and even assertive in everyday life."
A confidence booster
"I've never been particularly good at any form of confrontation, and I've often struggled with confidence," Bryony explains. "When you're practising Muay Thai with someone else, you learn to back yourself and understand your own potential in a controlled environment.
"Last night I was practising a specific kick with my sparring partner and she pointed out I wasn't kicking as powerfully as I was actually able to. I wasn't fulfilling my potential because I was worried about not being in control of my body. Having the reassurance that you're in a controlled environment and you can trust your body and the people you're around is really liberating."
It's tough!
There's no denying that combat workouts are tough, but that's part of the beauty, explains Nicola: "It is rare you leave class with anything left in the tank, which is always very satisfying and leaves you wanting to come back for more. No matter how you feel before you start a class, you always leave feeling energised, empowered and strong."
Improved health
Martial arts workouts include a great deal of multidirectional moves, which personal trainer Monique Eastwood explains are key in battling bladder weakness, which is a barrier for many people when working out, especially as we reach midlife.
As for our physiques, that can see an improvement too, Nicola says: "We can increase our functional strength, muscle tone, endurance and even plyometric power."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/511386/martial-arts-benefits-happiness/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:30Z
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Stacey Dooley and her partner, Kevin Clifton, recently marked their daughter Minnie's first birthday and it seems the family had a wonderful time celebrating the special day. The couple, who became an item after being crowned as 2019 champions on Strictly Come Dancing, shared a series of snaps from the party they threw for Minnie which was attended by close family and friends – and it was a party of dreams for their one-year-old!
The proud parents couldn't believe how fast the past 12 months had gone and shared heartfelt tributes to their little one on social media, saying they were "obsessed" with their daughter.
To celebrate Minnie's milestone birthday, we take a look back at Stacey's birth story, from her pregnancy announcement to welcoming Minnie into the world, and look closer at how the first year as a mum and dad has been treating her and Kevin.
How Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton shared their happy news
Back in 2022, Stacey and Kevin announced they were expecting a bundle of joy. It was in fact Kevin who made the big reveal public by posting a picture of Stacey revealing a pregnancy bump and a caption that read: "We're having a baby! And I think my girl @sjdooley looks beautiful pregnant."
Stacey then posted a Polaroid photo to her own page, writing alongside it: "Gaaaaaaang... We are having a baby! So bloody delighted." She added: "Kev, you're magic, I love youuuu. [heart emoji]."
After they shared the news with fans and followers, Stacey then shared the story of how she told Kevin she was expecting, and it'll surprise you! The former Strictly champion explained how she wasn't with her boyfriend when she took the test.
"Happppppy new year kidssssss! Wishing you all only great moments ahead. 2022, the year I found out we were [having] a baby. I did a pregnancy test in Selfridges toilet and Facetimed Kev in the back of a black cab. This is the moment," before sharing a screenshot of them both beaming while on a FaceTime video call.
Baby Minnie makes her entrance into the world
After documenting various parts of her pregnancy with her large social media following – including her flawless maternity style – Stacey and Kevin welcomed their bundle of joy on 10 January 2023.
Shortly after Stacey gave birth, Kevin took to his Instagram account and posted an adorable photo which revealed the baby's gender and name in one. The snap was of an envelope which read: "Minnie's parents." The professional dancer then followed up with an Instagram Story which said simply: "Our daughter Minnie is here."
The couple kept a relatively low profile after welcoming their baby and didn't even reveal her actual birthday until a few months later, but Stacey did share some insight into how she was finding the first few weeks of being a new mum.
Appearing on The One Show, she told Emma Willis and Jermaine Jenas: "Honestly, it's like I'm the first woman to ever have a child. I'm that dramatic! I'm just completely obsessed. I'm head over heels, she's magic." She added: "I'm good as gold and she is just a delight. I'm biased, aren't I? But she is just the love of my life and I'm just made up with her."
MORE: Cillian Murphy offers parenting advice to Barry Keoghan amid family heartache
MORE: Jamie Redknapp's wife Frida melts hearts in unexpected mother-son moment with toddler son Raphael
Minnie's Milestones
One of the first milestones Stacey and her baby daughter experienced was Mother's Day in 2023 which came just two months after Minnie was born. Kevin sweetly paid tribute on Instagram by writing: "The most wonderful mum to our daughter Minnie. Love you baby. Happy 1st Mother's Day [red heart emoji, mouse emoji]."
Another sweet milestone came when Stacey shared a video of Minnie saying Mum! The TV presenter and journalist was applying makeup in a selfie video shared on her social media when Minnie's voice in the background could be heard babbling away before she said 'Mum', to which Stacey responded: "Yeah? Mum?" prompting little Minnie to say mum again! Although we don't know if this was her first word, we bet this was a precious moment for Stacey.
Stacey and Kevin have chosen to keep their daughter's identity private and have refrained from posting her face online, but the couple do keep it real and have shared many relatable posts about being first-time parents!
At the end of last year, Stacey shared a snap of her carrying her daughter with a caption that said: "Calpol run FUN," hinting that, like many parents, she was coping with a poorly little one. A fan sent their well wishes to the TV star which prompted her to share that little Minnie was teething: "WHO NEEDS TEETH ANYWAY?"
Minnie's first birthday
In January, the big moment came when Stacey and Kevin marked Minnie's first birthday! Stacey was in disbelief that the milestone had arrived, writing: "MY BABY IS ONE TMRO [sic] One?! Minnie, we are FOREVER OBSESSED with u [sic]. The love of our lives. My best, best little pal. Keep shining showstopper….. LOVE U ENDLESSLY."
Kevin was ever the proud dad in a gorgeous video of him holding Minnie as he wrote in the caption: "My baby girl is 1 year old today!!"
Minnie's birthday party was the party of dreams and featured a gorgeous three-tiered pink cake, with the words: "Minnie is one," iced on the top layer.
There was a gorgeous spread of food on the table, too, and the couple filled their home with pink a silver balloons to commemorate their daughter's big day. "To all our dearest pals and fam who made such an effort…what can I say? We are v v lucky. So touched," said Stacey before adding: "Kev, first year? COMPLETED IT MAAAAATE."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511379/stacey-dooleys-birth-story-revealed-after-celebrating-baby-minnie-first-birthday/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:36Z
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Paris Hilton is celebrating the most special of milestones for her and her son Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.
It has officially been one year since the "Stars Are Blind" singer first became a mom, after welcoming her baby boy via surrogacy with her husband, Carter Reum.
At the time, the Y2K icon kept news that she was expecting her first baby a secret from both her family members and fans alike, and did the same later this year when she welcomed her second child, daughter London Marilyn, in November.
In honor of little Phoenix's first birthday, Paris took to Instagram with a heartfelt tribute reflecting on her first year of motherhood.
She posted a slew of photos from her son's first year, starting with one where she is carrying him as a newborn inside a private jet, followed by other adorable moments inside her home: Phoenix smiling ear-to-ear dressed up in a doctor costume, a glimpse inside his nursery, plus an adorable video where she is gushing over him, much to his delight.
In her caption, Paris wrote: "One year ago, a beautiful angel baby entered our lives, bringing so much love and happiness."
She continued: "My precious little one, you are more than a dream come true," adding: "You make my life complete."
MORE: Paris Hilton wows in ruched mini skirt with icy blonde locks in amazing pre-baby throwback
MORE: Paris Hilton dazzles in rhinestone plunging gown for glamorous baby-free reunion with Kim Kardashian
"Every day with you is a priceless gift, and I'm endlessly grateful to be your mommy," she further wrote, concluding with: "Celebrating your first of many birthdays, Baby P – here's to a lifetime of laughter, love, and wonderful adventures with our cutesie crew!"
Her fans and celebrity friends alike were quick to take to the comments section under the post with their congratulatory messages for the birthday boy, with Paris' sister Nicky Hilton writing: "Cutest birthday boy," as their aunt Kyle Richards added: "Aww Happy Birthday Phoenix. Love you," plus real estate legend Barbara Corcoran also wrote: "Happy 1st Birthday Phoenix! You are so loved!"
More followed suit with: "Happy Birthday baby P! You are sooooo cute and extremely loved," and: "So cute! Happy birthday!" as well as: "He is so darn cute," plus another one of her fans added: "Aww!! This melts my heart. Happy Birthday to the most precious baby boy and baby ANGEL. Phoenix is absolutely so adorable."
Phoenix officially became an older brother this past November, when little sister London arrived on November 11, which is also the date of Paris and Carter's wedding anniversary.
The mom-of-two announced her baby girl's arrival to both her family and fans over Thanksgiving, and later told Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos on their newly rebranded morning show Live! with Kelly and Mark: "[The announcement] was before the turkey, this was around 5 o'clock. Carter gathered everyone in the living room for a surprise, everyone thought it was a magician, that we had a performer coming in. Then I walk in just holding a pink blanket with the baby and everybody is sitting there like 'What?!'"
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletter and get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511385/paris-hilton-baby-phoenix-celebrates-first-birthday-adorable-photos/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:42Z
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The countdown to Valentine’s Day is officially in full swing and if you’re like me, who is still yet to get over the very steep and high mountain that was Christmas gifting, then you’re likely in need of a little inspiration.
From designer bum bags to their very own pair of the trendiest UGG silhouette to date, here are just a few of our favourite luxury gift options for the men in your life come February 14th.
How we chose the pieces:
Price: Each item in this list boasts bold luxury as they're from designer brands. But prices do start as low as £120 in the hope there's a little slice of luxury to suit a range of budgets.
Occasion: Each gift in this list is specialised to be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for him.
Why you should trust me:
I am Hello! Fashion’s Fashion Features Writer. With a love for all things fashion (the quirkier the better), I can usually be found playing dress-up in my own wardrobe, watching Gilmore Girls for the 8th time or finding new outfit inspo and DIY musts on TikTok, nothing in my closet is safe from a safety-pin bow embellishment. I have been in the styling world for almost 5 years now, specialising in editorial features, luxury campaigns and music videos. As for the world of magazines, I have worked for various digital and print publications around the world, focusing on fashion. Basically, fashion is my bread and butter.
Nothing says “I Love You” quite like a luxury timepiece and this Tudor Glamour Date+Day wristwatch is as chic as things get in the time-telling game. Watches make for a great sentimental gift as many can be engraved with a personal love note to your special someone.
Speedy Bandoulière 40 Bag
Louis Vuitton
If you have a lad in your life who’s always on the go but appreciates the finer things in life, then a new duffle to house all of his overnight essentials is both practical and thoughtful. I love this red monogrammed Louis Vuitton bag from Creative Director Pharrell Williams's new collection.
You can never go wrong with a subtle jewellery statement, especially when it's from Hermès. The Jumbo H bracelet is a house classic and will forever and ever be on trend. Easy to wear with a casual outfit or one that's more dressy, this bracelet is designed to be worn with everything.
Cotton sweatshirt with Re-Nylon details
Prada
Whether you’re in need of a new sweatshirt to steal, or just because you’re actually that nice, treat your beau to a designer sweatshirt that he’ll love. I for one love this cotton fleece sweatshirt from Prada because not only is it comfortable, but it also evokes a cool utilitarian look that’s very much on trend right now.
logo-embroidered wool bomber jacket
Gucci
If you’re looking for a gift that will trump all gifts then this Gucci bomber is it. Perfect for those boys in your life who appreciate good style, this woollen bomber is both warm and certifiably cool guy-coded.
Tasman shearling-lined suede slippers
UGG
If your boyfriend is anything like mine and tries to squeeze his hooves into your Tasman UGG slippers to take the bins out then a pair of his very own is a gift for the both of you.
Identity Tag brass ring
Alexander McQueen
As far as gifts go, jewellery is always a failsafe option. This Alexander McQueen brass ring is a statement jewellery piece that will have people asking where he got it from daily, meaning you get to reap the benefits of being a great gift giver time and time again.
Cardholder
Christian Louboutin
If there’s one thing I know about men, it's that they either sport a seriously fugly wallet that they’ve had for a decade or they just leave their bank cards and ID floating around in their bag. If that sounds like someone you know then for your own piece of mind please treat them to a Christian Louboutin cardholder this Valentine’s Day.
Denim Workwear Jacket
Loewe
A staple wardrobe essential that will last a lifetime. This Loewe layer is perfect as we approach the spring season and will make any outfit look put together and curated.
La banane Bambimou
Jacquemus
Luxurious bags don’t just get the girls excited, men can lust over arm candy too. I am in love with this leather Jacquemus cross body/ bumbag as it looks like a masculine version of the beloved Bambino bag. Big enough to hold all the essentials but slick enough to wear with a suit and not look like an eyesore, the La banane Bambimou will quickly become your beau's new BFF.
HELLO!'s selection is editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items our editors love and approve of. HELLO! may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. To find out more visit our FAQ page.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/wish-list/511384/valentines-day-luxury-gifts-for-him/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:48Z
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With different work schedules that often take them to different countries, not all celebrity couples live together under the same roof. While Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker chose to temporarily live apart following their wedding, Robin Roberts and Amber Laign credited the success of their long-term relationship to their unconventional living arrangements. See current and former couples who chose separate houses and why…
Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk
Gwyneth Paltrow explained: "We’ve just done it slowly," when the Wall Street Journal asked about her living situation with Brad Falchuk. The couple met on Glee in 2010 and dated for eight years before getting married, but it took them another year before they decided to move in together.
She explained to The Sunday Time Style Magazine that Brad spent three nights a week at his own house and four nights at her Los Angeles home. Not only was the arrangement approved by her intimacy teacher, but she also said her friend's liked the idea. "Oh, all my married friends say that the way we live sounds ideal and we shouldn’t change a thing," she revealed.
DON'T MISS:
Kaley Cuoco and Karl Cook
Kaley Cuoco revealed she had an "unconventional marriage" with her ex-husband Karl Cook, whom she divorced in 2022. One year after their wedding, she told E! News: "We have a very unconventional marriage, you know, we have different locations that we are at a lot. "We are not together every single day, and I think personally, it's important. It works well for us."
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith surprised fans when they announced they had secretly split in 2016. Although she insisted they had no plans to divorce, the Red Table Talk host said on the Today Show they had been living separately. "[We were] still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership, right, and in regards to how do we present that to people," she said.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker
Kourtney Kardashian's love story with Travis Barker began when they were neighbours, and their close proximity means they have been in no real rush to live together. After tying the knot in three separate ceremonies in 2022, the Kardashians star and the Blink-182 drummer continued to stay in separate houses but said they were looking at uniting their blended family under one roof.
"We want our kids to also feel really comfortable and they have both lived in their homes their whole lives for the most part, and they each have their rooms and we are a block away," mother-of-four Kourtney said on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast. "When the kids are at their dad's house, I stay at [Travis'] house and there's still nights when we'll stay at each other's houses in between." Kourtney shares Mason, Penelope and Reign with her ex Scott Disick, while she has recently welcomed a baby boy called Rocky with Travis. He is also a father to Landon and Alabama.
Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton
Former couple Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton lived in adjoining houses in London during their 13-year relationship, which ended in 2014. "I did not have room to house children, put it that way," the actress – who is mother to son Billy and daughter Nell – told The Times.
"I lived in a cottage. And I did always think, ‘God, wouldn’t it be ideal if Mister Right lived next door because then I’d have room to put the bedrooms in?’ So what was Tim’s house is basically the family house and I kept my bedroom and my kitchen."
Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy
While most couples had already been living apart at the beginning of their relationship, Claire Danes had the opposite with her husband Hugh Dancy. In the formative stages of our courtship, our relationship, our schedules were amazingly compatible. Lately we've not been so lucky, she told Piers Morgan, referring to the fact she was in a long-distance relationship she filmed Homeland in North Carolina and he worked on the play Venus In Fur in New York.
She added: "We talk a lot, we text a lot, we send each other photos of our toes - dumb stuff. I think it's dangerous when you go into reporting mode, when you just kind of list the things you've done that day. Sometimes you just kind of have to act as if you were with each other and not say anything terribly significant."
Robin Roberts and Amber Laign
Work was also the reason Robin Roberts and her wife Amber Laign live apart. While Amber lives in Connecticut full time, Robin spends five days a week at her apartment in Manhattan in order to be close to the GMA studios. In a chat with Ellen DeGeneres about her book, Everybody's Got Something, she wrote: "Amber and I have been a loving couple for almost ten years now, but we choose not to live together. Maybe that's why we've lasted almost a decade!"
Victoria and David Beckham
Victoria and David Beckham now own three gorgeous homes together: their main London residence, a country bolthole in the Cotswolds and an apartment in Miami, but there was a short period of time when they weren't living in the same country. Addressing David's sudden move to Spain after joining Real Madrid, Victoria said on the Beckham Netflix docuseries it was "less than ideal" when he had around 12 hours notice. "I was like what do you mean we don't have anywhere to live, we don't have schools for the children, what do you mean? But the reality is that we moved to Spain."
The family were reunited after a short period of time, but they both admitted they struggled in the early stages of the move. "I had two children, Brooklyn and Romeo, and this is what nobody seemed to take into consideration, when I was getting criticised for not being in Spain from the beginning. "A kid has to go to school, I knew I couldn't move until I had a school for Brooklyn. I was doing Monday to Friday in London and then jumping on a plane to Spain," the fashion designer said.
Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter
LOOK: Princess Kate's £250k wedding dress: all the photos, details and the fascinating story behind it
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/511371/celeb-couples-who-lived-apart-kourtney-kardashian-travis-barker-victoria-david-beckham-more/
| 2024-01-16T17:18:55Z
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The Queen is affectionately known as GaGa to her grandchildren, but her family also penned another nickname for Camilla before she became Her Majesty.
It comes as a new royal book has lifted the lid on Charles' first year as King and his coronation.
Camilla, who is mother to Tom Parker Bowles and Laura Lopes, was given the nickname Lorraine by her family in a nod to her future royal role.
The play on the French word for Queen, La Reine, amused the then-Duchess of Cornwall, but not the then-Prince of Wales, now King, the Daily Mail reports.
Royal writer Robert Hardman, in his new biography, Charles III, out on Thursday, said a friend of Camilla's told him: "She always saw the funny side of that – even if Prince Charles did not."
Before Charles and Camilla's wedding in 2005, royal aides said Camilla did not want to be Queen and "intended", when the time came, to be known as Princess Consort instead, a title which has never been used before in British history, even though legally she would still have been the Queen.
Back in February 2022, Queen Elizabeth II expressed her wish that her daughter-in-law be known as Queen Consort.
In her Platinum Jubilee message to mark the historic 70th year of her reign, the late Queen said: "And when, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service."
Buckingham Palace began using "The Queen" instead of "Queen Consort" on the day of the coronation on 6 May 2023.
Royal biographer Robert Hardman reveals that it took Camilla some time to adjust to her new role and realise that mentions of "Her Majesty" were referring to her.
Robert was also one of the producers of the BBC documentary, Charles III: The Coronation Year, which aired last Boxing Day.
The Princess Royal was among the interviewees in the film and said of her sister-in-law Camilla: "I've known her a long time, off and on. Her understanding of her role and how much difference it makes to the King has been absolutely outstanding. This role is not something that she would have been a natural for, but she does it really well. And she provides that change of speed and tone, she's equally modern."
The King and Queen spent Christmas at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, but since New Year, they have been staying at their Scottish home, Birkhall.
Charles and Camilla were pictured driving to a church service at Crathie Kirk through a snowy Balmoral last Sunday.
LISTEN: Inside the royal family's Christmas
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511387/queen-camilla-surprising-family-nickname-revealed/
| 2024-01-16T17:19:01Z
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Love Island All-Stars is here and it's safe to say that the first episode has gone down well with fans. Much like the All-Stars season which aired in the US in 2023, this year, ITV have pulled together contestants from previous seasons and thrown them into the South African villa to see if they can have a bit more luck finding The One this time around.
One familiar face who is doing a second take of Love Island is Hannah Elizabeth who was first introduced to the show's audience in 2015 when she joined the first cast of the modern Love Island reboot.
Hannah has built up a large following and fan base since being on the show and often her fans heap praise on the star for being so open about the cosmetic procedures she has had done on the show. She's also explained details on the surgery and her recovery journey, too. Here's her transformation in her own words…
Love Island's Hannah Elizabeth in 2015
Hannah entered the show in 2015 and, at the time, she confessed that she had undergone breast enhancement surgery, as well as having fillers. Hannah also revealed that she worked as a ring girl, a Playboy Bunny, and as a glamour model.
The reality star was 25 years old when she entered the Majorcan villa and had an eventful time. She even got engaged to her boyfriend at the time, former TOWIE star Jon Clarke who got down on one knee during the live final. However, it wasn't to last, and Hannah, now 33, has returned to the series to find a new man.
Hannah Elizabeth's transformation
In November 2022, Hannah raised eyebrows when she revealed the extent of the facial surgery she had undergone in Turkey.
She posted a photo to her Instagram Stories from her hospital bed saying she was "obsessed" with results, and stated she felt "like a Bratz doll." The procedure Hannah underwent was what is known as a "Fox eye lift" a facial enhancement that lifts the brows to create a wide-eyed, lifted 'fox' look.
A few days later, she told her fans: "Day thee post-op. Couldn't be happier with my results. thank you, everyone, amazing journey so far."
Hannah isn't the only reality star in the public eye who has travelled abroad to undergo surgery. However, this isn't always smooth sailing.
Dr. Omar Cosmetic Surgeon at CREO Clinic, gave his insight to HELLO!: "A growing number of Brits are opting for cosmetic procedures abroad due to factors like cost savings, perceived expertise in specific treatments, and the allure of combining surgery with a holiday.
"However, this trend comes with inherent risks, including varying medical standards, potential language barriers, and challenges in follow-up care. Complications may arise, and individuals might find themselves without adequate support or legal recourse."
What other procedures has Hannah Elizabeth had done?
Hannah has also admitted to having another breast augmentation after welcoming her son, Reggie. She said on social media: "Go big or go home babes. New breast implants after having the baby has really helped me fill out the loose pocket and also helped with my rippling. I'm blown away, I couldn't be happier."
In October 2023, she shared how pleased she was with the results of her nose job, which was her second after having a first round of surgery in January 2022. One fan said in response: "Love how open you are about it."
Hannah also thanked Lift Aesthetics for the BBL surgery she underwent at the end of 2023.
In terms of how much the reality star has spent, Dr. Omar offered his expert opinion to HELLO!: "Procedures like breast augmentation, lip fillers, and rhinoplasty can vary widely in cost. On average, these treatments could range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of pounds.
"I'd estimate around £8000 for a rhinoplasty, £8,000 for other facial surgery, £6,000 for a breast augmentation, and £10,000 for a BBL (Brazilian Butt Lift)."
He added: "It's crucial to note that costs should not be the sole consideration; ensuring the safety and qualifications of the medical professionals and facilities is paramount."
Hannah has never shied away from being transparent about the work she's had done, and Dr. Omar says this can even help shed unrealistic beauty standards by stars being honest about the work they are paying for to look a certain way. "Many argue that celebrities setting an example of openness can destigmatize cosmetic enhancements, fostering a healthier conversation around beauty standards.
"Sharing experiences, both positive and negative, can contribute to a more informed public and reduce the pressure to conform to unrealistic ideals."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/health-and-fitness/511389/love-island-star-hannah-elizabeths-dramatic-32k-surgery-transformation-photos/
| 2024-01-16T18:02:23Z
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Christina Applegate was the belle of the ball at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards the night of Monday, January 15th when she appeared to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
The 52-year-old actress has retired from acting amid her battle with multiple sclerosis, but was also a nominee in the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category for her performance in the Netflix series Dead to Me.
While she didn't walk home with the Emmy (which went to Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary fame instead), she did earn the respect and admiration of the audience, who gave her a standing ovation when she first appeared on the stage. Relive the moment below...
And it seems like she came ready with the support of her nearest and dearest, including none other than her daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble.
The 12-year-old featured in a pre-show photoshoot with her famous mom in front of an ornate, branch-covered doorway in LA, also featuring the designer of her red velvet gown, Christian Siriano.
Sadie contrasted her mom's look with a sleek oversized black suit and a white button down, looking like a striking double of Christina with her long blonde locks, and even growing to be taller than her mom.
Shared with her husband of ten years, Dutch musician Martyn LeNoble, the pre-teen, who will turn 13 on January 27, last made an appearance with her mom on the red carpet of the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards in February 2023.
MORE FROM THE EMMYS: Katherine Heigl reunites with Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers, more for Grey's Anatomy Emmys reunion years after Shonda Rhimes feud
The Samantha Who? actress was brought to tears by the audience's warm reception to her appearance, and joked: "You are totally shaming me with disability with standing up," and as the applause continued, she further joked that her body was "not by Ozempic."
Throughout her illustrious career, Christina has received eight Primetime Emmy nominations, winning Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series once in 2003 for her turn as Amy Green on Friends.
MORE: Stars who had to retire from acting careers due to illness
She was nominated once again for the prize the following year, has been nominated twice for her leading turn in Samantha Who? and was nominated four times for Dead to Me, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod as an executive producer.
At Variety's TV FYC Fest in June last year, she spoke about the accommodations the show made for her and her health, expressing her gratitude for it being "what I had always dreamed of doing."
MORE: Christina Applegate claps back at troll accusing her of bad plastic surgery: 'I laughed'
"We don't know what my future as an actress is going to be," she continued. "How can I handle it? How can I go onto a set and call the shots of what I need as far as my boundaries, physically? I don't know who is going to be as loving and understanding as this group of people were.
"I could see the excruciating pain I was in every day I was there and I didn’t want to relive it," she confessed. "I had to take it in little tiny doses but I think it is a beautiful piece of work. I'm so grateful to [creator/writer Liz Feldman] for seeing I had it in me."
Get the lowdown on the biggest, hottest celebrity news, features, and profiles coming out of the U.S. Sign up to our HELLO! Hollywood newsletter and get them delivered straight to your inbox.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511388/christina-applegate-lookalike-daughter-even-taller-than-mom-new-photo-ahead-of-emmys/
| 2024-01-16T18:02:29Z
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The Duchess of Edinburgh returned to her royal duties on Tuesday following the Christmas break.
Sophie, who turns 59 on Saturday 20 January, visited the Katherine Low Settlement (KLS), where she celebrated a milestone anniversary for the charity.
The Duchess looked elegant for her engagement, wearing a cream roll neck jumper and a Gabriela Hearst knitted midi skirt.
She added a pop of colour in the form of an emerald-green belted coat and her tan Gianvito Rossi knee-high boots, accessorising with one of her Sophie Hasburg clutch bags.
KLS is a charity based in Battersea, London, which supports over 500 vulnerable local people every week including the elderly, children, young people, their families and refugees.
It has long links with the royal family and was first opened by the Queen Mother, as Duchess of York, in 1924 and this year it celebrates its centenary.
The Duchess, who is known for being hands-on during her royal engagements, got involved in an Elders' chair dance class and was pictured showcasing her moves with a pair of blue pom-poms.
Sophie then took part in a sewing workshop with women newly arrived in the UK, which is aimed at helping them into employment.
She also joined a 'Love to Learn' mentoring session for children, delighting one little boy as she read him a story.
The mother-of-two concluded her visit with a reception before unveiling a plaque to mark the occasion.
Sarah Gibb, Chief Executive of KLS says: "It was an absolute honour for us to welcome Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh to Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea today. This year marks the charity’s 100th anniversary of bringing the Battersea community together and we are thrilled to start our centenary year with a Royal visit.
"KLS has been lucky enough to have had four previous Royal visits, since it was founded in 1924, and we are extremely grateful for each and everyone of these visits."
Later on Tuesday, Sophie was expected to attend a gala dinner at the Residence of France in her role as patron of Dispensaire Français - Société Française De Bienfaisance, which provides medical care and social support to the French-speaking community.
The Duke of Edinburgh also returned to royal duties this week, hosting a meeting with representatives from his patronage, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
Prince Edward, 59, also visited Windsor Girls' Day in his role as patron of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Edward and Sophie joined the royals at church on Christmas Day, along with their children, Lady Louise Windsor, 20, and James, Earl of Wessex, 16.
Lady Louise is in the second year of her English degree at St Andrews University, while James will sit his GCSE exams this spring.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511390/duchess-sophie-edinburgh-returns-to-royal-duties-battersea/
| 2024-01-16T18:02:36Z
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If you're a bride-to-be, choosing a wedding dress is one of the most important and special decisions you'll make, but it's not the only outfit you need to think about. It's likely your hen party (or bachelorette party if you're in the US) is looming, and if you follow tradition, that's one more white dress to consider.
The best white hen party dresses at a glance
The silk dress: Reformation Joana Silk Dress, £298 / $298
The ruffle dress: ASOS LUXE Off-Shoulder Frill Mini Dress, £59.50 / $83.40
The sequin dress: Rixo Lara Sequinned White Mini Dress, £395 / $520
The lace dress: Nadine Merabi Carly White Dress, £395
What to look for in a white hen party dress?
To contrast their wedding dress, many future brides go for a LWD (that's a little white dress) that's shorter and more fun. It all depends on your hen party plans, so we've curated a selection, from white sparkly hen party dresses with all-over sequin embellishments to sleek and classy silk pieces and white midi dresses that are more casual for daytime events. Many brides are now choosing to have multiple hen parties, so there's every chance you could be shopping for one of each.
Celebrities wearing white hen party dresses
Sophie Habboo gave us all of the hen party goals with her girls' trip to Paris last year. The TV star and wife of Jamie Laing wore a white Broderie mini dress by Charo Ruiz Ibiza (pictured above), a sequin mini dress by House of CB and a sequin two-piece from SLA The Label with a white Frankie Shop blazer thrown on over the top.
In true Paris Hilton style, the socialite had a Las Vegas bachelorette party (where she wore pink) and a 'Paris in Wonderland' themed bridal shower in LA. We love the lace detail of the Self-Portrait dress she wore - and the heart-shaped sunnies.
How we chose the best hen party dresses
Brands: We've only included pieces from HELLO!'s favourite brands - trusted labels we know and love.
Style: Our edit includes a range of different styles, from elegant and chic to sparkly and stand-out, sleek to voluminous silhouettes and mini lengths to maxis. Many have inclusive size ranges, including plus-size options.
Price: We know everyone has a different budget, so in this edit you'll find luxe £759 pieces and more affordable £50 buys.
Made from 100% silk, Reformation's Joana dress is a beautiful option if your hen do requires an outfit that's a little on the luxe side. Falling to a midi length, the strapless piece has a stunning figure-skimming silhouette. We'd style it with statement gold jewellery.
ASOS White Hen Party Dress
ASOS LUXE Off-Shoulder Frill Mini Dress
Sizes available: UK 4-18
Colours available: White
Shipping: Free Standard Delivery
Returns: Free within 28 days
If you can't go all out on your hen do, when can you? With its cascading ruffles, this ASOS LUXE mini dress fits the bill if you're looking for a stand-out piece to turn heads in. It also features a Bardot neckline and corset detail at the waist. We love.
Rixo White Hen Party Dress
Rixo Lara Sequinned White Mini Dress
Sizes available: UK 6-20
Colours available: Ivory, Hot Pink
Shipping: £5 Standard Delivery
Returns: Free within 14 days
Rixo's gorgeous sequin-covered Lara dress has a mini length and features a high neck, gathered shoulders and blouson sleeves. Forget a sash - show you're a bride-to-be by accessorising your dress with a small veil - fun and classy.
Mango White Hen Party Dress
Mango Embroidered Cotton Dress
Sizes available: UK 6-14
Colours available: White
Shipping: £5 Standard Delivery or free for orders over £125
Returns: Free within 30 days
For a more casual occasion, Mango has this white embroidered midi dress with a very flattering evasé design and comfy elasticated back. We're picturing this for a sunny brunch. Hurry - it's selling fast.
NET-A-PORTER White Hen Party Dress
Retrofête Cherri Sequin-Embellished Maxi Dress
Sizes available: XS/S, M/L
Colours available: White Embellished
Shipping: £7 Standard Delivery or free for orders over £300
Returns: Free within 30 days
For something really special, Retrofête's dreamy white dress is covered in stunning sequins. The sheer maxi is crocheted in an airy construction and has an open back, making it perfect if your hen party involves any beach parties or sun-soaked evenings.
Karen Millen White Hen Party Dress
Karen Millen Satin Feather Cuff Mini Dress
Sizes available: UK 6-16
Colours available: Ivory
Shipping: £4.99 Standard Delivery or free with Karen Millen Premier
Returns: £2 within 28 days or free with Karen Millen Premier
Karen Millen's satin mini dress has the most flattering sleek wrap cut and features subtle feather-trimmed sleeves. So chic. We'd wear it with barely-there sky-high stiletto heels and a delicate rhinestone clutch.
Nadine Merabi Carly White Dress
Sizes available: UK 6-18
Colours available: White
Shipping: £6 Standard Delivery or free for orders over £350
Returns: Within 14 days
Nadine Merabi has a stunning bridal collection, with shorter styles perfect for a hen party. We're obsessed with this lace feather-hemline number, which features full-length sleeves with soft shoulder pads and a detachable belt.
H&M White Hen Party Dress
H&M White Blazer Dress
Sizes available: UK 4-22
Colours available: White
Shipping: £3.99 Standard Delivery or free for orders over £30
Returns: Free within 28 days
A sleek blazer dress is flattering on every figure and we love this one from H&M. Available in an inclusive range of sizes, from a UK 4-22, it's simple but so chic and looks much more expensive than its price tag.
ASOS White Hen Party Dress
ASOS EDITION Arabella Embellished White Mini Dress
Sizes available: UK 4-18
Colours available: White
Shipping: Free Standard Delivery
Returns: Free within 28 days
ASOS does white hen party dresses so well, we had to include this one too. With its sequin embellished high-neck bodice and fit and flare tulle skirt, there's a lot to love about this popular mini. Pair it with barely-there heels or platforms depending on your personal style.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/511383/best-white-hen-party-dresses/
| 2024-01-16T18:02:42Z
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A pod of fossilized eggs has been found in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in east-central Oregon, helping to solve a mystery of what creature had laid them (and others like them) millions of years ago.
Eggs had previously been found at the site, but only as individuals, and had been misidentified as ant eggs. After a nest filled with eggs was discovered in 2016, the eggs were identified as belonging to grasshoppers, partly due to the similarity in the shape of the eggs to modern grasshoppers, which lay them underground.
The fossil of an ootheca (a type of egg capsule produced by stick insects, cockroaches, praying mantises, grasshoppers, and other animals) was imaged using a micro-CT scanner, helping the team to get a better look at the eggs.
Different species make their oothecae in a variety of ways, creating different varieties of the egg pod. Praying mantises lay eggs into a frothy mass produced by glands in their abdomens, which then hardens, protecting the eggs.
The team found, according to the study, distinctive oothecae belonging to ancient grasshoppers "highly organized egg mass comprising a large clutch size of approximately 50 slightly curved ellipsoidal eggs arranged radially in several planes is preserved, enclosed in a disc-shaped layer of cemented and compacted soil particles".
Many grasshopper species, but not all, lay their eggs by inserting their abdomen into the soil, before making excretions that mix with the soil and then harden. The result is an ootheca that takes on the shape of the surrounding soil.
"Based on the morphology of the overall structure and the eggs, we conclude that the specimen represents a fossilized underground ootheca of the grasshoppers and locusts," the team continued, "also known as an egg pod."
The find is believed to be the oldest and most unambiguous evidence of grasshopper pods, with the fossil dating back 29 million years. Separate finds in the area indicate that populations lived stably in the region, likely supporting a range of predators in the Oligocene era.
The paper is published in Parks Stewardship Forum.
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https://www.iflscience.com/29-million-year-old-egg-pods-found-in-us-national-monument-72468
| 2024-01-16T18:12:15Z
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A new study in mice has raised the tantalizing possibility that memory loss after a head injury could be reversible.
Repeated head trauma, such as that experienced by professional football players and other sportspeople, is known to be a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease down the line. Taking heavy blows to the head over a sporting career – or during a stint in the military, for example – may eventually result in a condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can come with memory loss, confusion, depression, and personality changes.
But you don’t need to experience a serious head injury to be at risk of complications. On average, college football players receive 21 head impacts per week – 41 for defensive ends – and scientists are working hard to try and understand what even these comparatively mild impacts could mean for their future.
A team of scientists at Georgetown University Medical Center had previously uncovered an adaptive mechanism in the brain that alters the way synapses operate in response to head trauma. This, in turn, can make it difficult to lay down new memories or recall old ones. Using this knowledge, the team and their collaborators at Trinity College Dublin have found a way to make a group of mice remember something they’d forgotten after a mild head injury.
“Most research in this area has been in human brains with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is a degenerative brain disease found in people with a history of repetitive head impact,” said senior investigator Dr Mark Burns in a statement. “By contrast, our goal was to understand how the brain changes in response to the low-level head impacts that many young football players regularly experience.”
To that end, they took two groups of mice and exposed them to a situation that would provoke fear. Once they had learned the fear response and committed it to memory, one group of the mice was exposed to multiple, mild head impacts over the course of a week, mimicking a week in the life of the average college football player. The other mice acted as a control, receiving no head injuries.
After a week, the mice that had experienced repeated head trauma could no longer recall the fear they’d learned – but these were no ordinary mice. They’d been genetically modified so that the scientists could visualize the neurons involved in making the new memory in their brains – the “memory engram”.
Even after all those bumps on the head, the memory engram remained intact, and looked the same as it did in the mice that had a head trauma-free week. The only difference was that the injured mice were no longer able to activate this engram.
“We are good at associating memories with places, and that's because being in a place, or seeing a photo of a place, causes a reactivation of our memory engrams,” explained first author Dr Daniel P Chapman. “When the mice see the room where they first learned the memory, the control mice are able to activate their memory engram, but the head impact mice were not. This is what was causing the amnesia.”
Luckily for the mice, there’s a way for scientists to activate the engram cells manually, using lasers. Unluckily for us, the technique is too invasive to be used in humans – but, it does demonstrate that reawakening a supposedly lost memory is theoretically possible.
“We are currently studying a number of non-invasive techniques to try to communicate to the brain that it is no longer in danger, and to open a window of plasticity that can reset the brain to its former state,” said Burns.
While these findings won’t lead to a treatment in humans any time soon, they’re an important step forward in our understanding of how head trauma can lead to amnesia even in the short term, and of how it might be possible to fix it.
“Our research gives us hope that we can design treatments to return the head-impact brain to its normal condition and recover cognitive function in humans that have poor memory caused by repeated head impacts,” Burns said.
The study is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
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https://www.iflscience.com/amnesia-after-head-injury-might-one-day-be-reversible-early-study-hints-72469
| 2024-01-16T18:12:16Z
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Astronomers have detected a star with such curious composition they conclude it must have been enriched by a supernova that didn’t accord with our current understanding of exploding stars. Their efforts to reconstruct this event reveal we’ve probably been missing something big about the behavior of the first generation of giant stars.
In 1999, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) detected a giant red star at a distance of 13,000 light-years that was given the label J0931+0038. The star was unusual in its color and location in the galactic halo, but not exceptionally so, leading to it being ignored for more than 20 years before the SDSS got around to taking its spectrum last year.
“As soon as I saw the spectrum, I immediately emailed the rest of the team to talk about how to learn more,” Dr Alex Ji of the University of Chicago said in a statement.
The first stars were nothing but hydrogen and helium – but they produced heavier elements, which have been incorporated into subsequent generations. Certain elements tend to accompany each other. For example, the total amount of heavier elements in a star is often summarized on the basis of the ratio of iron to hydrogen, because the iron gives a decent starting point to estimate the abundance of everything else.
However, sometimes, stars don’t follow the rules, and J0931+0038 is an extreme example. All the elements with odd numbers on the periodic table are scarce there compared to the even-numbered ones on either side. There’s a peak in abundance of elements just above iron in atomic weight like nickel and zinc, compared to those just below like titanium, and also a lot of heavy elements like palladium.
“We sometimes see one of these features at a time,” said Professor Jennifer Johnson of Ohio State University, “But we’ve never before seen all of them in the same star.”
Despite its likely great age, J0931+0038 would only have produced helium and perhaps a little carbon itself, so the other elements are a legacy of the supernova whose products make it up. To produce such an unusual combination, this must have been an extraordinary explosion. In a nod to last year’s popular culture sensation, the SDSS team nicknamed it the Barbenheimer Star. After all, the subject of one of these movies engages in a lot of element creation, albeit through fission rather than fusion, and the other film is quite the spectacle.
Now the quest is on to identify the nature of the Barbenheimer star. The team thinks it must have fallen into a mass gap, with a mass 50-80 times that of the Sun. It had been thought stars that massive would collapse directly into black holes, rather than undergoing supernova explosions – but so far, no one has been able to explain J0931+0038 any other way.
“Amazingly, no existing model of element formation can explain what we see,” Dr Sanjana Curtis of the University of California, Berkeley said. “It’s not just ‘ok, you can tweak something here and there and it’ll work out – the whole pattern of elements almost seems self-contradictory.”
“We think it’s possible it could have been energetic enough to blow up an entire galaxy by itself, though a small galaxy,” Ji said in a different statement.
“The Universe directed this movie, we are just the camera crew,” said Dr Keith Hawkins of the University of Texas at Austin. “We don’t yet know how the story will end.”
Although theoretical physicists will no doubt put great effort into modeling the sort of explosion that could produce this combination of elements, the key to resolving the mystery is probably to find similar stars. Ideally, we might catch a Barbenheimer-style supernova in the act, but more stars with compositions similar to J0931+0038 would also help.
Stars with masses more than 50 times that of the Sun exist today, but they’re very rare. However, they are thought to have been more common in the early universe when the Barbenheimer star formed, so there should be more stars like J0931+0038 out there created from their deaths.
Consider: centuries from now, when the two massive cinematic hits are forgotten (let alone their simultaneous release), astronomers may still be referring to a class of rare objects as Barbenheimer stars, with few knowing why.
The discovery and preliminary analysis is to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, preprint on ArXiv.org
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https://www.iflscience.com/barbenheimer-star-loaded-with-heavy-metals-is-unlike-anything-scientists-have-seen-or-expected-72466
| 2024-01-16T18:12:17Z
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The ancestors of frogs and toads were armed with large fangs and thousands of hook-like denticles, making their modern counterparts look a bit gummy by comparison. Do frogs have teeth? Yes, but exactly what kind of teeth and where they’re found varies significantly.
Frogs have a complex history with teeth, estimated to have lost them over 20 times during their evolution. The uses for teeth among frogs today range from hunting to juicy-lipped love bites, but frogs have proven time and time again that they can get by just fine without them.
Do frogs have teeth?
Only one species of frog known to science has true teeth on both the upper and lower jaws. It’s a large marsupial frog, Gastrotheca guentheri, and it was first described back in 1882.
To earn the title of true teeth, mouth bones must have dentin and enamel, but spotting those constituent parts in a tooth the size of a grain of sand is easier said than done. Working out whether G. guentheri’s teeth were the genuine article was made even more complex by fears they may have gone extinct, after not being seen in their native habitat in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador for quite some time.
Fortunately, these peculiar frogs – that carry their eggs in a back pouch and hatch as froglets, not tadpoles – were not extinct, and CT scans of their teeth revealed that both the upper and lower sets were packing dentin and enamel. The finding was surprising, as amphibians hadn’t had true teeth in their lower jaws for millions of years by the time this species evolved. It defies an idea known as Dollo’s Law, which states that once a complex trait has been lost in evolution, it doesn’t come back again.
What kind of teeth do frogs have?
G. guentheri might be the only frog with a mouthful of true teeth, but there are lots of species that have teeth on their upper jaw, known as maxillary teeth. Some frogs also have small teeth on the roof of their mouths, known as vomerine teeth.
Saber-toothed frogs have maxillary teeth and strange fang-like protrusions sticking up on their lower jaws. These fangs aren’t quite the same, however, as they lack the dentin-enamel makeup of true teeth, and they only grow once, whereas frog teeth are constantly lost and replaced.
Why do frogs need teeth?
Frog teeth have little to do with defense. They are sometimes used in “traumatic mating,” but a study into the evolutionary loss and gain of teeth among frogs found that diet appears to be the biggest factor, especially among animals eating tiny things like ants and other small insects.
“Having those teeth on the jaw to capture and hold on to prey becomes less important because they’re eating really small invertebrates that they can just bring into their mouth with their highly modified tongue,” said Daniel Paluh, a PhD candidate at the University of Florida’s department of biology, to Florida Museum. “That seems to relax the selective pressures that are maintaining teeth.”
As for your chances of ever seeing any frog teeth?
“If you open a frog’s mouth, chances are you will not see teeth even if they have them, because they’re usually less than a millimeter long,” Paluh added.
Put the frog down, people.
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https://www.iflscience.com/do-frogs-have-teeth-72475
| 2024-01-16T18:12:18Z
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Despite its popularity among horror-movie mad scientists, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is actually a legitimate treatment for certain mental health disorders, and is effective for up to 80 percent of depressed patients who receive it. Strangely, however, researchers have until now been unable to explain how the procedure works, yet a pair of new studies has finally revealed what’s behind the psychological improvements seen in ECT patients.
The treatment involves the use of controlled electrical currents to trigger a short seizure in the brain, and has given rise to the greatly exaggerated silver-screen cliche of the evil doctor strapping his victims to a table before zapping them with blue bolts of electricity. First developed in the 1930s, the procedure has become highly stigmatized due to these misrepresentations, and is in fact much more discreet, targeted, and indeed beneficial than most people realize.
“A lot of people are surprised to learn that we still use electroconvulsive therapy, but the modern procedure uses highly controlled dosages of electricity and is done under anesthesia,” explained study author Sydney Smith in a statement. “It really doesn’t look like what you see in movies or television.”
In the first of two recent studies, the researchers explain that while it’s currently unclear how ECT produces its therapeutic effects, the technique has been associated with a “slowing” of brain activity that can last for days to weeks following treatment. Using electroencephalography (EEG) to record the electrical brain activity of nine people undergoing ECT for depression, the authors discovered that this slowing is associated with an increase in what’s known as aperiodic activity.
Unlike regularly repeating neural oscillations - generally referred to as brainwaves - aperiodic activity does not repeat in a reliable pattern and is often thought of as having little importance. “Aperiodic activity is like the brain’s background noise, and for years scientists treated it that way and didn’t pay much attention to it,” said Smith.
“However, we’re now seeing that this activity actually has an important role in the brain, and we think electroconvulsive therapy helps restore this function in people with depression.”
Analyzing the EEG readings, the researchers found that aperiodic activity tended to increase after ECT. This, in turn, led to enhanced inhibitory activity in the brain, effectively slowing everything down and bringing about clinical improvements in depression symptoms.
These findings were then replicated in a second study, which showed that both ECT and magnetic seizure therapy – which induces seizures using magnets instead of electricity – boost inhibition throughout the brain by triggering an increase in aperiodic activity.
These findings are particularly relevant when considered in light of the so-called cortical inhibition theory of depression, which states that the condition is underpinned by a lack of inhibitory activity in the brain. This hypothesis is backed up by studies indicating that individuals with depression may have an abnormally low number of inhibitory neurons (which are receptive to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA).
Summing up the results of these two studies, Smith explains that “something we see regularly in the EEG scans of people who receive electroconvulsive or magnetic seizure therapy is a slowing pattern in the brain’s electrical activity.”
“This pattern has gone unexplained for many years, but accounting for the inhibitory effects of aperiodic activity helps explain it.”
The studies are published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, here and here.
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https://www.iflscience.com/electroconvulsive-therapy-really-works-for-depression-and-now-we-know-why-72482
| 2024-01-16T18:12:18Z
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has scrapped its plan to end the use of mammals for the safety testing of chemicals by 2035. First announced back in 2019, the plan was considered pretty controversial – and it seems the move to ditch it is no different.
Chris Frey, assistant administrator for R&D at the EPA, told Science that the decision was based on current research. “We need to focus on what the science is telling us in order to advance methods that don’t involve animal testing, and not focus so much on arbitrary dates.”
These methods can involve computer models and organoids, which some have argued are not yet sufficient to replace animals in safety testing. In March last year, a group of 38 organizations, ranging from environmental to justice groups, sent a letter to the administrator of the EPA maintaining that very point.
Although that group may well be pleased by this latest news, Andrew Wheeler, the former EPA administrator who initially set the deadline, has concerns about whether the agency will eventually phase out animal testing. “I felt like things were moving in the right direction,” said Wheeler. “Without a deadline, we’re not going to make progress.”
Frey has contested that, stating that the EPA’s commitment has not changed. “Fully phasing out animal testing is the goal, and we will always have that goal,” said Frey. “But I don’t want to get ahead of our scientists.”
The EPA uses thousands of animals per year for chemical testing; according to an agency report, testing a single pesticide can require anywhere between 100 and 9,000 animals, though how many of those are mammals is unclear. Back in 2016, an amendment to the Toxic Substances Control Act created a stipulation to phase out animal testing.
Whilst this amendment didn’t come with a deadline, the EPA set one for itself: 2035. The agency also pledged to reduce mammal testing by 30 percent by 2025. The plan was met with mixed reviews.
“I definitely think we should be investing more in [nonanimal alternatives],” Tracey Woodruff, professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s school of medicine and former EPA staff told The New York Times at the time. “But it’s really not ready for making decisions yet — at least the way that E.P.A. is making decisions.”
Whether or not the readiness of alternatives to animal testing will change will be a matter of time and research, but some are hopeful. “The transition from animals to in vitro test systems will happen in the next decade, whether there’s a deadline or not,” said Kim Boekelheide, a toxicologist at Brown University.
As for what the EPA’s plans will look like if that is the case – we’ll just have to wait and see.
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https://www.iflscience.com/epa-abandons-plan-to-end-mammal-testing-by-2035-72472
| 2024-01-16T18:12:35Z
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The year is 2075. The place: the Neil Armstrong International Lunar Base in Henson Crater, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest of the moon’s South Pole. Chinese electrical engineer Liu Mei and American astronomer David Scott IV sit side by side inside a pressurized, six-wheeled, fuel cell-powered lunar transporter. They have just exited the station’s car airlock and are rolling down the Moon highway made of laser-baked lunar dust towards the 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) high crater rim to the south.
The waxing blue marble hangs above the ominous mountains on the horizon, the familiar outline of Africa clearly discernible, as they begin their expedition. It will be a long day. Their destination is Shackleton Crater, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) away, site of the recently deployed Lunar Crater Radio Telescope, which has been reporting glitches and needs a checkup.
They pass a new greenhouse, around which a swarm of solar-powered, 3D-printing robots bounce on the uneven terrain in the weak lunar gravity, digging up lunar dust that will be used to build a thick shell around the inflatable module to protect it from micrometeorites and cosmic radiation.
In the distance, a field of solar panels gleams in the early lunar morning sunlight, sending life-sustaining electrical power to the base through a wireless microwave system.
All of that, at this stage, is just a fantasy. But Moon exploration proponents are convinced that 50 years from now, the Earth’s natural satellite will no longer be just a desolate celestial sphere. The Moon in 2075, experts think, will host at least one permanently inhabited lunar station, similar to those scattered across the frozen Antarctic today. The more optimistic Moon settlement enthusiasts expect that by 2075, the first babies may have been born on the Moon, proving (or disproving) that humankind as a species can survive without our mother Earth.
The case for the Moon
Italian space policy adviser Giuseppe Reibaldi is one of those Moon settlement optimists. A self-professed Apollo-era enthusiast, Reibaldi serves as president of the Moon Village Association, a Vienna-based non-governmental organization that advocates for the establishment of a permanent human presence on the Moon. Since those Apollo-era days of his youth, a lot has changed, Reibaldi says, and the case for a lunar settlement now makes much more sense than it did 50 years ago.
“In the 1960s, going to the Moon was a political goal,” Reibaldi told IFLScience. “It was a prize in the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. But when the Americans got there, they got the impression that the Moon was totally inhospitable and didn’t have too many prospects. So, it was left alone.”
Six crewed missions landed on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. Overall, the 12 American astronauts who walked (or bounced) on the Moon collected more than 380 kilograms (838 pounds) of lunar rocks and soil. In the subsequent decades, analyses of these samples with modern instruments, as well as observations made by later lunar orbiters, revealed that the Moon might not be such a lost cause after all.
In 2012, the Indian probe Chandrayaan-1 found evidence of water ice in the permanently shaded regions of the enormous craters that pockmark the Moon’s polar regions. That discovery put the idea of a permanent lunar settlement back on the table. With water ice inside the craters, humans could exist on the Moon without having to bring everything they need for survival from Earth, a costly – and in the long-term, unsustainable – solution.
“Water is called the gold of space,” Reibaldi explained. “If you have water, you can make oxygen from it, you can use it for the crew or to grow plants. You can even make propellant from it.”
But more has changed since the Apollo era than our knowledge of the presence of water on the Moon, adds Reibaldi. The leaps and bounds in the development of technology in recent decades mean that a whole range of countries, as well as private companies, now have plans to land rovers and experiments on the Moon.
“The exploration and utilization of the Moon now has a larger appeal because there is a potential for developing a market,” Reibaldi says. “And thanks to the technological development that we have seen, it is now possible to go to the Moon with much smaller budgets than was the case in the 1960s.”
A busy decade ahead
In parallel to the US-crewed Apollo landings, the Soviet Union landed eight robotic probes on the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s. China joined the Moon Club in 2013 with its Yutu rover and later achieved a first by placing Yutu 2 on the Moon’s far side. India made headlines last year when its Chandrayaan-3 mission, in a historic first, placed the Vikram lander and its companion rover Pragyan on the Moon’s South Pole – the area with promising water resources.
Japanese start-up iSpace made an unsuccessful attempt to soft-land on the Moon last year. Another Japan-led effort, the SLIM mission (for Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is to attempt a touchdown on January 19.
An entire fleet of NASA-supported private landers carrying all kinds of experimental technologies needed for human habitation on the Moon is lined up for launch in the next two years.
If all goes well, these companies, Reibaldi stated, will one day be providing services to future government-funded Moon stations. By 2075, a thriving ecosystem may exist on the Moon, consisting of multiple bases at various sites – not just at the South Pole, but on the mysterious far side as well. Local resource utilization workshops will be supplying occupants of these stations with water and construction materials, as well as titanium and aluminum to make spacecraft parts. Launches to Mars may be taking place from the Moon in that timeframe, and high-tech farms will ensure a grown-on-the-Moon food supply.
“The turning point is going to be the first baby born on the Moon,” Reibaldi added. “I do believe that within the 2075 timeframe, there will be a baby born on the Moon. And that will demonstrate whether humankind can survive independently of Earth.”
The roadmap to the Moon
Professor Ian Crawford, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist at London’s Birkbeck College, has more modest expectations. By 2075, he foresees a permanently inhabited station like those now present in Antarctica, and possibly a small lunar hotel for wealthy space tourists run by a private company like Amazon, SpaceX, or Virgin Galactic.
“I think there will be a permanently crewed station on the Moon by 2075 with crews working in shifts perhaps every six months like they do on the International Space Station now,” Crawford told IFLScience. “I do think there will probably be a permanent human presence, supporting a diverse range of scientific activities, supported somewhat by locally sourced lunar materials – like water and oxygen.”
NASA is spearheading Western efforts to return humans to the Moon’s surface. Fifty-three years after the final Moon landing – that of Apollo 17 in December 1972 – the Artemis 2 mission was scheduled to make a crewed flyby of the Moon in 2024, with Artemis 3 landing the following year. Crawford, however, thought the timeline to be a little optimistic.
“In order to land people on the Moon, which NASA hopes to do with the Artemis 3 mission in 2025, you need to have a vehicle that can land there and then return to orbit. Something like the lunar module from the Apollo era,” Crawford says. “But currently, no such vehicle exists. NASA contracted SpaceX to develop this landing module, based on the Starship, but the Starship hasn’t even successfully launched from the Earth yet. So, I am personally sceptical that it can be done by 2025. It can probably be achieved by the end of this decade.”
Crawford was quickly vindicated this week, with NASA announcing that the Artemis 2 mission has been postponed to September 2025. The next landing, NASA envisions, could take place just one year later.
In 2025, NASA also intends to launch the first building block of the future Moon-orbiting space station – the Lunar Gateway, which will provide a base for future Artemis missions to explore the lunar surface from. By the late 2030s, 10 crewed Artemis missions may have taken place. Beyond that, the roadmap gets hazy.
In its Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development, published in 2020, NASA introduced an early concept of the Artemis Base Camp in the lunar South Pole region. No date has been attached to this plan, which is much more modest than Reibaldi’s lunar village vision for 2075. The Base Camp, a gradually expanded outpost, could support crews of up to four astronauts for visits lasting a week or two at first, which could gradually be extended up to two months.
The case for science
Xiaochen Zhang, a planetary scientist and PhD researcher in lunar resource utilization at the European Space Resources Innovation Center (ESRIC) in Luxembourg, agrees with Crawford that humankind’s expansion on the Moon will not be fast-paced.
“Fifty years might seem like a long time, but in the field of space exploration, it's probably not that long,” Zhang told IFLScience. “Developing missions, testing technology, it all takes a long time. But I think that in 50 years there should be at least some sort of a basic lunar base. There will hopefully be scientists studying on the Moon, doing experiments, and some sort of regular transportation between Earth and the Moon as well.”
Zhang is currently developing a machine that could one day process lunar dust directly on the Moon and turn it into usable construction material that could be used in 3D printing. Her true passion, however, is science. A trained geologist, she likes the idea of participating in a lunar research trip one day.
“I would love to study geology in situ on the Moon,” she says. “Like taking samples during the day, then come back to the station and analyse them right there on the Moon.”
Doing science directly on the Moon is a big draw, Crawford agrees. Just like Antarctic research stations, crewed outposts on the Moon would enable major leaps in humankind’s understanding of the cosmos.
“There is a lot of science to be done on the Moon: lunar geology, astronomy from the Moon, life sciences on the Moon,” said Crawford. “It would be greatly facilitated if there was a permanent supporting scientific infrastructure. A lunar base would provide that.”
At the Astronomy from the Moon conference co-organized by Crawford in London last year, astronomers introduced a whole range of concept facilities that could one day operate on the Moon. A gravitational wave detector, a next-generation infrared telescope that would succeed JWST, or a radio telescope on the Moon’s far side could all become part of the lunar science infrastructure by 2075.
Unlocking the invisible universe
According to Crawford, the lunar radio telescope is at the top of the wishlist of many astronomers. The far side of the Moon, he explains, is the best place for radio astronomy in the entire Solar System.
“That’s because the far side of the Moon never sees the Earth, so it's permanently shielded from all of the artificial radio noise that the Earth produces,” Crawford says. “And of course, during the lunar night on the far side, it doesn't see the Sun either. And the Sun is the second most radio-noisy thing in the Solar System after the Earth. So, for two weeks every month, the far side of the Moon is totally radio-quiet. There's no background interference of any kind.”
Radio astronomy is the branch of astronomy that studies radio waves coming from stars, planets, galaxies, black holes, and other sources in the universe. Radio waves are the type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths.
On Earth, humans rely on radio waves for a whole range of indispensable applications, including TV and radio broadcasting, radar sensing, navigation systems, and wireless computer networks.
The Earth’s best radio telescopes, such as the Square Kilometre Array, currently under construction on sites in Australia and South Africa, are protected by radio quiet zones where no radio equipment is allowed. Still, these super sensitive antenna arrays, spanning areas hundreds of kilometers across, are blind to an entire portion of the cosmic radio spectrum, which is blocked out by the Earth’s atmosphere.
“Wavelengths longer than about 20 metres don't get through the Earth's ionosphere [a part of the atmosphere] from outside,” Crawford explains. “So, long-wavelength, low-frequency radio astronomy is the one last big unexplored part of the electromagnetic spectrum in astronomy because we can't do it from the surface of the Earth.”
Astronomers know that a whole range of new discoveries are waiting to be made in this spectral range. One of the most exciting areas of research is what astronomers call the Cosmic Dawn signal, radiation emitted by the hydrogen gas that filled the universe in the first hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang.
In 2020, NASA unveiled a concept for the Lunar Crater Radio Telescope that could be built in a small crater on the Moon’s far side.
A lunar war?
But the US and their allies are not the only ones eyeing the Moon. In 2021, Russia and China announced separate plans to establish a permanent station on the Moon. Neither country has signed the Artemis Accords, a non-binding multilateral agreement drafted by the US government to ensure peaceful international cooperation around lunar exploration and settlement.
The US Congress banned NASA from cooperating with China on space projects in 2011, due to fears of industrial espionage and security concerns. The partnership with Russia, which has formed the basis of the International Space Station collaboration since the 1990s, has suffered a major blow due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The possibility that Earthly geopolitical conflicts may spill over onto the Moon is a concern of many experts, says Crawford. He describes a scenario akin to the territorial dispute between China and its neighbors over the South China Sea, which is one of the world’s main flashpoints for armed conflict.
“We really don’t want a situation when we would have a US-led Artemis Accords Moon base and a Russia-China Moon base within a few hundred meters of each other near the lunar South Pole,” Crawford says. “Unfortunately, this is a trajectory that we seem to be on currently and I think this is a recipe for disaster.”
But Crawford hopes that not all is lost. Although neither Russia nor China are signatories to the Artemis Accords, both countries have signed the Outer Space Treaty, which prohibits states from appropriating celestial bodies or their parts.
Despite the current tensions, the space agencies of Russia and China are represented in the International Space Exploration Coordination Group, a global space exploration forum founded in 2007 with the goal of fostering international cooperation in space exploration.
Despite the enormous technical tasks that need to be solved to make a permanent human presence on the Moon possible, Crawford thinks that the greatest challenge lies in ensuring that the endeavor is a peaceful one.
“I do think that getting the politics right is more important than the technical aspects,” says Crawford. “I can see these will clearly be possible by 2075. It's getting the politics and the regulator regime in place that is the real challenge.”
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https://www.iflscience.com/its-the-year-2075-this-is-what-it-looks-like-on-the-moon-now-72419
| 2024-01-16T18:12:41Z
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Scientists in China have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey that has managed to survive for more than two years after its birth. Off the back of this feat, the researchers claim their newly refined methods could provide a “promising strategy for primate cloning” in the future.
His name is “ReTro”, named after one of the techniques used in his creation: trophoblast replacement.
It’s not the first time a rhesus monkey has been “cloned.” In 1997, a cloned rhesus monkey called Tetra was created by US scientists using a technique called "embryo splitting", whereby an early-stage macaque embryo was split into multiple parts, creating a set of genetically identical twins. This "relatively low-tech" means of cloning is sometimes called artificial twinning.
In this latest study, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences managed to successfully clone a healthy male rhesus monkey through a more complex technique, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
SCNT is the same technique used that’s been used to clone numerous species of mammal, including “Dolly the sheep”, as well as mice, ferrets, rabbits, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, and the ill-fated Pyrenean ibex.
It involves inserting the nucleus of a somatic cell (any cell other than a sperm or egg cell) into an egg cell that has been stripped of its nuclei. The reconstructed cell can then be stimulated to undergo cell division and develop into a fully-fledged organism that is genetically identical to the donor of the somatic cell nucleus.
This cloning technique has been attempted on rhesus monkeys before – but it ultimately failed. A study in 2022 claimed the birth of a somatic cell cloned rhesus monkey and it died less than 12 hours after its birth.
However, SCNT has been demonstrated in another similar species of monkey. In 2018, researchers created two cynomolgus monkey clones, named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, marking the world’s first successfully cloned primates through SCNT.
The new study aimed to clone a rhesus monkey to better understand the mechanisms of primate reproductive cloning techniques and refine the processes.
Through the creation of ReTro, the team managed to highlight abnormalities in the way genetic information can be read by the developing cloned embryo and its placenta. They overcame this problem by developing a new method that ensures the cloned embryo develops with a healthy placenta.
It almost goes without saying that the cloning of primates – an order of mammals that includes humans – raises a host of ethical questions. With every new study like this, critics will often ask whether we are on a slippery slope toward human cloning.
The new paper does not touch on these thorny moral conundrums. Scientifically speaking, there are several steps to make before human cloning can even be contemplated. For instance, scientists have yet to clone any member of the great ape genus, such as a chimpanzee or gorilla.
Nevertheless, the rapid advancement of primate cloning techniques is reaching a point where the world needs to ensure robust ethical frameworks are set in stone before Pandora’s box is opened.
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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https://www.iflscience.com/meet-retro-a-monkey-successfully-cloned-in-china-thats-survived-for-2-years-72473
| 2024-01-16T18:12:47Z
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Scientists in China have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey that has managed to survive for more than two years after its birth. Off the back of this feat, the researchers claim their newly refined methods could provide a “promising strategy for primate cloning” in the future.
His name is “ReTro”, named after one of the techniques used in his creation: trophoblast replacement.
It’s not the first time a rhesus monkey has been “cloned.” In 1997, a cloned rhesus monkey called Tetra was created by US scientists using a technique called "embryo splitting", whereby an early-stage macaque embryo was split into multiple parts, creating a set of genetically identical twins. This "relatively low-tech" means of cloning is sometimes called artificial twinning.
In this latest study, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences managed to successfully clone a healthy male rhesus monkey through a more complex technique, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).
SCNT is the same technique used that’s been used to clone numerous species of mammal, including “Dolly the sheep”, as well as mice, ferrets, rabbits, dogs, pigs, goats, cows, and the ill-fated Pyrenean ibex.
It involves inserting the nucleus of a somatic cell (any cell other than a sperm or egg cell) into an egg cell that has been stripped of its nuclei. The reconstructed cell can then be stimulated to undergo cell division and develop into a fully-fledged organism that is genetically identical to the donor of the somatic cell nucleus.
This cloning technique has been attempted on rhesus monkeys before – but it ultimately failed. A study in 2022 claimed the birth of a somatic cell cloned rhesus monkey and it died less than 12 hours after its birth.
However, SCNT has been demonstrated in another similar species of monkey. In 2018, researchers created two cynomolgus monkey clones, named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, marking the world’s first successfully cloned primates through SCNT.
The new study aimed to clone a rhesus monkey to better understand the mechanisms of primate reproductive cloning techniques and refine the processes.
Through the creation of ReTro, the team managed to highlight abnormalities in the way genetic information can be read by the developing cloned embryo and its placenta. They overcame this problem by developing a new method that ensures the cloned embryo develops with a healthy placenta.
It almost goes without saying that the cloning of primates – an order of mammals that includes humans – raises a host of ethical questions. With every new study like this, critics will often ask whether we are on a slippery slope toward human cloning.
The new paper does not touch on these thorny moral conundrums. Scientifically speaking, there are several steps to make before human cloning can even be contemplated. For instance, scientists have yet to clone any member of the great ape genus, such as a chimpanzee or gorilla.
Nevertheless, the rapid advancement of primate cloning techniques is reaching a point where the world needs to ensure robust ethical frameworks are set in stone before Pandora’s box is opened.
The study is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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https://www.iflscience.com/meet-retro-a-rhesus-monkey-thats-been-cloned-successfully-in-china-72473
| 2024-01-16T18:12:53Z
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Mars is a frigid desert, but we know in the past that it had rivers, lakes, and even maybe an ocean. Those features are still carved in its rocks today. Most of the valleys and lakes were carved before 3.7 billion years ago, but something that is not clear is how long these water features were around. A new study argues that the rivers flowed for only a fraction of that epoch.
Previous work estimated that it took at least tens of thousands of years for the valleys to form – that's the minimum amount of time for those rivers to have flowed. But what is the maximum time? Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Alexander Morgan has estimated just that. He found that, at most, water was carving the rocks for 100 million years, but it was not a constant flow.
"In this study, I used craters that predate and postdate valley systems to place maximum bounds of hundreds of millions of years on the era over which these systems formed. Previous work had only determined minimum timescales, so these new results provide an upper bound on the timescale over which Martian valleys were active," Morgan said in a statement.
"Given what we know about erosion rates on early Mars, longer timescales imply that conditions permitting rivers were highly intermittent, with long arid periods interspersed with brief episodes of fluvial activity."
The reason why the activity appears to be intermittent is not clear. Maybe erosion was impeded by boulders and terrains that were more difficult to carve out. Or maybe, rivers only began to flow when the weather got warm enough, or after some particularly strong volcanic activity. The climate of a planet can change, like the changes responsible for Earth’s periodic glacial periods.
The work adds some nuance to the past history of Mars. Was the Red Planet "warm and wet" with an ocean? Or was Mars "cold and icy" with massive ice sheets? It could have had its periods of warmth over longer frigid and dry epochs.
"Over the past decade or so we've come to realize that these descriptors are far too general, and it doesn't really make sense to try to condense hundreds of millions of years of climate history into a two-word description," Morgan said.
"Like Earth, early Mars was complex, and the conditions permitting surface water likely varied considerably. Earth has undergone massive climatic changes throughout its history – for example, 20,000 years ago, the area that is now Chicago was beneath half a mile of ice – and surface conditions permitting rivers on early Mars likewise probably waxed and waned."
The study is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
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https://www.iflscience.com/rivers-on-mars-flowed-on-and-off-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-years-72471
| 2024-01-16T18:13:00Z
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