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Dianne Buswell has invited her million followers into the fabulous £3.5 million Sussex home that she shares with her vlogger boyfriend Joe Sugg, showing off her home gym for the first time and it's no wonder Dianne is so passionate about working out. The professional dancer, 34, has previously said that exercise makes her feel "euphoric" and with a home gym like hers, we can see why.
The Australian beauty shared a carousel of photos that she took during her quiet weekend away from the rehearsals for the Strictly tour. She was seen posing for a selfie in a black matching sports bra and leggings with her iconic red locks piled onto the top of her head with her gym equipment in shot. As a pro dancer, working out is important to Dianne who has also released a book on how mental wellness and movement are linked in her life. Dianne is evidently not averse to a home workout, she famously took to YouTube through lockdown to share workouts that kept her fans motivated and moving during a time when so many of us were stuck at home.
She later showed a photo of Joe, 32, on arm day working out surrounded by various weights and professional-level equipment. The room also features TV and a corner light that shows different colours that add a fu atmosphere to the space. Joe was a fan favourite on Strictly in 2018 and showed off his passion for dance after the show ended on his YouTube channel ThatcherJoeVlogs where he is often seen breaking spontaneously into a dance with his girlfriend.
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Take a look at the latest photos to be shared of Dianne's home, it is swoon-worthy…
Their living room
Also in Dianne's carousel were previously unseen pictures elsewhere in her gorgeous home. Since they showed off their gorgeous Christmas tree last December, Joe and Dianne have dressed their living space with extra furniture and it is the cosiest space you could imagine. Dianne's white living room features a large grey sofa with a matching armchair with tan cushions for warmth. The space has dark wood flooring but the dancer has placed a large jute rug on the floor to ensure the room feels inviting. We love the fireplace panel that has been built below their impressive TV and their rustic wood coffee table and dim lighting for ambience.
A pop of colour
Dianne also showed off her love of colour. Though their new Sussex home has taken on a minimalist aesthetic, Dianne and Joe's previous property was a hive of colour and energy. She has added touches of colour to the new home, like in her colourful mirror and freestanding pink light on her window sill.
Their dining room
The ballroom dancer also revealed a new shot of her dreamy dining room. The open-plan space features wooden chairs with fluffy backs and seats, dramatic pendant lighting and a large wall mirror with a shabby chic gold frame.
Their open-plan downstairs
In the carousel's first image, Dianne was seen taking a mirror selfie where a glimpse of her neutral kitchen can be spotted. We love how she has added rustic touches like a wicker basket full of throws that make the space feel lived in. The Latin dancing superstar looked lovely in a stone trenchcoat and a bright green jumper.
A pro at a tablescape
Where the dining room meets a sitting room in the open-plan layout, Dianne shared a coffee table with her fans that is giving a serious masterclass in minimalist tablescapes. The circular marble piece sat on a jute rug and was dressed with an array of candles that no doubt smell incredible, a lush green plant for the addition of life and colour into the room and an array of carefully placed luxury magazines.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/511260/strictly-dianne-buswell-home-gym-sussex-pad-joe-sugg/
| 2024-01-15T15:02:19Z
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King Frederik and Queen Mary's four children are adjusting to their new royal roles after watching their father become Denmark's new monarch on Sunday.
Frederik, 55, was proclaimed King on 14 January following his mother Queen Margrethe's decision to abdicate in his favour after 52 years on the throne.
Both he and his wife were visibly emotional as they greeted the crowds who had gathered outside Christiansborg Palace. They were joined by their 18-year-old son, Christian, the new Crown Prince, and his younger siblings, Princess Isabella, 16, and 13-year-old twins, Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
And it has now been revealed that the three youngest royals have received a very special gift following their father's ascension.
Isabella, Vincent and Josephine are now all proud recipients of the Order of the Elephant - Denmark's highest honour of chivalry.
When Crown Prince Frederik became king on Sunday, he also replaced his mother as the sovereign of the Order of the Elephant. The laws dictate that the sons, and now daughters, of the Sovereign of the Orders are born members of the order.
That means his three youngest children, HRH Princess Isabella, HRH Prince Vincent and HRH Princess Josephine, became Knights of the Order of the Elephant from 14 January 2024 onwards. They are likely to be presented with the Order of the Elephant’s insignias on their 18th birthdays.
Similarly, Frederik and his brother, Prince Joachim, became Knights of the Order of the Elephant upon the accession to the throne of their mother, HM Queen Margrethe, on 14 January 1972, and were presented with the insignias when they turned 18 years old.
Crown Prince Christian, meanwhile, was presented with his Order by his grandmother when he reached the same landmark birthday, in October last year.
Members of the order are given a very distinctive emblem - a colourful and beautifully crafted elephant.
The elephant is made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings and stands at about 5 cm high. A number of large cut diamonds adorn the elephant, along with a crowned monogram of the monarch reigning when it was made.
At the top of the tower on the elephant’s back is a gold ring, from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to a sash. And on the elephant's back sits a turbaned ‘moor mahout’.
Between 1580 and today, around 890 persons have been bestowed with the Order of the Elephant; with Queen Margrethe adding 68 people during her 40 year reign, according to Tatler.
The recipients are almost always royal persons and foreign heads of state – though in a rare exception, the order was given to a commoner in 2000. That person was the deceased shipping magnate, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, who was recognised for exceptional contribution to Danish economic strength and Danish society.
It's interesting to note that the elephants are only on loan to recipients and must be returned to the Chapter of the Royal Orders of Chivalry when a member of the Order has passed away.
It means that elephants are inherited and used many times by different members, with some dating back hundreds of years. Previous owners are not disclosed to current members - although there are lines of inheritance. The elephant recently bestowed on Prince Christian belonged previously to his grandfather, Prince Henrik.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511258/king-frederik-youngest-three-children-receive-incredible-gift/
| 2024-01-15T15:02:33Z
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Whether it's a trip abroad or a staycation, if you're travelling you'll want to be in the know about the best luggage to take with you. A place to keep your most important possessions - security and practicality are a must. You likely want something lightweight but sturdy, and of course stylish.
If you're a frequent flyer, reports of luggage losses due to low airport staff mean it's also a good idea to invest in an AirTag - from £29 for UK customers and from $27 for US customers - so you can keep track of your suitcase if it's going in the hold. Make sure your name and phone number are on your case to speed up its return and remember to pack plenty of essentials in your carry-on, too. We'd also recommend investing in some packing cubes to streamline your suitcase and make organising your things so much easier.
From classic suitcases to overnight bags and some very luxe designer luggage, we've found all of the best options with top reviews available to shop now for your next holiday.
How we chose the best suitcases
- Trusted brands: We've included brands which the HELLO! shopping team know and love. We're all avid travellers, so we're familiar with a wide range of suitcase types and models, and we've included the best in this edit.
- Reviews: In the case where we couldn't personally test the suitcase ourselves, we've only included models which had a high number of positive reviews from verified shoppers
- Variety: We wanted to cater for all types of travellers. Whether you're looking for luggage for a weekend trip or the best suitcase for big families, you'll find it here - including luxury and budget options.
The best luggage to shop for 2024
The eco-friendly suitcase option
- Capacity: 44 litres (cabin), 92 litres (medium), 130 litres (large)
- Weight: 2.31kg (cabin), 2.79kg (medium), 3.11kg (large)
- Material: Polyester fabric
- Colours Available: Black, Intense Rust
Surprisingly affordable, it Luggage are emerging as one of the most-searched suitcase brands online today. Their Lykke suitcase is a great sustainable option, since it’s made from fabric originating from PET single use plastic bottles. In addition, it has lots of great features - an expander section for holiday shopping, a TSA lock for security, an 8-wheel spinner system, and a 10-year warranty.
The best luggage for space
- Capacity: 39 litres (cabin), 75 litres (medium), 104 litres (large)
- Weight: 2.3kg (cabin), 3kg (medium), 3.4kg (large)
- Material: Polypropylene
- Colours available: Black, Dark Blue, Khaki
Samonite's Upscape suitcase is so spacious but still super lightweight - the cabin size is just 2.3kg. Fully expandable, it also features a TSA lock and a washable interior with zipped sections and packing straps to keep everything exactly where you want it. Multiple reviews say it's very easy to manoeuvre.
Suitcase with the most five-star reviews
- Capacity: 39 litres (cabin), 69 litres (medium), 105 litres (large)
- Weight: 3.31kg (cabin), 4.26kg (medium), 5.35kg (large)
- Material: ABS material
- Colours Available: Black, Light Blue, Navy Blue, Orange
If you’re in the market for a budget option, Amazon Basics Hardside Suitcase is excellent, and it has the reviews to back it up - over 42k positive ratings, and counting. It has a protective hard shell and is made of extra-thick ABS for greater strength and durability. There’a a fully-lined interior with 3 zippered pockets to make organising your belongings easier - plus it’s expandable up to 15% an has four double spinner wheels.
Best luggage three-piece-set
- Capacity: 41 litres (cabin), 70 litres (medium), 106 litres (large)
- Weight: 2.8kg (cabin), 3.6kg (medium), 4.5kg (large)
- Material: Mixed material
- Colours Available: Light Pink, Light Blue
If you’re in need of a total luggage refresh for your 2024 holiday, then buying a three-set is a great idea. You get acabin bag, plus a medium and large suitcase you can put in the hold. Marks & Spencer’s Lisbon set is extremely popular with shoppers, who say it’s stylish, durable and great value for money. The set comes with a 10-year guarantee against faulty workmanship, which is great for peace of mind.
The best luggage for durability
- Capacity: 37 litres (cabin), 75 litres (medium) 121 litres (large)
- Weight: 2.8kg (cabin), 3.9kg (medium), 5kg (large)
- Material: Polycarbonate
- Colours available: Taupe, Slate, Sycamore, Mineral, Black, Navy, Sage, Blush, Azure, Ochre, Poppy
Antler's best-selling Clifton suitcases are renowned for being spacious, sturdy and stylish. They come complete with a twist handle, a TSA lock and they're all expandable. Make them your own with the optional personalised bag tag adorned with your initials.
The best luggage for style
- Capacity: 65.5 litres
- Weight: 3.9kg
- Material: ABS Material
- Colours available: Sand or Blush
The chicest suitcases come courtesy of Australian luggage brand Nere. We love the blush-style design with gold trim, which is also very easy to spot on the airport carousel. This eight-wheel suitcase features a TSA combination lock, ergonomic adjustable pull handle and plenty of internal zipped pockets. There's various sizes available in the design, including a 55cm and 75cm sizes.
The best luggage for affordability
- Capacity: 35 litres (cabin size)
- Weight: 2.6kg (cabin size)
- Material: Polycarbonate
- Colours available: Black, Grey, Navy, Red
This very affordable suitcase from John Lewis is a bestseller and has over 200 five-star reviews. It has a durable ABS hardshell, a TSA lock located on the side and elastic compression straps inside to keep your essentials secure.
The best luggage for a weekend away
- Size: 61cm x 35cm x 29cm
- Weight: 1.7kg
- Capacity: 60L
- Material: Canvas
- Colours available: Black, Olive & Navy
Both practical and chic, Stubble & Co's Weekender XL is ideal if you're going away sans suitcase but don't necessarily want to pack light. It's made from durable, water-resistant canvas with a premium leather handle and features secure internal pockets and an easy-access outer pocket. Lightweight and roomy, it's the perfect companion for a weekend getaway.
The best luggage for sustainability
- Capacity: 138 litres (large)
- Weight: 4.3kg (large)
- Material: rPET Polyester
- Colours available: Blue, Green
Committed to sustainability, Delsey's Montmartre suitcase is made from 100% rPET - a plastic that comes from completely recycled water bottles. Available in blue or green, it features a TSA combination lock, removable and washable linings, plus internal and external zip pockets.
The best luggage for extra features
- Capacity: 38.9 (carry-on) 68.8 litres (medium), 99.2 litres (large)
- Weight: 3.7 (carry-on) 4.8kg (medium), 5.6kg (large)
- Material: Polycarbonate
- Colours available: Petal, Black, Green, Asphault
Cult American brand Away's Flex suitcases are so popular thanks to their interior organisation, 360° spinner wheels and removable battery to charge your phone up to four times. Available in a whole range of colours and sizes, they're all fully expandable.
The best luggage for lasting a lifetime
- Capacity: 31 litres (small cabin), 35 litres (cabin), 49 litres (cabin plus), 60 litres (medium), 86 litres (large), 105 litres (trunk plus)
- Weight: 4.2kg (small cabin), 4.3kg (cabin), 4.7kg (cabin plus), 5.4kg (medium), 6.2kg (large), 6.4kg (trunk plus)
- Material: Aluminium
- Colours available: Titanium, Silver, Black, Arctic Blue
If you want to invest in some luggage that will stand the test of time, go for the RIMOWA Original suitcase. Made from the highest quality anodised aluminium, it's seriously robust. Also featuring easy to move noise-reducing wheels and a sturdy extendable handle, it's built for a lifetime of use.
The best luggage for luxury
- Size: 75cm x 30cm
- Material: Canvas and leather
- Colours available: One design
Be the most stylish person in the airport with Gucci's new Ophidia suitcase. Both luxe and practical, it features the Italian fashion house's signature GG Supreme canvas and web stripe as well as the Double G motif. Of course it's practical too, with four 360-degree wheels, leather and retractable handles and a padded front exterior pocket with zipper closure.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/shopping/511254/best-luggage-suitcase-brands/
| 2024-01-15T15:02:40Z
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Harrison Ford captured the hearts of the nation on Sunday night, January 14 when he was presented with the Career Achievement Award at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards.
The 81-year-old screen icon received an enthusiastic round of applause and adoration from many of the stars in the room, although none seemed to catch his attention quite like a special someone did.
The star took some time to pay a very loving tribute to his wife of 13 years, Calista Flockhart, 59, who sat across from the stage, you can relive the teary-eyed moment below…
Louella Alderson, co-founder of the dating app So Syncd and a relationship expert, weighed in on his emotional speech and revealed that the feelings were as genuine as you'd think.
"From Harrison Ford's emotional speech at the Critics Choice Awards, it seems clear that his love and admiration for Calista Flockhart runs deep," she says.
"As an actor, he may have a way with words and conveying emotions on screen, but it's clear that his love for his wife is genuine and heartfelt."
She provided some insight into how they're able to make their marriage work while keeping it out of the public eye, despite the trappings of fame and celebrity often ensuring otherwise.
"It's not always easy for celebrity couples to maintain a strong, lasting relationship in the public eye, but it seems that Ford and Flockhart have found a way to make it work," Louella adds. "They've balanced their personal lives with their professional careers and have been able to grow and evolve as a couple over the years."
While she highlighted that the secret to their long-lasting bond was their ability to keep their relationship out of the spotlight, she was complimentary of the way they spoke of each other in public as well.
"Ford's words and actions towards his wife are a testament to the strong and loving bond they share," Louella said. "In interviews, he always speaks very positively about their relationship and the respect he has for Flockhart as a partner and mother to their child, Liam.
MORE: Harrison Ford makes rare public appearance – and it's extra meaningful for wife Calista Flockhart
"Flockhart is also incredibly supportive of Ford in his career and his hobbies. After Ford had a plane crash, she supported his return to flying because she knew how much it meant to him."
Ford and Flockhart met at the 2002 Golden Globes and began dating soon after, when the actor was 59 and Flockhart was 37 and had just become a new mom, having adopted her son Liam as a baby the previous year.
MORE: Harrison Ford receives unexpected honor at 81 – and his reaction is priceless
Louella emphasized that despite their meeting later in life, the duration of their romance has proved that age really is nothing but a number. "From his emotional speech at the Critics Choice Awards, it seems that Ford is grateful for her presence in his life and values their relationship deeply.
"They may have found love later in life and have a 22-year age gap, but it shows that love can thrive at any stage in life," she concluded.
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/brides/511271/harrison-ford-emotional-speech-calista-flockhart-marriage-decoded-relationship-expert/
| 2024-01-15T15:36:53Z
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Welcome to the Daily Lowdown podcast from HELLO!. In this episode, we're talking about The Critics Choice Awards where Taylor Swift got a shout-out even though she wasn't in attendance. Actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in comedy series The Bear and gave the Anti-Hero hitmaker a mention, referring to her as his "scene partner".
Not only that, The Weeknd has reason to celebrate after hitting a major streaming milestone with his hit Blinding Lights, which has now been streaming four billion times on Spotify.
Listen to the episode in full below…
She might have been busy at her boyfriend Travis Kelce's football game, but Taylor Swift got a shout-out at the Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday. The superstar was namedropped by The Bear actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach who picked up the award for Best Supporting Actor thanks to his role as Richie in the series when he took to the stage and thanked his scene partner, Taylor Swift, as well as actress Olivia Colman and his family.
The singer didn't feature in the film but Ebon had a memorable scene which saw him singing along to her music. Elsewhere at the star-studded awards, a big surprise came when Paul Giamatti picked up the award for best actor over Cillian Murphy, Barbie won best original song – much to the surprise of Ryan Gosling, and Succession swept the board again with Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin both picking up wins for their roles as Shiv and Roman Roy respectively.
MORE: The Daily Lowdown: Jennifer Lopez's new song is a love letter to Ben Affleck - take a listen
MORE: The Daily Lowdown: Justin Timberlake surprises fans with bold move ahead of career 'comeback'
Meanwhile, also at the Critics Choice Awards was music producer Mark Ronson who – as well as picking up the award for Best Song with his track, I'm Just Ken, sung by Ryan Gosling – was keen to defend the upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic. The producer worked closely with Amy throughout her career before she passed away aged 27 in 2011, and Mark stressed that when he read the script the film had captured her razor-sharp sense of humour brilliantly. The biopic will focus on Amy's life and career and will star Marisa Abella as the late singer.
The Weeknd has reason to celebrate because he has hit a huge milestone on Spotify – becoming the first ever artist to hit four billion streams thanks to his hit track, Blinding Lights. The song came out at the end of 2019 but rose to prominence in 2020, and it is dubbed one of the biggest pop songs of all time. As well as streaming success, it also broke many records on the charts, spending the most weeks within the top five and in the top 40, too. The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said he was humbled by the achievement.
Doja Cat has seemingly teased the tracklisting for her follow-up album, Scarlet 2. The rapper posted a photo of a whiteboard of song titles, which fans are convinced will feature on the new album, before writing S2, seemingly a nod to the new record. A sequel will go down well with fans and the news comes only four months after Doja dropped the first Scarlet album. Although there's no word on when fans will be able to listen to the new material.
And Holly Willoughby returned to screens on Sunday evening for the first time in three months. The former This Morning presenter made a comeback on the hit show Dancing on Ice where she presented alongside its new star, Stephen Mulhern. Holly has been keeping a low profile in recent times after waving goodbye to her role on This Morning, which came shortly after fellow co-star Phillip Schofield stepped down from ITV after 20 years after admitting to lying about an affair. Holly said she was so thrilled to be back on the greatest show on ice and we're glad to have her back on our screens!
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511264/taylor-swift-gets-a-shout-out-at-the-critics-choice-awards/
| 2024-01-15T15:37:00Z
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Knowing how to properly dress your baby for sleep can be a cause of anxiety for many parents. In summer it's all about checking your baby doesn't overheat, but ensuring your baby is properly dressed in winter for sleep is also important as it is all about striking the balance between keeping your baby warm and keeping them safe from any smother hazards.
It can be tempting to wrap up your baby warmly in lots of blankets during the colder months. However, studies have shown that overheating a baby can lead to sudden infant death syndrome or cot death. Since research shows that babies are best to be cool rather than hot, opt for a fit-for-purpose sleepsuit or sleeping bag with an appropriate tog for winter. If you feel like your baby isn't warm enough as they are, layers can be added in the form of another piece of clothing, rather than an extra blanket.
Kate Holmes, Head of Support and Information at The Lullaby Trust, previously told HELLO! that "to reduce the chance of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) the ideal temperature of a baby's room should be 16-20°C", adding that "baby sleeping bags advise what tog to use for each season or temperature, so that can be handy to use as a guide." A sleep sack with a TOG of around 2.5 is a great option as the baby is warm and contained but not bundled up in thick fabric.
Babies aren't always very good at regulating their own temperature so being aware of a few telltale signs that your little one is starting to overheat can be just as useful in winter as it is in summer. The NHS states that "if your baby is sweating or their tummy feels hot to the touch, take off some of their clothing or bedding. Don't worry if your baby's hands or feet feel cool. This is normal." You can also check a baby's temperature by touching their nose and the back of their neck. A cold nose can be a sign that the baby isn't warm enough, a cold back of the neck indicates that your little one is definitely not in a warm enough environment. The NHS site also reminds us that a folded blanket counts as two blankets.
Choosing certain materials to dress your baby is also important when striking that balance between overheating and being too cool. Sleep Consultant Dr Sarah Mitchell says on her website dedicated to helping babies sleep that wool and cotton are the most breathable fabrics whereas fleece can easily lead to overheating. The same goes for your baby's bedding. Using a cotton fitted base sheet is the best option in terms of safety and comfort. Dressing them appropriately also has to align with how warm you are keeping their nursery. Rachel Mitchell, a certified pediatric sleep consultant and founder of My Sweet Sleeper, told The Bump that the ideal temperature for a baby's room is between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mother & Baby offers a fantastic comprehensive guide for dressing your baby according to the weather. It can be difficult to decide how to dress them as you start to go into winter where one night might not be as cold as the next.
DISCOVER: I'm a parenting editor and these are 15 things that surprised me about giving birth
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511267/how-to-dress-baby-sleep-cold-weather/
| 2024-01-15T15:37:06Z
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Just yesterday the first teaser trailer for Amy Winehouse's biopic Back to Black debuted and our eyes were fixated on her fashion. The one-minute and 15-second teaser showed Marisa Abela, who plays Amy, sporting some of her most iconic ‘fits, but we couldn't help but wonder how accurate the parallels were to the late star's actual wardrobe choices.
From her iconic white streak to her over-the-top signature liquid eyeliner look, Amy Winehouse’s style simultaneously reflects those of her beauty choices. Often opting for a bustier, tartan print mini skirt, little black dresses and itty bitty denim shorts, Amy’s wardrobe repertoire was nothing short of iconic.
Back to Black started filming in April of last year and is set to be released in April of this year.
MORE: The 10 most fashionable TV shows to watch in 2024
RELATED: Marisa Abela: Everything you need to know about the Amy Winehouse star
In one scene from the teaser trailer Amy, played by newcomer actress Marisa Abela, is seen on stage wearing her beloved chunky gold heart necklace paired with a towering beehive hairstyle adorned with floral detailing and a black corset. This look is extremely similar to what she wore to the 2008 Grammy Awards, but instead of a black corset, she opted for a simple fitted vest.
Another snippet shows the singer performing in a baby blue babydoll dress, fixed at the waist with an oversized black belt. The look was inspired by a 2007 outfit that Amy wore to perform at London’s Shepherd's Bush Empire.
A known lover of itty bitty shorts, Amy often wore her micro shorts on stage at festivals. In the trailer, Amy is seen with her partner Blake Fielder-Civil, played by Jack O'Connell, picnicking in a park. The singer sported a stripe bandeau top, low-waisted pink shorts and black heels, striking a resemblance to an actual picnic the lovebirds embarked on in Primrose Hill.
Unfortunately, the trailer only gives us a sneak peek as to what to expect in terms of iconic fashion moments, but we can only hope the yellow dress and heart-shaped Moschino bag combo that she wore to the 2007 Brit Awards makes an appearance.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511123/amy-winehouse-movie-how-the-films-fashion-compares-to-her-real-life-style/
| 2024-01-15T15:37:12Z
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Parental duties in the animal kingdom cover a whole range of options, from those that lay eggs and then sacrifice a normal sleep to care for their young, to those that give birth to live young that can move about within a few hours. Most nature shows feature animals growing up and learning the ropes, but rarely do squid come to mind when it comes to great animal parents. Now the researchers at Schmidt Ocean have shared incredible footage of a black-eyed squid (Gonatus onyx) taking care of a whole host of eggs.
The black-eyed squid, also known as the clawed arm squid, is a common species that lives in the deep sea – around 1,900 meters (6,200 feet) below the surface of the water – in the Northern Pacific Ocean, writes the Monterey Bay Aquarium. However, little is known about the reproductive habits of this species, since it occurs at such depths.
The Schmidt Ocean Institute posted this video to their Instagram page showing how the squid was traveling through the water holding its eggs. According to the caption this squid was filmed near the Costa Rica Caballito Outcrop.
In 2005, a study was released showing how female black-eyed squid care for their eggs. The claws on their arms help them hold on to up to 3,000 eggs; as they swim, the females pump water through the egg clusters to keep them supplied with oxygen. At the time this was a different reproductive method than in all other known squid species. However, another species, Bathyteuthis berryi, is also known to brood its eggs after spawning.
While the secretive lives of these squids make learning about their ecology difficult, the team suspect that the mother will carry the eggs for 6-9 months, during which time it will not feed as the egg sac is blocking its mouth. Brad Seibel, the lead author of the 2005 study, thinks the mothers likely die soon after the eggs hatch, according to an interview with Science Friday.
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https://www.iflscience.com/incredible-footage-of-a-deep-sea-squid-brooding-thousands-of-eggs-72452
| 2024-01-15T15:40:57Z
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A Chinese startup has developed a tiny nuclear battery that it claims can generate electricity for 50 years without the need for charging. Just the size of a small coin, the company suggests that this technology has the potential to power a smartphone in the future (although there’s a lot of work ahead before that becomes a reality).
Beijing-based Betavolt unveiled the miniature atomic energy battery on January 8, boasting in a press release that the technology is "way ahead of European and American scientific research institutions and enterprises.”
Called BV100, the battery produces electricity by utilizing the energy emitted by a decaying radioactive isotope of nickel (nickel-63). In between the layers of nickel-63 are sheets of a single-crystal diamond semiconductor that are just 10 microns thick.
It can store 3,300 megawatt hours and reportedly holds an energy density that’s more than 10 times that of conventional lithium batteries. According to Betavolt, it will be able to sustain its output for up to 50 years without the need for charging or maintenance.
Measuring 15 x 15 x 15 millimeters, the battery's power is 100 microwatts and the voltage is 3 volts. Bear in mind, that capacity is pretty meager and isn't yet nearly strong enough to power an electronic device like a smartphone, let alone a laptop.
That said, Betavolt notes that several of the batteries could potentially be used in series or parallel to power more demanding devices.
Keeping a capsule of radioactive decay in your pocket might sound like risky business, but the company insists the battery is “absolutely safe.” So safe, in fact, they believe it could eventually be used to power medical devices such as pacemakers and artificial hearts.
The company states there is no external radiation, adding that the battery “will not catch fire or explode in response to acupuncture and gunshots,” which is always a plus.
Today, thermonuclear batteries are only used in aerospace engineering. For instance, the Voyager probes were fitted with a form of nuclear battery developed during the Cold War. Launched in 1977, the pair of Voyager spacecraft are still cruising through the outskirts of our Solar System.
However, Betavolt believes their new product shows how nuclear batteries could even be used by consumers in everyday use.
They say the battery is currently in its “pilot stage” and will soon be put into mass production. Looking ahead, the company plans to create more powerful batteries and wants to explore the use of different radioactive isotopes.
“The company plans to launch a battery with a power of 1 watt in 2025. If policies permit, atomic energy batteries can allow a mobile phone to never be charged, and drones that can only fly for 15 minutes can fly continuously,” Betavolt said in their statement.
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https://www.iflscience.com/china-unveils-coin-sized-nuclear-battery-that-lasts-for-50-years-72448
| 2024-01-15T15:41:15Z
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2024’s Apocalypse Bingo Card can put a big fat cross through "insect invasion" as America is scheduled to have the first double brood emergence of cicadas in 221 years. How can we know that? Because these peculiar insects have a passion for prime numbers.
Periodical cicadas don’t emerge often – once every 13 or 17 years, to be precise – and when they do they arrive in their millions, and even billions. This year, fate has aligned so that two broods will emerge from the ground, marking the first time this has happened in over two centuries.
Brood XIII makes an appearance every 17 years, while Brood XIX pops up every 13 years. This year, they’re going to have to learn to share, as they’ll be wriggling topside together.
The numbers might seem random, but there’s method to the madness.
“Thirteen years and 17 years are special because they’re both prime numbers, which means it’s really hard for a predator to have a cycle that syncs up with them,” explained mathematician Professor Hannah Fry in a TikTok video. “Also, they almost never synchronize with each other – 13 and 17, kind of missing each other – apart from every 221 years.”
The last time we got such a bumper brood of cicadas was back in 1803, so while we’re seeing in the double brood with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lil Nas X, the last Brood X double bill was going down to the tune of Beethoven.
When it’s time for cicadas to emerge, they wriggle from where they’ve been lurking in the ground for over a decade and shed their exoskeletons. The once-in-their-lifetime event is what has to happen so that they can reproduce, and it’s a short-lived mass orgy that unfortunately isn’t excused from the threat of sexually transmitted pathogens.
A fungus called Massospora cicadina is well-known among the scientific community, an opportunistic pathogen that crashes the cicada orgy and spreads from insect to insect via sexual contact. Effectively an STI, the fungus can spread from an infected female to other cicadas as they attempt to copulate.
“It’s a sexually transmitted fungus,” said John Lill, a cicada expert and chair of biology at George Washington University, to IndyStar. “They engage in normal courtship behavior, yet their abdomen is a big fungal mass. Instead, the attempted copulation results in spreading the fungus even more.”
It’s a different beast to the fungi that inspired The Last Of Us, but it’s still a mind-altering one that changes the cicadas behaviors. Infected males will sing for female mates, but they’ll also flap their wings, which attracts males. As the fungus continues to eat away at the cicada’s reproductive organs, the insect will pass it on to every other cicada they encounter. Eventually, the eating away becomes so severe the cicada’s butt actually falls off.
Lucky you for landing on this Earth at just the right time to see it all unfold in real time. Popcorn at the ready, chaps.
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https://www.iflscience.com/cicadapocalypse-returns-to-the-us-with-first-double-brood-emergence-in-221-years-72445
| 2024-01-15T15:41:20Z
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Private American space company Astrobotic has announced its doomed lunar lander is now on a path back towards Earth. Peregrine has been leaking fuel since last week, and any hopes for a "hard" landing on the Moon have been dashed. Instead, Astrobotic is aiming for a controlled burning up in Earth's atmosphere.
After a successful launch on January 8, the world has been watching what was billed as the first-ever private US mission to land on the Moon. Unfortunately, the lander hit trouble shortly after heading out of the Earth's atmosphere, leaving it unable to point its solar panels at the Sun.
Without enough energy to get to the Moon and make a soft landing, the team has been working hard to deliver its payloads, successfully delivering power to all 10 experiments that needed it. As well as communicating with the ground, some even achieved science objectives, according to Astrobotic.
But there was still the matter of what to do with the lander itself, a decision which had to be made quickly as the propellant continued to leak, albeit at a slowed rate.
"Yesterday afternoon, we test-fired one of the main engines for the first time. We achieved a 200-millisecond burn and acquired data that indicated Peregrine could have main engine propulsive capability," the team wrote in an update on January 14.
"However, due to the anomaly, the fuel-to-oxidizer ratio is well outside of the normal operating range of the main engines, making long controlled burns impossible. The team projects that the spacecraft has enough remaining propellant to maintain Sun pointing and perform small maneuvers."
Currently, 376,500 kilometers (240,000 miles) away from Earth, Astrobotic is working with NASA to return the spacecraft for a controlled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. This may seem a little dramatic, but burning it up in the Earth's atmosphere, and controlling its path, is preferable to leaving potential debris floating around, which could make its way to Earth in an uncontrolled path, or cause problems for other spacecraft.
The team believes the lander could have a few weeks of operational time left in it, but ultimately the decision was taken to put the craft on course to re-enter our atmosphere.
"While we believe it is possible for the spacecraft to operate for several more weeks and could potentially have raised the orbit to miss the Earth, we must take into consideration the anomalous state of the propulsion system and utilize the vehicle’s onboard capability to end the mission responsibly and safely," Astrobitc said.
"We do not believe Peregrine’s re-entry poses safety risks, and the spacecraft will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere."
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https://www.iflscience.com/doomed-private-moon-lander-now-on-path-to-crash-back-to-earth-72443
| 2024-01-15T15:41:21Z
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Wildlife documentaries like the BBC’s recent series, Planet Earth III, are renowned for offering breathtaking images of animals in their natural habitats. You’d be forgiven for thinking these shows offer an unmediated portrayal of these animals – an objective window into their lives as they hunt, rest, and rear their young. But this isn’t quite the case.
While the images we see are filmed on location, many of the sounds are recorded and added to the programs later. The sounds of animals walking, chewing food, and panting, for example, are almost always recorded by human “Foley artists” in a sound studio far away from the filming location, often weeks or months later. Foley artists are specialists who produce bespoke sounds for film and television soundtracks.
This curious fact is an inevitable consequence of modern wildlife filmmaking. A lot of wildlife documentary footage is shot using telephoto lenses that can zoom in on their subjects from a great distance. But sound recordists typically can’t get close enough to capture clear sound without disturbing the animals.
Wildlife documentaries also tend to require large crews. If sound were recorded on location, it would be muddied by background noises such as crew chatter or car engines. In other cases, the animals make sounds of a frequency or volume that most microphones simply can’t capture clearly.
In my research, I’ve talked to Foley artists who specialize in animal sound and observed them at work in their studios.
How Foley artists work
This Foley process generally involves deciding which of the animal’s actions or movements need sounds to be created for them, and then deciding on the specific qualities those sounds should have.
These decisions often involve the broader sound production team and sometimes the show’s director. The Foley artist then uses their creativity and resourcefulness to create the sounds.
So, what sorts of techniques do they use? It might seem cliched, but the professionals I’ve spoken to really do sometimes knock coconut shells against stone slabs to make the sound of horse footsteps. For an elephant, they might use rocks against a straw-covered tub of compacted earth.
A simple pitter-patter of the artist’s fingers in a water tank can create the sound of fish jumping across the surface of a lake, while a bundle of old VHS tape swished around a large water tank gives the sound of a shoal of fish moving through the ocean.
A pair of old leather gloves ruffled together quickly might be used to simulate the flutter of a bird’s wings as it takes off. And most artists will create the close-up sounds of animals chewing, panting, or yawning with their own mouths. These sounds are created as the artist watches the footage on a monitor, making sure they perfectly match the actions they’re paired with.
There are some exceptions. Animal cries and roars – which are far too complex to be simulated artificially – tend to be taken from library recordings. And recent developments in microphone technology mean that sound recordists can begin to capture more sounds on location. But for the time being, Foley sound remains a staple of wildlife documentary production.
Why Foley artist choices matter
Watching Foley artists at work on wildlife projects gives me a thrill like the one we get when we see how a magic trick is done. But the significance of this technique goes further than that, because both the sounds that are attributed to animals and the nature of those sounds have the ability to affect how we perceive a given species.
On the one hand, a slithery, slimy sound may be matched to the image of a snake – even if a human would be unlikely to hear much if they were really stood next to the camera. Emphasizing such an unnerving sound is unlikely to win the snake any new fans, whereas a soft yawn accompanying a close-up of a tiger cub may increase the sense of that animal’s cuteness or vulnerability.
Sounds guide our emotional interpretation of the things we see, and there have been complaints about previous series of Planet Earth, when this audio guidance seemed too heavy-handed.
This matters because the popularity of certain animal species, driven by these documentaries, may affect support for conservation efforts. Steven Spielberg’s fictional film Jaws (1975) made it clear that the way certain animals are portrayed in popular media can have very tangible real-world consequences. Spielberg himself has expressed regret about the boom in shark hunting that the film may have encouraged by presenting the shark as both villain and potential trophy.
The use of Foley sound in wildlife documentaries is far more subtle, of course, but it still has the potential to affect how we perceive certain species. And it is all the more powerful because it often flies below the radar of our conscious attention.
So, while the masterful work done by Foley artists on wildlife programs and films should be celebrated for its ingenuity and magical effects, perhaps it should also be taken as an invitation to think critically about exactly what we see, and hear.
Damien Pollard, Lecturer in Film, Northumbria University, Northumbria University, Newcastle
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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https://www.iflscience.com/humans-make-the-animal-sounds-in-most-nature-documentaries-how-and-why-72447
| 2024-01-15T15:41:23Z
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In the morning of Sunday, January 14, the Earth opened up again in the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland. A new eruption took place in the active region, and this time the lava reached the town of Grindavík. After the eruption of last month, defenses were built to direct the lava flow away from the town, which was evacuated in November. A new fissure opened up beyond the barriers and the lava reached the town, setting some houses alight.
“The southern most part of the fissure is about 900m [2,953 feet] from the town of Grindavík. The opening is south of lava flow deflection barriers that are being built north of Grindavík. Lava is now flowing towards the town,” the Icelandic Meteorological Office said in a statement yesterday morning.
Gas flowing from the eruption was blown towards the sea, which was at least a silver lining. The experts believe that the magma dike intrusion responsible for these eruptions moved underneath the town of Grindavík. It is believed that existing faults and fractures in the town were reactivated and new faults likely formed as the intrusion propagated underground.
This region has been the center of volcanic activity since 2021 after laying dormant for six millennia. With the latest one, there have been five eruptions in the Reykjanes Peninsula. The amount of magma in the intrusion had scientists worried that the region was just getting started and this new eruption is proving their concerns were correct.
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https://www.iflscience.com/iceland-volcanic-eruption-sends-lava-into-local-town-setting-houses-on-fire-72446
| 2024-01-15T15:41:27Z
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There once was a time when living into your 100s seemed like a pretty rare possibility – but if you happen to live in the US, you might be interested to know that your chances are on the up. Projections from the US Census Bureau (USCB) suggest that the number of American centenarians is set to quadruple over the next 30 years.
The population of the US currently sits just under 336 million. Of those people, it’s estimated that 101,000 are aged 100 or over, representing only 0.03 percent of the population. However, the USCB has estimated that the proportion will stand at 0.1 percent in 2054. That might still look like a tiny percentage, but that’s over 300,000 more centenarians kicking about – you’d need an extra three Michigan Stadiums to fit all those people together.
Although it’s still something of a sharp rise, this figure isn’t entirely unexpected; the number of people aged 100 or over in the US has been steadily increasing since the 1950s. Back then, it was thought there were only 2,300 American centenarians. It’s a group that’s already increased nearly 44 times over in less than 100 years.
Within that increasingly common group, there’s another trend that’s also projected to continue, albeit with some declines: they're mostly women and mostly white. At present, 78 percent of centenarians in the US are women and 77 percent are white; in 2054, this is estimated to go down to 68 and 72 percent, respectively.
The US is currently home to the second largest population of centenarians. The top spot belongs to Japan, where it’s 146,000. It’s reflective of a wider global trend of population aging, with the worldwide number of centenarians projected to increase to nearly 4 million by 2054. The largest group is estimated to be in China, where it’s thought six out of every 10,000 people will be aged 100 or older.
What are the potential consequences of an aging population? It’s hard to say for certain; research is based on projection models and educated guesses, but it could put pressure on healthcare systems and economies. That being said, some older people can be just as healthy as those decades younger than them.
Whilst there might be a higher proportion of older people, the population worldwide has been projected to fall to just 6 billion by the end of the century – and in the US, to the point where there could even be thousands of ghost cities.
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https://www.iflscience.com/number-of-americans-aged-100-or-over-set-to-quadruple-over-the-next-30-years-72450
| 2024-01-15T15:41:39Z
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An expansion of the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program means that for the first time, humanity is starting to collect a substantial sample of the radio universe for this purpose, thanks to advances in detection equipment.
Despite occasional flutters of excitement, none of our scanning of the skies has turned up evidence of alien civilizations. However, radio astronomers stress that this doesn’t prove there’s no truth out there to find. A commonly used analogy is someone who takes a single bucketful of water from the ocean, finds no fish in it, and therefore concludes fish do not exist.
Our historic sampling is equivalently small. If aliens were even one percent of the way across the galaxy and sending out as many radio and TV signals as we are, it’s very unlikely we would have detected them – even if they’d been doing it long enough for the signals to reach Earth.
A new, much larger, bucket may now change that. Known as Commensal Open-Source Multimode Interferometer Cluster (COSMIC), the new detector is linked to the Karl G Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), which featured as the alien-hunting site in the film Contact.
“COSMIC introduces modern Ethernet-based digital architecture on the VLA, allowing for a test bed for future technologies as we move into the next generation era,” said project scientist Dr Chenoa Tremblay in a statement.
Extraterrestrial radio signals can be sought either through scanning wide areas of the sky, or by pinpointing what are considered promising candidates. However, with the technology we have had up until now, neither has been very satisfying.
Broad surveys have only been able to detect very powerful signals – the sort we might get if aliens were blasting deliberate messages straight at us at the right frequency, but not the leakage from their general chatter. Picking specific targets means knowing where to look, and that requires knowledge we don’t have. Even the planet considered “the best place to look for life outside the Solar System” might not even be a rocky planet like our own. Recent research indicates it’s more likely either a gaseous sub-Neptune hostile to life, or a water world with large barriers to technology. The other planets we know of are less promising still.
Two previous efforts, Project Phoenix and Breakthrough Listen, targeted 1,000-2,000 stars – but even then could only cover limited parts of the spectrum (initially 1-4 GHz, although recently this has broadened somewhat). Now, however, the SETI Institute is expanding a thousand-fold.
COSMIC is designed to allow us to greatly expand our range so we don’t have to be so picky. “Currently, the focus is on creating one of the largest surveys for technological signals, with over 500,000 sources observed in the first six months,” Tremblay said. She added the same technology will allow us to do many things unrelated to the search for life, like looking for dark matter candidates or the causes of fast radio bursts.
COSMIC doesn’t require larger dishes or more sensitive antennae. Instead, it enables the processing of signals that have been effectively wasted. COSMIC collects and processes data that might contain technosignatures at the same time as researchers are using the radio telescope for other things.
Because the data is handled in real-time, instead of weeks or years later as has happened previously, there are opportunities to go back and look at anything promising before it disappears.
Natural radio emissions can almost always be seen over a wide range of frequencies, while those that humans produce are usually quite narrow to avoid interference and wasting energy. SETI has usually operated by seeking signals restricted to narrow wavelengths on the assumption aliens would follow similar rules, and COSMIC is no exception.
“COSMIC executes a search targeting narrowband (Hz-scale) emissions and produces small 'postage stamp' raw voltage files for each antenna around signals of interest,” Tremblay and co-authors of a new paper write; “Employing a cluster of CPU/GPU compute nodes, COSMIC processes data in real time to look for signs of technosignatures within our Galaxy from the directions of our nearest stars.”
Consequently, they add, “We predict that over 10 million stars could be observed within a few years, which is orders of magnitude greater than the scope of the entire current history of radio technosignature searches.”
The study is published open access in the Astronomical Journal.
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https://www.iflscience.com/seti-is-checking-millions-of-stars-for-signs-of-life-72442
| 2024-01-15T15:41:45Z
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There’s been a lot of talk recently about the Moon, given the recent 50th anniversary of the Moon landing. But lunar exploration is not just in our past, it's also in our future. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) plan to go back to the Moon and place a space station in lunar orbit.
This station is known as the Lunar Gateway and after months of analysis, the space agencies have finally announced the orbit that the station will take around our natural satellite. The teams of experts selected the “near-rectilinear halo orbit” or NRHO, which will send the Gateway in a 7-day elongated path around the Moon.
The NHRO will take the station as close as 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) and as far as 70,000 kilometers (43,500 miles). This orbit allows for the least number of eclipses on board (from either the Earth’s or the Moon’s shadow). It is also ideal because it offers relatively inexpensive (in term of energy) transfers from Earth, but also to the Moon’s surface, and trajectories beyond the Moon.
The station will be a way to go from Earth to the Moon and back, with less effort. For each leg, the ideal window for transfer will happen every seven days.
While there are several advantages, the NHRO has its drawbacks.
“Finding a lunar orbit for the gateway is no trivial thing,” Markus Landgraf, Architecture Analyst working with ESA’s Human and Robotic Exploration activities, said in a statement. “If you want to stay there for several years, the near rectilinear halo orbit is slightly unstable and objects in this orbit do have a tendency of drifting away.”
The gateway will be equipped with a propulsion module to help it keep on the right orbit. As it stands, the current plan is for the assembly of the vehicle to begin in the last quarter of 2022, with more modules being added over the following year by uncrewed vehicles. Then in 2024, the crewed mission to the Moon will start as part of NASA’s Artemis Program. Four successive launches will continue to bring modules, as well as providing an opportunity for astronauts to land on the Moon.
According to the plans, the space station will take until 2028 to be completed. The modules will be built by ESA, NASA, the Japanese Space Agency JAXA, and ROSCOMOS, the Russian space agency. Other space agencies are likely to get involved in the construction. The Canadian space agency, for example, is providing the robotic arm.
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https://www.iflscience.com/the-future-lunar-space-station-will-be-in-a-halo-orbit-around-the-moon-53143
| 2024-01-15T15:41:51Z
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Many lunar deposits are curiously high in titanium, with TiO2 accounting for up to 18 percent of some samples by weight. As interesting as that may be to future miners, this fact has also intrigued planetary scientists, who for more than 50 years have been unable to explain how these rocks could form – let alone reach the lunar surface. Now the puzzle has apparently been solved.
When the Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon with 380 kilograms (840 pounds) of rocks, some of their samples were familiar to geologists. Others were not, but only because they required unearthly conditions, such as an absence of water or air, to be produced. However, some lunar substances defied obvious explanations. The volcanic basalts that make up the lunar “seas”, for example, turned out to be much more diverse in composition than their Earthly equivalents, with a hundred-fold difference in titanium concentrations standing out.
High-titanium basalt has remained a mystery ever since. Mapping from orbit that revealed these rocks were quite widespread deepened the puzzle.
Now, a team co-led by Professor Tim Elliott of the University of Bristol has come close to recreating the mystery basalt in the lab, in the process providing an account of how they could have formed on the Moon.
“The origin of volcanic lunar rocks is a fascinating tale involving an ‘avalanche’ of an unstable, planetary-scale crystal pile created by the cooling of a primordial magma ocean,” Elliott said in a statement. “Central to constraining this epic history is the presence of a magma type unique to the Moon, but explaining how such magmas could even have got to the surface, to be sampled by Space missions, has been a troublesome problem. It is great to have resolved this dilemma.”
The problem wasn’t just that the basalt is high in titanium, but its low density compared to the most similar rocks on Earth. This lightness contributed to widespread eruptions 3.5 billion years ago, before the Moon ceased to be volcanically active – but geologists had trouble explaining how this composition arose, and why only on the Moon.
Some geologists suggested the titanium-rich basalts came from materials in the lunar mantle known as ilmenite-bearing cumulates. However, partially melted cumulates in the lab don’t match the basalts in question. Moreover, the product is so dense it’s considered improbable it could have reached the surface.
Elliott and colleagues have now shown that when ilmenite-bearing cumulates react with the common mineral olivine and orthopyroxene, the melted product matches the titanium-rich basalts people have been struggling to explain. The match extends to its low density, making the widespread eruptions make sense.
“Although this model does not fully replicate lunar melt–solid interaction, we suggest that titanium-rich magmas erupted on the surface of the Moon can be derived through partial melting of ilmenite-bearing cumulates, but melts undergo extensive modification of their elemental and isotopic composition through reactive flow in the lunar mantle,” Elliott and co-authors write. “Reactive flow may therefore be the critical process that decreases melt density and allows high-Ti melts to erupt on the lunar surface.”
The work is published in the journal Nature Geoscience
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https://www.iflscience.com/the-origin-of-the-most-mysterious-moon-rocks-has-been-explained-72444
| 2024-01-15T15:41:57Z
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A version of this article was first published in 2018 and we are pretty much resharing it as it was because the whole corporate invention of "Blue Monday" continues to be peddled as "science", and there are only a limited number of ways to say this is bullsh*t.
It’s the third week of January and with that comes the annual nonsense that is "Blue Monday". Let’s be extremely clear: Blue Monday was a day selected by British holiday TV channel Sky Travel in 2005 for an advertisement to sell sunny holidays to fed-up Brits – not the day calculated to be the most depressing of the year – and yet it continues to be used by retail and marketing companies to sell deals, treats, treatments, and generally prey on people's anxiety each year.
The Blue Monday "equation"
[W + (D-d)] x T x Q
M x NA
The "equation" for Blue Monday is a PR concoction that cobbles together in multiplication form quantifiable but unrelated things like how many days since Christmas (T), your level of debt (D), your salary (d), and the average temperature/weather (W), and then divided by arbitrary values for low motivational levels and the need to take action. If it looks like math it must be real, must have been what people thought. And despite being a mess of different and unrelated quantities you always get a very specific date out of it, which is always the third Monday in January.
Information has always been very vague about the details of this equation because the best lies, fabrications, and misinformation have as little info as possible. But if we were to seriously believe that this was a real equation then it would mean that our motivational level is calculated in a currency and our need to take action is a temperature (or vice versa).
The equation is abysmally bad and solely there to make this nonsense appear scientific. It is a bit like sci-fi plots using made-up, sciencey-sounding words for a deus ex machina. Actually, this is worse. Sci-fi at least has "fiction" upfront in its title.
The only laudable thing we have seen coming out of this PR nightmare is that mental health charities in Britain and around the world are using the date as a way to highlight mental health struggles and related stigma. Since one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and nearly 1 billion people are currently affected, according to the latest UN data (2022), this is more important than ever.
Depression is a mental disorder that can affect anyone and it can be the result of several genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, contact your healthcare provider, or there are multiple online resources that offer help, information, and a listening ear, for example in the US here or here. Depression shouldn't be trivialized and it definitely shouldn't be used to sell holidays.
If you or someone you know is struggling, help and support are available in the US at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255. In the UK and Ireland, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. International helplines can be found at SuicideStop.com.
A earlier version of this article was published in January 2023.
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https://www.iflscience.com/this-is-your-yearly-reminder-that-blue-monday-is-not-a-thing-72453
| 2024-01-15T15:41:59Z
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Jools Oliver has shared a candid glimpse inside her family life, revealing how she was reduced to tears when her eldest daughters started university.
The star, who shares five children with her husband Jamie Oliver, made the candid confession during her recent appearance on Holly Tucker's Conversations of Inspiration podcast. When asked about Poppy, 21 and Daisy, 20, Jools opened up about their huge move, saying: "It was really hard as you say, the whole thing was just as you'd imagine. You walk past their room once they're gone and you kind of cry… I cried all the way home on the train."
She went on to say: "And then as like grief if gets easier, and then suddenly they come home and you think 'Oh my god, so, do you need to come home this weekend, because you've got washing' or, 'Dad I and I doing stuff', and then you think, 'What am I saying. You must come home'… I definitely feel lost without my two best friends. They clearly are my best friends in the world… I miss their company."
Elsewhere on the podcast, Jools, 49, lifted a lid on the realities of doing the school run. "Actually, I don't mind the school run, if the kids are in a good mood, it's great, if they're not, they're hell on earth," she shared.
"River has just turned seven… I've got about 10 years left [of school runs]. I'm gonna be like 60… In that little box, you can get all that information or no information. When there are nice bits, you do remember them, and you feel very privileged that you're the parent that gets to do them."
Aside from Poppy, Daisy and youngest River, Jools is also a doting mother to Petal Blossom, 15 and Buddy Bear, 13. Lovebirds Jamie and Jools have been going from strength to strength ever since they tied the knot in June 2000 at All Saints Church in Essex.
In celebration of their love for one another, the duo opted to renew their vows in the Maldives back in April 2023. The smitten couple had originally planned to renew their vows on the couple's milestone 20th anniversary, but the celebrity chef explained on BBC Breakfast that they had been forced to delay the wedding for three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Opening up, he told presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty: "I wanted to do it on the 20-year anniversary, which was three years ago. Covid obviously put an end to that, and I just felt that with the kids leaving school and going to university – I have got two in Leeds at uni – it was just a nice moment to let them know that their parents are tight and we love them."
Their stunning celebration was a family affair, with all five of the duo's children in tow. In snapshots shared to social media, Poppy, Daisy and Petal looked stylish in bridal white mini dresses, whilst brothers Buddy and River looked smart in loose white shirts and royal blue shorts.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511269/jools-oliver-crying-over-poppy-daisy-candid-confession-podcast/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:37Z
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Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton pulled out all the stops for their daughter Minnie's first birthday – and we cannot get over the birthday cake! In new social media snaps, the birthday girl was treated to a special birthday celebration, which so many friends and family attended.
The impressive party platter featured a large pink cake with white icing, and the words, "Minnie is one," decorated on the top. There was also an array of various sweet treats and party food.
"Spent the entire weekend celebrating our baby g," wrote proud mum Stacey. "My best best little pal is ONE. To all our dearest pals and fam who made such an effort…what can I say? We are v v lucky. So touched."
Turning her attention towards Kevin, the 36-year-old added: "Kev, first year? COMPLETED IT MAAAAATE." The mum-of-one also added a picture dedicated to her partner, and remarked: "The blurriness is V V V representative of the last 12 months. WELL DONE US. LOVE U KING KEV [sic]."
In response, the professional dancer said: "Love u baby [heart emoji]." Last week, the couple reflected on the past 12 months since becoming parents. "MY BABY IS ONE TMRO. One?! Minnie, we are FOREVER OBSESSED with you," the TV presenter wrote. "The love of our lives. My best best little pal. Keep shining showstopper……. LOVE U ENDLESSLY." [sic]
She added: "Let's spend your birthday running directly towards every sharp edge in every room. YOUR FAVE PARTY TRICK."
Marking the actual day on Wednesday, Stacey shared an intimate photo breastfeeding her daughter in her first weeks of life, adding the caption: "My GOD I'm feeling SO sentimental this morning," followed by a flurry of crying emojis. In the photograph, Stacey cradled her red-haired newborn to her chest as she nursed her.
Meanwhile, the former Strictly Come Dancing pro uploaded a sweet video of him having a little jig with birthday girl Minnie. "My baby girl's 1st birthday!!!!" he said. Watch below...
Stacey has been in a relationship with professional dancer Kevin since 2019. While the pair seem happier than ever with their family unit, marriage doesn't appear to be on the cards for the couple. "Marriage has never been massively important to me," the documentary-maker previously said in an interview with The Sun. "Also, it's well documented that Kev's done it a couple of times before."
She continued: "It's just never been something I've dreamt about. But I couldn't have done this (motherhood) without Kev. It's weird. I've always loved him, but it's a different love I have for Kev now."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511276/stacey-dooley-baby-minnie-first-birthday-cake/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:39Z
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Kim Kardashian is a doting mom-of-four and while she's one of the most famous reality stars of the 21st century, when it comes to her children, she's managed to keep their day-to-day lives largely out of the spotlight.
While Kim's four children are well known and often appear on her social media channels, not that much is known about them.
What we do know, however, is that Kim is an incredibly relaxed, but often strict parent, by her own admission, and has high hopes for her children to succeed in whatever they want to in the future.
As the reality star celebrates her daughter Chicago's sixth birthday on January 15, HELLO! have taken a look at her parenting style, with the help of expert Lucy Shripton, Founder of The Sleep Nanny and parenting expert at The Baby Shower.
Lucy explained to HELLO!: "Kim Kardashian is a very ambitious person who no doubt will encourage and inspire her kids to be the same.
"She’s very hands-on and encouraging, always wanting to be there when they need. As shown by the TV series, family is the most important thing to her and so her kids will grow up feeling valued, listened to and supported – knowing they have the love and support of close relatives, particularly Kourtney who Kim says she turns to for advice.
“In a recent episode Kim complained about being ‘frazzled’ showing she has the same old feelings that so many of us have; pulled in different directions by work, family and other commitments. But she always makes an effort to spend quality time with each of her kids.
"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.
"Kim also shows that she’s a fun mum, getting involved in TikToks with her kids and laughing as much as possible with them. This is so important, especially with a family that often seems so full of drama; being able to see the funny side and laugh at yourself – and together – is key to a family staying together long-term. If your parent makes you feel good, and laugh, then you’ll undoubtedly want to spend more time with them, grow up more confident and feel supported by them.
“Kim is also positive about Kanye with her children, even though there has been some ill feeling there, it shows that she doesn’t let it interfere with her – or his – relationship with them.”
Kim shares four children with ex-husband Kanye West. Along with Chicago, six, she is mom to ten-year-old North, eight-year-old Saint, and four-year-old Psalm.
Read more HELLO! US stories here
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511273/kim-kardashian-tough-love-parenting-revealed-daughter-chicago-birthday/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:41Z
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The extraordinary artistry and imagination of The Crown has come to life through a captivating exhibition at Bonhams which showcases the sets, costumes, and props from Series 1 to 6.
This unique event has already made its way through New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and has now arrived in London, and will culminate in an exclusive live auction at Bonhams on New Bond Street, London on February 7 2024.
Celebrated as one of Netflix's most distinguished and celebrated productions, the auction house is allowing for a remarkable opportunity to own a piece of television history with the auction which features nearly 450 items. These include iconic pieces such as Queen Elizabeth's Coronation Robes, the Gold State Coach, a nearly 4-meter high replica of the Number 10 Downing Street façade, and garments and accessories worn by the shows stars including Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Olivia Colman, Imelda Staunton, Elizabeth Debicki and Emma Corrin.
A highlight of the exhibition, expected to garner auction bids of £8,000 - £12,000, is the striking off-the-shoulder black "revenge dress" dress from Season 5, Episode 5, worn by Elizabeth Debicki (as Princess Diana) at the Serpentine Gallery.
Another notable piece is Emma Corrin's (as Lady Diana Spencer) engagement outfit from Season 4, Episode 3, featuring the iconic blue ensemble with a pussybow blouse and the famous blue engagement ring. The reproduction ring is also expected to draw bids between £2,000-3,000.
MORE: The Crown cast: best red carpet style moments of all time
RELATED: The enduring legacy of Princess Kate’s see-through dress
"The iconic costumes, props and set pieces from The Crown are extensively researched and made with truly impressive attention to detail by master craftspeople,” explains Charlie Thomas, Bonhams UK Group Director, “Not only is this an incredible opportunity to own pieces from the landmark show, it is also the closest anyone can come to owning the real thing – be it the façade of 10 Downing Street or Princess Diana's engagement ring."
The live auction proceeds will support the establishment of the Left Bank Pictures – The Crown Scholarship programme at the National Film and Television School (NFTS), supporting film and television education across the UK.
The exhibition is open in London from 11 January to 5 February, ahead of the live auction on Wednesday 7. Book your FREE ticket here.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/culture/511274/the-crown-wardrobe-auction-exhibition-at-bonhams/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:42Z
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The gals of Gotham are seriously on trend right now and it seems even the celebs can’t help but lean into the world's newest fashion craze.
From Dua Lipa in a lace catsuit and oversized faux fur coat to Kourtney Kardashian- Barker's first post-baby debut on Instagram, mob wives are all about exuding confidence, glamour and undisputed prowess.
What is a mob wife?
Mob wife style hails back to the ‘80s and ‘90s when mobster partners, like Carmella Soprano and Lorraine Bracco, were the unsung heroes of illicit family businesses, communities and groups. They were the original 'girl bosses' who according to The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, controlled a third of Mafia financial resources, whilst some wives of Mafia bosses would cut and package narcotics for their husbands at home while also performing traditional family duties such as cooking, cleaning and raising children. Gaetano Maruccia, an Italian police commander, told The Daily Telegraph in an interview “They are either widows or wives of husbands who have been put in prison. They hold the reins. They’re very good at mapping out strategy, even sharper (than the men).” (Who said women can’t multitask? That's right... no one.)
What is mob wife style?
In a nutshell, mob wife style is all about bold, overstated and sensual glamour that evokes a sense of confidence and class. Think New York 'old money' but with a touch of grunge and likely a red lip. In today's world, the fashion scene is interpreting mob wife style as a new form of chic dressing. From oversized fur coats, thigh-high leather boots, big hair and animal prints in all forms are quickly rising to fame on both catwalks and city streets.
If you’re thinking of switching your style game up this season then here are five essentials every mob wife needs in their wardrobe...
A hairdo larger than your mobster husband's bail
Goodbye sleek styles and slicked-down flyaways, mob wives are all about embracing bold blow waves, flirty up-dos and in-your-face bangs. Side partings are currently making waves in the beauty world and I have a sneaky suspicion that the rise of mob wife style has a little something to do with it. Basically, the bigger the better when it comes to your locks. Back combing, hair spray and a lot of blowout volume will have you achieving the look.
An oversized fur coat
If you’ve opened your Instagram or TikTok feed recently I guarantee you would have spotted at least a handful of opulent faux fur coats on those most stylish. From Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber to Kourtney Kardashian and Cardi B, Faux Fur is having the moment of all moments. Whether you’ve inherited a family heirloom from your grandma's closet, hunted out the thrift purchase of the century or are looking to invest in something new, a faux fur coat is the main ingredient to nailing the mob wife aesthetic.
A pair of leather heeled boots
Flats? "Fuhgeddaboudit." Heels are the only shoe choice for a mobster wifey, specifically black boots in a sky-high silhouette. Kneehigh black boots are a wardrobe staple in their own right, but when styled with the mob motive in mind, they take on a personality of their own.
An itty bitty mini
I can almost smell the design team at Miu Miu rubbing their hands with glee as they watch the hashtag for mob wife on TikTok climb by tens of thousands of views daily. Mini skirts are a very important seasoning to a mob wife ‘fit and the spicier the better. Pair your animal print or textured black mini with opaque tights, your fur coat and a pair of heeled boots and you’ll be well on your way to achieving gangster chic.
A pair of sultry specs
Whether you need them to see or not, the bolder the frame the bigger the mob wife energy. Back in the day when mobster partners ruled both Brooklyn and Queens, specifically round and oval glasses were all the rage. The more obnoxious the better when it comes to your choice of specs.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511265/mob-wife-style-get-the-look/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:42Z
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The stars were out in full force last night at Santa Monica's Barker Hangar for the 29th Critics' Choice Awards, gracing the red carpet and bringing with them a major dose of A-list style excellence.
Barbie star Margot Robbie was coming up roses, looking resplendent in an off-the-shoulder gown by Balmain and in the same vein, global hitmaker Dua Lipa also leaned into red texture, opting for a carmine-coloured strapless number by Prada.
Don't Miss
But the jewellery also shone bright, and we've taken a closer look at some of last night's best pieces.
Hello! Fashion shares the best jewellery moments at the Critics' Choice Awards:
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie teamed her off-the-shoulder Balmain gown alongside a middle-parted, loose bun. The actress wore a gorgeous pair of drop-down earrings by Lorraine Schwartz.
America Ferrera
The Barbie actress leaned into chocolate brown, sporting a sleek, sequin maxi gown by Alberta Ferretti. For jewellery, she turned to Italian label Pomellato, wearing thick bangles and interlocking hoop earrings.
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa looked elegant in a column-shaped Prada gown teamed alongside earrings and a ring from Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany & Co.
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore wore a plum-hued strapless gown from Chanel's Haute Couture AW20/21 fitted with a pearl-encrusted focal point. She also wore pieces from the house's High Jewellery collection including the Tweed Cambon Earrings and the Soleil Talisman ring.
Emily Blunt
The Oppenheimer star opted for a one-shoulder rose-adorned piece by Armani Privé and styled it alongside Sea Fan earrings from Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany & Co., a sapphire, opal and diamond-encrusted bracelet from the 2023 Tiffany Blue Book collection and diamond ring from the same line.
Reese Witherspoon
Reese Witherspoon opted for a black strapless number by Celine featuring voluminous bow detailing. She styled her gown alongside pieces from Bulgari's High Jewellery collection, earrings with two pear diamonds, an elaborate bracelet and a show-stopping cocktail ring.
Jennifer Aniston strayed from convention, opting for an elegant, feathered jumpsuit by Dolce & Gabbana with a sweeping train. Her jewellery look exuded understated elegance, featuring shoulder-skimming diamond earrings, a pear-shaped diamond ring set in platinum and a stunning cocktail ring.
Angela Bassett
The award-winning actress wore a black form-fitting gown with a crystal-encrusted neckline by Pamella Roland. Her jewellery look combined pieces by Effy, Jewels Aficionado and Suzanne Kalan.
Emma Stone
Emma Stone looked elegant in a floor-length gown by Louis Vuitton. The Poor Things actress complemented her pleated neckline with a slim white gold and diamond necklace, an ear cuff and a ring from the label's High Jewellery collection.
Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan looked the picture of modern elegance in a plunging gown by Armani Privé, styled alongside diamond earrings from the Tiffany & Co. archive and a platinum ring of over five carats and diamonds.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511270/2024-critics-choice-awards-best-jewellery-moments/
| 2024-01-15T16:38:57Z
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For the first time, a non-human animal has demonstrated the ability to recall events from their past and use them to answer an unexpected question. The breakthrough comes after the possibility was first explored six years ago and could potentially unlock new treatment avenues for patients with memory loss.
Episodic memory is the string of past experiences in our lives that we can recall as specific events. From your 16th birthday party to your best friend’s wedding, and even where you parked your car this morning, that’s all captured as episodic memory. We can access details about these events much later, even if they didn’t seem so important at the time.
We know from studies that various animals also possess this type of memory, and a 2018 study from a team at Indiana University was the first to report that rats can mentally replay a series of events from their past, just as humans can. The same team has now delved into this further and discovered that the rodents can access these memories and use them to their advantage.
Rats may not appear to be the most obvious model organism to test this on – primates might seem like a more human-like starting point – but first author Cassandra Sheridan disagrees.
“Using rats can help further the field of memory by providing a way to identify and measure behavioral patterns and changes that are more sophisticated and complex than mouse models, as well as model diseases like Alzheimer's to test treatments before they reach the clinical stages,” Sheridan explained in a statement. “This is what I am most excited about.”
Working with Professor Jonathon Crystal, who also supervised the 2018 study, Sheridan and colleagues created an experiment that would require the rats to use not only their episodic memories, but also their impressive noses.
First, the nine rats were presented with a selection of common spices one by one, including cinnamon and paprika. They then underwent a memory assessment, whereby they were shown two of the scents and then had to choose which scent was the third-to-last that they had smelled.
The rats were then put into a radial maze that contained spice containers with scented lids. After sniffing around the maze, they were once again given the chance to identify the third-to-last scent from the original list.
The researchers only had to run the experiment once: every single rat answered the question correctly after their time in the maze, giving a success rate of an astonishing 100 percent.
“What we wanted to test is a property of what people do in everyday life that has never been shown in a non-human animal,” said Crystal. “We remember information even though it was seemingly unimportant when it was encountered. When we happen to need that information, we replay the stream of events to identify the information needed to solve our current problem.”
The findings not only tell us more about the impressive cognitive abilities of rats, but they could also have important implications for research into human disease. Many drugs for Alzheimer’s disease that are tested in animals ultimately do not succeed in human trials. Crystal believes that this could be due to a lack of specific focus on episodic memory, and hopes that the team’s findings could help inform the next generation of treatments.
“What you really want to know when you test Alzheimer’s patients is that there is relief in remembering that their granddaughter visited last week and talked about interesting things going on in her life. Those are the things that are going to produce huge societal changes when the drugs are effective, not just at general aspects of memory but specifically targeting episodic memory.”
The study is published in the journal Current Biology.
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https://www.iflscience.com/first-ever-proof-of-non-human-animals-using-old-memories-to-solve-problems-72451
| 2024-01-15T17:21:40Z
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The world’s seafloor is scattered with millions of mysterious pockmarks. It's commonly held among scientists that these small pits were formed by fluids or methane gas leaking from the depths of Earth’s sediments, but a new study puts forward the idea that they were created by life.
And when we say "life," we're not just talking about mere microscopic organisms or tiny shellfish, but hungry marine mammals and their appetite for seafloor-dwelling fish.
Scientists at Kiel University in Germany studied the cookie-sized craters on the seafloor of the North Sea, where they estimate over 40,000 pockmarks can be found.
Their research indicates that they were created by large vertebrates rooting around the seafloor in search of prey. As they explain in the paper, the initial feeding pits serve as a nucleus for scouring and eventually develop into larger pits.
In the case of the North Sea, they argue that the most likely suspects are harbor porpoises hunting sand eels. However, even further afield in the rest of the world’s oceans, the pockmarks are likely to be caused by similar interactions between vertebrate animals.
"Our results show for the first time that these depressions occur in direct connection with the habitat and behavior of porpoises and sand eels and are not formed by rising fluids," Dr Jens Schneider von Deimling, lead study author and geoscientist at Kiel University, said in a statement.
"Our high-resolution data provide a new interpretation for the formation of tens of thousands of pits on the North Sea seafloor, and we predict that the underlying mechanisms occur globally, but have been overseen until now," Schneider von Deimling added.
To reach this conclusion, the team gathered new echosounder data and combined it with information about behavioral biology, physical oceanography, satellite remote sensing, and habitat mapping.
The work did not uncover any clear evidence of gas leaking, but it did reveal that the potential porpoise-feeding sites directly lined up with the location of the pits. This also paired up with other behavioral observations about the life and diet of porpoises.
“From analyses of the stomach contents of stranded porpoises, we know that sand eels are an important food source for the North Sea population," explained Dr Anita Gilles from the TiHo-Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research in Büsum.
Harbor porpoises are relatively small, toothed cetaceans that are abundant off the coast of Germany in the North Sea. While it’s known they enjoy eating fish that dwell on the seafloor, their foraging behavior has not yet been observed in the wild. This study, the researchers say, could help to shed light on how they find and feast on their prey.
This plucky species of cetacean is only found in cooler coastal waters of the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and the Black Sea. So what does that mean for the millions of seabed pockmarks across the globe? The researchers speculate that several other seafloor hunters are likely to be responsible, whether it's gray whales and bottlenose dolphins or harbor seals and walruses.
If these conclusions are on the money, the study provides yet another good reason why we should protect the seafloor and be cautious about where we place offshore wind farms (not to mention where we mine for rare minerals).
"Our results have far-reaching implications from a geological and biological perspective. They can help to assess the ecological risks associated with the expansion of renewable energies in the offshore sector and thus improve marine environmental protection," concluded Schneider von Deimling.
The study is published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
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https://www.iflscience.com/millions-of-mysterious-seafloor-pits-may-have-been-formed-by-life-72459
| 2024-01-15T17:21:46Z
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In Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (Bangkok), there is an award-winning restaurant called Wattana Panich, where you can order and then eat a beef and goat soup that is 49 years old.
The soup, which is described as "delicious and aromatic" as well as having a "real depth of flavor that's hard to explain", has been brewed by three generations of chefs working at the restaurant. Every night, whatever is in the pot gets stored, and brought out again the following day. More ingredients are added, and the whole process starts again, day in, day out, for decades.
In Japan, the restaurant Otafuku in the Asakusa district of Tokyo serves a stew called oden, which has been replenished constantly since 1945. The only reason it doesn't date back until 1916, when the restaurant opened, is said to be because that soup was lost in a World War II air raid. Another soup supposedly lasted from the 15th century until it met its match in World War II too.
As repeat customers, a lack of dead ones, and a range of good Tripadvisor reviews implies, the soups are safe to eat, though we wouldn't recommend making your own at home.
First off, it's not like you're eating chunks of goat from decades ago, some poor kid that met its end in the heady days of disco. Though it may retain traces of the original components, we are definitely in Soup of Theseus territory.
The soups are heated and kept on a rolling simmer regularly, hot enough to kill any bacteria introduced during that day's top-up. As long as no ingredients detrimental to human health are added, and the soup is constantly boiled to temperatures that will kill off harmful bacteria, the soup can be added to and eaten for a long, long time. Maybe one day you'll get a chance to eat a soup that's older than you.
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https://www.iflscience.com/perpetual-stew-or-why-its-safe-to-eat-a-79-year-old-soup-72455
| 2024-01-15T17:21:52Z
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In Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat can disappear leaving only its grin behind. Physicists consider something analogous might exist in quantum mechanics when a particle can be separated from its properties, and the two travel on different paths. This quantum Cheshire cat effect explained that and other weird events like particles swapping disembodied properties. New research claims that what is seen is not what’s actually happening. There is no quantum Cheshire cat effect at all.
In quantum mechanics, observations affect the experiment. This has caused plenty of weirdness, with experiments behaving differently whether they are observed or not. Researchers think that the setup of the quantum Cheshire cat experiment produces the apparently paradoxical effect and that this disappears when a different order of measurements is taken.
"Most people know that quantum mechanics is weird, but identifying what causes this weirdness is still an active area of research. It has been slowly formalized into a notion called contextualize – that quantum systems change depending on what measurements you do on them," lead author Jonte Hance, a research fellow at Hiroshima University and the University of Bristol, said in a statement.
Contextuality is crucial in quantum mechanics and leads to quantum systems that might appear wildly different and even mutually incompatible by doing different measurements on them. The cause of contextuality is unknown and the team set out to investigate using the quantum Cheshire cat. In this way, they found that the measurements were key to producing the effect.
"We want to correct this by showing that different results are obtained if a quantum system is measured in different ways and that the original interpretation of the quantum Cheshire cat only comes about if you combine the results of these different measurements in a very specific way, and ignore this measurement-related change," said Holger Hofmann, a professor at Hiroshima University.
The team wants to investigate other effects that appear paradoxical and see if they are manifestations of contextuality. And from there maybe even understand how contextuality emerges in the first place.
"This will not only help us finally explain why quantum mechanics is so counterintuitive but will also help us develop ways to use this weirdness for practical purposes. Given that contextuality is inherently linked to scenarios where there is a quantum advantage over classical solutions to a given problem, only by understanding contextuality will we be able to realize the full potential of, for instance, quantum computing," said Hance.
A paper discussing this research is published in the New Journal of Physics.
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https://www.iflscience.com/the-quantum-cheshire-cat-effect-might-not-be-real-after-all-72457
| 2024-01-15T17:22:04Z
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In 1994, the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, pointed the Hubble Space Telescope at a dark and seemingly empty patch of sky for 100 hours.
When Hubble was launched in 1990, like with the JWST, its capabilities weren't immediately clear. Ahead of being turned on, astronomers attempted to analyze what objects it would be able to see, based on what we know of ground telescopes. One paper from influential astronomer John Bahcall argued that the telescope would not be able to see distant galaxies that we had not already seen from telescopes on Earth.
But in May and June of 1994, Robert Williams, an astronomer who went on to be President of the International Astronomical Union, looked at wide field photos taken with the camera at a wide range of wavelengths, and believed it showed more distant objects could be captured by Hubble. Williams was in charge of 10 percent of Hubble's operational time, as director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, and decided to test its capabilities further, pointing the telescope at a patch of sky for a long exposure time to see if it revealed more distant objects, further into the past.
"We didn’t know what was there, and that was the whole purpose of the observation, basically – to get a core sample of the universe," Williams said at the time. "You do the same thing if you're trying to understand the geology of the Earth: Pick some typical spot to drill down to try to understand exactly what the various layers of the Earth are and what they mean in terms of its geologic history."
The team needed to look at a patch of dark sky with no other nearby objects that could ruin the exposure, ruling out everything on the plane of our own galaxy. So too were any stars that the Earth or Moon would pass in front of during the exposure. Eventually, they settled on an area roughly the size of a pin head held an arm's length away, near the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major.
The point of sky, which looked relatively empty from ground telescopes, proved to be anything but. When Williams pointed the telescope at it for 100 hours, the result was the Hubble Deep Field, the deepest view of the universe up to that point, and the furthest back into the past that humanity had ever seen. It was, of course, filled with galaxies, including ones that could not be seen by ground-based telescopes, and information about the state of the universe billions of years in the past.
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https://www.iflscience.com/what-happened-when-the-hubble-telescope-stared-at-nothing-for-100-hours-72449
| 2024-01-15T17:22:10Z
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The historic occasion wasn't the only time the Australian native, 51, has looked ethereal in white. Aside from her iconic shoulder-baring wedding dress when she married Frederik in 2004, Mary has taken several opportunities to wear the angelic colour, which is traditionally worn by brides on their wedding days. Looking for wedding dress inspiration? From lace gowns to Grecian frocks and silk suits, reminisce about the royal's most stunning bridal looks over the past 20 years.
The meaningful ascension gown
Mary stepped out on the balcony of Christiansborg Castle alongside her husband looking regal in a full-length dress designed by Copenhagen-based fashion brand Soeren Le Schmid and stitched by dressmaker Birgit Hallstein, who also worked on her Uffe Frank wedding gown.
The designer told HOLA! USA: "I am very honored, happy and grateful that Queen Mary wore my dress today. The first dress as a Queen, and it was mine." Speaking about the "dramatic" yet "elegant" design, Soeren added: "It was simple, elegant with long sleeves and shoulder pads. The attached belt with a dramatic draping around the neck. I feel very lucky and I love the look I designed for the Queen. Together with the Ruby diamonds the look was perfect for today I think."
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The modern suit
Proving her penchant for power suits, the royal rocked a three-piece ivory suit by Max Mara. Despite the slouchy wide-leg trousers and relaxed pockets, Mary added a touch of glamour to her ensemble with a gold brooch and an intricate updo. Her daughter Princess Isabella clearly loves her mother's style, as she later wore the same outfit for her confirmation in April 2022.
The waist-cinching gown
Back in 2015, Mary attended a New Year levee and banquet in a gorgeous floor-length dress with cropped sleeves and a satin waist-defining belt with a draped skirt. Take style tips from Mary and layer a velvet cape over the top for extra warmth in the winter weather. Bridal tiara optional, of course!
The Grecian goddess
Ditching the modest long sleeves, the Danish Queen chose a rule-breaking white frock for Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's wedding in 2010. As she left The Grand Hotel, Mary waved to crowds in her one-shouldered Grecian gown finished with delicate silver embellishments, adding pops of green with her accessories.
The suit and cami combo
Bridal suits are becoming more and more popular, and we can see why thanks to Mary's elegant appearance in Melbourne in 2011. A semi-sheer cami top was layered underneath an oversized jacket teamed with wide-leg trousers and daring leopard print shoes – gorgeous!
The bold balloon sleeves
Following the abdication of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the inauguration of King Willem Alexander in 2013, Frederik's wife was pictured in an angelic floor-length gown with a low V-neck, statement balloon sleeves and a tulip skirt, with a black and blue geometric pattern drawing the eye to her waist. Simply coordinate the bridesmaid dresses and you've got the perfect wedding ensemble!
The silk suit
Returning to Australia for a two-week visit in 2005, Mary made a dramatic entrance to a Mental Health Foundation Of Australia luncheon in a silk suit. While she offset the shimmery material with an eye-catching gold top, the two-piece could equally be pared back with a plain top.
The midi dress
A cropped midi length, a jacquard print and a leather belt made for a more unique look back in 2019 – and the navy colour of the belt and shoes could even act as inspiration for a bride's 'something blue'!
The boucle co-ord
Boucle is making a comeback in 2024, but Mary proved that the material was a timeless choice with her ensemble in 2004. During a four-day trip on the Royal Yacht Dannebrog, the Danish royal delighted fans with her structured jacket with an embellished button, teamed with a matching knee-length skirt.
The wedding dress
For her wedding day with King Frederik on 14 May 2004, the xx looked ethereal at Copenhagen Cathedral in her ivory gown by Danish fashion designer Uffe Frank. Made of duchesse satin, it featured a scoop neckline, fitted waist and long sleeves, with a pleated hem opening to reveal subtle lace detailing.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/brides/511284/queen-mary-of-denmark-wedding-bridal-looks-photos/
| 2024-01-15T17:35:46Z
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While The Morning Show walked into the 2024 Critics Choice Awards with the most nominations among the TV categories, it only came home with one win – but it was a big one.
Billy Crudup won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance as Cory Ellison in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show, beating out the likes of Ke Huy Quan, Khalid Abdalla, and Golden Globe winner Matthew Macfadyen.
His wife Naomi Watts wasn't present at the show itself to cheer her husband on, but she was excited to show her support from home, as evidenced by her social media.
The actress, 55, took to her Instagram Stories to gush over her husband, 55, sharing a clip of him walking to the stage after his name was announced.
She also shared a photo of his speech on her TV, writing alongside it: "So proud," with a big heart emoji. However, she wasn't alone, as she was joined for her watch party by none other than Sunrise Coigney, the wife of Mark Ruffalo.
Mark, who was nominated for his turn in Poor Things (and lost to Robert Downey Jr.) attended the CCAs with their oldest child, son Keen Ruffalo, 22.
Naomi posted a selfie of herself and Sunrise, 51, laying on the couch and twinning with their bright blonde locks, and captioned it: "We loved watching you @markruffalo and #billycrudup."
In his speech, Billy remarked: "I certainly wasn't prepared for this. And this morning, I had a minor panic attack and tested out some thoughts to my son about the importance of criticism, profound, insightful, passionate criticism."
Billy shares son William Atticus Parker, who turned 20 last week, with his ex Mary Louise Parker. William was at the ceremony to support his dad in place of Naomi.
Billy continued: "He said, 'Dad, if you say anything about that, I'm going to kill you.' I'm going to save you that dissertation and really thank the people who've been there for me.
RELATED: 8 stars who brought family to the Golden Globe Awards: Bradley Cooper, Billie Eilish and more
"My son over there, my 20-year-old amazing son Will Parker. My wife, my mom, my brothers, my family, all those who support me. My great colleagues, the fellow nominees, the critics, my teachers, and all the professionals that support me, how about those guys?"
He also shouted out the cast and crew behind The Morning Show, with co-stars and nominees Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon both shown becoming emotional as they watched from the audience.
"You really gave me something that I didn't expect at this point in my life, and I'm genuinely and profoundly grateful. Thanks for letting me have tonight!"
While Naomi didn't attend the CCAs, she and Billy were quite the power couple on the red carpet at the 81st Golden Globe Awards the week prior, where Billy was once again a nominee (though this time, he lost to Succession's Matthew Macfadyen) and Naomi presented Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama with Michelle Yeoh.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511287/naomi-watts-reacts-billy-crudup-critics-choice-award-win-from-home-a-list-plus-one/
| 2024-01-15T17:35:52Z
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Christine Lampard resembled a bar of sunshine as she graced our screens for Monday's instalment of Loose Women.
In a bid to beat Blue Monday, the fashionista embraced dopamine dressing by opting to wear a vibrant, canary yellow midi dress complete with long sleeves and a scooped neckline. The 44-year-old looked sensational in her knitted £45.99 Mango garment which she teamed with a pair of nude, pointed heels. Sublime!
Christine elevated her luminous get-up with a bouncy blow-dry and a radiant sweep of makeup which did well to accentuate her sculpted features. Posting a snapshot of herself on Instagram, the mother-of-two wrote in her caption: "Beat Blue Monday… Just wear yellow @loosewomen @mothershoppers dress from @mango".
Her fans went wild in the comments section, heaping praise on Christine's sartorial selections. Stunned by her radiant appearance, one follower gushed: "Gorgeous! Always a ray of sunshine! Best anchor on loose!" while another wrote: "What a gorgeous dress Christine, very flattering and such a lovely colour you look absolutely beautiful."
A third remarked: "Glowing" followed by a string of love hearts, and a fourth simply added: "Love the yellow".
When she's not tied up with her presenting duties, Christine prioritises family time with her football ace husband Frank Lampard and their two adorable children Patricia and Freddie. The smitten couple, who tied the knot in December 2015, welcomed daughter Patricia in September 2018, and their youngest, Freddie, in March 2021.
Beyond this, the Northern Irish broadcaster is also a devoted mother to Frank's two daughters, Luna and Isla, whom he shares with his former partner, Elen Rivas.
And in an interview with Woman & Home, Christine explained how the sister duo have quickly become the best big sisters to her two little ones, confessing that Patricia eagerly awaits their arrival whenever they visit their dad at the weekend.
"My two think their big sisters are the best thing ever," she shared. "You can see them show off a little bit when they're around.
"Patricia drew pictures for them the other day and she was excited, waiting for them to arrive. The girls are great with them, so we're very lucky."
Elsewhere, Christine has also been incredibly candid about her role as Luna and Isla's stepmother. Speaking to The Sun, she divulged: "We are in such a different place now. For me, it was all about being their friend and being there when they needed you to be there. That was it.
"You're not their mum, you're not their dad, but you are there if they need and want you, and that is I find the best way to navigate through everything."
She finished by adding: "And it's worked for me because now they are two little mates who will text you and say, 'What do you think of this?'. We are very, very lucky."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/celebrity-style/511280/christine-lampard-ray-sunshine-figure-skimming-dress-mango/
| 2024-01-15T17:36:27Z
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Not long to go till TV fans will see Theo James take on the underworld in his latest role. The official teaser for The Gentleman, a new drama series from Guy Ritchie, has dropped – and we are completely obsessed!
The White Lotus 2 actor Theo will star as The Duke of Halstead, Eddie Horniman, who finds himself embroiled in criminality after inheriting his father's estate while Ray Winstone will play Bobby Glass, a career criminal from the East End of London who founded an industrial cannabis empire.
The synopsis reads: "Moreover, a host of unsavoury characters from Britain's criminal underworld want a piece of the operation.
"Determined to extricate his family from their clutches, Eddie tries to play the gangsters at their own game. However, as he gets sucked into the world of criminality, he begins to find a taste for it."
Skins actress Kaya Scodelario will take on the role of Susie Glass, Bobby's effortlessly stylish and steely daughter who runs the day-to-day business of the empire.
The thrilling series, which will also star Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito and Chanel Cresswell, is set in the world of The Gentlemen film, but will not include the original characters.
"The world of The Gentlemen is a little bit of me," creator Guy, who will also serve as executive producer and co-writer, previously told Netflix. "We're looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories, and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast."
The 2019 film version followed an American expat (who was played by Matthew McConaughey) trying to sell off his lucrative marijuana business in London, leading plots, bribery and schemes against him.
Guy enlisted a stellar line-up of actors – as well as Matthew, the movie also featured Colin Farrell, Henry Golding, Charlie Hunnam, Jeremy Strong, Jason Wong, Hugh Grant and Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511288/theo-james-gangster-era-first-trailer-the-gentleman/
| 2024-01-15T17:36:28Z
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Kieran Culkin is on a high right now. The 41-year-old actor has been in the industry for many years, but he's currently getting plenty of attention for his hilarious role as Roman Roy in the hugely successful drama series Succession after picking up the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama earlier this month, as well as the same award at the Critics Choice Awards which took place on Sunday evening.
The star, who is the younger brother of Home Alone actor, Macaulay, was quick to leave the audience at both Hollywood award ceremonies in fits of laughter with his dry humour and one-liners, but Kieran also gave a heartfelt shoutout to his wife, Jazz Charton, and their two children, Kinsey Sioux, aged four, and Wilder Wolf, aged two.
Jazz joined her famous husband on the red carpet of the two glitzy A-list events, but the couple, who wed in 2013, prefer to keep their private life mostly away from the spotlight. However, they have occasionally shared gorgeous family photos on social media giving an insight into their life away from work.
Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton's adorable family of four seen in extremely rare snaps…
Who is Kieran Culkin's wife?
Kieran Culkin is married to Jazz Charton. Although she was not in the public eye when they got together, Jazz has since accompanied her husband to various events such as award shows and the premiere of Succession's fourth season which was released in spring 2023.
Jazz is from the UK and was born in London, but the star was working for an advertising agency at a firm in the States after moving to New York. The couple met in a bar in the Big Apple in 2012 and Kieran told The Hollywood Reporter that it was her British accent that caught his attention.
After dating for a year, the couple decided to elope in June 2013 in Iowa. In 2017, Jazz posted a snap on Instagram marking their anniversary which gave insight into their unique nuptials. "#Tbt to taking time out of our road trip to get married by the side of the road in Iowa during a storm 4 years ago today. Still the best pit stop I've ever made."
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/511275/kieran-culkins-ultra-rare-photos-with-wife-jazz-charton-and-children-kinsey-sioux-and-wilder-wolf/
| 2024-01-15T17:36:28Z
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Blue Monday is often referred to as the ‘most melancholic’ day of the year.
It typically falls on the third Monday of January, and it's a time when festive cheer has faded, resolutions might be wavering, and the winter gloom seems unending. However, it's also a perfect opportunity to seek out sources of inspiration and positivity.
“Healthy coping strategies are recommended for dealing with low moods, especially on Blue Monday.” Explains Dr. Becky Spelman, Psychologist and Founder and CEO of Private Therapy Clinic. “These include physical activity, mindfulness or meditation, social connections, and focusing on gratitude. Such activities can have a more lasting positive impact on mental health “
In the digital age, one of the most accessible ways to find daily motivation and self-care tips is through Instagram. “It's often beneficial to seek out activities and practices that support mental well-being in a more holistic and enduring way,” says Dr. Spelman.
MORE: Kate Moss reveals the exact daily affirmation she uses in her "self-care" beauty routine
RELATED: Fashion Psychology: How Your Wardrobe Influences Your Mood
The are mental health advocates, motivational speakers and wellness coaches that offer a treasure trove of uplifting content, practical self-care advice, and inspiring content to help you navigate life through Blue Monday and beyond.
Scroll on for a curated list of accounts that will be your beacon of light throughout the year…
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/culture/511289/best-mental-health-self-care-instagram-accounts/
| 2024-01-15T17:36:40Z
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Every season without fail a new handbag makes its way onto the style scene, competing with other designer contenders for first place on the arms of those most stylish. We’re just 15 days into the new year and it seems that the gold medal for this season has already been awarded. Meet the Miu Miu Wander matelassé nappa leather hobo bag.
For the final few weeks of last year and the beginning two of this one, I kept seeing this mighty little bag sported by a few notable fashion faces and thought “oh that's cute.” But as soon as I saw Alexa Chung donning not one, but two Miu Miu Wander matelassé bags, I knew we were in for another mega Miu Miu winter.
The Miu Miu Wander silhouette comes in a variety of textures and fabrics, including shearling and caramel-toned fluff, but it's the matelassé nappa leather version that everyone has their eye on. Available in an array of different sizes and colourways, including girlhood-coded Alabaster Pink and trending cherry Red, there's a little bag readily awaiting to spice up an outfit of any hue.
MORE: 'Mob Wife' style: The only 5 things you need to get the look
RELATED: Bow Nails: 10 Coquettecore ideas to inspire your next manicure
Upon further inspection of Alexa Chung and Sarah Lysander's posts, I soon realised that the fashion moguls paired their silver-toned Wander mini-bags with a Wander-micro bag, acting as an extra pocket or as a glorified, practical keychain. The brand themselves have also made it very clear that two bags are better in one, styling their own holiday campaign starring The Crown's Emma Louise Corrin in the same way, with both mini and micro bags attached to become one.
Miu Miu is most definitely having their moment right now, especially with the continued rise of the famed coquette-core and girlhood craze. From the same genius that bought us the famed pleated micro mini skirt, bedazzled underwear and baby pink flats, the design team knows what the people want and it’s clearly working in their favour.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511278/miu-miu-bag-is-going-to-be-everywhere-in-2024/
| 2024-01-15T17:36:46Z
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As the new year calls for new beginnings, you may be looking for ways to inject a fresh dose of your personality into your living space. A recent survey by Houzz found that 62 per cent of homeowners plan to renovate their homes this year. But where to start?
If 2023 proved anything in the way of interior trends, it was that short-lived, micro trends are on their way out in favour of timeless, unique pieces that stand the test of time. Last year welcomed the return of maximalism, 1970s furniture paved the way for modern bohemianism, DIY opened the doors to slow homeware, and sustainable design choices sparked an era of mindful decorating.
Whether you have a renovation project in your midst, a property move on the horizon, or you're simply looking to give your current space a fresh lick of paint, we called on the interior experts to share their intel on exactly what homeware trends we can expect to see in 2024.
'Peach Fuzz' decor
Design expert Benji Lewis, founder of Benji Lewis Design says that we should expect a renaissance of light terracotta tones in decor trends this year - thanks to Pantone naming 'Peach Fuzz' as their suggested colour of the year.
"Light terracotta tones can be combined with deeper shades of golden orange even going to vermilion to add warmth to a space," says Benji.
Sheer fabrics
Adding translucent fabrics as a layering technique is an easy way to add an air of luxury to any space.
Benji adds: "Include floor-length sheer curtains at your windows behind your dress drapes, you'll create a terrifically glam layered effect whilst also providing daytime privacy."
Quiet Luxury
The term 'quiet luxury' isn't so quiet after becoming the loudest sartorial trend to grace the red carpets in 2023. Yet the effortlessly sophisticated fashion and décor trend continues to shine in 2024.
The idea is simple, luxury, quality pieces that boast a relaxed aesthetic – no prints or emblems that make a brand instantly recognisable. But the point is, you know where the pieces are from just by looking at them.
Benji explains that 'quiet luxury' is "understated and timeless designs that focus on craftsmanship and high-quality goods that are subtle yet clearly well-made." Like this Soho Home 'Sofia' bouclé footstool (£450) or the Luna stripe-print linen duvet cover from Piglet in Bed (£175).
Vintage homeware
We're all well-versed on the impact fast fashion has on the planet. Yet fast furniture, the mass production of cheap, trend-led homeware, is swiftly becoming the world's landfills' next victim.
The beauty of pre-loved homeware is that not only is it more affordable, but if it's looked after, it's just as simple to re-sell it when you're ready for a change.
DESIGN INSPIRATION
Western Gothic
James Mellan-Matulewicz, Creative Director at Bobbi Beck, analysed the key interior trends outlined by Pinterest.
Western Gothic is set to dominate 2024's interior mood boards, which Pinterest describes as "Your soon-to-be décor obsession that will mix vintage Americana chic with deep, moody hues."
Providing guidance on achieving the look, James said: "Blend rustic charm with dark, mysterious elements. Embrace distressed leather furniture, weathered wood, and wrought iron accents. Choose a colour palette of deep, moody tones like burgundy, navy, and charcoal. Decorate with antiques, vintage lanterns, and skulls for a touch of the macabre.
Incorporate Native American or southwestern patterns in rugs and textiles. Opt for dark, ornate fixtures and dim lighting to enhance the eerie ambiance. Display unique Western art with gothic undertones. Balance rugged and eerie elements to create a distinctive space that evokes the essence of Western Gothic decor."
Kitsch Kitchens
Maximalism was everything in 2023. Yet if you're sick of seeing wiggle mirrors, pop art prints and juxtaposing colour combinations, the trend has been given a new year upgrade - and it automatically lends itself to thrifted furniture.
James says: "To achieve a kitschy kitchen aesthetic, embrace vibrant colours, quirky patterns, and retro-inspired accessories. Choose bold, mismatched prints for curtains, tablecloths, dinnerware and wallpapers.
"Integrate nostalgic elements like vintage posters or kitschy artwork. Opt for colourful appliances and retro-inspired kitchen tools. Display kitschy collectibles or quirky figurines on open shelves. Mix and match chair styles and paint them in bright, contrasting hues.
"The key is to combine eccentric elements playfully, creating a cheerful and nostalgic vibe that defines the kitsch style in your kitchen."
Hot Metallics
As A.I. and high-tech nears us closer to a futuristic world that was once only believable in sci-fi films, metallics have crept into our homes as one of the hottest décor trends of 2024.
James said: "Start by incorporating metallic accents in decor and furnishings. Opt for chrome-finished furniture, such as coffee tables or accent chairs, to create a modern and sleek look. Consider metallic frames for mirrors and artworks to add a touch of sophistication. Introduce silver-toned accessories like vases, candle holders, or cushions to complement the overall theme."
Interior trends best left in 2023, according to the experts
Jeannette Hudson, furniture expert at Online Sofa Shop, weighed in on the interior trends that are so last year.
- Overly Industrial Designs: "Exposed pipes, concrete floors, and metal fixtures can add an edgy feel to living spaces, but an excess can feel cold and unwelcoming," explains Jeannette.
For 2024: Replace industrial lighting with softer lighting options, such as sconces and table lamps for a more homely atmosphere. - Monochrome Minimalism: "While white interiors can create a sense of space and cleanliness, an all-white living room can feel sterile and high-maintenance," Jeannette says.
For 2024: Opt for richer colour palettes, introducing earthy tones, subtle patterns, and diverse textures to create more inviting and comfortable living spaces. - Matching furniture: Buying a furniture set all at once from the same store can inhibit the character of your space, and can be a costly investment.
For 2024: Consider thrifting or upcycling your furniture to source more eclectic combinations, mixing and matching different styles, textures, and eras to create a curated and unique look. - Rigid Symmetry: "Perfectly symmetrical living room layouts are becoming less popular as people seek a more relaxed and organic feel," Jeannette says.
For 2024: Embrace more asymmetry, whether in furniture placement or decor arrangement, to add a sense of dynamism and character to the space.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/homes/511272/interior-homes-trends-for-2024-revealed-by-experts/
| 2024-01-15T17:37:01Z
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Tom Mitchell
Entertainment
Suki Waterhouse’s Glam Rock & 9 Other New Songs Out This Week
Lil Nas X shoots his shot at another viral hit and Faye Webster harmonizes with Lil Yachty.
Every week, we bring you SOUNDCHECK — your destination for the best new music that hit the web over the course of the week. Because you should always be prepared when someone passes you that AUX cord. This week's roundup features 10 of our favorite emerging and established artists.
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https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/soundcheck-01-15-2024-suki-water-omg-ariana-grande
| 2024-01-15T18:05:00Z
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Ryan Gosling was the talk of tinseltown after January 14's Critics Choice Awards for his reaction to Barbie's win in the Best Song category.
The 43-year-old actor and musician quickly went viral when the song "I'm Just Ken" was announced as the winner for the category, beating out favorites like Dua Lipa's "Dance the Night" and Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?"
His stunned face, darting eyes, and delayed response to songwriters and producers Andrew Wyatt and Mark Ronson's win became an instant meme, and while he didn't go up on stage to accept the prize, he won the internet.
Inbaal Honigman, a celebrity body language expert, gave HELLO! her own take on the viral response, and broke it down, saying that it had "three separate parts."
"The first, and most telling part, is genuine confusion," she explains. "His eyebrows are lowered, and a telltale frown line appears between his eyes, which tells that he's trying to figure something out.
"His face is gathered in that confused expression from the moment that the song title is announced, so he's not putting it on for show. Gosling is truly uncertain, in case he misheard, or imagined it, or if it's some sort of practical joke or a mistake."
She then says that the next few seconds, where he begins darting his eyes from side to side, was more for the sake of the bit, perhaps even a nod to everyone's favorite himbo, Ken. "The second part of his response is clearly a joke.
"His eyes dart from side to side as if he's a little suspicious, trying to think what he should do, but it's not a natural movement, as we can see his pupils go to the extreme edge of his eye. He's exaggerating the eye movement for comic effect, and perhaps even as an homage to Ken's character, who struggled with reality throughout the Barbie movie."
MORE: Ryan Gosling declares Eva Mendes 'the girl of my dreams' in rare public tribute to 'dream' daughters
Inbaal then concludes that when reality sets in, the reaction switches to pure joy. "When he understands that the song actually won, we see the heartthrob's true reaction, part three of his response."
She continues: "As all are kissing the songwriters, Gosling is seen drawing in a deep breath, showing relief. He's now quite certain that this is really happening.
MORE: Eva Mendes shares rare picture of holiday celebration at home with Ryan Gosling and two daughters
"His combination of raised eyebrows with closed eyes and a little, subtle, humble smile, shows his sublime happiness at that moment."
Inbaal expands upon the thought, concluding: "Supported by Mark Ronson's natural head shake which signifies disbelief, we now learn that the whole team wasn't expecting to win. This combined reaction from the two winners is too quick to have been coordinated, and so is likely very heartfelt and genuine surprise."
In his speech, Oscar-winning songwriter and composer Mark thanked Ryan for making the song such a moment, saying: "Ryan Gosling, this is just as much your award as ours.
"You made the audience fall in love with your matchless performance," he said, also thanking director Greta Gerwig for carving out "11 minutes for this prog-rock, power ballad, dream ballet, shred-fest so the boys could cry and hold hands a little too."
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/film/511290/ryan-gosling-viral-critics-choice-reaction-explained-body-language-expert/
| 2024-01-15T18:15:33Z
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The current Republican-led effort to abandon Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression runs counter not only to the national security interests of the United States, but also to the fundamental character of the American soul.
The American people in their heart-of-hearts, recognize this.
My parents live in Bismarck, North Dakota. Even if you are American, without family living there, it is very unlikely that you have ever visited Bismarck. The state of North Dakota – proudly home to a town that is the geographic center of North America – is in many ways as far from the war in Europe as you can get. While the people of North Dakota are overwhelmingly kind and polite, it is not the kind of place where you usually see advocacy efforts for conflicts in which American soldiers are not involved.
Rarely, if ever, have events so far from American shores (or the Heartland) struck a chord so deeply and so publicly – as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
I visited Bismarck in the summer of 2022 for a family reunion after having spent the previous three months as a humanitarian volunteer in Ukraine. There, in the center of America, I saw Ukrainian flags on homes, shop windows, and yards. The local chapter of the Knights of Columbus had been fundraising to support Ukrainian refugees. A store downtown in the state capitol called “Little Odesa” had also been fundraising through “Borscht soup night.”
On a road trip prior to leaving for Ukraine, I had seen similar displays of active support in small southern towns across Virginia.
Why?
Because nations, like individual people, are often confronted with a test of character which forces the question – “Am I really who I tell myself that I am?”
The national character of the United States is currently at such an inflection point. On Wednesday, December 6, 2023, Republicans voted against aid to Ukraine, and the term “Ukraine fatigue” is now commonly heard.
In Ukraine, I met many wounded soldiers who expressed a desire to recover and return to their units. Such commitment and courage is astonishing and commendable, but its essence is not unusual. These soldiers share the same spirit as American service members, who after being wounded, “fight” to return to the fight. There is a common spirit, and it is not fatigue. For my own part, I do not believe that the American people have “fatigued” in the fight for self-determination and liberty.
Make no mistake – the safety of the United States is directly tied to Vladimir Putin suffering a defeat in Ukraine. It is difficult to believe that Republican opposition to Ukraine aid is motivated by a serious foreign policy and national security platform (or even in line with their constituents wants).
Even if it were, the narrative that the United States must choose between its own border security and defending Ukrainian sovereignty is a lie. The United States is capable of securing its own border and properly reforming its immigration and asylum system, without surrendering a democratic partner to the imperial aims of a Russian dictator. Regardless, national security concerns are not what motivate people in the American Midwest and South to rally in support of a people which they have never met.
How Ukraine aid became a hostage of the US border crisis
That kind of motivation comes from recognition of the fundamental truth, that to be who we believe ourselves to be, the United States must not abandon a friend in their fight for freedom against an unprovoked aggressor. And in that, I hope the American people will never experience “fatigue.”
(To learn how to reach out to your elected representative to express your support for the Ukrainian people, click here.)
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/americans-want-to-support-ukraine/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:24Z
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On 14 January, Switzerland and Ukraine, co-chairs of the fourth meeting of national security and foreign policy advisors on key principles of peace for Ukraine, agreed on a joint communiqué, as announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice.
In November 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Ukrainian peace formula in his video address to the G20 summit. The plan outlines 10 key points, including:
- Radiological and nuclear safety
- Food security
- Energy security
- Release of all prisoners of war and deportees
- Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity
- Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities
- Justice and accountability
- Preventing ecocide
- Preventing escalation of the conflict
- Confirmation of the war’s end.
This communiqué reinforces the notion that Ukraine’s security is inseparable from global and regional stability, declaring the war against Ukraine as a primary destabilizing factor worldwide.
The document underscores the urgency of intensifying peace efforts to achieve a fair and all-encompassing end to the war.
“Peace efforts must be significantly strengthened in order to end the war in a just and comprehensive way. The task of the world community shall not only be to end the war, but also to overcome the consequences of all those crises that were caused by it throughout the world,” the communiqué reads.
Furthermore, the document highlights that a comprehensive, just, and enduring peace for Ukraine and the world must be grounded solely on the UN Charter, relevant UN General Assembly resolutions, and key principles of international law. This meeting in Davos follows previous consultations in Copenhagen, Jeddah, and Malta, with the overarching goal of formulating a unified approach to ending the war against Ukraine and addressing its regional and global repercussions.
The communiqué also sets the groundwork for a high-level meeting of country leaders and governments, aimed at establishing a universal foundation for a shared vision and approaches to achieve a comprehensive, fair, and lasting peace for Ukraine, based on the Ukrainian Peace Formula. It envisions thematic meetings in various countries at different levels to prepare detailed proposals for these leaders.
The advisors’ meeting discussed key principles for peace, including Russia’s troop withdrawal, restoration of justice, environmental safety, preventing escalation, and confirming war cessation. Special panels addressed food security and humanitarian aspects of the war.
On 15 January, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Davos, where he is scheduled to deliver a special address at the World Economic Forum.
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/davos-communique-sets-stage-for-global-cooperation-on-ukraine-peace-formula/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:28Z
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Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine will be one of the key topics at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Poland’s head of state said it in a statement for the media after his meeting in the presidential palace with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on 15 January, according to Ukrinform.
“I think that, like last year, the Ukraine case will dominate. This is one of the most important topics today: that the war ends with Ukraine’s victory,” said Duda.
He emphasized that victory would entail carrying out President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan, which aims to reclaim all territories currently occupied by Russia and restore Ukraine’s sovereignty within internationally recognized borders.
Polish President Duda revealed that discussions regarding the Peace Formula occurred in Davos, involving national security and foreign policy advisors. Mieszko Pawłak, the head of the International Policy Bureau under the Polish President, participated in these talks.
Duda underscored the growing participation of countries in these meetings, considering it a positive sign. He highlighted that 17 additional countries have joined the initiative, contributing to ongoing efforts to find a resolution for the complex situation in Ukraine.
Duda’s Davos schedule includes his presence from 16 January to 18. On the evening of 16 January, he will participate in the inauguration of an exhibition spotlighting Russian war crimes in Ukraine. On the morning of 18 January, he is scheduled to attend a Ukrainian breakfast event.
According to Ukrinform, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine started a working visit to the Swiss Confederation on 15 January, where he will engage with the heads of both parliamentary chambers, meet with party leaders, hold discussions with the President of Switzerland, participate in the World Economic Forum, and conduct several bilateral meetings.
Ukraine’s peace formula was first proposed by Zelenskyy in November 2022. The plan outlines 10 key points, including:
- Radiological and nuclear safety
- Food security
- Energy security
- Release of all prisoners of war and deportees
- Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity
- Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities
- Justice and accountability
- Preventing ecocide
- Preventing escalation of the conflict
- Confirmation of the war’s end.
Read also:
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/duda-russo-ukrainian-war-to-dominate-davos-discussions/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:40Z
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Russian forces will likely try to sustain or intensify offensive operations to seize more territories and retain the initiative throughout eastern Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes. At the same time, ISW also assesses that Russian forces will be unable to make operationally significant breakthroughs.
According to ISW, Russian sources claimed that Russian forces are preparing to launch a new offensive in the coming weeks once the ground freezes in eastern and southern Ukraine.
“ISW also assesses, however, that Russian forces will be unable to make operationally significant breakthroughs,” the ISW report reads.
Read also:
- Sweden to boost 155mm artillery ammo production for Ukraine
- Ukraine’s army chief Zaluzhnyi visited southern frontline commanders “to increase effectiveness given the available resources”
- Ukraine likely began using EW to counter Russian air attacks, while Russians rapidly increased the use of chemical weapons — ISW
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/isw-russia-unlikely-to-achieve-significant-breakthroughs-during-a-new-offensive-in-ukraines-east-south/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:41Z
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Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, encourages Ukrainians to participate in a free training program to assemble FPV (first-person view) drones at home. In a Facebook post, Fedorov detailed the “People’s Drone” project initiated by Victory Drones NGO.
As low-cost FPV drones emerge as one of the most frequently used weapons on the frontline, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced plans for Ukraine to produce at least 1 million of these drones in 2024.
“Ukrainians are constantly developing cool initiatives to help the Defense Forces. I want to tell you about one of them – the ‘People’s Drone’ project by Victory Drones from the Dignitas Technology Assistance Fund. It’s an engineering course that will teach you how to assemble a 7-inch FPV drone at home,” Fedorov wrote.
The course offers a comprehensive package, including access to lectures, Zoom sessions with lecturers, a list of necessary components and tools, and access to a community of engineers for consultation and questions. Participants who successfully assemble an FPV drone send it to Victory Drones instructors for a quality assembly check and weight testing. If the test is successful, the drone is then handed over to the military.
Fedorov highlighted the project’s success, noting that course participants have already supplied the military with over 100 drones. He mentioned that more than 80% of these drones arrived at Victory Drones fund in good working condition, with the remainder requiring minor adjustments. The minister praised this as a high success rate for a pilot assembly project.
“FPV drones have become game changers in this war. Join the project – and be part of the victory,” he urged.
Read also:
- Davos communique sets stage for global cooperation on Ukraine Peace Formula
- Ukrainian forces destroy Russia’s surface-to-air missile system, rocket launcher, two surveillance systems in Kherson Oblast over last 24 hours
- ISW: Russia unlikely to achieve significant breakthroughs during a new offensive in Ukraine’s east, south
- Russia reportedly loses valuable AWACS A-50 aircraft over Azov Sea (updates)
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/minister-urges-ukrainians-to-assemble-fpv-drone-for-army-at-home/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:42Z
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Late on 14 January, Russia reportedly lost an irreplaceable AWACS aircraft used to monitor the airspace in southern Ukraine and to guide Russia’s multiple air attacks.
The Beriev A-50 (NATO reporting name: Mainstay) is one of Russia’s most valuable air assets: it’s a Soviet-era airborne early warning and control aircraft (AWACS) based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport airplane. In total, between 30 and 40 of those were produced as of 1992. According to Military Ballance, Russia had only nine operational aircraft of this kind as of 2022.
On 14 January at 22:47, Olga Honharenko, the radio monitoring account on X/Twitter, reported that “Russian AWACS A-50 has fallen near Berdiansk,“ later adding, “Yes of course it was by the meaning of ‘shot down’,“ and mentioning its board number RF-50601.
What Ukraine’s official sources say
At 23:00, Serhii Bratchuk, the spokesman for the Odesa Oblast Military Administration Head, said that “sources” reported the “disappearance from radars” of the Russian A-50 in the skies over the sea of Azov.
The official also added that a Russian IL-22 air control center aircraft that accompanied the A-50 was also hit and was trying to reach the nearest airfield for an emergency landing but allegedly disappeared from radars near Kerch, occupied Crimea.
“According to preliminary data, the information has been confirmed, so we are waiting for comments from the Air Force. If we talk about the AWACCS, only ≈30 units were manufactured. It’s a very ‘fat’ target,” Bratchuk updated.
On 15 January, Ukraine’s Air Force which is also in charge of the country’s Air Defense Forces officially confirmed the successful destruction of two valuable aircraft, not elaborating what weapons were used to carry out this operation:
“Minus an enemy long-range radar detection aircraft A-50 and an enemy air control center Il-22! The special operation in the Azov Sea area was a success,” the Air Force wrote.
At noon on 15 January, the Ukrainian Army’s Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi confirmed the destruction of Russia’s A-50 and IL-22 over the Sea of Azov.
“The Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed an enemy A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft and an enemy IL-22 airborne control center,” Zaluzhnyi wrote.
Russian sources confirm the loss
On 15 January, the Russian Air Force affiliated Telegram channel, Fighterbomber, maintained by an alleged high-rank pilot, commented on another Russian Telegram channel’s suggestion that he could have died during the A-50 crash:
“Tragedy is always tragedy. Especially when it’s on this scale. No matter who was there. Who is to blame for the deaths of the pilots, we probably won’t know. To the deceased [I wish] eternal flight, to the wounded speedy recovery and return to service,” he wrote.
Another Russian popular milblogger who calls himself Helicopterpilot confimed damage to the IL-22:
“The IL-22 with damage and several injured crew members landed at a civilian aerodrome in Russia. That is why they were able to hear the crew’s radio communication. Civilian aerodromes have no means for “closed radio communication,” he claimed, adding that he has no no reliable reports on the A-50.
How Ukraine attacked the aircraft
The official Ukrainian sources did not disclose the details of the operation. Unofficially there are two main versions how the Ukrainian could have attacked the two aircraft some 150 kilometers behind the lines.
The most plausible version is that Ukraine once again deployed one of its Patriot SAM systems close to the frontline and a lucky long-range shot.
Reporting on the successful destruction of these two air assets, Valerii Zaluzhnyi shared a clip showing the routes of the A-50 and the IL-22. Justin Bronk, the Senior Research Fellow for Airpower and Military Technology at RUSI, says that based on this clip, the range from the nearest likely forward location for Patriot launcher is about 140km from where the A-50 orbit was when reportedly shot down.
“A long shot, but should be within envelope for PAC-2 GEM and PAC-3 MSE missiles,” he wrote.
Also, various sources again speculated that Ukraine could have secretly used the F-16 fighter jets to down the A-50 and the IL-22. In such a case, the Ukrainian AIr Force ould have sent the F-16s to launch the AIM-120D, which is a range-enhanced AMRAAM missile.
However, previously when Russia lost several bombers at the same sector of the front, Ukraine’s Air Force spokesman denied that Ukraine might have been operating the F-16s as of yet.
The third suggestion is the use of the US-supplied HARD anti-radiation missile which homes on the sources of radio signals. Since the A-50 is basically an airborne radar, a HARM missile could have detect and hit it.
Read also:
- UK intel: Russia integrates radar plane with S2A missile system eyeing Ukraine’s future Western jets
- Belarusian partisans conducted aerial reconnaissance for 2 weeks before drone attack that damaged Russian A-50 aircraft
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/russia-reportedly-loses-valuable-awacs-a-50-aircraft-over-azov-sea-updates/
| 2024-01-15T18:55:44Z
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Ukrainian engineers have developed EFP-S armor-piercing ammunition for FPV (first-person view) drones to target lightly armored vehicles. The Army of Drones project reported this advancement, noting its effectiveness against lightly armored vehicles like self-propelled artillery units, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers, even those protected with anti-cumulative and anti-drone measures.
Ukraine has been successfully using small FPV drones on the frontline, attacking Russian equipment, vehicles, and military personnel. Still, often, the impact force of a single FPV drone is not enough to penetrate an armored vehicle and destroy it.
The EFP-S ammunition’s combat part features an “impact core” that ensures powerful behind-armor action and a considerable remote striking distance. According to the provided specifications, the ammunition weighs 165 grams, has a velocity of 1800 meters per second, and has an effective blast radius of 8 meters.
The composition of EFP-S includes:
- Detachable parts of the body
- Screws for securing the detachable part
- A cap for fixing the detonator
- An adapter for mounting to the drone frame
- A sight for calibrating the course camera
- Rubber padding
The design is attached to an FPV drone using nylon ties, showcasing a blend of simplicity and effectiveness in its construction and deployment.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, urged Ukrainians to participate in a free training program to assemble FPV for army drones at home.
Read also:
- Minister urges Ukrainians to assemble FPV drone for army at home
- Ukrainian forces destroy Russia’s surface-to-air missile system, rocket launcher, two surveillance systems in Kherson Oblast over last 24 hours
- ISW: Russia unlikely to achieve significant breakthroughs during a new offensive in Ukraine’s east, south
- Davos communique sets stage for global cooperation on Ukraine Peace Formula
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/ukraine-develops-armor-piercing-ammunition-for-fpv-drones/
| 2024-01-15T18:56:04Z
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Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian armed forces in Kherson Oblast have destroyed at least 21 pieces of Russian military equipment and taken down 21 occupiers, Operational Command South informs.
According to the Ukrainian Army, Russian forces persist in their attempts to capture positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River, employing drones and artillery in their offensives. Despite intense battles, the Ukrainian military continues to maintain a steadfast presence in the region.
“The Defense Forces units are actively working to broaden their foothold and securely maintain positions, causing substantial losses to the enemy in both personnel and equipment,” reports the Ukrainian Army.
During the past day, the Ukrainian soldiers have destroyed one “Osa” surface-to-air missile system, one “Grad” multiple rocket launcher system, one tank, seven artillery systems, one tank, two surveillance UAVs of the “Merlin” type, one UAV control station, four armored vehicles, and three boats. Additionally, an observation point and a field supply point have been destroyed.
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/ukrainian-forces-destroy-russias-surface-to-air-missile-system-rocket-launcher-two-surveillance-systems-in-kherson-oblast-over-last-24-hours/
| 2024-01-15T18:56:44Z
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Archaeologists have unearthed an Iron Age skeleton on the final day of a dig at the Margate Caves in Kent, southeast England. The remains were found at the bottom of a bell-shaped chalk pit curled up in a fetus position, suggesting it was what archaeologists call a crouch burial.
This is a particularly exciting find because burials like this dating back to Iron Age Britain (800 BCE to 43 CE) are rare, especially those containing skeletons that are relatively complete. Research has shown that excavating recently buried bodies for bone parts was a fairly common practice among the Iron Age Brits. Many of the remains discovered today are missing bones or limbs.
“The completion of the archaeological dig out Crowdfunder backers made possible is a big milestone in our project,” Sarah Vickery, chair of the Margate Caves, told Kent Online.
The dig has been ongoing throughout February as archaeologists and volunteers excavate the area before a new visitors' office is built on the site. Aside from the skeleton, the team has discovered several Iron Age ditches, a hillfort, and post holes.
"The settlement that our archaeologists and volunteers found on our site means the Margate Caves can tell a story of the Isle of Thanet that starts well before the Romans arrived here," Vickery added.
Though the history of the cave goes back over a thousand years, it was only rediscovered in the late-17th and early-18th centuries when it was excavated as a chalk mine.
This was soon abandoned and, according to local stories, the caves apparently forgotten until a gardener at the newly built Northumberland House fell down a hole and rediscovered them. The House’s owner, Francis Forster, used the caves as a wine store, an ice well, and a grotto, even commissioning an artist to paint animals and portraits of George III on its walls. The caves were sealed up in 1835 after Forster died.
Since then, the caves have served as a refuge center during two world wars, a public site of interest, and a tourist attraction celebrating a 5th-century ruler called Vortigern, a man well-known for inviting the Saxons to Britain.
In 2004, it had to be closed down because visitor infrastructure had been poorly maintained, but if all goes well, a new visitor center will be opening next year.
As for the recently discovered skeleton, there are plans to display it with the other finds at the center after archaeologists have had a chance to properly analyze the bones.
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https://www.iflscience.com/rare-iron-age-skeleton-discovered-in-britains-margate-caves-46479
| 2024-01-15T19:20:14Z
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Far from the A-list lifestyle in Montecito, Yellowstone's Kevin Costner was spotted with friends inside a popular Santa Monica pub, packed to the brim with football fans, on Sunday January 14.
Just a few miles up the road in Santa Monica's Barker Hangar the 2024 Critics Choice Awards were taking place, but instead the 68-year-old actor – who will celebrate his birthday this coming week – walked into Jamesons Pub on Main Street, Santa Monica by himself but was escorted by door security to meet his friend, who greeted the award-winning star with a big hug.
The pair then spent three hours standing near to the bar, watching the Green Bay Packers defeat the Dallas Cowboys, although it was unclear which team the California-native was cheering on as he remained neutral the entire time, standing with his sunglasses on, and sipping on one cherry coke for the duration of his visit.
But the Field of Dreams star, who wore white chinos and a long-sleeved half-zip top, was more than happy to talk to fans, most of whom left him alone after a brief "hello," and a selfie, and allowed him to enjoy a rare slice of normal life.
He left just before the game ended, where patrons – most of whom were millennials and Gen Z – were quick to tell him they loved his Paramount show, which has brought him back into the spotlight.
His visit to Los Angeles comes amid rumors he is dating Jewel, 49, after the pair were seen with their arms wrapped around each other as they visited Richard Branson's Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands for a tennis fundraiser for the Inspiring Children Foundation which was founded by the singer.
MORE: Kevin Costner, 68, dating much younger singer Jewel? – everything we know
Kevin and Jewel's connection comes after a difficult 2023 for Kevin, who was embroiled in a challenging divorce from his ex-wife, Christine – who is also 49. They are parents to three teenagers: Cayden, 16; Hayes, 14; and Grace, 13.
The court ordered Kevin to pay a monthly child support of $63,209 to Christine, a much lower sum than the $248,000 she had originally requested. He also offered to pay $30,000 per month for a rental home after she vacated their estate.
MORE: Kevin Costner and ex-wife Christine Baumgartner reach unexpected end to divorce proceedings
Meanwhile, Christine was ordered to pay $14k of Kevin's divorce attorney fees.
A court judge also declared that the terms of their 2004 prenuptial agreement would be enforced.
Jewel has been married too, and her 12-year-old son is from her marriage to pro cowboy, Ty Murray. They tied the knot in 2008 but split six years later.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511292/yellowstone-kevin-costner-very-surprising-outing-as-a-single-man-see-photo/
| 2024-01-15T19:30:24Z
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All eyes were on Denmark as Queen Margrethe officially abdicated on Sunday after 52 years on the throne, passing the crown and the throne to her elder son, King Frederik X, and his wife Queen Mary.
And while Margrethe's announcement in her New Year's Day speech came as a total shock to the Danish people and royal watchers around the world, it was a "very pragmatic" decision from the no-nonsense monarch, says royal author and Editor-at-Large of The Australian Women's Weekly, Juliet Rieden.
"It definitely came out of the blue," Juliet told HELLO!. "But I think she's a very pragmatic Queen. She saw the popularity of Frederik and Mary. She saw the vitality that they could give to the monarchy moving forward. And their eldest son Crown Prince Christian has just turned 18 and is clearly very serious about the role of heir. So, everything is in place.
The full interview with Juliet can be found on The HELLO! Royal Club – sign up to become a member to read the complete feature.
"Margrethe will, of course, still be there guiding them all. But I think she had in her mind that Frederik and Mary were ready to take the throne, and Mary gave stability to the possibility of Frederik becoming king early."
Juliet continued: "The Danish royal family is probably the most popular monarchy around the world, and Mary's part in that has been instrumental. I think for Denmark, it's an incredible gift to have her and I think they know that."
Queen Margrethe had always publicly said that she would reign for as long as she could. In 2012, on her 40th anniversary as Queen, she famously said: "I will remain on the throne until I drop."
But in February of last year, the Danish monarch underwent "extensive" back surgery which required a long recovery, during which time her son Frederik took over her royal duties. And in her abdication announcement, she alluded to her surgery influencing her decision to step down.
On Sunday, in a historic day for the royal family, Margrethe signed the formal declaration ending her 52-year reign at 2pm local time. Teary-eyed, she then stood up from her chair and declared: "God Save The King!" Her son Frederik then took her place at the table before heading to the balcony of Christiansborg Palace, where he was declared King Frederik X by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The new king was joined by his wife, Queen Mary, and the couple's four children: Crown Prince Christian, the new Danish heir, Princess Isabella, and twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine.
Juliet's interview first appeared on The HELLO! Royal Club on Substack. To read the full interview about how the new Queen Mary is a "gift" to Denmark, sign up to become a member of our club – a place where we deliver the best in royal journalism without the adverts.
More information can be found here and to subscribe, click here.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511283/real-reason-queen-margrethe-abdicated-now/
| 2024-01-15T19:30:30Z
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Sharing a glimpse of his hands-on approach to grandparenting, Queen Camilla said in a 2018 interview for Prince, Son & Heir – Charles at 70: "He will get down on his knees and crawl about with them for hours, you know making funny noises and laughing and my Grandchildren adore him, absolutely adore him. He reads Harry Potter, and he can do all the different voices and I think children really appreciate that."
Back in 2022, King Charles and Prince Louis delighted royal fans with their heartwarming antics at the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Join HELLO! as we take a closer look at some of their sweetest moments together…
Balcony smiles
At Trooping the Colour in 2019, Charles looked every inch the doting grandfather as he enjoyed a sweet moment with Prince Louis on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. As Prince Louis offered a cheeky wave during his big Trooping debut, Charles could be seen smiling from ear to ear. Too adorable. For the splendid occasion, Prince Louis was dressed in a blue and white embroidered shirt and a pair of coordinating periwinkle blue shorts.
Candid chats
Charles's bond with Prince Louis was crystal clear at the late Queen Elizabeth II's mesmerising Platinum Jubilee Pageant in 2022. The charismatic duo won us over with their sweet antics, with many royal fans heaping praise on Charles' very hands-on approach. And in one segment of the pageant, Prince Louis appeared enraptured as he eagerly listened to his doting grandfather. See the sweet moment Louis crawled onto his grandfather's lap in the video below...
Tickled pink
During the pageant, King Charles and Prince Louis also appeared to enjoy a light-hearted moment together. Whether tickled by something his grandfather had said or amused by the fleet of entertainers unfurling in front of him, Prince Louis evidently relished his one-on-one time with his beloved "Grandpa Wales".
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A smile from grandpa
Back in 2022, Prince Louis caught the attention of his grandfather Charles at Trooping the Colour. As key members of the royal family gathered on the balcony at Buckingham Palace, Prince Louis evidently couldn't contain his excitement as he shared a sweet moment with his grandpa. Dressed to impress, Prince Louis, aged four at the time, looked particularly sweet wearing a white sailor's suit complete with navy trim and a nautical navy neckerchief. Sound familiar? The outfit bore a striking resemblance to Prince William's sailor outfit that he wore to Trooping the Colour in 1985, leading many royal fans to speculate whether Prince Louis had inherited his father's charming outfit.
Christmas walks
Prince Louis charmed royal well-wishers once again in December 2023 as he joined his family at the annual Christmas morning service at St Mary Magdalene church in Sandringham. Following the festive service, the five-year-old could be seen walking swiftly behind King Charles whilst walking in tandem with his mother Princess Kate.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/511293/photos-that-show-king-charles-sweet-bond-prince-louis/
| 2024-01-15T19:47:57Z
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Mariah Carey isn't just the "Queen of Christmas," she's also one of the world's biggest selling musicians, one of the most enduring icons from the '90s, and also one of the richest singers worldwide, with an estimated net worth of over $350 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.
However, the singer has also battled a "diva" reputation over the past few years, but clapped back at those claims with the most hilarious and prescient clip, to the tune of her 2009 hit "Obsessed."
The 54-year-old singer-songwriter took to her Instagram page to share a video that captured what the perception would be of her daily life, combining the luxe with the camp.
"Sunday Camp!" she captioned her clip, in which she's seen working out in a gold sequined gown with heels, sleeping with a glam team on standby, reading her own book, and indulging her puppies in massages (from professionals, no less) after they poop.
"I'm Mariah Carey…" she said before each outrageous scenario, leaving fans in stitches with her take on the "luxurious diva life" that also provided a glimpse into her massive home.
"Girrrrlllll, I LOVE this!" Tyra Banks commented, with Lauren Sánchez adding: "Wait I'm coming over." A fan also wrote: "Some people still won't get it. But the reality is that few celebrities have such a great sense of humor like you do!"
Another commented: "This right here is GOLD!!! Pure comedic gold!" with a third gushing: "You’re Mariah Carey, of course you’re an ICON!" and a fourth also saying: "I'm absolutely obsessed, but then again, you're Mariah Carey with those impressive 19 #1s!"
Although, the "Always Be My Baby" singer is usually down for an elegant and opulent time, regardless of the bit, as evidenced by a glimpse into her holiday celebrations.
The pop icon spent Christmas and New Year's with her two children, 12-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, shared with ex-husband Nick Cannon.
She shared a look at her festive holiday decorations in a selfie posted on social media, captioned: "New year, new beginnings..taking a picture from my 'bad side'!" in which she held a few balloons while dressed in a beautiful diamond-encrusted silver number, with the garland-covered wooden beams of her living room peeking out behind her.
SEE: Mariah Carey's daughter, 12, towers over twin brother in new photos – and she looks so different
She also posted a glimpse of her Christmas, in which she decided to take a tip in her steaming jacuzzi, although she eschewed swimwear for a figure-hugging red sparkling gown with a plunging neckline, a diamond necklace, and an updo. Watch the moment below...
She followed that up with an equally red jumpsuit, covered in rhinestoned pattern work while she sat by the fire and warmed up. However, it was a bittersweet Christmas, as it was her first since her breakup with longtime boyfriend Bryan Tanaka.
He shared an update on social media, which read: "Dear friends and fans, with mixed emotions, I share this personal update regarding my amicable separation from Mariah Carey after seven extraordinary years together."
The pro dancer spoke highly of his ex and her family, adding: "The memories we've created and the artistic collaborations are etched in my heart forever."
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/homes/511294/mariah-carey-sparks-reaction-luxurious-lifestyle-sequined-workout-gear/
| 2024-01-15T21:20:12Z
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Blake Shelton is expanding his empire now that his tenure on The Voice is over, and is using his fame and fortune to build a legacy of entertainment hotspots.
The 47-year-old country star took to his social media to announce some exciting news – the sixth and largest of his Ole Red chain of restaurants and pubs, Ole Red Las Vegas, is officially open for business!
The spot was advertised as Blake's "new place to play on the strip," and an announcement was shared on Instagram which read: "The moment we've all been waiting for… Our doors are officially OPEN now in Las Vegas! Let's get this party started!"
Blake also commented on the news, adding that it was "The place to be!!!!!!!!" with excited fans reacting with a slew of heart emojis and leaving comments like: "LOOK OUT VEGAS! Top dog is here!"
Another added: "Can’t wait to see you and Gwen get the party started," with a third saying: "New spot to definitely checkout, next Vegas trip sooon!" a fourth adding: "Congratulations Blake!! It looks great!!" and one even noting: "Congratulations @olered I can't wait to come get rowdy in a few months! We've watched this be built and it's impressive. Thank you for bringing country to Sin City!"
Sitting directly across the famous Bellagio fountains, Vegas' Ole Red is a 27,000 sq-ft, $30 million development, comprising of four stories that culminates in a 4500 sq-ft rooftop bar.
As with other Ole Red locations, in Nashville, Orlando, Tishomingo, and Gatlinburg, the venue promises not only food and activities (and a set for the show Barmageddon), but also a space for music, with the country star often providing the platform to launch newer artists at one of his bars, including his stepson Kingston, or perform himself on occasion.
In an interview with People, taking them through the construction site while the bar was still being built up, he promised that not only did he intend to inaugurate the bar with its first performance, but he was also intent on stopping by more frequently than with other locations.
"I'm in L.A. still a lot and this is awful close to not be stopping in a lot, so I'm sure you'll see me here quite a bit," he said. "Everybody looks for an excuse to be in Las Vegas. There's not a better reason than if you own a bar here, and they can't kick me out of my own bar."
However, earlier this week, Blake was able to find the time to devote to his wife Gwen Stefani as she was inducted into Orange County, California's first ever hall of fame. You can catch a glimpse of it in the video below…
Blake was on hand to escort his wife, 54, to the auditorium for her big moment, walking her down and even sweetly holding the door open for her.
"Back in the 7-1-4 days, I'll always be an Orange County girl," Gwen captioned a video of the moment. "Thank you to the County of Orange for the incredible honor + induction to first ever the Hall of Fame."
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/celebrities/511298/blake-shelton-shares-news-new-place-after-emotional-gwen-stefani-appearance/
| 2024-01-15T22:52:33Z
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In a heartbreaking admission, Shannen Doherty, 52, opened up about her thoughts on her funeral plans amidst her ongoing battle with cancer.
In a candid episode of her podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” the Charmed star shared her feelings about who she wants, and more significantly, does not want, at her funeral.
Facing her illness with remarkable openness, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum expressed her desire to keep her funeral free of those she feels don't genuinely care for her.
“There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she revealed to her guest and best friend Chris Cortazzo, who is also the executor of her will.
Her concerns stem from the belief that some may attend her funeral not out of genuine affection but due to social obligation or appearances.
“I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that bitch is dead now,'” Shannen stated, emphasizing her wish for an end-of-life celebration filled with love and authenticity.
She yearns for a gathering that truly reflects the relationships she cherished, rather than a display of superficiality or pretense.
Her battle with cancer has been a public and challenging journey. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, Shannen experienced a brief remission in 2017 after undergoing chemotherapy.
However, in 2019, she shared the devastating news that her cancer had returned and progressed to stage 4. The disease has since metastasized, affecting her brain and bones.
Amidst her health struggles, Shannen also endured personal turmoil in her marriage.
She revealed that she discovered her husband of over a decade, Kurt Iswarienko, was allegedly having an affair right before undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor.
Although Kurt denied the allegations, the couple separated in January 2023, and Shannen filed for divorce in April of the same year.
Shannen's past conflicts with her Charmed co-stars have also resurfaced. Alyssa Milano, a former co-star, admitted in 2021 to regretting their long-standing feud and has since reached out to Shannen.
In contrast, Holly Marie Combs alleged in December 2023 that Alyssa was the reason behind Shannen's exit from the show. These strained relationships might influence who Shannen chooses to exclude from her funeral.
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/health-and-fitness/511299/shannen-doherty-52-details-heartbreaking-funeral-plans-amid-cancer-battle/
| 2024-01-15T22:52:39Z
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It is a week full of reasons to celebrate for Lauren Sánchez and her blended family with Jeff Bezos.
Shortly after celebrating the Amazon founder's milestone 60th birthday in Paris, plus her son Nikko González' runway debut during Milan Fashion Week, the former entertainment news anchor is now celebrating her youngest daughter Ella Whitesell's 16th birthday.
The soon-to-be Mrs. Bezos shares her eldest son Nikko, 22, with former NFL tight end Tony González, as well as Ella, plus her older brother Evan, 17, with Hollywood agent and Endeavor founder Patrick Whitesell, her husband from 2005 to 2019.
On Monday, January 15, Lauren took to Instagram with a sweet birthday tribute to Ella in honor of the milestone birthday.
The mom-of-three shared a throwback photo of the birthday girl at the beach, in which she is seen holding her hair out of her face, wearing a blue Superman shirt and matching baseball cap.
In her caption, Lauren wrote: "Happy Birthday baby girl. I can't believe you are already 16," adding: "It seems like just yesterday I took this pic of you."
She continued: "In your quiet strength, you've grown, not with loud fanfares, but with the gentle grace of a sunrise," and noted: "Each day, you show us the beauty of dedication and the power of quiet dreams."
MORE: Lauren Sánchez dances on table in St. Barth's to celebrate lavish 54th birthday with Jeff Bezos
Lauren concluded the endearing tribute with: "We love you for everything you are, and everything you're yet to become. I love you beyond words."
Her fans and celebrity friends alike were quick to take to the comments section under the post and share their congratulatory messages for Ella, with Jeff leading the way by writing: "Happy Birthday, Ella!" alongside a red heart emoji.
MORE: Lauren Sanchez supported by rarely-seen son amid Jeff Bezos' life update
Others followed suit with: "Beautifully said. Happy Birthday to you Ella. You are so loved," and: "A true beauty," as well as: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA!!!!!! Infinite wishes to this awesome young lady. Such beautiful words from her amazing mama," plus another one of her followers added: "Your words are heartwarming. Endless love from a mother to her daughter!"
Just two days before Ella's birthday, Lauren also gave a sweet instagram shout-out to her eldest, Nikko, after he made his modeling debut walking the runway Dolce & Gabbana's Fall/Winter 2024-2025 menswear show.
She shared a clip of the exciting debut, and wrote in the caption: "Just a proud mama. It was such a gift to watch my son @nikkogzz walking the runway for @dolcegabbana in Milan. Congrats, my love."
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/511297/lauren-sanchez-rare-photo-daughter-ella-milestone-16th-birthday/
| 2024-01-15T22:52:45Z
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The biggest night in television is back with a bang, and we can hardly contain our excitement. The 2024 Emmys is finally here, four months after the original September airdate was pushed back by the SAG-AFTRA strike, and the red carpet has wasted no time in cranking up the festivities.
As Los Angeles' Peacock Theatre welcomes the leading luminaries, gathering to celebrate the best of prime-time television, we're on hand to spotlight the beauty looks that stopped us in our tracks.
Did somebody say glam squad greatness?
Previous red carpet-goers include contemporary beauties Jodie Comer, Zendaya, Claire Foy and many more, each working closely with the very best facialists, hairstylists and makeup artists to ensure that they look utterly picture-perfect, hence it's hardly surprising that the Emmys has racked up a reputation as one of the season's most glamorous awards ceremonies.
Stay tuned for the best red carpet looks at this year's Emmy Awards…
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/beauty-trends/511296/best-beauty-looks-emmys-2024/
| 2024-01-15T22:52:51Z
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The hottest night in the television calendar is back with a bang, and we are ready and poised to soak up all the red carpet glamour from this year's belated Emmy Awards.
The 75th annual ceremony was postponed from its original September airdate due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, but now that awards season is back on track, judging by the strength of the 'fits, it's safe to say that it was well worth the wait.
Televisual excellence? Tick. A-listers in their finest? Tick. Stylists at the ready? Tick. All the necessary ingredients for a fashion extravaganza.
Past attendees include modern belles such as Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, as well as old-school screen legends Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins, meaning the Emmys red carpet is always awash with beautiful, cutting-edge design.
At this year's ceremony, we're keeping our eyes peeled for nominees Camila Morrone, Elizabeth Debicki, Jenna Ortega and the like who could be going home with the night's most coveted accessory: a gilded Emmy statuette.
Stay tuned for the best red carpet looks at this year's Emmy Awards…
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/hfm/fashion-trends/511295/best-dressed-stars-emmys-2024/
| 2024-01-15T22:52:57Z
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The 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards are finally here - four months after they were postponed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike - and TV's biggest stars have congregated at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater, in downtown. Pedro Pascal from The Last of Us, Wednesday's Jenna Ortega, and the casts of Succession, The White Lotus, The Bear and more were all in attendance, as TV fans eagerly await to see who will walk away with a trophy.
This year's nominations was a brilliant year for latino representation, with Pedro and Jenna both receiving nods in Drama and Comedy, respectively, and making them the first latino stars to land leading category nominations in 15 years.
Across all categories, HBO Max's Succession held this year’s top spot with 27 Emmy nominations, although it failed to pick up any at last week's Creative Arts ceremony; the 14 remaining nods sit across seven categories. The Last of Us received 24 nominations, and has already won eight, while The White Lotus picked up 23 - both also on HBO Max - and it has four so far.
Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso scooped two at the Creative Arts ceremony after receiving 21 nods; it can pick up six tonight.
Anthony Anderson will be hosting the ceremony, which will air live, coast to coast, on Fox on Monday, January 15 at 8/7c, and stream the following day on Hulu.
Keep checking more for updates on the winners and all the best moments...
Emmy Winners 2024
Outstanding drama series
Andor
Better Call Saul
House of The Dragon
Succession
The Crown
The Last of Us
The White Lotus
Yellowjackets
Outstanding comedy series
Wednesday
The Bear
Barry
Jury Duty
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso
Abbott Elementary
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Outstanding limited or anthology series
Beef
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Daisy Jones & The Six
Fleishman is in Trouble
Obi-wan Kenobi
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series
Jeff Bridges – The Old Man
Brian Cox – Succession
Kieran Culkin – Succession
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong – Succession
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters
Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid's Tale
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Keri Russell – The Diplomat
Sarah Snook – Succession
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series
F. Murray Abraham – The White Lotus
Nicholas Braun – Succession
Michael Imperioli – The White Lotus
Theo James – The White Lotus
Matthew Macfayden – Succession
Alan Ruck – Succession
Will Sharpe – The White Lotus
Alexander Skarsgård – Succession
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus
Elizabeth Debicki – The Crown
Meghann Fahy – The White Lotus
Sabrina Impacciatore – The White Lotus
Aubrey Plaza – The White Lotus
Rhea Seehorn – Better Call Saul
J. Smith-Cameron – Succession
Simona Tabasco – The White Lotus
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series
Bill Hader – Barry
Jason Segel – Shrinking
Martin Short – Only Murders In The Building
Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series
Christina Applegate – Dead To Me
Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary
Natasha Lyonne – Poker Face
Jenna Ortega – Wednesday
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series
Anthony Carrigan – Barry
Phil Dunster – Ted Lasso
Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso
James Marsden – Jury Duty
Ebon Moss-Bachrach – The Bear
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary
Henry Winkler – Barry
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series
Alex Borsten – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Ayo Edebiri – The Bear
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary
Juno Temple – Ted Lasso
Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso
Jessica Williams – Shrinking
Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or TV movie
Taron Egerton – Black Bird
Kumail Nanjiani – Welcome to Chippendales
Evan Peters – Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Daniel Radcliffe – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Michael Shannon – George & Tammy
Steven Yeun – Beef
Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or TV movie
Lizzy Caplan – Fleishman Is In Trouble
Jessica Chastain – George & Tammy
Dominique Fishback – Swarm
Kathryn Hahn – Tiny, Beautiful Things
Riley Keough – Daisy Jones & The Six
Ali Wong – Beef
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or TV movie
Murray Bartlett - Welcome To Chippendales
Paul Walter Hauser - Black Bird
Richard Jenkins - Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Joseph Lee - BEEF
Ray Liotta - Black Bird
Young Mazino - BEEF
Jesse Plemons - Love & Death
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie
Annaleigh Ashford - Welcome To Chippendales
Maria Bello - BEEF
Claire Danes - Fleishman Is In Trouble
Juliette Lewis - Welcome To Chippendales
Camila Morrone - Daisy Jones & The Six
Niecy Nash-Betts - Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Merritt Wever - Tiny Beautiful Things
Outstanding reality/competition series
The Amazing Race
RuPaul's Drag Race
Survivor
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding Talk series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night With Seth Meyers
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
The Problem With Jon Stewart
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/film/511238/2024-emmys-winners-the-last-of-us-ted-lasso-succession-live-updates/
| 2024-01-15T23:05:43Z
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Fossils from the Llangynog Inlier of south Wales have been dated with unprecedented accuracy. As these fossils represent some of the oldest specimens of large multicellular life and match those from other parts of the world, this dating helps narrow down the point when life transformed from something we could barely see into an abundance of complex life.
As humanity explores more worlds it is quite possible we will learn that it is not having life that makes Earth distinctive, but having complex multicellular life. After all, life appeared on Earth almost as soon as the planet was cool enough to allow it, suggesting it might not be that hard to achieve. Multicellular life took another three and a half billion years.
If so, the so-called Avalon assemblage, when large curious creatures start appearing in the fossil record all across the planet, could be one of the outstanding events not just of Earth, but of the galaxy. New research has helped reveal when it happened, and something of the cause.
“These creatures would in some ways resemble modern day marine species such as jellyfish, yet in other ways be bizarre and unfamiliar. Some appear fern-like, others like cabbages, whereas others resembled sea pens,” Curtin University PhD student Anthony Clarke said in a statement.
We have found little gradual lead-up to this abundance. Not long before, the only life that would have been visible without a microscope would have been colonies of tiny organisms like stromatolites. Relatively simple discs and microbial matting appeared in deeper waters a few million years earlier, but then suddenly the Avalon species turned up at similar times in different parts of the world.
That makes determining the timing of the event important if we want to know what caused it. Similar fossils have been found to have a maximum age of 564.13 ± 0.65 million years ago, but on their own, we can’t tell if these were the first.
Carbon dating is not remotely capable of measuring timing this old. The strata in which these fossils, known as Ediacaran Biota after the hills in which they were first found, usually lack good alternatives. Sometimes, however, volcanic eruptions lend their assistance. Layers of ash can be dated much more accurately, and if they lie either above or below – and preferably both – a fossil deposit, we have a much better idea of its timing.
A volcanic formation sits at the center of the Llangynog Inlier. Zircon crystals, beloved of geologists for their easiness to date, and rutile are found in layers containing Ediacaran fossils. By dating both, Clarke and coauthors obtained dates of 564.09 ± 0.70 million years ago, confirming these species bloomed in different parts of the world at closely matching times.
The Llangynog Inlier; “Contains the richest occurrence of shallow marine life in Britain,” Clarke said. “We used outfall from an ancient volcano that blanketed the animals as a time marker to accurately date the fossils to 565 million years, accurate down to 0.1 per cent.”
“These fossils were found in the late 70s and have gone undated. This is using exciting techniques to apply to small outcrops.”
The more places we find the same dates for similar fossils, the more confident we can be that they appeared, and disappeared, at around the same time, despite what Clarke admits is a very patchy fossil record.
Clarke notes these dates place the appearance of these comparatively large, complex species almost immediately after the end of the Snowball Earth era, when almost the entire planet was covered in ice. The flux of nutrients washed into the oceans by glaciers scraping over rocks has been proposed as a reason for how these lifeforms were suddenly able to flourish.
However, Clarke says it’s not the only thing that was happening at the time. “There were massive changes in ocean chemistry,” he told IFLScience. “Iron levels dropped, and oxygen levels shot up. There were also changes in continental thrust. Some researchers propose these were linked [to biological developments]. Britain at the time was near the equator and drifted north. There was a chain of volcanic island that put zircons into the atmosphere and fortunately for us they rained out and allowed us to identify when the species died. The deaths were probably associated with gasses released by these eruptions.”
The study is published in the Journal of the Geological Society.
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https://www.iflscience.com/565-million-year-old-fossils-capture-key-event-in-earths-evolutionary-history-72458
| 2024-01-16T00:17:03Z
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Update: Today, September 27, Russia announced it had signed an agrement with the US to work on the Deep Space Gateway. In a statement reported by the AFP, the Russian space agency Rocsosmos said: “The partners intend to develop international technical standards which will be used later, in particular to create a space station in lunar orbit.”
This historic undertaking will give agencies, not just NASA and Roscosmos, a common goal to work on after the International Space Station (ISS) is retired. Russia and the US will work together to build the technology needed to not only stay in lunar orbit, but also travel back to the surface of the Moon.
“Roscosmos and Nasa have already agreed on standards for a docking unit of the future station,” the statement continued. “Taking into account the country’s extensive experience in developing docking units, the station’s future elements will be created using Russian designs.”
Our story as it originally appeared yesterday before the announcement is below. Full credit to Popular Mechanics for calling it exactly right.
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With the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled to be retired by 2024 at the earliest, many are wondering what will happen next. And, well, things still aren’t certain.
First, a report in Popular Mechanics last week suggested that the US and Russia were very much preparing to work together on a new lunar space station to replace the ISS, called the Deep Space Gateway.
Speaking to industry sources, the website claimed that the Russian space agency Roscosmos would announce its intention to join NASA in building the station. This could be used for continued experiments in space, excursions to the surface of the Moon, and even missions to Mars.
It was thought that the head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, would announce the news at the 68th International Astronautical Congress in Australia this week. However, Komarov yesterday failed to mention this supposed collaboration.
He did hint that he wanted the US and Russia to continue collaborating, including keeping the ISS running as long as possible. "We think that cooperation in the ISS project should continue," he said. However, it's still not clear what Russia's involvement will be, if any, in the Deep Space Gateway.
According to SpaceNews, NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot noted that the idea for this lunar space station was also very much still a concept. He said they had discussed with some partners about building the station – Europe and Japan, for example – but nothing was set in stone yet. “We’ve got a list of criteria that we’re putting together to say what would we do post-2024,” he said.
Meanwhile Naoki Okumura – president of the Japanese space agency, JAXA – later said they were “making a serious deliberation as to what JAXA can do if we join the Deep Space Gateway.”
To complicate matters even further, a report on the Russian news website TASS said that Russia was considering sending its own cosmonauts to China’s planned new space station in the coming years, with construction expected to be completed in 2022. The US has infamously refused to cooperate with China at all in space, so who knows if Russian cooperation with China will be a problem.
The Deep Space Gateway seems like a decent idea, and it at least gives a purpose for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which would be used to launch its parts. The ISS, meanwhile, has been a shining example of international cooperation. Hopefully one – but preferably both – of these projects will continue.
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https://www.iflscience.com/are-the-us-and-russia-going-to-work-together-on-a-lunar-space-station-43889
| 2024-01-16T00:17:09Z
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Remember the other day when we told you that NASA had six possible ideas for getting to Mars? No? Well, we did. Look, it’s right here.
Now, Boeing has come forward with one of those ideas, unveiling their Deep Space Gateway. This, they say, could act as a staging outpost around the Moon before going to Mars. In a statement yesterday, the company said this would be a habitat placed in cislunar space – the region between Earth and the Moon.
Powered by Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), or ion propulsion, "the habitat could support critical research and help open opportunities for global government or commercial partnerships in deep space,” the statement reads.
The ultimate goal would be to use this space station as an outpost for missions to Mars. It could also host a new deep space transport vehicle that NASA is working on, which would transport humans to the Red Planet.
Astronauts would travel on this vehicle to Mars, leaving behind the Deep Space Gateway, where they could control robots on the surface from orbit or perhaps land there themselves. It’s not clear how the first missions to Mars will play out, but it’s looking like they’ll begin with orbital missions, before we return and actually land on the surface.
Artist's impression of a deep space transport vehicle at Mars. Boeing
One company, Lockheed Martin, has already come forward with a proposal to build a space station around Mars, although it’s not clear if this is part of NASA’s plan (we've asked NASA for confirmation).
Truth be told, it’s not entirely clear what makes Boeing’s lunar idea especially unique, but it does clarify who exactly is working with NASA on building a gateway space station to Mars around the Moon.
This seems to be NASA’s main long-term goal at the moment. They’re going to have about $3.5 billion extra to spend on human exploration when the ISS is retired in 2024 or 2028, so it’s good to have a plan.
They’ll also have their new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), up and running by the turn of the 2020s. This will be used to launch the components of any future space station or a mission to Mars. The next step will presumably be to pick one of the plans to move ahead with.
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https://www.iflscience.com/boeing-unveils-moon-space-station-that-could-send-astronauts-to-mars-41129
| 2024-01-16T00:17:16Z
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Supersonic air travel holds the promise to get us across the world faster, but it comes with a big and loud drawback: Sonic booms. Supersonic planes are not allowed to travel over land because the boom they create is loud and disruptive. NASA has been working for decades to design an aircraft that can avoid that while still traveling at incredible speeds. The result is the X-59.
Developed with Lockheed Martin, the experimental aircraft is expected to reach 1.4 times the speed of sound in air, or about 1,490 kilometers (925 miles) per hour – and it does that while staying very quiet. It was unveiled last Friday and it will be tested in actual flight later this year.
What Is A Sonic Boom And How Is It Created?
A sonic boom is a thunderclap-like sound released by an object moving through air (in this case) faster than the speed of sound. It’s a big release of sound energy, and for this reason, it is loud.
It’s not just special planes that can crack one. The characteristic crack of a bullwhip is an example of a sonic boom. Just a small one, since the tip of a bullwhip hasn’t got the same moment of a jet.
Any object moving through a fluid would create pressure waves in front and behind itself. The waves travel at the speed of sound. As the speed of the aircraft increases, these waves are squished together, and when the aircraft reaches the speed of sound they merge into a single shockwave. Boom!
As an aircraft moves faster than the speed of sound it constantly creates sonic booms, releasing these pressure waves. But as you can imagine, it might get pretty loud and annoying if you were to live under the path of a supersonic plane.
How Does The X-59 Avoid A Sonic Boom?
Avoiding the sonic boom is a matter of breaking those pressure waves – something easier said than done. The X-59 is designed to do just that. The plane has a length of 30.3 meters (99.7 feet), but one-third of it is for its thin tapered nose. This is its secret. The nose is designed to break the pressure waves, creating a vehicle that can fly faster than sound without loud bangs.
This experimental plane is not the blueprint for future passenger supersonic vehicles, but such a design will inform the supersonic plane of the future, like the Bell X-1 rocket engine-powered aircraft later informed the development of Concorde.
All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.
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https://www.iflscience.com/how-does-nasas-supersonic-airplane-avoid-the-sonic-boom-72464
| 2024-01-16T00:17:22Z
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How did life start? It’s a question that has intrigued humans ever since we became conscious of ourselves and our place in the world. Now, researchers from Newcastle University in the UK may have an answer. By investigating the conditions that may have allowed living systems to emerge from inert geological materials 3.5 billion years ago, the team were able to produce organic molecules that may have been the stuff of life.
When they mixed hydrogen, bicarbonate, and iron-rich magnetite under conditions similar to those of mild hydrothermal vents, the researchers were able to create a spectrum of molecules, including fatty acids that were up to 18 carbon atoms in length.
This result potentially reveals how key molecules that underpin life can be made from inorganic chemicals. This has big implications for our understanding of how life may have formed on the Earth billions of years ago. In particular, this study offers a plausible genesis for organic molecules that form cell membranes that were possibly selectively chosen by early biochemical processes on the ancient Earth.
Primordial fatty acids
Fatty acids have some special properties. They are long organic molecules that have regions that can attract and repel water, which allows them to naturally form cell-like compartments in water. It is possible these molecules formed the first cell membranes.
However, prior to this research, it was not clear where these fatty acids originally came from. It had been suggested that they may have formed in hydrothermal vents where hot water, mixed with hydrogen-rich fluids produced by underwater vents, combined with seawater containing carbon dioxide.
In essence, the researchers created their own laboratory hot vent to replicate this environment under controlled conditions.
They found that, when they mixed hot hydrogen-rich fluids with carbon dioxide-rich water in the presence of iron-based minerals, which were present on the Earth, it created these fatty acids.
“Central to life's inception are cellular compartments, crucial for isolating internal chemistry from the external environment”, lead author Dr Graham Purvis said in a statement.
“These compartments were instrumental in fostering life-sustaining reactions by concentrating chemicals and facilitating energy production, potentially serving as the cornerstone of life's earliest moments.”
Purvis added, “The results suggest that the convergence of hydrogen-rich fluids from alkaline hydrothermal vents with bicarbonate-rich waters on iron-based minerals could have precipitated the rudimentary membranes of early cells at the very beginning of life. This process might have engendered a diversity of membrane types, some potentially serving as life's cradle when life first started. Moreover, this transformative process might have contributed to the genesis of specific acids found in the elemental composition of meteorites.”
The team believe this work represents an important step in understanding how life originated on the planet.
“Research in our laboratory now continues on determining the second key step; how these organic molecules which are initially ‘stuck’ to the mineral surfaces can lift off to form spherical membrane-bounded cell-like compartments; the first potential ‘protocells’ that went on to form the first cellular life,” principal investigator Dr Jon Telling explained.
Interestingly, these results could have implications that span beyond our own planet. It is possible similar membrane-creating reactions are currently taking place in the oceans under the icy moons in our Solar System. Perhaps alternative life is emerging as we speak on other worlds.
The study is published in Communications Earth & Environment.
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https://www.iflscience.com/key-molecules-to-origins-of-life-may-have-been-bubbling-away-in-ancient-hot-springs-on-primordial-earth-72465
| 2024-01-16T00:17:28Z
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NASA is going to reveal details on its plans to go to the Moon in early February, as it unveils its budget request for 2019.
In December Trump signed Space Policy Directive 1, which tasked NASA with returning humans to the Moon rather than pursuing the Journey to Mars project of the previous administration.
However, noticeably absent were any actual details on how this would be done. NASA is currently building a new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), and a crew capsule called Orion, both of which will play a part. It also has plans for a space station near the Moon called the Deep Space Gateway.
No plans have been released yet for any sort of lunar lander, nor any timeline for Moon exploration. In fact, very little at all has been revealed about what the Moon program will entail, save for changing NASA’s near-term destination from Mars to our natural satellite.
But speaking last week at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) civil space forum, NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot (acting because Trump has taken more than a year to get anyone close to running NASA, twice as long as Obama) said the upcoming FY2019 budget, expected on or around February 5, would finally reveal some details.
“We’ve been working on the plan. We’ve been working with the administration,” he said, reported SpaceNews. “I think when the budget comes out folks will see what we’ve been asked to go do and how we think we’re going to do it.”
Of course, by the time this budget comes into effect, it’ll be just a year until the next presidential election. If Trump isn’t re-elected, and wouldn’t that be awful, then a new Administration could just as easily change all these decisions again – as has happened many times before.
The plan under Obama and his NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, the Journey to Mars project mentioned earlier, was to perform a few test flights of Orion in or near Earth orbit before going to Mars. That might have included some sort of orbiting Mars station in the early 2030s, followed by crewed landings in the late 2030s. Those plans themselves were also rather threadbare.
Now, for better or worse, NASA has a chance to reveal how it plans to return us to the Moon. Hopefully, in a few weeks, it'll be worth the wait.
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-is-finally-going-to-reveal-its-plan-to-return-to-the-moon-45702
| 2024-01-16T00:17:34Z
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Just a few days after a NASA official apparently confirmed the deadline of landing people on the Moon by the “second half of 2024”, another NASA spokesperson has suggested the “aggressive goal” of the current administration is highly unlikely to be met.
In fact, according to AP News, the top NASA official's words were: “I wouldn’t bet my oldest child’s upcoming birthday present or anything like that.”
The White House-imposed 2024 deadline came back in March, issued by Vice President Mike Pence at the fifth meeting of the National Space Council. Before that, NASA had a working deadline of 2028, but "that's just not good enough," Pence had said. “We’re better than that.”
Nobody has set foot on the Moon since the final Apollo mission, Apollo 17, in 1972.
"The United States must remain first in space in this century as in the last, not just to propel our economy and secure our nation but, above all, because the rules and values of space, like every great frontier, will be written by those who have the courage to get there first and the commitment to stay," said Pence.
Though an admirable goal, Kenneth Bowersox, acting associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA, told a Congressional subcommittee this week that other factors, like safety, funding, and overcoming the technical challenges that have so far prevented NASA from revisiting the Moon need to be considered.
Bowersox – former astronaut, commander of both the space shuttle and the International Space Station, and former vice president of astronaut safety at SpaceX – told the committee that while it was good for NASA to have “that aggressive goal” as a deadline to urge the agency on, they still needed to be realistic.
“What’s important is that we launch when we’re ready, that we have a successful mission when it launches, and I’m not going to sit here and tell you that just arbitrarily we’re going to make it,” he said. Though, he did add: “There’s a lot of risk in making the date, but we want to try to do it.”
It’s no secret that the current president is more interested in a mission to Mars than the Moon, but a Moon landing is integral to NASA’s eventual plan to get there. Named Artemis, after Apollo’s sister, NASA’s Moon exploration mission has a two-phase plan: Land astronauts on the Moon in 2024, and establish a permanent lunar base by 2028.
NASA and other space agencies are working on a new space station, called the Lunar Gateway, which will orbit the Moon. As well as a science lab and holding area for equipment like rovers, this will also provide a refueling station for spacecraft, and a break for astronauts, the journey to Mars being an estimated eight months. The Gateway is scheduled for assembly in 2022, with crewed missions taking place in 2024. However current plans suggest it won’t be complete until 2026.
Other aspects that may hinder the tight 2024 deadline include a lack of rovers, landers, new spacesuits, and, vitally, NASA's much-delayed Space Launch System (SLS) – which will be the first to launch from US soil since 2011 – and is currently set to miss its launch date of 2020. Asked if private companies like SpaceX may actually beat NASA to the Moon, Bowersox still has faith in the agency, though.
“I’d still bet on us – but they might be part of our program.”
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-official-casts-doubt-on-moon-landing-by-2024-i-wouldnt-bet-on-it-53722
| 2024-01-16T00:17:40Z
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NASA is going back to the Moon and it won't just be a flying visit. The space agency is planning to begin the testing of new landers by 2024 and aims to have a crew on the surface by 2028. And this time, we'll be there to stay.
The agency is inviting private companies to submit ideas on the best ways to land astronauts on the Moon, as well as developing other key technologies that could be used on our natural satellite, and finding the best ways for transferring people and items to and from there. The approach NASA is taking is similar to the collaborations between the agency and private companies for technological development in low-Earth orbit.
“Building on our model in low-Earth orbit, we’ll expand our partnerships with industry and other nations to explore the Moon and advance our missions to farther destinations such as Mars, with America leading the way,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a statement. “When we send astronauts to the surface of the Moon in the next decade, it will be in a sustainable fashion.”
The plan as it stands has four major steps to bring astronauts back to the Moon. NASA needs a crewed launch vehicle. Some are already being developed by private companies to bring humans to the International Space Station (ISS). But to go from the ISS to the Moon, you need a lot of power. Possibly new approaches will be devised but there’s also the SLS, the Space Launch System, developed by NASA to take humans into deep space.
Whichever launch system is used, astronauts won’t go directly to the Moon’s surface. NASA is planning to build the Gateway, an automated spaceship orbiting the Moon. It will not be continuously inhabited like the ISS, but teams will stay there and will conduct short stays and trips to the surface of the Moon.
To go to the Moon and back, it is necessary to have a lander. NASA is looking for proposals that will hopefully achieve a completely reusable lander. Fuel also needs to be considered. Initially, it could use fuel brought over from Earth, but NASA is also interested in technology to produce fuel directly from lunar soil and water.
NASA has published a formal request of proposals and responses are due on March 25. We'll update you when we know more.
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-plans-to-go-back-to-the-moon-for-2028-and-this-time-were-staying--51553
| 2024-01-16T00:17:47Z
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NASA has revealed a smattering of details about its new plan to send humans back to the Moon, saying it hopes to return to the surface within a decade.
In an event yesterday at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, NASA said it had selected nine US companies that would be welcomed to bid on contracts to return to the Moon, “including payload integration and operations, launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon.”
Among the companies were Astrobotic Technology, who are hoping to send a rover to the Moon in 2019, and Firefly Aerospace, which is aiming to build new small rockets to launch into space. They have each been awarded a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract.
The event highlights NASA’s growing commitment to return to the Moon, shifting the focus from Mars for the time being. They are hoping to build a space station near the Moon called the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) to replace the International Space Station (ISS) in the coming decade, before heading to the surface.
“I think that it is possible we can have a presence on the moon with humans within a decade,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said at the event.
As part of the announcement, each company will be eligible for funding from a pot of up to $2.6 billion over the next 10 years. Each has been given a small amount up front, although it’s not clear the total amount each could be eligible for.
“When we go to the moon, we want to be one customer of many customers in a robust marketplace between the Earth and the moon,” Bridenstine said. “We want multiple providers that are competing on cost and innovation.”
The first missions as part of this funding, as yet unspecified, could take place as early as 2019 – although SpaceNews noted that 2020 was more realistic. It’s also not entirely clear what NASA is planning to launch, with many specifics still yet to be worked out.
Nonetheless, NASA is hoping this investment can help kickstart the exploration of the Moon. “These early missions will enable important technology demonstrations that will inform the development of future landers and other exploration systems needed for humans to return to the lunar surface, and help prepare the agency to send astronauts to explore Mars,” they said in a statement.
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-reveals-new-details-about-its-plan-to-return-to-the-moon-50809
| 2024-01-16T00:17:53Z
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NASA is looking into the possibility of building a mini space station near the Moon in the 2020s, as a stepping stone to getting humans to Mars.
The idea was revealed by Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, during a presentation earlier this week and a following statement. Known as a gateway station, construction would begin in 2023, with human missions to Mars following a decade later.
This gateway station would be used as a place for astronauts to practice deep space operations and also as a place from which to fly missions to Mars. It would require three launches of the upcoming Space Launch System (SLS) to build.
“The first launch would deliver a 40kW power and propulsion system (mainly high-power electric propulsion) to cislunar space, which a crew of four astronauts would deploy during an eight- to 21-day mission,” Eric Berger notes for Ars Technica. “A second launch would deliver the habitation module itself, again during a crewed launch. And a final launch would provide the logistics module for the gateway.”
Construction of this gateway station would give NASA a clear purpose after it ends its involvement in the International Space Station (ISS), which is expected to happen in 2024 or 2028. This will free up about $3.5 billion of spending on human exploration, which could be used on these deep space endeavors.
This would see humans sent on a mission to orbit Mars in 2033, following a practice mission in cislunar space for about a year. Getting to Mars would likely include a flyby of Venus, which is pretty awesome. Once at the Red Planet, the astronauts would orbit and then head home. Future missions would look into landing on the Martian moon Phobos, and ultimately landing on the surface of Mars.
Getting to Mars will require a new deep space transport spacecraft, a successor to the Orion spacecraft that is currently in development. In its statement, NASA said this would be a “reusable vehicle that uses electric and chemical propulsion and would be specifically designed for crewed missions to destinations such as Mars”.
At a time when private companies are getting more and more involved in spaceflight, NASA noted there will be opportunities to partner with the private industry on these programs, in addition to other countries.
Mostly, though, it’s just good to see that NASA has some sort of plan for getting to Mars, which has been sorely lacking in recent years. The agency apparently has six possible ideas for building the mini space station around the Moon; here's hoping we see one of them come to fruition one day.
(H/T: Ars Technica)
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-wants-to-build-a-mini-space-station-near-the-moon-41070
| 2024-01-16T00:17:59Z
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NASA has said it wants to start doing lunar landings by the 2020s, as it set out its vision for the future of American human space exploration.
As reported by SpaceNews, NASA acting administrator Robert Lightfoot (remember, NASA has been without a proper leader for more than a year) outlined the new plan for NASA up to 2030, with Mars recently being dropped as the goal.
“At the Moon, we’ll have people transiting from the platform back down to the surface of the Moon,” he said. “We’ll have a constant set of flights going back and forth that will allow us to do the work that we want to do on the Moon.”
NASA’s latest budget was outlined the other day, which had some bad news for certain scientific missions and the International Space Station (ISS). But it also provided our first glimpse at some of its human exploration plans, including this goal to return to the Moon.
This will be made possible by a lunar space station that NASA is planning to build, called the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (previously known as the Deep Space Gateway). The first part of this, the power and propulsion unit, will be launched in 2022.
Then from 2023 onwards, NASA plans to launch habitats to the station, which will be positioned relatively near the Moon. These are currently being designed as part of NASA’s NextSTEP program, and will allow crews to stay on the station for 30 to 60 days at a time.
NASA will begin with small robotic lunar lander missions, before moving on to larger missions that can take humans to the surface. Lightfoot said they were looking at the “latter part of the decade for humans to the Moon”. These will be people from the US and other countries like Russia.
“The Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway will give us a strategic presence in cislunar space,” William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator at NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, said in a statement. “It will drive our activity with commercial and international partners and help us explore the Moon and its resources. We will ultimately translate that experience toward human missions to Mars.”
NASA also said the station would have an airlock for astronauts to conduct spacewalks, while it will also be used for scientific research and technology demonstrations. Commercial cargo missions – like how SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are used on the ISS – will be used to resupply the station. The upcoming Space Launch System (SLS) rocket (first launch in 2022) and the Orion spacecraft will be used to take astronauts there.
The exact details of the lunar excursions have not yet been revealed. But it’s a step in some sort of direction to actually have some dates in place.
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasa-wants-to-start-sending-people-back-to-the-moon-in-the-late-2020s-46270
| 2024-01-16T00:18:06Z
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Rocket science has taken us from the ground to the Moon. But if we want to go into deep space, we can’t just rely on bigger and bigger rockets. We need more sophisticated propulsion. NASA has taken this challenge seriously and started looking into new approaches. One of them, the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) has now passed a critical test.
Developed in collaboration with Aerojet Rocketdyne, AEPS is seen as a key component of the propulsion of large-scale science missions and cargo transport. It’s probably the propulsion system that will be adopted in the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, which will be placed in lunar-orbit in 2022.
AEPS is a next-generation ion-thruster. It creates propulsion by accelerating ionized atoms with an electric field. It creates a modest amount of thrust compared to traditional chemical rockets, but it is capable of doing so for a longer time and with a lot less fuel. Less fuel means less weight to carry with you into orbit and beyond.
The test evaluated the propulsion system’s discharge supply unit and power processing unit. The engineering team showed that the AEPS can convert power at a high-efficiency level, producing minimal waste heat. The test was performed in the thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio.
Currently, the most powerful Hall thruster in orbit is 4.5 kilowatts. Each AEPS will be over 10 times more powerful, reaching 50 kilowatts.
“Our AEPS discharge supply unit performed exceptionally, yielding significant conversion efficiency improvements important for future demanding missions,” said Eileen Drake, said CEO and president of Aerojet Rocketdyne in a statement. “These results are a testament to the Aerojet Rocketdyne team’s focus and dedication to advancing the state of the art in this critical in-space technology area.”
The next step will be testing the early systems integration. The team will then move into design finalization, and finally the critical design review. Once it passes that, the final design will move into actual production. The Lunar gateway is expected to sport four AEPS as well as chemical booster rockets.
“By staying on the cutting edge of propulsion technology, we have positioned ourselves for a major role not only in getting back to the Moon, but also in any future initiative to send people to Mars,” Drake continued. “AEPS is the vanguard for the next generation of deep space exploration and we’re thrilled to be at the mast.”
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https://www.iflscience.com/nasas-new-propulsion-system-that-will-take-us-to-deep-space-just-passed-a-critical-test-49565
| 2024-01-16T00:18:12Z
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A few days ago, Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech at NASA’s Johnson Space Center to discuss the administration's intentions for the future of human exploration, including plans to go back to the Moon.
"It is now the official policy of the United States of America that we will return to the Moon, put Americans on Mars, and once again explore the farthest depths of outer space,” said Pence in the speech.
The plan for the moon sees the construction and delivery of the Lunar Orbital Platform Gateway in the middle of the next decade. The Gateway is a planned lunar-orbit space station that will have a small crew habitat and some logistic modules. It is envisioned as a key component for future exploration, both for the construction of a permanent settlement on the Moon and as a potential launchpad for deep-space exploration. Eventually, even the exploration of Mars. The first module, called the Power and Propulsion Element, is expected to be launched in 2022, with the Deep Space Habitat to follow suit in 2024.
“We’re only a few short years away from launching the Gateway’s first building blocks into space, turning science fiction into science fact. And our administration’s working tirelessly to put an American crew aboard the Lunar Orbital Platform before the end of 2024,” Pence continued.
In a politically charged speech, Pence complained that the US had to rely on Russian rockets to get to low-Earth orbit for the last seven years, and he announced that “soon – and very soon – American astronauts will return to space on American rockets launched from American soil. And when they go, they will be guided by the dedicated team here at the Johnson Space Center.”
Pence is certainly optimistic about NASA’s commercial partnership that will stop American astronauts from having to fly to Russia to go to space, but the Government Accountability Office is not as cheery. In a report published in July, the Government watchdog suggests that crewed commercial vehicles are likely to be delayed further and that could result in a gap in accessing the International Space Station for the US.
Pence also reiterated the commitment of the administration in creating the Space Force, a new military branch dedicated to advance American security in space. The power to create this potential sixth branch of the military doesn’t reside with the government. The role of establishing and organizing the armed forces belongs to Congress.
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https://www.iflscience.com/pence-announces-orbital-moon-station-will-be-up-and-running-by-2024-49458
| 2024-01-16T00:18:19Z
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Scientists are already working out how to make the most out of NASA’s proposed lunar space station, looking at exciting experiments this outpost could afford.
One criticism of the International Space Station (ISS) was that, after construction began in 1998, it took more than a decade for its scientific potential to be realized.
The ISS is due to be deorbited no sooner than 2024, and in its place, NASA is hoping to build a space station in orbit near the Moon in the late 2020s called the Deep Space Gateway (DSG).
To ensure there isn’t a similar hiatus between launch and research, scientists from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) met this week on December 5 and 6 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, to come up with a “wish list” of experiments.
Some examples include a meteoroid-experiment monitor, according to Nature, “which would study the drifting interstellar dust that never reaches Earth owing to the planet's magnetic field.”
Another experiment would be a low-frequency radio observatory, picking up radiation from the dawn of the universe between 400,000 and 100 million years after the Big Bang, something that’s challenging on Earth due to our ionosphere.
There are also suggestions that the station could be used to test new long-lasting filters made of nanometer-thick carbon membranes, or find a way to use the Sun’s rays to produce hydrogen and oxygen for use in microgravity.
It’s also been touted that this station could be used for sorties to the Moon, either human or robotic. If the latter, astronauts on the station could control rovers on the Moon in real time.
The exact details of the DSG have not yet been worked out, but progress is being made. In September, the US and Russia signed an agreement to work on the project together, while Japan and other nations have already expressed an interest.
At the moment the idea is still a concept, but the broad idea is to have some sort of modular station in lunar orbit, which can be visited by the Orion spacecraft. This can be used for deep space research, in addition to missions to the Moon and possibly Mars.
NASA has tentatively earmarked the second launch of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to launch the first component of the DSG. Called Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2), this mission in the mid-2020s may launch a crewed Orion spacecraft with the first piece of the DSG, the Power Propulsion Element (PPE).
Hopefully, when or if the DSG does get up and running, we’ll be ready and waiting to start performing some of the unique scientific research it will afford.
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https://www.iflscience.com/scientists-dream-up-wish-list-of-experiments-for-nasas-lunar-space-station-45041
| 2024-01-16T00:18:25Z
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If you want to hunt dinosaurs, Vernal in Utah is the only place in the world where you can do it legally. That’s because they offer official dinosaur hunting licenses, but if you get one, we still can’t guarantee you any success.
Vernal began issuing dinosaur hunting licenses back in 1951, reports The Museum of Hoaxes, after Tenney T Johnson’s idea got picked up by the Vernal Chamber of Commerce who started handing them out to around 60,000 tourists a year.
Hunting is a controversial pastime and as director of Jurassic Park Steven Spielberg can attest, people can get very passionate about it even when the slain animal is *checks notes* a prop triceratops. If you like the sound of a dinosaur hunt, it’s important to note that there still are some rules:
- This license entitles the holder to hunt, pursue, shoot, kill and remove from that area known as Dinosaur Control Area of Uintah County [...] the following types of reptilian wild game.
- A. TYRANNOSAURUS REX – 1 only (adult male).
- B. DIPLODOCUS GIGANTICUS – 1 only (either sex) and not less than 5,000 pounds live weight.
- C. STEGOSAURS – 2 only (males) any size.
- D. PTERODACTYLI – 4 only (without young).
While the license grants the holder a green light to hunt in Vernal, to date, no dinosaurs have died. But you never know…
Vernal is a special place palaeontologically speaking, home to the Dinosaur National Monument. At over 80,940 hectares (200,000 acres) it extends from Utah into Colorado, and has been nicknamed "Dinosaurland".
The first dinosaur bones discovered here were found by Earl Douglass in 1909. Since then, thousands of fossils have been found belonging to Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, and Camarasaurus. You can see some embedded in the Wall Of Bones, and even touch some fossils dating back 150 million years.
And if you happen to spot a dinosaur while you’re exploring Utah’s ancient natural history? Just make sure you have your license handy…
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https://www.iflscience.com/theres-only-one-place-in-the-world-where-you-can-legally-hunt-dinosaurs-72463
| 2024-01-16T00:18:31Z
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Trump has signed a new directive to shift NASA’s focus once again, aimed at sending humans back to the Moon before going to Mars. As yet, there’s not really any detail on how this will happen.
Making a speech at the White House yesterday, Trump said Space Policy Directive 1 would “refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery.” Spare a thought for poor science there, eh.
The signing came 45 years to the day that Apollo 17 landed on the Moon, the last time humans visited our lunar neighbor. As such, Trump was flanked by the last remaining Moon walker from that mission, Jack Schmitt.
“This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints – we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond,” Trump said.
He signed the directive, with Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin in attendance along with Peggy Whitson, who is the most experienced US astronaut in history.
This signals a shift from the Obama administration, who had focused on missions to Mars rather than going to the Moon. Under Obama, former NASA administrator Charlie Bolden had repeatedly pushed for his Journey to Mars idea, telling IFLScience in 2015 that “giving up on Mars would be disastrous”.
Well, that’s exactly what Trump has done, and it once again leaves NASA in no-man’s land. NASA will not see any shift in its budget as a result of this directive until 2019, which means that by 2021, a new President could very well just shift it back again to Mars.
NASA is currently working on a proposal to build a space station near the Moon, called the Deep Space Gateway. This is seen as a successor to the International Space Station (ISS), with partners including Russia, Japan, and Europe expected to be involved.
But there has been little to no discussion about actually going back to the surface of the Moon. That requires significant development and, most importantly, time. With NASA’s goal constantly shifting (it was the Moon under Bush, Mars under Obama, and now the Moon again), it’s safe to say progress is pretty slow.
"Under President Trump’s leadership, America will lead in space once again on all fronts,” said Vice President Pence. Again, though, how? Without any details, this is very much just bluff and bluster. Not to mention that the US is already the world-leader in other areas like uncrewed planetary exploration.
NASA, once again, has a new goal to aim for. If it ever gets there, it may well find it has been long beaten.
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https://www.iflscience.com/trump-wants-to-send-nasa-back-to-the-moon-but-doesnt-explain-how-45094
| 2024-01-16T00:18:37Z
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Money talks, people talk – and now, according to new research, the plants are talking too. While we knew that plants had been chatting away to each other since 1983, one team has taken a closer look at the chemicals involved in this communication.
When a plant is damaged by an animal or a careless hiker, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are released. Plants nearby to the one under attack receive these VOCs which act as a trigger for the unharmed plants to prime their defenses. More than 30 different plant species are known to communicate in this way, however, what is happening within the plants on a molecular level remains poorly understood.
To better study what was happening, the team set up an imaging system using plants expressing a fluorescent Ca2+ biosensor that could capture the moments the VOCs were taken up by other plants.
“We constructed equipment to pump VOCs emitted from plants fed by caterpillars onto undamaged neighboring plants and combined it with a wild-field, real-time fluorescent imaging system,” said Professor Masatsugu Toyota, the team leader, in a statement.
The team showed that changes in concentrations of Ca2+ triggered the defenses.
“This innovative setup visualized bursts of fluorescence spreading in a mustard plant Arabidopsis thaliana after exposure to VOCs emitted from the insect-damaged plant," continued Toyota. "The plants create fluorescent protein sensors for intracellular Ca2+ and therefore, changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration can be monitored by observing changes in fluorescence.”
The team found that both VOCs released from leaves feasted upon by caterpillars and VOCs released by leaves smashed artificially by the team triggered Ca2+ changes in the nearby undamaged plants.
The researchers decided to look more closely at the types of VOCs that were causing the Ca2+ signal changes. They found two VOCs, (Z)-3-hexenal (Z-3-HAL) and (E)-2-hexenal (E-2-HAL), caused changes in Ca2+ signals. These two chemicals smell like grasses and are known as green leaf volatiles (GLV).
“Plants do not possess a 'nose', but stomata serve as a plant gateway mediating rapid GLV entry into interspaces in leaf tissues,” says Toyota.
When looked at in a plant expressing the fluorescent biosensor, Z-3-HAL triggered Ca2+ signals in the guard cells first, in about a minute, and then in mesophyll cells. However epidermal cells were slower to generate the Ca2+ signals.
“We have finally unveiled the intricate story of when, where, and how plants respond to airborne 'warning messages' from their threatened neighbors,” he says. “This ethereal communication network, hidden from our view, plays a pivotal role in safeguarding neighboring plants from imminent threats in a timely manner,” finished Toyota.
The paper is published in the journal Nature Communications.
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https://www.iflscience.com/watch-plants-chat-about-their-neighbours-peril-using-hidden-airborne-communication-pathways-72461
| 2024-01-16T00:18:44Z
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Rebecca Romijn recently shared her reaction to her ex-husband John Stamos' comments about their 2005 divorce where he called her ‘the devil’, featured in his memoir "If You Would Have Told Me."
Speaking to ET at the Critics Choice Awards, the 51-year-old actress expressed her shock at the revelations.
"I was very surprised by all of that, incredibly shocked actually. I was sort of blindsided by it," she said.
The X-Men star chose not to delve deeper into the topic, stating: "I don't really want to help him sell his books based on those headlines. So that's all I really want to say about it."
In his book, John, now 60, recounts the painful details of their separation, including their final encounter during divorce proceedings.
He described it as the last time they ever saw each other, marked by an emotional hug and unspoken apologies.
John's reflections on their marriage reveal his prolonged struggle with the breakup. "I mean, a year, okay, good. But it went on [for] years and years," he told People, highlighting the extent of his emotional turmoil.
The Full House actor admitted to harboring intense negative feelings towards Rebecca during that period. "In my mind back then, she was the Devil, and I just hated her. I couldn't believe how much I hated her, and it ruined my life," he shared candidly.
He also discussed his perception of their careers at the time, feeling overshadowed by Rebecca's success while his own career seemed to falter.
Post-divorce, John's struggles continued, leading him to excessive drinking. He finally sought treatment for his alcoholism after a DUI arrest in 2015.
He has since found happiness with his second wife, Caitlin McHugh, with whom he shares a son, Billy, and will celebrate six years of marriage in February.
Rebecca, on the other hand, moved on with actor Jerry O'Connell, whom she began dating in 2004. They got engaged six months after her divorce from John was finalized.
Jerry recently spoke about John’s book, describing it as a "betrayal" and expressing disappointment on behalf of his wife. "My wife was bummed out. I think it was a bummer for my wife. I think my wife was disappointed," he said.
Rebecca and Jerry are now parents to twin daughters, Charlie and Dolly, and Rebecca has even named her jewelry company after them.
Most recently, Rebecca attended the Critics Choice Awards with her Star Trek: Strange New Worlds castmates, where she shared her excitement on social media despite the series not winning any awards.
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/brides/511301/rebecca-romijn-breaks-silence-on-ex-husband-john-stamos/
| 2024-01-16T00:24:43Z
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Eva Mendes is notorious for being an incredibly private person, but she does wish she could share more of her mom Eva Pérez Suarez' incredible story.
The Hitch actress was born in Miami in 1974, though she was largely raised by her mother in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood after her parents, who both hail from Cuba, divorced.
Despite the mother-of-two's penchant for privacy when it comes to her personal life, her fans are no strangers to seeing occasional posts on her social media featuring Eva Sr., and her latest might be her most emotional yet.
Eva took to Instagram on Monday and shared a heartwarming photo where is cuddled up next to her mom, who is wearing a pink Barbie-themed tracksuit.
"This Barbie is my hero," Eva declared in her caption, before noting: "I wish this Barbie wasn't so private then I'd be able to share everything she has survived."
Still, she did go on to reveal: "The only thing she'll let me share is that she is a cancer survivor. Like that's not enough, I know," and endearingly added: "I see my strength in her eyes," alongside a pink heart emoji.
Her fans were quick to take to the comments section under the post and share their supportive comments, with one fan writing: "Cuban mamas with their strength and wisdom… so sweet," as others followed suit with: "Your mommy is so cute! Blessings," and: "God Bless your Mami," as well as: "May God bless you always beautiful friend," plus another one of her followers added: "You guys look so much alike!"
MORE: Ryan Gosling declares Eva Mendes 'the girl of my dreams' in rare public tribute to 'dream' daughters
In another recent Instagram post ahead of the holidays, Eva also opened up about her childhood, and how her mom and older brother Juan Carlos Méndez Jr. – who passed away in 2016 aged 53 after a battle with cancer – made the day magical despite them living "paycheck to paycheck."
She shared a throwback photo of herself celebrating Christmas as a kid, looking happy as can be posing next to a festive Christmas tree, surrounded by gifts like baby dolls, a Barbie toy house, and more. "Little me in the 80's at Christmas," she wrote in her caption, adding: "We were paycheck to paycheck – at best – but my Mami always went all out for me on Xmas morning."
MORE: Eva Mendes praises 'incredible father' Ryan Gosling in candid tribute: 'His number one fan'
Eva, who also grew up with older sister Janet Mendes as well as a younger paternal half-brother, Carlo Méndez, added: "My older siblings were also part of the magic."
She continued: "Since they were way beyond their Santa years then, when I look back now, I realize how they all did their part in making it magical for me," and endearingly noted: "I'm so grateful."
Eva concluded: "I miss my brother. The last Christmas I had with him was a few years ago when he did something only a big brother could do," though said she would "leave that sweet story for another post."
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Claire Danes, 44, looked pretty in pink at the Emmys, wearing a sensational backless pink dress. The star-studded occasion marked the first time the Homeland actress has walked the red carpet since giving birth in July 2023.
The Titanic star opted to wear vintage Balmain and she exuded old Hollywood glamor, teasing her honey-colored hair into retro waves, sweeping it to the side to allow her dazzling earrings to shine through.
Claire's glittering drop earrings weren't the only eye-catching element to her outfit. The mother-of-three's dress was bejeweled too, with sparkling gem panels on each shoulder, giving the floaty dress structure before it opened into a backless design that cascaded down Claire's back.
The sophisticated gown hugged Claire's figure perfectly – and made a big change from the silver spangly dress she wore on Friday night to attend the FX and Vanity Fair Celebrate Fearless Television Emmy Party.
For the lead-up event, Claire paired her sparkling gown, which had an alluring slit on the shoulder, with peep-toe heels, opting for the same swept back look with her light hair.
Claire, who has won three Emmys in the past, delighted her fans with her Barbie-inspired look, with many taking to social media to share their love for her outfit for the prestigious occasion.
LOOK: Emmy Awards: 15 most glamorous gowns of all time
"Love Claire Danes! She looks beautiful," one wrote, while another added: " Claire Danes making a statement on the #Emmys red carpet! Effortlessly elegant and ready for a night of celebration."
Indeed, Claire's return to the red carpet is certainly a triumphant one, and she's likely hoping for a win, for her nomination for Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role in Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Check out the other best-dressed celebs at the Emmys in our gallery of the most amazing outfits of the night.
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TOKYO - U.S. military forces in Japan are set to deploy to the earthquake-hit Noto peninsula to help with relief efforts, sources familiar with the matter said.
Details of the mission are expected to be announced later on Tuesday, the sources said on condition of anonymity as the plans have not yet been made public.
More than 220 people are confirmed to have died in the Jan. 1 quake that destroyed thousands of homes, wrecked roads and other infrastructure and knocked out power in the isolated area.
Authorities have been warning survivors, many of whom are living in evacuation centres, to guard against freezing temperatures with heavy snow hitting the area in recent days.
The quake is Japan's deadliest since 2016 when quakes in the southwestern region of Kumamoto claimed 276 lives. U.S. forces have been stationed in Japan since World War II, marking the country's biggest military presence abroad. REUTERS
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| 2024-01-16T01:19:14Z
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LOS ANGELES - Apple is planning to remove its blood oxygen feature from its latest smartwatches – the Series 9 and Ultra 2 – to get around a US ban of the devices if an appeal of the decision fails.
The plan was disclosed Jan 15 by Masimo, which has been locked in a feud with Apple over patents related to the technology. It said that US Customs and Border Protection approved the move on Jan 12. The agency “decided that Apple’s redesign falls outside the scope” of an import ban by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), signalling that the adjustment will let Apple keep its watches on the market.
The ITC had ruled in October that Apple’s devices violated Masimo patents related to blood oxygen measurement. That led Apple to pause sales of the smartwatches just ahead of Christmas, though an interim stay allowed the company to bring the products back late last month.
The iPhone maker developed a software workaround intended to sidestep the dispute and presented the solution last week to the customs agency, which is in charge of enforcing import bans. Apple explained that the redesigned watches “definitively” do not contain the technology at issue, known as pulse oximetry, according to Masimo.
The dramatic step would probably only take place if Apple fails to win a longer stay from a federal appeals court. The company said on Jan 15 that it expects the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to rule on its motion for a stay for the entire appeal period as early as Jan 16. Apple said it believes the period could last a year or more.
Until then, the Apple Watch blood oxygen feature continues to be available on newly sold units, Apple said. The customs agency has not publicly published its decision, but shared it with the parties.
“Apple’s claim that its redesigned watch does not contain pulse oximetry is a positive step toward accountability,” Masimo said. “It is especially important that one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies respects the intellectual property rights of smaller companies and complies with ITC orders when it is caught infringing.”
Removing the technology from the Apple Watch would be a significant move. The company’s engineers have been working on a software update that changes the blood oxygen app and its algorithms in a way that might circumvent the issue without losing the feature. But eliminating the capability would likely be the quickest way to avoid seeing the ban reimposed, which could have occurred as early as January.
“Apple may have paid a steep price to get around a US import ban,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Tamlin Bason said in a note. “That was a highly touted feature.”
Though addressing the immediate risk of a ban is positive, the move “could dent customer demand,” Mr Bason said.
Apple’s operations team has already begun shipping modified Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches to retail locations in the United States, likely in case the appeal fails this week. The stores were told not to open or sell the tweaked devices until they receive approval from Apple’s corporate offices. It’s possible that those models are the new versions without the blood oxygen feature. BLOOMBERG
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SINGAPORE - Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, will double its private equity business headcount in Singapore within the next two years, a top executive said, as it looks to tap into a growing number of deals in South-east Asia.
The expansion in Singapore will also bring the asset manager closer to its investor base, which includes sovereign wealth funds, family offices and individual investors, said Blackstone’s Asia private equity (PE) business head Amit Dixit.
Blackstone’s Singapore PE team will grow to six or seven people within two years, and Aravind Krishnan, a managing director in its PE practice, will move to the city-state from Mumbai to lead that team, he added.
Blackstone joins a growing of list of global asset managers expanding or setting up offices in Singapore as financial investors seek alternative bases to China amid growing geopolitical tensions and a sluggish economic recovery there.
“Domiciling businesses in Singapore has really accelerated post-Covid; so even if the business may be in India, China, Korea or even a global business, they will have headquarters in Singapore,” Mr Dixit said.
Blackstone, which manages over US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) in assets including real estate, favours businesses with global presence and sees opportunities to invest, build and grow such businesses in South-east Asia.
The New York-based fund manager would focus on sectors including technology, healthcare, consumer, financial services and value added industrial, and look at deal sizes as small as US$150 million, Mr Dixit said.
Blackstone has been operating in Singapore for over a decade and employs more than 100 professionals, he said.
It is one of the largest PE players in Asia, having raised US$11 billion for its second Asia private equity fund in 2021, nearly tripling its predecessor.
Mr Dixit said about 50 per cent of the second fund has been deployed so far, and when around 75 per cent has been committed, Blackstone will start fundraising for a third Asia private equity fund.
Some of its Asia deals in recent years included acquiring Singaporean precision components maker Interplex for US$1.6 billion in 2022 and selling IBS Software Services for US$450 million to rival buyout firm Apax Partners last year, according to Dealogic data. REUTERS
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SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) group posted a 15.8 per cent increase in passenger traffic in December during the year-end peak travel season.
For SIA itself, revenue passenger kilometres, which indicates the number of passengers carried multiplied by the distance flown, rose 15 per cent to 10.1 billion in December 2023 from 8.8 billion in December 2022. For Scoot, the group’s low-cost arm, revenue passenger-km climbed 18.5 per cent to three billion from 2.5 billion.
Group passenger capacity outpaced passenger traffic at 16.1 per cent, resulting in a passenger load factor (PLF) of 89.4 per cent, 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous year. PLF is expressed as a percentage of available seat-km.
SIA’s December 2023 PLF was 88.7 per cent, 0.4 percentage points lower than 89.1 per cent in the previous year. Scoot’s December 2023 PLF was 91.7 per cent, a 10 percentage point increase from 91.6 per cent in the year before.
Both airlines carried a combined 3.3 million passengers during the month, up 24.4 per cent from a year ago.
Cargo carriage grew 4.3 per cent year on year on the back of stronger e-commerce demand. However, increased passenger services have resulted in higher bellyhold capacity, resulting in a cargo load factor of 52.6 per cent in December 2023, 1.7 percentage points lower than the previous year.
SIA’s passenger network covers 121 destinations in 35 countries and territories as at Dec 31, 2023. SIA resumed services to Xiamen, China, in December 2023, and served 76 destinations, while Scoot served 67 destinations.
The group’s cargo network served 126 destinations in 37 countries and territories in the same period.
Shares of SIA closed up one cent or 0.2 per cent to $6.53 on Jan 15. THE BUSINESS TIMES
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SINGAPORE - Simultaneous crises in two of the world’s major shipping canals have caused delays, raised costs and disrupted supply chains – and the effects were seen in a slowdown in Singapore’s logistics growth in December 2023.
The Singapore Logistics Growth Index (LGI) dipped by 0.9 point to 52.4 points that month, from 53.3 points the month before. The related transport capacity index fell to 51.9 in December, from 53.6 in November.
Published by the Logistics Institute of Singapore, the index is based on data compiled from surveying logistics professionals and managements in more than 1,000 companies.
The institute’s report on Jan 15 attributed the drop to slower expansion rates in the indexes of transportation and warehousing, a slower contraction in the employment index, and a faster expansion in the indexes for business volume and inventory.
Mr Stephen Poh, director-general of the Logistics Institute of Singapore, said: “The latest LGI readings indicate rising logistics costs of the global economy. The Red Sea shipping crisis has caused sharp increases in shipping costs and delivery delays.”
Drewry’s World Container Index rose 15 per cent to US$3,072 per 40-foot container week on week to reach its highest level since October 2022. The cost is 116 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic (2019) average of US$1,420.
BMI, the financial research arm of Fitch Solutions, said the Asia-Europe corridor will face the most acute delays, given the scarcity of viable alternatives to the essential Suez Canal.
BMI noted that the fastest, typical Asia-Europe route through the Suez Canal takes 25 to 30 days. The alternative route, which wends round the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, adds around 10 days.
Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea in mid-November 2023 in a series of pirate raids, unmanned aerial vehicle and missile attacks.
With these attacks, transit trade through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, plunged 42.6 per cent from 5.2 million tonnes on Dec 1, 2023, to 2.8 million tonnes on Jan 8, 2024. This represented a “substantial re-routing of trade in just over a month”, noted BMI.
It added that the Red Sea crisis will have a “domino effect” on other shipping routes and key global manufacturing supply chains if the situation is not resolved soon – and already, Asia-US shipping costs have also begun to spike.
For Asia-US trade, the major alternative route through the Panama Canal has not been smooth sailing either.
The Panama Canal has faced drought for months as a result of a strong El Nino weather phenomenon sending water levels down, although rains could improve the situation there in January.
Mr Poh of the Logistics Institute of Singapore said: “Global supply chains face supply disruptions and high fulfilment costs, not only brought about by the Red Sea crisis, but also by the drought conditions in the Panama Canal.”
BMI said the Red Sea situation “compounds disruptions” at the Panama Canal, since some ocean carriers had already rerouted trade through the Suez Canal, away from the Panama Canal, since the second half of 2023.
The journey to the US East coast via the Suez Canal takes around 35 days, with the Cape of Good Hope detour adding 10 to 14 days, and the alternate route through the Panama Canal five to 15 days.
Mr Poh told The Business Times that the Red Sea crisis has “aggravated” logistics costs and there is now an increased uncertainty on the continued growth of the global economy.
He predicted it would take several months to resolve, pointing out that prolonged conflict would escalate inflation and the disruption to supply chains.
The US-led coalition launched Operation Prosperity Guardian, commencing with air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan 12, 2024. THE BUSINESS TIMES
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LOS ANGELES – Actors from Succession, Ted Lasso and other television shows walked a shiny silver carpet on Monday as Hollywood stars convened four months later than usual for the annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
The top TV honours were postponed from September because of labour disputes in 2023. That meant some shows in the running aired as far back as June 2022.
Heading into the ceremony, HBO's media dynasty drama Succession led all nominees with 27 nods for its fourth and final season, the one that resolved the long-running question of who would win the battle to control a global business empire.
Outside the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, stars including Brian Cox and Matthew Macfadyen from Succession (2018 to 2023) and Hannah Waddingham from Ted Lasso (2020 to 2023) arrived in tuxedos and floor-length gowns, with classic black and white dominating many outfits. The carpet was silver instead of the traditional red.
Succession was considered the favourite to win the top award of best drama series, an honour it has won twice.
"There's been a lot of light on our show," said Alan Ruck, who played Connor Roy. "It's thrilling. I'm enjoying it."
Comedy series was more of a toss-up, said pundits, who were divided between Ted Lasso, the Apple TV+ show about a spirited British football club, and restaurant dramedy The Bear (2022 to present) from Walt Disney's FX.
Lasso finished its third season last year, and producers have not said whether the show will continue. Phil Dunster, who played star forward Jamie Tartt, said he was unsure. "If it is a last hurrah, it's been a really wonderful last hurrah," Dunster said.
Nearly two-thirds of the Emmy-nominated shows came from streaming platforms, their highest share ever, according to data from Nielsen's Gracenote.
Succession stars Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook were among the actors vying for trophies, as well as The Bear duo of Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey from The Last Of Us (2023 to present).
Organisers planned to use this year's milestone – the 75th Emmys – to honour classic television shows with cast reunions and other moments. Cheers (1982 to 1993), Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019), The Sopranos (1999 to 2007), and All In The Family (1971 to 1979) are among the shows that will be celebrated. Two actresses who have not been revealed will play Lucy and Ethel to commemorate I Love Lucy (1951 to 1957).
The awards ceremony was moved to Jan 15 (US time), which coincides with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States as well as the Iowa caucuses, the kick-off to the American presidential election.
Comedian Anthony Anderson, who previously starred on the show Black-ish (2014 to 2022), said the broadcast was being run by an all African-American production team and emcee for the first time.
"I'm excited to be part of that, making history in front of and behind the camera on such a special day," Anderson said ahead of the event. REUTERS
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New private home sales in December fall to lowest level since January 2009
About 40 new private residential projects are lined up for 2024, but only about half may launch.
$32b to $38b in construction contracts expected to be awarded in 2024: BCA
Private sector demand is expected to contribute between $14 billion and $17 billion in 2024, National Development Minister Desmond Lee.
Green financing on the rise in S’pore as firms spend more on sustainable projects
A framework launched in December makes it clearer what projects and activities can be classified as green.
PM Lee reaffirms close ties with Brunei during meeting with Sultan Bolkiah
PM Lee was in Brunei to attend the royal wedding between Prince Abdul Mateen, Pengiran Anak Isteri Anisha Rosnah.
Cats, dogs, ‘little grass’ and a driving video: How DPP, TPP enjoyed an edge in Taiwan’s polls
When it comes to creative expression during the election, Taiwan’s maturing democracy is the clear winner, says Ho Ai Li.
Maybank becomes first foreign bank to offer fixed deposits for CPF funds
New ST video series We Try First tests out popular ideas on how to boost one’s career, finances
You can access and watch these videos by signing up for HeadSTart, a weekly e-mail newsletter sent out every Tuesday.
US merchant vessel struck by Houthi militants as shippers told to avoid Red Sea
The Gibraltar Eagle, sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was struck at about 4pm local time in the Gulf of Aden.
Passenger in India detained after slapping pilot over 13-hour flight delay
The West may have to reckon with Putin as President till 2036
The Russian leader is neither down nor out as he heads into another election in March, says Jonathan Eyal.
If you received this newsletter from someone, sign up here to get daily updates right in your inbox!
If you have any feedback, please drop us an e-mail at st-newsletters@sph.com.sg
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LOS ANGELES - Joel Embiid scored 41 points in a dazzling return from injury on Jan 15 as the Philadelphia 76ers romped past the Houston Rockets 124-115.
Kicking off a packed slate of National Basketball Association (NBA) fixtures as the United States marked the Martin Luther King Jr. public holiday, the Sixers were always in control as they cruised to victory.
Embiid missed the Sixers’ past three games after twisting his left knee in a January 5 defeat to the New York Knicks.
But the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player showed no sign of rustiness as he posted his seventh 40-point game of the season, adding 10 rebounds and three assists.
Embiid shot 12-of-21 from the field, and was near-perfect from the foul line, making 16 of 17 free throws in a comfortable win for the Sixers, who improved to 25-13 to remain in third place in the Eastern Conference.
Embiid’s performance also extended a remarkable scoring streak.
The 29-year-old has now gone 16 consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the second-longest streak of its kind in NBA history. Only Wilt Chamberlain is ahead of Embiid and Abdul-Jabbar.
Embiid received scoring support in the Jan 15 rout from Tyrese Maxey with 27 points while Patrick Beverley added 11 from the bench and Tobias Harris 10.
Jalen Green led Houston’s scoring with 20 points while Alperen Sengun finished with 19.
In other games on Jan 15, Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. 41 as the Dallas Mavericks staged a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 125-120.
Irving and Hardaway scored 20 points between them in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks fought back from a double-digit deficit late in the third to snatch victory.
Only one other Dallas player – Josh Green, with 13 points – cracked double figures.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd meanwhile singled out Hardaway for praise after the 31-year-old slipped seamlessly into the starting line-up due to Luka Doncic’s absence through injury.
“He’s the substitute teacher in the starting line-up and he’s being a pro about it,” Kidd said after the win.
“He’s just a pro. This afternoon was a perfect example of that – he took his shots and was aggressive, and we need that no matter if he’s starting or coming off the bench.”
Zion Williamson led the Pelicans’ scoring with 30 points while C.J. McCollum added 23.
In Atlanta, Trae Young’s 36 points helped the Hawks hold off the San Antonio Spurs for a 109-99 victory.
San Antonio’s No.1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama produced another eye-catching performance in defeat for the Spurs, finishing with 26 points – 18 of them in the fourth quarter. AFP
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LONDON - Francis Ngannou questioned Anthony Joshua's ability to take a punch as the two heavyweights held a press conference on Monday to promote a March 8 'Knockout Chaos' fight in Saudi Arabia.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, who will fight Joshua at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena, made his pro boxing debut last October when he lost on a split decision to WBC world champion Tyson Fury in a non-title bout.
Ngannou almost delivered an upset when he dropped Fury to the canvas with a left hook in that fight.
"I heard that he doesn't have a chin," Ngannou said of Britain's two-times world champion Joshua.
"I don't know if it's true or not. We're going to find out. I hope I have the opportunity to test that out, that's my wish."
The fight takes place three weeks after Fury takes on Ukraine's WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title in Riyadh.
Joshua lost his belts to Uysk in 2021, and was also beaten in a rematch.
Co-promoter Frank Warren suggested the winners of the February and March fights could go on to meet later in the year.
"For the winner, the big fight's happening on February 17, with Tyson and Usyk," he said. "The winner of that, would we like to see them with the winner of this fight? Everybody in boxing would love to see that."
Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang and New Zealand's Joseph Parker, who beat former champion Deontay Wilder last month, will fight for the WBO interim title on the undercard of the Joshua v Ngannou clash. REUTERS
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LONDON – The British government plans to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international Islamist political group, by designating it a terrorist organisation, the government announced Jan 16, citing what it said was the group’s praise for the Oct 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Britain’s Home Office announced the plan in a statement saying that the new designation would mean that “belonging to, inviting support for and displaying articles in a public place in a way that arouses suspicion of membership or support for the group will be a criminal offense.”
Parliament is expected to debate and vote on the measure this week. If approved, it would take effect as early as Jan 19.
The home secretary James Cleverly said in a statement on Jan 15: “Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organisation that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks.”
The British branch of Hizb ut-Tahrir said that the effort to ban it was “a desperate measure to censor debate about the genocide in Palestine and to stop Islam’s just political alternative,” and that it would challenge the measure using all legal means.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, a Sunni Islamist organisation founded in 1953 that is headquartered in Lebanon, has long been active – and controversial – in Britain. It calls for a single Islamic government across the Muslim world and has previously celebrated violence against Israel.
Previous British governments proposed outlawing the group, but did not.
Former prime minister Tony Blair said in 2005, amid a crackdown on extremism following coordinated suicide bombings in London on July 7 that year, that he would ban it, as did former prime minister David Cameron in 2010.
Mr Cameron is currently Britain’s foreign secretary.
But a government watchdog on terrorism legislation and rights groups warned against those measures in 2011, arguing in part that Hizb ut-Tahrir was not violent in Britain under the legal parameters of the time, and they were dropped.
In October, a video emerged of a demonstration organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir, alongside a much larger peaceful protest, in which a man repeatedly calls for “jihad,” prompting criticism of the group.
Mr Tom Tugendhat, Britain’s security minister, said that the group’s “celebration of Hamas’ appalling attacks on Israel, going so far as to call the terrorists who raped and murdered Israeli citizens ‘heroes’ is disgraceful.” NYTIMES
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LONDON - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces a parliamentary showdown with right-wing lawmakers in his party this week as his legislation to block legal challenges to the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda returns to parliament.
The British government is trying to reduce a surge in asylum seekers who make the dangerous crossing in small boats from France to the southern coast of England.
Most of those arriving in the boats say they are fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. But the British government says about 90% making the journey are men and many of them economic migrants rather than genuine refugees.
Sunak faced the most serious threat to his leadership last month when he saw off a threatened revolt by dozens of his lawmakers during the first parliamentary vote on the draft legislation.
The government comfortably won that vote after some lawmakers decided to abstain rather than rebel, but the rebels warned that they could vote down the legislation at later stages of the parliamentary process unless the bill was changed.
Parliament will vote on a series of proposed amendments on Tuesday and Wednesday aimed at closing off potential loopholes that could block asylum seekers being removed to Rwanda.
More than 50 lawmakers have backed an amendment that would allow ministers to ignore last-minute rulings from judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg seeking to ground flights to Rwanda.
A similar number also support another amendment that would stop asylum seekers from bringing individual claims to prevent their removal to the East African nation.
Unless the legislation is changed, right-wing Conservatives are threatening to vote against the government at its final parliamentary stage in the House of Commons, which could take place on Wednesday evening.
Two Conservative Party deputy chairmen said on Monday evening that they would back rebel amendments in a test of Sunak's authority.
Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith said they would vote to toughen the legislation in a sign of the deep divisions in the Conservative Party on the issue.
Asked if this means he would be sacked, Brendan Clarke-Smith said: "It is not for me to decide."
Sunak has staked his premiership on his pledge to "stop the boats" and has vowed to push through the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before an election expected this year.
In return for accepting any asylum seekers, Rwanda has already been paid 240 million pounds ($305 million) by the British government. But so far, no one from Britain has been sent to Rwanda because of legal challenges.
In November, the UK Supreme Court ruled Sunak's policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda would breach British and international human rights laws and agreements.
In response, Sunak agreed a new treaty with Rwanda and brought forward the new legislation designed to override any legal obstacles that would stop deportations.
Sunak is reluctant to accept the right-wing amendments because of concerns about a counter-rebellion by centrist members of parliament and threats by Rwanda to quit the plan if it does not comply with international law. REUTERS
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The United Kingdom has played a significant role in training more than 60,000 Ukrainian military personnel since the outbreak of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine in 2014, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech delivered at the Lancaster House in London.
According to the British Defense Secretary, it is not enough for the West to deter aggression in the world. The West must lead, “standing up for our values around the world,” and Ukraine is a “test case,” Shapps believes.
“British leadership has already had a galvanizing effect. We’ve convened some 10 countries to help Ukrainians train here in the UK. And today I can announce that our programs have now trained over 60,000 Ukrainian troops since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014,” Shapps said.
The British Defense Secretary reminded that in December, he launched a new maritime coalition with Norway to “defend Ukraine’s maritime flank.” Later, 20 other countries joined the coalition.
Shapps believes that Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin thinks “the West lacks staying power,” so the West must prove him wrong. Putin’s victory in Ukraine would be a signal of the West’s weakness “to other would-be aggressors.” The defense secretary says this is the reason why the British Prime Minister RIshi Sunak signed “the historic UK-Ukraine Agreement on Security Cooperation,” which is “the start of a 100-year alliance that we are building with our Ukrainian friends.”
Shapps says the alliance sees the UK boosting military support for Ukraine to £2.5 billion (nearly $3.1), totaling over £7 billion (nearly $8.9), including equipment from the UK’s inventory, of which £200 million ($255) will be used for drones, including surveillance and long-range strike drones.
“This continues the UK’s proud record as a leading donor – always being the first to get Ukraine exactly what they need,” Shapps said.
Shortly before Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Britain supplied NLAW anri-tank systems to Ukraine, which contributed to the destruction of the Russian equipment in the first days of the all-out war. In early 2023, Britain became the first country to supply the Western tanks, Challenger 2, to Ukraine.
The UK took the lead in offering weapons training and was the first country to supply NLAW anti-tank missiles, to deliver modern tanks, and to dispatch long-range missiles to Ukraine.
“Now we will become the largest provider of drones too,” Defense Secretary Shapps noted.
Back in March 2023, 85% of Ukrainians supported the creation of a military-political alliance of Ukraine, Poland, and Great Britain, favoring this option even more than Ukraine’s accession to NATO, supported by three-fourths of respondents, according to a poll by the Rating Sociological Group.
Read also:
- A security agreement with the UK is bilateral. Ukraine will also assist if the UK faces any future aggression—Prime Minister
- UK boosts military aid to Ukraine with £2.5 billion package
- Zelenskyy and Sunak sign landmark security pact between UK and Ukraine
- Minister urges Ukrainians to assemble FPV drone for army at home
- Britain to continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine, Shapps says
- More Ukrainians support military alliance with UK & Poland than NATO accession, poll shows
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/over-60000-ukrainian-troops-trained-under-uk-military-programs-since-russia-launched-all-out-war/
| 2024-01-16T01:49:40Z
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On the frontlines, Russian troops and Ukrainian armed forces clashed more than 516 times during the past week. The highest number of attacks repelled by the Ukrainian Army were conducted on the Avdiivka and Mariupol fronts, said spokesperson of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andrii Kovaliov, according to Ukrinform.
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| 2024-01-16T01:50:21Z
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Swiss Confederation President Viola Amherd, at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced Switzerland’s plan to allocate 1.5 billion francs (approximately $1.75 billion) for the reconstruction of Ukraine from 2025 to 2028, Interfax-Ukraine reported.
Adhering to its policy of neutrality, Switzerland does not provide military support to Ukraine; however, it does offer various forms of humanitarian assistance, including demining efforts and assistance in the identification of missing persons.
“Switzerland places a major focus on reconstruction… The political compass for this reconstruction follows the principles laid down at the Lugano conference. In support of Ukraine, Switzerland has planned to allocate 1.5 billion francs from 2025 to 2028 as part of our strategy for international cooperation,” Amherd said.
Additionally, Amherd and Zelenskyy discussed issues related to humanitarian demining in Ukraine and food security, which is affected by Russia’s ongoing sea blockade of Ukraine’s ports.
President Amherd emphasized the global implications of reduced agricultural output from a major exporting country like Ukraine. “If a large exporter country like Ukraine harvests less food, it will have major negative consequences. In this light, we discussed the efforts of the UN aimed at facilitating the unhindered export of food products and fertilizers from Ukraine through the Black Sea,” added President Amherd.
She stressed that Russia’s decision not to continue the grain initiative poses a threat to global food security.
Note: While the original interview was conducted in English, it was published in Ukrainian. The quotes have been translated back into English, which may introduce some errors or inconsistencies.
Read also:
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/switzerland-to-allocate-over-1-7-billion-for-ukraines-2025-2028-recovery-efforts/
| 2024-01-16T01:51:01Z
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swiss Confederation President Viola Amherd have agreed to commence preparations for hosting a Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. Ukraine’s Presidential Office announced the development during a press meeting in Bern following negotiations between the two leaders.
A fourth international meeting on implementing Ukraine’s peace formula is taking place on 14-15 January in Davos.
President Zelenskyy acknowledged the success of the advisory format regarding the Ukrainian Peace Formula, noting Switzerland’s efficient organization of the meeting.
“And I am grateful to Mrs. President and her team for the agreement that our teams will start preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the level of leaders in Switzerland starting tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said.
Emphasizing the importance of the summit, President Zelensky said, that the summit “should provide the momentum for everything that has already been accomplished and make it certain that the end of the war can only be just and that the restoration of the force of international law must be truly comprehensive.”
On her part, President Amherd reaffirmed Switzerland’s support for the peace process.
“Switzerland is ready to organize the Summit. We have agreed that we will be deeply involved in this issue to make the peace process successful, and our teams will start working on it immediately. On our side, we have already appointed a person to be in charge of this issue,” Amherd stated.
President Amherd added, “Switzerland will continue to advocate for a lasting and sustainable peace in Ukraine. Switzerland is pleased to be able to contribute to this.”
The Global Peace Summit aims to harness and amplify the progress already made in peace efforts and to define a path towards a fair conclusion of the war, with a full restoration of international law, as emphasized by the leaders.
Read also:
- Davos communique sets stage for global cooperation on Ukraine Peace Formula
- Zelenskyy and his team will never accept freezing the war, says Head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office
- Russia and China must join Ukrainian ‘peace formula’ talks – Swiss Foreign Minister
- 4th Peace Summit on Ukraine held in Davos, Switzerland
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/switzerland-to-host-global-peace-summit/
| 2024-01-16T01:51:41Z
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Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas warns that Europe has three to five years to prepare for a potential military threat from Russia on NATO’s eastern flank. In an interview with The Times, Kallas cited Estonian intelligence estimates suggesting that, in the event of a hypothetical ceasefire in Ukraine, Russia would need three to five years to rebuild its military threat at the borders of NATO’s eastern members.
Prior to this, Bild reported that it had access to a secret Bundeswehr document – a training scenario detailing step-by-step how a military conflict between Russia and NATO could unfold. The scenario describes the actions of Russia and the West month by month, culminating in the deployment of hundreds of thousands of NATO soldiers and the inevitable start of a war in the summer of 2025.
Kallas emphasized the importance of maintaining unity and a strong stance on Ukraine, arguing that any pause would allow Russia to gather resources and strength. Weakness provokes aggressors, so weakness provokes Russia, she stated.
This perspective underscores the importance of Western military aid to Ukraine, with Kallas advocating for increased support to enable Ukraine to deliver a decisive blow and diminish Russia’s ability to threaten its neighbors for years to come.
In the long term, Kallas believes NATO must adopt a strategy of “containment” towards Russia, mirroring Cold War tactics. This strategy would involve increasing the defense spending of each NATO member country to at least 2.5% of their GDP. She emphasizes the need for Russia to be held accountable for its actions, a factor she considers crucial in breaking the historical cycle of aggression.
Read also:
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- Minister urges Ukrainians to assemble FPV drone for army at home
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- ISW: Russia unlikely to achieve significant breakthroughs during a new offensive in Ukraine’s east, south
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/times-europe-has-three-five-years-to-prepare-for-russian-military-threat-estonian-pm-says/
| 2024-01-16T01:52:21Z
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Ukraine’s military successes in the Black Sea, often overlooked in the West, surprise many. Despite last year’s counteroffensive being seen as not very successful, Ukraine has actually made significant progress: having no navy to speak of, it created the world’s first fleet of marine drones and paralyzed Russia’s once-formidable Black Sea Fleet.
Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, Commander of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, played a key role in these achievements. Born in Sevastopol, now under Russian occupation, Neizhpapa remained loyal to his oath. Operating from Odesa, he meticulously tracks the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s composition on a scratch map, marking successes after each naval operation.
Can Ukraine liberate Crimea with the help of naval drones? Did Türkiye really block British-gifted minesweepers from entering the Black Sea for Ukraine? Roman Romaniuk from Ukrainska Pravda spoke with Neizhpapa about this and much more. Euromaidan Press has selected the most interesting parts from this interview.
Ukraine sank its flagship Hetman Sahaidachny. Why?
We knew a great war was coming and were preparing. The Ukrainian Navy had created a certain grouping, which was dispersed, so no warships were damaged in the early days of the war. Naval aviation was also lifted from airfields and thus did not suffer significant losses.
The only major loss was the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny, which was under repair in Mykolaiv when Russia invaded. It had no power, all diesel generators were to be replaced, turbine repairs were underway, and all weapons were out of order. Meanwhile, the Russians were already on the outskirts.
“As a warship that could have taken part in repelling aggression, it could not fulfill its role. Therefore, the commander made a reasonable decision. As the “Regulations on Ship Service” say: a ship must not fall into enemy hands,” Neizhpapa explained.
How Ukraine prevented Russian amphibious assault
The Russians aimed for an amphibious assault, a highly intricate naval operation dependent on air and sea supremacy. Typically executed as part of the main attack, it requires favorable land conditions.
The Russians advanced on Mykolaiv and went around it to enter the rear of Odesa Oblast. Had they not been stopped there by Ukraine’s 80th Air Assault Brigade, all the conditions for a Russian amphibious landing would have emerged. In addition, the Ukrainian Navy’s strikes on the Russian frigate Admiral Essen and the sinking of the cruiser Moskva forced the Russians to abandon their landing plans.
The strike on the Admiral Essen was the first success of Ukraine’s Neptune anti-ship missile. This happened when the frigate, accompanied by landing ships, approached the Ukrainian coast heading towards the resort village of Rybakivka in Mykolaiv Oblast. It was a feint so that the Ukrainians would not be able to redeploy any of their naval infantry units.
“The enemy wanted to keep us in constant tension, anticipating an imminent amphibious assault landing,” says Neizhpapa.
It was then that the Ukrainians tested the Neptune missile, which exploded near the Admiral Essen, damaging it. Several Russian sailors were killed, and the frigate urgently returned to occupied Sevastopol for repairs. In the process, the warship inadvertently shot down a Russian plane providing air cover.
Why Russia captured Ukraine’s Zmiinyi Island on day one of the invasion
Ukraine’s Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Black Sea is now well protected – it is defended by coastal missile forces and medium-range air defense systems. However, in the early stages of the invasion, the Russians easily captured it since the Ukrainian garrison lacked full air or naval support. It could have repelled a potential attack by Russian special operations forces, but not full-scale aggression. There were attempts to evacuate the Zmiinyi Island garrison, but due to bad weather they did not have time.
By seizing the island, Russia gained a bridgehead to control shipping on the Danube, in Odesa and around it.
“Raiding actions were carried out from this island with enemy boats towards the Danube. They tried to mine the approaches to the estuary. There were even firefights between these boats and Ukrainian Navy boats directly in the Danube itself,” Neizhpapa recalls.
Also, Russian ships under the leadership of the Moskva cruiser completely isolated the area from Crimea to the Danube, to prevent ally ships from accessing the combat zone.
Destruction of the cruiser Moskva
The cruiser Moskva (Moscow) was the pride and flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Without a cruiser, a first rank ship, it is not a fleet but a flotilla. The cruiser participated in all post-Soviet conflicts, including in Georgia and Syria. And before the invasion of Ukraine, the ship underwent a complete overhaul and upgrade.
The loss of the Moskva is a major blow to Russia’s image. Although from a military point of view, this cruiser should not have been in the Black Sea. It was designed during the Cold War to destroy American aircraft carriers in the ocean. There are no aircraft carriers in the Black Sea, their entry is prohibited by the Montreux Convention.
However, the Moskva could comfortably accommodate a command post. There were large cabins, an elevator through 7 decks, and a swimming pool. In addition, the ship had good air defense systems, including the naval version of the S-300 complex.
“The Moskva performed several functions: command post, air defense ship and a symbol that – “Moskow came with war”. Everything begins with Moskva, and I guess everything will end with it,” said Neizhpapa.
The cruiser was destroyed by the forces and means of the Ukrainian Navy from start to finish: from detection to destruction. The Ukrainians realized they had hit it when all the ships that were next to the cruiser began heading towards it, while it itself stopped moving. Almost a day later, the cruiser sank.
After that, Russian ships stopped approaching the Ukrainian coast closer than 100 nautical miles (about 180 kilometers). The northwestern part of the Black Sea, almost 25,000 square kilometers, has become a gray zone that is not fully controlled by anyone.
Drones alone won’t overcome Russia’s Black Sea fleet
Any war drives military technology. Ukrainians employ new tech, Russians develop countermeasures. So some tactics proven in 2022 and 2023 will already fail by 2024.
The war of the future will see drone battled drone, but maritime operations have unique complexity. Drones have limitations around size, weapons loads, and ability to withstand weather – things that distinguish them from ships.
The Russians understand this too, and will deploy drones at sea much as they do on land. They too are learning, boast a powerful defense industry, and spare no expense.
“Simply switching the fleet over to drones and defeating the enemy will not work. You can only consider a territory yours when your soldier’s or marine’s boot is standing on it. The same goes for the seas. Only when your ship commands those territorial waters, and no one can do anything about it, are they truly yours,” explains Neizhapapa.
Sevastopol vs Novorossiysk naval bases
Sevastopol is the logistics hub of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, built up over centuries. It houses stockpiles of munitions, fuel stores hidden in the mountains that are hard to strike, and Kalibr cruise missiles. It is also home to medical facilities, a large hospital, training institutes, repair yards, and airfields. In short, Sevastopol is the main base that fully sustains the fleet.
Meanwhile, the port at Novorossiysk lacks the capacity to support the Black Sea Fleet. It has no airfields, large repair facilities, or weapons storage akin to those in Crimea.
“Sevastopol is an enclosed bay, geographically well-suited for basing ships, shielded from all winds except the westerlies. Quite symbolic, actually. Novorossiysk, however, experiences nasty winds called boras – fierce gusts barrelling down from the Caucasus mountains, making the port a perilous anchorage,” explains Neizhapapa.
Russia has reduced reliance on Sevastopol and Feodosia in occupied Crimea due to the Ukrainian threat – not just drones, but Storm Shadow missiles used to strike Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. For the first time, they sank a submarine right at the pier, the powerful new Rostov-on-Don. The missiles also hit the modern missile corvette Askold before the Russians could commission it.
Russia is building a new naval base in occupied Abkhazia (a region in the Caucasus nominally part of Georgia but controlled by Russia). It will likely serve to disperse ships, rather than keep the whole fleet at one base.
Did Türkiye really deny passage to the minesweepers the UK handed over to Ukraine?
In early 2023, Britain transferred two minesweepers – Cherkasy and Chernihiv – to Ukraine. Though still based in the UK undergoing NATO-standard training, they are now part of Ukraine’s navy.
However, Ukraine did not request passage through the Bosporus as the Montreux Convention prohibits this. Otherwise, Russia could do the same to increase its missile ships and landing vessels. Yet for some reason, media reported that Türkiye refused passage to Ukraine’s minesweepers.
“I think this is a misunderstanding. I can only guess, but minesweepers heading from Britain to Romania look identical to ours. Perhaps that spawned the press coverage,” surmises Neizhapapa.
Talks are also underway on involving NATO ships to secure civilian shipping to Ukrainian ports. But whether this will happen remains unknown – it’s a political issue.
Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Romania have launched a joint mission to demine the Black Sea. Ukraine proposes a phased approach:
- Clearing mines during the ongoing war, within Montreux Convention limits;
- Removing drifting mines with Ukraine joining in coordination;
- A full-scale mine countermeasures operation after the war ends. The Ukrainian navy has established a headquarters, is training personnel, and minesweepers are already available that will deploy to the Black Sea post-war.
After the war, priority is clearing lanes needed for civilian shipping – the sea has highways too. This could take 5-7 months depending on assets.
Ukraine will have two minesweepers, getting another from the Netherlands in 2024 and one in 2025 – a full minesweeping division. NATO assistance would accelerate the process. But clearing all combat zones in the Black and Azov Seas could take years.
Read more:
- David topples Goliath: Ukraine’s DIY naval drones outfox Russia’s Black sea fleet
- Ukraine’s SeaBaby naval drones can now engage in sea battles, not only carry explosivess
- Ukraine spymaster: Even 30% of naval drones that reach targets problem for Russia
- Ukraine’s innovative naval tactics shifted balance of power despite lack of warships
- Zelenskyy: Ukraine to produce 1 million drones next year
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/15/ukraines-victory-demands-more-than-drones-boots-on-the-ground-define-true-territory-control-says-navy-commander/
| 2024-01-16T01:53:01Z
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As Russian bombs began to fall across Ukraine in February 2022, many faced a daunting choice: stay and fight or flee for safety. Among them was Ted, a tech entrepreneur living in Kyiv (who is using a pseudonym for security concerns). Initially taking his family to safety in Lviv, Ted wanted to fight. Lacking military skills, Ted like many other Ukrainians who had a tech background wanted to contribute on other battle fronts.
His wife was a public servant who was well-connected with the Ukrainian government. Through conversations with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, an idea arose to leverage people with tech backgrounds to defend the country on the cyber battlefield. What followed was the historic formation of a volunteer hacker army fighting on Ukraine’s behalf – the world’s first such group in cyber warfare.
The IT Army of Ukraine emerged just two days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov issued a rallying cry to all volunteers willing to join the hacker ranks of the IT army to help defend Ukraine. He proclaimed, “We continue to fight on the cyber front.”
At its peak, the volunteer IT army’s Telegram channel reached around 300,000 members in March 2022.
Fedorov’s call to action resonates with the historical appeal of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II – Winston Churchill’s famous directive to the SOE was to “set Europe ablaze,” inspiring a similar spirit of resistance in the digital domain.
“We tried to activate every part of society to resist Russia’s war,” Ted said of the early days of the war. Ukrainian officials and volunteers wanted to see how they could leverage the highly talented population of our society, “keeping in mind our software developers and people in the IT sector,” said Ted.
In the early days, organizers focused on the basics, such as creating a Telegram channel and doing the groundwork to get operations going. Ted recalls the early days as challenging, marked by a sense of isolation and a steep learning curve, similar yet distinct from the challenges of building a company.
Nobody had a good idea of what was going on. Ted says, “In the beginning, it was hard. I felt alone as everything had to be built from scratch. When you are building a company, you know exactly what you are trying to build.”
For Ted, building a volunteer hacking army was a massive undertaking because there was no blueprint on how to do this.
The lead volunteers of the IT army who organized the Telegram channel were removing bad actors spamming the chat, and they tried to establish a good line of communication to keep people actively engaged. “In the first days, I couldn’t sleep. I had to sit there and keep manually eliminating people spamming the chat, most likely bad actors from Russia.”
As the initiative gained traction, more people joined, including those associated with the Ministry of Digital Transformation and friends of friends. This expansion allowed for the establishment of shifts, easing the burden on individual members and enhancing operational efficiency.
Building the structure
At its peak, the IT Army had around 300,000 subscribers on its Telegram channel. However, not all those who joined the Telegram channel had the interest, experience, and skills to contribute over the long term.
Now, at any given point, the IT Army has around 3,000 to 10,000 active volunteers working on operations, according to Ted. A core executive team of around 50 people managed the critical functions, ensuring strategic coherence despite high turnover and the part-time contributions of most volunteers. The core team only meets to drive strategic direction, Ted clarified. The different units work independently of each other.
Ted highlighted that compared to managing a business, the turnover rate is much higher. Typically, individuals can only dedicate part-time efforts, with few engaging in these activities on a full-time basis. Among these few, Ted himself is a full-time participant, recognizing that the demands placed on organizers are very high.
With thousands of volunteers waiting for direction, the coordinators of the IT Army understood that their instructions need to be simple enough and clear for people to follow. The result: “DDoS attacks, which are simple and the most effective. We made it our cookie-cutter mechanism.”
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks are executed by amassing a substantial volume of internet traffic to overwhelm a targeted website. These attacks aim to incapacitate the website by inundating it with an excessive number of requests, overloading the system and thereby causing it to shut down.
Evolving tactics
The IT Army’s tactics evolved rapidly. Initially, the group publicized targets such as IP addresses and ports, but as Russian cyber defenses adapted, they shifted to more covert operations. The army’s focus was primarily on DDoS attacks, deemed simple yet effective.
They organized into distinct units, each with specific roles and responsibilities:
- communication
- reconnaissance
- software development.
While the exact count of attacks by the IT Army is still unclear, it is estimated that approximately 2,000 attacks had been conducted by June 2022. Ukraine’s IT army used a targeted DDoS attack to strike Russia’s sole product authentication system (Chestny Znak), causing extensive disruption as Russia was forced by the attack to abolish labeling and verification of certain products, causing Russian businesses to suffer economic losses.
“If you were a smart Russian cybersecurity worker, you would have subscribed to our channels to watch for notifications for where our attacks would be,” says Ted.
So once the IT Army stopped posting their attacks publicly, they began to see a drop in the number of subscribers on their Telegram channel.
“People occasionally send us emails with information about potential targets and profiles. However, our capacity to incorporate these contributions is limited,” says Ted. “We often struggle to integrate new ideas brought by people who approach us.”
The IT Army’s approach to reconnaissance has also evolved throughout the war. “Initially, our efforts were more haphazard, but now they have become more sophisticated,” said Ted. “We now actively search for vulnerabilities that are relevant and compatible with our software’s capabilities.”
The lead coordinators continue recruiting and training individuals to do reconnaissance work, enabling them to contribute effectively to the group’s mission of unleashing havoc against the Russian state.
In their latest DDoS attacks against Russia in December 2023, the IT Army took down Bitrix24 servers, which is one of the most popular CRM systems in Russia.
On the IT Army’s official Telegram channel, a statement was posted on December 20th claiming that “this could mean tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars in losses for the enemy’s economy, depending on how long we can hold them down. Who else has idle devices? It’s time to turn them on.”
Russian hackers: separate groups financed by the government
Ted noted, “The level of cyber defense on Russia’s side has increased significantly. We’ve observed a substantial investment by Russian companies in bolstering their defenses, making it more challenging to identify vulnerabilities. However, considering the country’s size and the multitude of companies, we continue to adapt and refine our approaches to targeting. There will still be vulnerabilities to find.”
Nonetheless, it has become more labor-intensive for the IT Army to find vulnerabilities.
He continued, “In the last few months, our focus has shifted to telecom and internet providers. These targets are inherently tricky and generally well-prepared. Despite this, our operations have been remarkably successful.”
A wave of cyber-attacks recently hit the largest telecom operators and internet providers in Russian-occupied Ukraine, temporarily driving the region offline as Russian Internet providers acknowledged that they experienced an “unprecedented level of DDoS attacks from Ukrainian hacker groups.”
Ted added, “If we’re able to further expand our reconnaissance unit and enhance our software services, we’ll be able to continually evolve our methods. This will keep us a step ahead of our targets.”
The IT Army deploys botnets—networks of interconnected computers—to launch cyber-attacks against Russian infrastructure and websites. The key is to figure out how to conduct the attacks so the target can’t filter the incoming traffic very well.
The IT Army experimented with altering geolocations and employing various devices. Ted emphasized that the effectiveness of the attack on the target is greatly improved if the traffic sources involved are diversified.
“We observed attempts by Russia to mobilize an IT army, yet their efforts failed to make a significant impact,” noted Ted.
The reason, he suggested, lies in the lack of a compelling motivation. “The Russians lacked a strong ‘why.’ Our country was under invasion; every Ukrainian understood the stakes involved if we didn’t resist.”
This sense of urgency and national duty has not been as prevalent on the Russian side, where motivation appears to be more fragmented. However, Russia is not without its resources in the cyber domain.
“Russia does have numerous hacking groups like Killnet, and many of these are likely financed by the government itself,” Ted added, highlighting a key difference in how the Russian side operates.
Instead of one central IT Army, Russia has a wider variety of hacktivist groups at its disposal, which are driven by financial incentives and ideologically aligned with Kremlin interests. One such group is Killnet, which has executed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) and data exfiltration attacks targeting Western entities. Previously, their services were offered as a “DDoS-for-hire group.”
The disparity extends beyond strategy into the realm of funding and support. Ukrainian cyber efforts are characterized by grassroots, pro bono efforts.
“Here, people are working voluntarily. We receive no financing from anywhere,” Ted explained, emphasizing the organic nature of Ukraine’s cyber defense efforts.
Collaborating with the Ukrainian government
“Our collaboration with the government is on an informal basis,” Ted explained. “Whenever the government needs our help, they reach out to us, and we’re always ready to engage.” Ted elaborated on their approach to cooperation: “We prioritize missions where our contribution can be most impactful. It’s essential to have a focused mission to achieve the biggest impact.”
However, when it comes to the specifics of their operations, Ted maintained a discreet stance. “I’m not at liberty to disclose the details of the missions we’ve undertaken. However, I can confirm that we have worked alongside the military and intelligence services in executing certain missions to aid in their operations,” he stated.
“Regarding the integration of our efforts with the Ukrainian government or military, there hasn’t been a significant push for us to integrate more closely with their operations: the government prefers for the group to stay independent for now,” says Ted.
Oleksiy Borniakov, the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine on IT industry development, noted in an email response that “The IT Army operates independently of the Ukrainian government, specifically in terms of decision-making and management. The Ministry of Digital Transformation, which I represent, offers only informational support to the IT Army. We do not influence their operational decisions or appoint their management. The IT Army is a quintessential volunteer organization, functioning independently while contributing significantly to our national efforts.”
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not respond to email inquiries regarding the nature of their collaboration with the IT Army of Ukraine.
The legal ramifications
The IT Army operates in a legally ambiguous space, exacerbated by the unique nature of cyber warfare. The creation of the IT army has sparked important discussions around the role of cyberwarfare in real-life military operations.
Historically, cyber conflicts have often involved anonymous groups declaring war against governments. However, this is the first instance of a government openly recruiting individuals to engage in cyber warfare, said Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, an Associate Professor in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity at the University of Portsmouth. “These recruits are not officially part of the army, and their actions closely resemble those of vigilantes.”
Under current international law, members of the IT army do not fit the traditional definition of combatants. They are not an official branch of any military and the primary concern is whether these individuals, as civilians, are participating directly in hostilities.
Engaging in direct participation in hostilities, such as cyber-attacks against military targets, can lead to civilians being considered as temporary combatants, according to Vasileios. This shift in status entails a significant risk; they lose the protections afforded to civilians and can become legitimate targets in the eyes of enemy states.
In response to these risks, the Ukrainian government is considering legislation to incorporate the IT army into its Cyber Reserve Force.
This move would afford them legal protection as combatants and potentially shield them from prosecution for their actions during the war, according to Vasileios.
“International members of the IT Army could avoid persecution for crimes in their country if Ukraine establishes the cyber reserves,” says Vasileios. “This is because could be considered part of the Ukrainian cyber force and taking part in a conflict on their behalf.”
Such a status also raises questions about what happens after the war – how these individuals will be reintegrated and whether their actions during the war will have lasting legal or diplomatic consequences down the line.
Continuing to adopt legislation and frameworks in the space will be important to increase the participation of international volunteers who want to join Ukraine’s hacker ranks.
Bryce Case Jr., a former black hat hacker, also known as YTCracker, said that many prominent hackers are interested in aiding Ukraine’s cyber fight. However, Bryce mentioned that Ukraine should establish “a French Foreign Legion of sorts so that we could hack under Ukraine’s flag without fear of prosecution.”
In response to potential legal criticism about the IT Army, Ted pointed out that “We can’t understand what kind of protections people in Bucha were given when they were massacred by the Russians.”
The IT Army does believe that continuing to draft legislation on their work is important to bring wider acceptance to the form of digital resistance that the group provides.
Both the IT Army of Ukraine and Killnet have pledged to adhere to new rules of engagement nicknamed the “Geneva Code of cyber-war.“
“We recently introduced cyber rules akin to the Red Cross, but there’s a catch,” Ted stated. “These rules are essentially adapted from conventional war rules and are not comprehensive when it comes to cyber warfare.”
Ted highlighted that the rules are not thoughtful enough. “If you’re conducting cyber-attacks, there’s a sense of protection if the attacks are launched from a country other than Ukraine. It’s a legal grey area, especially during these times.”
He further commented that “This is a time of war, and essentially, it’s a period of outlaws. In Ukraine, these attacks are still beyond the law. However, there’s a general understanding that we are in a state of war, and this is a time for outlaws.”
Lawmakers have yet to keep pace with the work of the IT Army and update outdated legislation. Nonetheless, Ted says that the IT Army follows the rules as much as possible. He pointed out that even if there are consequences for their actions later on, the Ukrainian hackers followed the guidelines as best as they could in wartime.
However, following the rules puts Ukraine at a disadvantage, Ted believes. On the battlefield, if Ukraine follows the rules of law and international framework for conducting warfare, it will be rewarded by gaining additional political support from abroad and receiving weaponry to balance the disadvantage the opposing side gets by cheating. But, it’s a different case in cyberwarfare, Ted pointed out.
“In cyberspace, if the IT Army follows the rules, our enemy won’t follow them,” says Ted. If Ukraine did follow the rules, they won’t be rewarded or compensated to offset the upper hand that Russia gets. Ted highlighted that only one side will actually follow the rules and this will make the good side weaker. Good actors need to be compensated in cyberwar.
“What do we do if the Russians don’t respect the rule of law?” asked Ted.
A model for others to follow?
“As we look towards the future of warfare, it’s becoming increasingly clear that cyber capabilities are not just supplementary, but critical to winning,” says Ted.
It is important for countries like Taiwan to establish structured frameworks for their own IT armies to prepare for war in the future on the cyber front, according to Ted’s reflections. The creation of a comprehensive playbook for rapidly mobilizing a cyber force is no longer a theoretical exercise but a practical necessity.
Warfare is also no longer confined to the battlefield; it extends to economic, logistical, and infrastructural arenas. Cyber warfare offers an opportunity to undermine an adversary’s capabilities in these areas, opening a new front in the war. However, its effectiveness is contingent on the target’s digital infrastructure, which is becoming increasingly common in most countries around the world.
“Our analysis estimates that the economic damage inflicted on Russia by our cyber-attacks amounts to approximately $1-2 billion dollars,” according to Ted.
What this means is that cyber warfare can operate as a form of economic sanction, a tool to strategically weaken an adversary’s economy: the faster these digital capabilities are deployed, the more immediate the impact on the enemy’s fighting capabilities.
Ted goes on to say that democracies around the world should unite and pool resources, knowledge, and expertise so that, democracies can develop a shared playbook for cyber warfare, leveraging the collective motivation and resolve of nations under threat. In doing so, they can effectively harness the power of decentralized warfare.
As we progress further into a digitized era, the role of the average individual in warfare will continue to rapidly grow, Ted remarked. With economies and essential services becoming more intertwined with the digital world, vulnerabilities will only grow in numbers, offering new attack vectors.
What the IT Army of Ukraine has shown is that cyber warfare is not just an expansion of the battlefield. Ted believes, it has transformed the very nature of war, where any individual can have a role to play. Ukraine has successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of a decentralized, volunteer hacking army, serving as a pioneering blueprint for future democracies to emulate in the looming cyber wars of the future.
Related:
- Media: Ukrainian hackers leave part of Moscow without internet access
- Ukrainian hackers’ cyber attack on biggest enterprise management system results in million-dollar losses for Russia
- Ukrainian hackers target Russia’s water supply company
- Ukrainian hackers get access to Russian top-ranking intel officer’s email
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/how-ukraine-built-a-volunteer-hacker-army-from-scratch/
| 2024-01-16T01:53:41Z
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The commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces said Ukraine’s ground forces prioritize defense along the 1,000-km eastern front under his command, but their offensive capabilities should not be underestimated.
“Our goals remain unchanged: holding our positions … exhausting the enemy by inflicting maximum losses,” Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said during his interview with Reuters.
Syrskyi highlighted evolving battlefield conditions that have tempered expectations of a major Ukrainian advance. Despite Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive, Russian defenses mostly held, limiting gains before counterattacks.
Approaching the second anniversary of its full-scale invasion, Russia sought to take the initiative. Syrskyi noted their multi-directional push along the eastern front, aiming to secure control of the Donbas Oblast despite substantial losses. Russia also aimed to reclaim territory in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts to the south.
Currently, Ukrainian troops are engaging in smaller counter-attacks as part of what Syrskyi called an “active defense” strategy, aiming to keep the enemy off balance and seize opportunities while Russia tries to regain the initiative. Both sides are conducting smaller engagements to conserve resources, indicating Russia’s adaptive response to limit losses.
“Offensives at the level of a battalion are a major rarity,” said the general, also noting that the tactic is changing due to the wider use of drones.
Earlier, Ukrainian military officials said Ukraine does not have enough ammunition to maintain the desired level of offensives and has called on Western allies to increase their support.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers stalled the approval of a major military aid package for months so that the Pentagon has exhausted all Ukraine aid funds at the end of 2023, while Hungary, Russia’s key ally within the EU, vetoed Europe’s aid.
The delays in military assistance prompted Ukraine to boost its suicide drone production to compensate for artillery shell shortages.
In the same interview, Syrskyi noted that the country needed additional military aircraft to bolster its war effort. Specifically, he mentioned American A-10 attack jets, which would provide support for ground operations and aircraft capable of launching long-range cruise missiles. He also added that the AH-64 Apache, AH-1 Super Cobra, and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters could all fulfill vital roles in the scenario.
Read also:
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/reuters-ukrainian-troops-on-active-defense-can-still-surprise-ukraine-ground-commander-says/
| 2024-01-16T01:54:22Z
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Exclusive
Military
Russia reportedly loses valuable AWACS A-50 aircraft over Azov Sea (updates). Late on 14 January, Ukrainian forces hit Russia’s valuable A-50 early warning and control aircraft and IL-22 airborne control center. This may be the Russian Air Force’s most devastating loss since the start of the all-out war.
Times: Europe has three-five years to prepare for Russian military threat, Estonian PM says. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas emphasized the importance of maintaining unity and a strong stance on Ukraine, arguing that any pause would allow Russia to gather resources and strength.
Russian troops carried out 45 unsuccessful assault operations on Zaporizhzhia front over last week, Ukraine says. On the frontlines, Russian troops and Ukrainian armed forces clashed more than 516 times during the past week. The highest number of attacks repelled by the Ukrainian Army were conducted on the Avdiivka and Mariupol fronts, said spokesperson of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Andrii Kovaliov, according to Ukrinform.
Ukrainian forces destroy Russia’s surface-to-air missile system, rocket launcher, two surveillance systems in Kherson Oblast over last 24 hours. Over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian armed forces in Kherson Oblast have destroyed at least 21 pieces of Russian military equipment and taken down 21 occupiers, Operational Command South informs.
ISW: Russia unlikely to achieve significant breakthroughs during a new offensive in Ukraine’s east, south. Despite their offensive efforts, the ISW suggests that Russian forces may face difficulties in achieving operationally significant breakthroughs in their winter campaign.
Intelligence and technology
Ukraine develops armor-piercing ammunition for FPV drones. EFP-S munitions are effective against lightly armored vehicles, even those protected with anti-cumulative and anti-drone measures.
UK intel: War against Ukraine creates healthcare sector challenges for Russia’s civilian population. The impact of the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine is taking a toll on Russia’s civilian population, especially in the healthcare sector, according to a report from the UK Defense Ministry. Russian citizens are reportedly struggling to access hospital services, with shortages of medical supplies, including crucial antibiotics.
International
Davos communique sets stage for global cooperation on Ukraine Peace Formula. “The task of the world community shall not only be to end the war, but also to overcome the consequences of all those crises that were caused by it throughout the world,” the communiqué reads.
Duda: Russo-Ukrainian war to dominate Davos discussions. Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine will be one of the key topics at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, according to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Switzerland to host Global Peace Summit. “I am grateful to Mrs. President and her team for the agreement that our teams will start preparations for the Global Peace Summit at the level of leaders in Switzerland starting tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said.
Switzerland to allocate over $1.7 billion for Ukraine’s 2025-2028 recovery efforts. Additionally, Amherd and Zelenskyy discussed issues related to humanitarian demining in Ukraine and food security, which is affected by Russia’s ongoing sea blockade of Ukraine’s ports.
New developments
Minister urges Ukrainians to assemble FPV drone for army at home. Over 100 home-assembled drones have already been supplied to the military through the “People’s Drone” project
Over 60,000 Ukrainian troops trained under UK military programs since Russia launched all-out war. Britain has been instrumental in training over 60,000 Ukrainian military personnel since Russia’s started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2014, announced UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
Read our earlier daily review here.
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https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/01/16/russo-ukrainian-war-day-691-ukraine-downs-russias-valuable-awacs-a-50-aircraft/
| 2024-01-16T01:55:02Z
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Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker made a stunning appearance at the Emmy Awards, marking Kourtney's first public event since the birth of their son, Rocky Thirteen, on November 1.
The couple, known for their affectionate displays, didn't hold back at the event, sharing a passionate kiss upon arrival.
Both Kourtney, 44, and Travis, 48, elegantly dressed in black suits and oversized shades, showed deep affection for each other, capturing the attention of photographers.
Kourtney notably wore a plunging blazer with a black bra underneath, showcasing her post-pregnancy figure.
This outing comes amidst ongoing tensions with Travis's ex-wife, Shanna Moakler. Shanna, 48, recently expressed her grievances in an interview, criticizing Travis for his past behavior and alleging that Kourtney is wooing her children with extravagant gifts.
Shanna's comments have reportedly caused frustration for Kourtney and Travis, who believe these attacks are harmful to the children.
Travis, a member of Blink-182, shares two children, Landon, 20, and Alabama, 18, with Shanna, and is also a stepfather to her daughter Atiana, 24, with Oscar De La Hoya.
Shanna's interview on the Dumb Blonde podcast with Bunnie XO was scathing, as she accused Travis of "parental alienation" and excessive indulgence to win over the children since being with Kourtney.
Shanna's critique didn't stop at Travis; she extended her disdain to the entire Kardashian family, branding them as 'disgusting.'
She lamented feeling overshadowed by the Kardashian's lifestyle, stating her inability to match their level of gifts and experiences for her children.
“When Travis got with Kourtney, there was some parental alienation going on there, where Travis — even when we weren't together — always wanted to be the "super dad."
'"I'm the best parent. I'm the this and that," and I'm like, "Bro, you win. Like, you're the winner here. You have all the money and you have all this. You're the winner."'
“I think there was a lot of glitter and fame and they watched them on TV and now their dad is dating one and they're going to be on the show,' she said. 'And I think they got caught up in that, which young kids would do.
“They're buying them Prada, and they're buying them gifts, and they're going to these events and they're meeting Kanye and, you know, all this big stuff.
“I can't give them that. I don't have that. I don't have access to that. I don't have the money to do that. I can't buy you guys Prada every other week and stuff. I don't. I can't do it.”
Despite these challenges, Kourtney and Travis have continued to show a united front. Their relationship, which has been in the public eye, showcases their dedication to each other and their blended family.
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/brides/511308/kourtney-kardashian-and-travis-barker-steal-the-show-on-emmy-red-carpet-as-star-makes-first-appearance-since-birth-of-baby/
| 2024-01-16T01:56:51Z
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Monday night saw the crème de la crème of the TV world attend the Emmys, with many of the attendees walking the red carpet and enjoying the show with their other halves. From Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's amorous display to Jason Segel's cute hand-holding moment with his partner Kayla Radomski, see them all here…
Jason Segel and Kayla Radomski
Jason Segel was first seen with his new girlfriend in October 2023, and they seem to be going strong! The lovebirds held hands as they took to the Emmys carpet, looking loved-up.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker
It came as no surprise when Kourtney and Travis packed on the PDA on the red carpet, performing their usual passionate kiss for the cameras.
Jessica Betts and Niecy Nash-Betts
Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts looked totally smitten as they walked the red carpet, with Jessica planting a romantic kiss on Niecy's cheek.
Keeley Hawes and Matthew Macfadyen
British stars Keeley Hawes and Matthew Macfadyen looked picture-perfect as they posed on the red carpet, with Keeley heavenly in a princess-style gown.
Jon Hamm and Anna Osceola
Mean Girls star Jon Hamm and his wife Anna Osceola made an elegant couple as they floated down the red carpet, with Jon keeping a protective arm around his beautiful wife.
Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson
Welcome to Wrexham star Rob and his former co-star and wife Kaitlin looked chic in black on the red carpet.
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon made a striking pair at the Emmys.
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https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/511307/romantic-couple-moments-emmys-2024/
| 2024-01-16T01:56:57Z
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