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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-eat-whole-vegetables-reduce-waste-alex-elliott-howery/101086170

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I don't know about you, but I've been throwing out my carrot leaves since forever because I didn't think they were good for anything but the compost bin.

Ditto beetroot leaves - and cauliflower leaves, as well as leek tops. The list goes on!

But there are heaps of vegetable parts that are edible and taste great despite not necessarily being the main attraction. It's just that many of us aren't taught to cook with them, and so we bin them.

That's why we're learning how to get wholesome in the kitchen with the help of chef, pickler and cookbook author Alex Elliott-Howery today.

Getting started

Alex has been hooked on eating as much of the vegetables she buys as possible for over a decade.

She loves that eating whole veggies means she's wasting less, valuing the ingredients she has at her disposal more, and saving money by spreading bigger vegetable purchases further.

"You don't have to be a gardener or shop at the supermarket to make these kinds of choices," Alex says.

"So many of us shop at supermarkets, and you can still make good choices while you're there - not just for keeping food waste in check and to keep your food interesting, but also to help with household budgeting.

"The big advice is to buy the whole thing. Think of a bunch of celery not as this huge thing, but as an opportunity to make another dish."

Once you've got your produce inside, Alex recommends researching the vegetable part you're wondering whether to keep or toss to make sure it's safe and palatable to eat.

This bit is crucial: Not all parts of some fruits and vegetables will be edible! Rhubarb is a glaring example of that. Do not eat rhubarb leaves - they are toxic. Never eat rhubarb leaves.

Once you're satisfied your produce is safe, feel free to taste it and then think about what it might pair nicely with.

If you're not feeling adventurous enough for this yet, we've got the lowdown on some delicious but often overlooked veggie bits to cook that have already been tried and tested.

Cauliflower leaves and stems (broccoli stalks too!)

"This is an excellent one coming into winter," Alex says.

"If you ever see a cauliflower with lots of leaves, buy that one, because you can sauté them low and slow with lots of garlic, caraway seeds or whatever spices you've got, and they end up just being like a sautéed green.

"You could have half a cauliflower one night, the leaves the next and the other half the next night to stretch it a long way."

Cauliflower and broccoli stems can be treated in much the same way.

Alex advises cooking them both a little longer than you would the heads.

"My biggest tip for the broccoli stem is to quick-pickle them by taking off the harder outer edge and preserving them," she adds.

Leek tops

Turns out you can do more with the green tops of leeks than just fail to fully shove them in your tiny kitchen compost bin or save them for stock.

"Leek tops are so delicious. They're not dissimilar to the white part - they just need to be cooked a bit differently," Alex says.

"Because they're more fibrous, they need longer cooking time. I sauté them in lots of butter and whatever spices match my meal."

This could be as simple as garlic and lemon, or a more adventurous chilli and fennel seed combo.

Carrot leaves

This option is a great one if you grow your own carrots - given Dutch carrots tend to be on the pricey side at the supermarket, treat your carrot leaves like you would a bunch of herbs!

"They taste similar to parsley because carrots are from the parsley family," Alex says.

"They also make a yummy pesto of sorts if you want to use seeds or nuts with them. Just give them a good wash because they can be a bit gritty."

Want more food and recipe ideas? Join the conversation on the ABC Everyday Facebook group.

Celery leaves

Alex says celery leaves are another one to treat like herbs.

"You can make gremolata out of them, or pesto, or put them through a salad," she says.

"You can make a salty, fresh and delicious salad with something as simple as celery leaves, pickled onions and toasted nuts."

Beetroot leaves

Alex treats these as if they're salad leaves when she finds a young and tender bunch.

"But a lot of the ones you see at the supermarket are bigger, older and gnarlier," she explains.

"So that's when I turn them into [something similar to] kale chips by giving them a good wash, drying them and then putting a little slip of oil over them, as well as salt and cayenne pepper.

"Then I put them in the oven until they're dry and crispy."

But if you're not keen on that, you could try sautéeing them or stir-frying them instead. Options!

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Don't throw veggie tops and leaves into the bin. There's ways to make them taste delicious - ABC Everyday

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You can make your dollar go further and throw less away by using *all* parts of the vegetables you buy or grow. Quit stripping your celery bunches of leaves and trashing the stalk on your broccoli - we're getting wholesome in the kitchen.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/global/article/3179066/gunman-kills-19-children-two-adults-texas-elementary-school

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A teenage gunman killed at least 19 young children and two adults at an elementary school in the US state of Texas on Tuesday, prompting a furious President Joe Biden to denounce the country's gun lobby and vow to end the nation's cycle of mass shootings.

The attack in Uvalde - a small community about an hour from the Mexican border - was the deadliest US school shooting in years, and the latest in a spree of bloody gun violence across America.

"It's time to turn this pain into action for every parent, for every citizen of this country," Biden said, his voice heavy with emotion.
US Indian boarding school report reveals horrific treatment of Indigenous children
"It's time for those who obstruct or delay or block commonsense gun laws - we need to let you know that we will not forget," he said.

"As a nation, we have to ask when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?"

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, addressing an earlier news conference, named the suspect as Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old local resident and a US citizen.

"He shot and killed, horrifically and incomprehensibly," Abbott said.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials told CNN the gunman is believed to have shot his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School around noon where he abandoned his vehicle and entered with a handgun and a rifle, wearing body armour.

The gunman was killed by responding officers, the officials said, adding later two adults also died in the attack.

Footage showed small groups of children weaving through parked cars and yellow buses, some holding hands as they fled under police escort from the school, which teaches students aged around seven to 10 years old.
What would you do if you were president of the US?
It was the deadliest such incident since the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting in Connecticut, in which 20 children and six staff were killed.

The White House ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in mourning for the victims - whose deaths sent a wave of shock through a country still scarred by the horror of Sandy Hook.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Robb Elementary - which teaches more than 500, mostly Hispanic or Latino economically disadvantaged students - called on parents not to rush in to get their children.

"You will be notified to pick up students once all are accounted for," the school said on its website soon after the attack.

Ted Cruz, a pro-gun rights Republican senator from Texas, tweeted that he and his wife were "lifting up in prayer the children and families in the horrific shooting in Uvalde."

But Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, where the Sandy Hook shooting took place, made an impassioned appeal for concrete action to prevent further violence.

"This isn't inevitable, these kids weren't unlucky. This only happens in this country and nowhere else. Nowhere else do little kids go to school thinking that they might be shot that day," Murphy said on the Senate floor in Washington DC.
Asian students express concern about studying in the US amid spike in anti-Asian hate crimes
"I'm here on this floor to beg, to literally get down on my hands and knees and beg my colleagues: Find a path forward here. Work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely."

The deadly assault in Texas follows a series of mass shootings in the United States this month.

On May 14, an 18-year-old man shot 10 people dead at a Buffalo, New York grocery store.

Wearing heavy body armour and wielding an AR-15 rifle, the self-declared white supremacist live-streamed his attack, having reportedly targeted the store because of the large surrounding African-American population.

The following day, a man blocked the door of a church in Laguna Woods, California and opened fire on its Taiwanese-American congregation, killing one person and injuring five.

Despite recurring mass-casualty shootings, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the US Congress, leaving states and local councils to strengthen - or weaken - their own restrictions.

The National Rifle Association has been instrumental in fighting against stricter US gun laws. Abbott and Cruz are listed as speakers at a forum that is being held by the powerful lobby in Houston, Texas later this week.

The United States suffered 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 per cent compared to 2019, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest data.

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Gunman kills 19 children, two adults at Texas elementary school

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A teenage gunman killed at least 19 young children and two adults at an elementary school in the US state of Texas on Tuesday, prompting a furious President Joe Biden to denounce the country's gun lobby and vow to end the nation's cycle of mass shootings.

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https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/may/25/how-to-make-the-perfect-gado-gado-indonesias-super-salad-recipe

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Gado is the Indonesian word for "mix", so this much-loved salad's name literally translates as "mix mix", though, in truth, it's so hearty, it feels a disservice to label it a mere "salad" - as Surabaya native Pepy Nasution writes: "It is a one-dish meal."

In a guest post for Bee Yin Low's site, Rasa Malaysia, Nasution explains the many regional variations, from the gado-gado siram of East Java where, as the word siram (to "pour") suggests, the peanut sauce is poured on top of the other ingredients, in contrast to the West Javanese version in which they're tossed together, or the cashew-based gado-gado boplo found in some parts of Jakarta. In the introduction to her recipe in the New York Times, the food writer Hetty McKinnon notes that, in the capital, gado-gado tends to be quite carb-heavy, with both potatoes and lontong (rice cakes), while in West Java, lotek atah or karedok tends to go big on the raw vegetables. Some areas use coconut milk, some people save time with ready-made peanut butter. In fact, there are as many opinions about the best way to make this dish as there are ingredients. Here is my two rupiah's worth.

The sauce

As Eleanor Ford admits in her book Fire Islands, "it is the peanut dressing that makes this salad. So compelling is [it] that folk songs have been penned to its name in Jakarta." The other ingredients can, to some extent, be considered a movable feast, adjusted to suit what you have available locally and enjoy eating; it's the sambal kacang that pulls them all together into gado-gado.

For this sambal, you need peanuts: if you're short on time, you can skip the roasting and grinding part by using crunchy peanut butter, but, much as I love that stuff, when I try it in chef Peter Gordon's recipe, it makes the sauce a bit gloopy. If convenience wins out, look for a dark roasted variety, preferably with no added sugar, but for proper texture and flavour, I'd recommend starting from scratch - it's the work of minutes, after all.

Garlic is a common seasoning for sambal kacang, and the legendary Indonesian cookery writer Sri Owen also includes shallots, which give a more savoury depth to the sambal from the author of the groundbreaking 1976 Home Book of Indonesian Cookery (reissued more recently as Sri Owen's Indonesian Food), though I much prefer the fruity heat of fresh red chillies to her chilli powder. The umami element generally comes from terasi (fermented shrimp paste), which is readily available in blocks from south-east Asian food specialists, though vegetarians could, as in Chinese-Indonesian Australian food writer Lara Lee's version, up the soy sauce content instead. She calls for kecap manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce, which negates the need for extra sugar; if you can't find it, substitute Owen's dark soy and brown sugar combination (or indeed the coconut or palm sugar used in other recipes, some of which are so sweet, they bring to mind a garlicky dulce de leche). Tamarind water usually supplies the sour note (though I rather like the fresher flavour of Ford's lime juice), but, as ever, the key is to make it, then adjust the flavours to your own taste - tamarind water, of course, varies in strength, depending on dilution.

Gordon and Nasution both add coconut milk to their sauces; the rich creaminess dilutes the flavour of the peanuts for me, but if the idea tickles your fancy, the latter's recipe is here.

The vegetables

As suggested above, as long as you get the sauce right, the rest is more or less up to you. For inspiration, I try recipes with Chinese and white cabbage, water spinach (AKA morning glory), Chinese spinach, spinach, beansprouts, Tenderstem broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, long beans, carrots and chayote (a crunchy gourd often sold in south Asian or Caribbean specialists as choko), all briefly cooked before use, as well as lettuce, radish, tomato and cucumber. Gordon, who has fond memories of the gado-gado eaten on his first visit to Bah in the mid-1980s, believes the hard work here is in selecting really fresh vegetables, then deciding whether to serve them raw or blanched, "although a mix of both works best".

I agree - the important thing seems to be incorporating a variety of textures and flavours, which means choosing something leafy (cabbage, soft lettuce or spinach), something crunchy (beans, cauliflower, chayote, long-stemmed broccoli and cucumber) and perhaps also something sweet (carrots or tomatoes). If visuals are important to you, aim for a mixture of colours, too. Blanch as necessary in salted water, and drain well before putting on the plate, or they'll dilute that all-important dressing.

The carbs

Nasution, West Sumatra-born Owen and Lee's book Coconut & Sambal all call for potatoes, and Naustion lontong (compressed rice cakes) as well. Gordon serves his gado-gado with a saffron-spiked rice, while Jakarta native Mariska Lindungan, who shared her recipe with the Korean cook and social media sensation Maangchi, recommends serving it with steamed rice. For me, fragrant rice pairs better with the sauce than earthy potatoes; I love the bounciness of the lontong, which are new to me (and can be bought ready-made), but ordinary rice would work well, too.

Crunchy prawn crackers, or krupuk, are also a popular accompaniment (so popular, in fact, that one disgruntled commenter underneath McKinnon's cracker-free recipe calls them "one of the most essential parts of much Indonesian cooking"), but the side that really blows me away are Lee's rempeyek crackers flavoured with peanut, makrut lime leaf and candlenuts. They're almost too good to crumble on top of this salad, though - I ate most of them on their own.

The protein

Vegans will be delighted to learn that, optional hard-boiled egg apart, fried tofu and tempeh (fermented soya bean cakes) are also common in gado-gado - tempeh, in particular, makes the dish feel more substantial - though, depending on how hungry you are, you may wish to choose just one or two, rather than including all three.

The garnishes

Lara Lee garnishes her gado-gado with incredibly moreish rempeyek crackers flavoured with more peanuts, lime leaves and candlenuts. Photograph: Felicity Cloake/The Guardian

Nasution also serves her gado-gado with a chilli sambal made from pounded boiled chillies, sugar and salt, to be served on the side, "as people have different tastebuds to handle the spiciness", though, she concedes, "you can omit the sambal if you don't like the spicy sauce". I've made the sambal kacang itself moderately spicy, but if you crave yet more chilli, her recipe is simplicity itself.

A garnish of fried shallots add sweetness; you can make them yourself, but I find peeling large quantities of the things puts me in a very bad temper, so I'd recommend letting someone else do the hard work for you and buying them in. This is a dish that should be pure pleasure.

Perfect gado-gado

For the sambal kacang
50ml oil, for frying
100g raw peanuts, preferably skin on
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2-4 red bird's eye chillies, roughly chopped (or to taste; pith and seeds removed if you prefer less heat)
1 tsp terasi (fermented shrimp paste, optional)
1 tbsp kecap manis
1 tbsp tamarind water, or the juice of ½ lime
Salt

For the blanched and raw vegetables (or to taste)
¼ white cabbage, shredded
100g long-stemmed broccoli
100g green beans, topped
1 carrot, trimmed and julienned
½ cucumber, cut into chunky slices
6 pink radish
1 handful lontong rice cakes (optional)
1 slice tempeh
4 cubes ready-fried tofu (or fry your own)
1 egg, hard-boiled (optional)
Prawn crackers, to serve
Fried shallots (shop-bought or homemade), to serve

First make the sambal. Put the oil in a wok or small frying pan over a medium-high heat, then fry the peanuts, stirring regularly, until golden brown. Scoop out with a slotted spoon on to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain, leaving the oil in the pan.

Turn down the heat, add the garlic, shallots, chillies and terasi to the pan and fry, stirring continuously, until softened but not browned. Scoop out on to a second paper-lined plate, turn off the heat, and leave the oil in the pan.

Put the fried shallot mix and peanuts in a mini food processor or mortar and whiz or pound to a nubbly paste. Add the kecap manis and tamarind, whizz again, then add salt to taste and just enough warm water to bring it to a pouring consistency. Taste, adjust the seasoning as necessary, then set aside.

Blanch any vegetables that need it for a minute or so in salted water (beans and broccoli may need a little longer), then scoop out and leave to cool. Cook the lontong, if using, in the same water, until soft, then drain.

Turn on the heat under the wok or frying pan to medium-high, then fry the tempeh in the oil until golden (if using raw tofu, fry it in the same pan). Meanwhile, peel the egg, if using, and cut it in half.

Divide the vegetables and lontong between two plates and add half the egg to each. Drizzle with sauce, accessorise with prawn crackers and sprinkle with fried shallots to serve.

Gado-gado: what goes into your perfect mix, and do you prefer it warm or cold, spicy or creamy - or made with cashew nuts? And which other Indonesian dishes would you like to see more of on the mainstream menu?

UK readers: click to buy these ingredients from Ocado

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How to make gado-gado - recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect ...

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Gado is the Indonesian word for "mix", so this much-loved salad's name literally translates as "mix mix", though, in truth, it's so hearty, it feels a disservice to label it a mere "salad" - as Surabaya native Pepy Nasution writes: "It is a one-dish meal."

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267 Real-name rule for buying concert tickets

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267 Real-name rule for buying concert tickets

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/hong-kong/article/3179125/hong-kong-canto-pop-idols-mirror-take-scalpers-real-name

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Canto-pop group Mirror has responded to calls by fans and the authorities to take a stance against scalpers after announcing that anyone looking to buy tickets to their concert this summer will need to register for purchases using their real names.

Just months ahead of their first concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum, which will run for 12 nights during July and August, the group said they would require prospective buyers to register using their real names because of the overwhelming demand for tickets.

"We hear you!" the band wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday, after fans had made repeated calls online for a real-name ticketing system.

"Although we have faced numerous difficulties in the past, we will do our best. We hope more fans can come and support us," the band said.

"We have seen overwhelming support for our concerts. We noticed that it is hard for Mirror fans to secure a ticket to support us, so we plan to hold two additional shows and run a real-name ticketing system for the public sale tickets using Urbtix," it added.

Urbtix is one of the city's major ticketing systems, providing services to programme organisers using venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Hong Kong lyricist Siu Hak on Keung To's anti-war song, local music scene's growth
The department said it welcomed the band's decision, adding authorities had taken the initiative of meeting with the concert's organisers to discuss how to combat ticket scalping.

"The [department] will render all practicable assistance in regard to ticket sales and admission arrangements to the organiser, and also calls on ticket holders to arrive early at the venue, the Hong Kong Coliseum," it said in a statement.

Mirror is a boy band formed through a reality-TV talent competition, Good Night Show - King Maker , that screened on ViuTV in 2018.

Tickets for their upcoming concert, which are not yet available to the public, will range in price from HK$480 to HK$1,280.

In April, tickets were quickly snapped up during a prioritised sale by an event sponsor, with one scalper reportedly offering front seats at the concert for HK$438,000.

Police also arrested a man last month for allegedly selling two fake Mirror concert tickets for HK$10,000.
R&B artist Gareth.T talks about his musical journey
Other performers have also said they will require buyers to purchase tickets by registering with their real names.

Independent local singer-songwriter Tyson Yoshi, whose real name is Ben Cheng Tsun-yin, said on Tuesday that he would adopt a similar system to sell tickets for his concert in August.

"Hong Kong seems to have bad "concert tickets" culture, there [are] many people [buying] tickets for earning their own money, and it's not fair to those who wanna go watch the concert to support Tyson or other artists," a spokeswoman for Yoshi told the .

She said the team felt "upset" by the thought that someone might need to pay inflated prices to watch the singer's concert, noting organisers were happy to adopt the new system, despite the extra workload.

The spokeswoman said details for Yoshi's concert would be announced soon, including the performance venue and procedures for ticket sales.

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Canto-pop idols Mirror take on scalpers with real-name rule for buying tickets

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Canto-pop group Mirror has responded to calls by fans and the authorities to take a stance against scalpers after announcing that anyone looking to buy tickets to their concert this summer will need to register for purchases using their real names.

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266 Physically challenged students more affected by half-day school under the pandemic

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266 Physically challenged students more affected by half-day school under the pandemic

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/hong-kong/article/3147513/coronavirus-students-disabilities-doubly-impacted-half

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For 60 young students in Hong Kong, the only chance they get to interact with the outside world is when they go to school.

These children, aged six to 18, live in the Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po because of their severe intellectual and physical disabilities. Most of them need to use a wheelchair or are bedridden.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, their parents have not been allowed to visit them at the hospital, limiting the youngsters' interactions with the outside world. Some have not seen their parents in nearly a year.
Understanding the needs of SEN students creates an inclusive learning environment
They are students at the Caritas Jockey Club Lok Yan School, which is connected by a bridge to the medical centre. With classes resuming from September 1, the students finally have some much-needed company.

"Our students were happy to return to campus [on September 1]. They smiled and responded to us when we called their names," vice principal Amy Wong May-tak said.

It is therefore not surprising that the school and parents want full-day in-person classes, instead of the current half-day sessions, to commence.
Full-day classes only if 70 per cent of a school's occupants are vaccinated
Last month, the government announced that schools in Hong Kong could apply to resume full-day classes from September 1 if more than 70 per cent of students and staff had been fully vaccinated.

However, under the city's inoculation drive, only those aged 12 and above can get the jabs, meaning some students from the Lok Yan school do not qualify.

"Our students are very weak - their health conditions might make them ineligible for the vaccine. This decision also requires the consent of parents as well as a doctor's assessment," said Chrysan Mok Oi-ling, who was the school's principal until August 31.

In fact, 95 per cent of the school's staff have been vaccinated. But hitting the 70 per cent mark for all occupants was something that was unlikely to happen any time soon, Mok said.

"It would be ideal if we could resume full-day classes to give students more comprehensive support and activities. That's what our parents are looking for," she added.

The school offers not just Chinese, English and Maths classes, but also other activities - for example, virtual reality games simulating roller-coaster rides. Different kinds of therapy are also provided.

There are 61 government-subsidised special schools in Hong Kong with more than 8,000 students enrolled. The Education Bureau categorises students with special educational needs (SEN) into eight types, including those with learning difficulties, intellectual disability, or autism.
Another year of Covid: Hong Kong students return to campus for half-day lessons
George Leung Wing-hung, chairman of the Hong Kong Special Schools Council, said it was "close to impossible" for any special schools to resume full-day classes.

"As far as I know, only about 50 per cent of eligible SEN students have been vaccinated, and many concerned parents are still resisting the jabs," he said.

Anastasia Moskvina, a 34-year-old mother of a four-year-old boy with autism, longs for the resumption of full-day classes.

After a wait of one and a half years in Hong Kong, the Russian woman enrolled her son last month in a kindergarten for SEN children. Before that, her child had been attending a nearby private school that did not specifically cater for youngsters with special needs.

Her autistic son has trouble adopting new routines, and had thrown tantrums when he switched to a new kindergarten. The working mother is grateful for the help the new school has offered, and hopes there can be full-day classes soon.

Because school ends at 1.30pm, Moskvina needs to fill her boy's schedule with swimming classes, private therapy and other activities.

"I feel the pressure on parents," she said. "The current half-day class arrangement would definitely affect SEN children in the long term, as they need to catch up on learning."

Sarah Sparks Campbell is another mother eyeing full-day classes for her two children, aged 10 and 15, who both go to special needs schools.
Struggle of Hong Kong's disadvantaged youth while learning online
Campbell, 45 and from the United States, has quit her English teaching job at a university to take care of her kids.

Because of the pandemic, her children only attended online classes last year, but Campbell believed this method did not work for them.

"For SEN children, a school is not just a place to learn but also to receive different kinds of therapy. When it switched to online, these resources [could] not be offered," she said.

Her 10-year-old daughter, Makenna, has moderate intellectual disability. She is only capable of speaking and signing about 20 words. She needs regular speech therapy sessions, but because of the outbreak, she only received two sessions last year.
How do people with hearing disabilities cope during Covid-19?
Her 15-year-old son has autism and mild intellectual disability. He lives in a dormitory at a special needs school. Because of the outbreak, his school has switched to online learning.

The problem, according to Campbell, is that her son is addicted to electronic devices, and therefore is not allowed such equipment in his dorm. But without a computer, the boy cannot attend online classes.

"His learning has completely stopped," she said, adding that her son's mental health had deteriorated, and he was sent to the hospital a few times for treatment.

"The half-day school gives half of the teaching responsibility to the parents. But at the end of the day, parents cannot be teachers or therapists. Our children need that relationship at school, and also sufficient amount of education and therapy," said Campbell.

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Coronavirus: students with disabilities doubly impacted by half-day class

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For 60 young students in Hong Kong, the only chance they get to interact with the outside world is when they go to school. These children, aged six to 18, live in the Caritas Medical Centre in Sham Shui Po because of their severe intellectual and physical disabilities.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/common-myths-about-adhd-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/100105830

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It's a condition that's under-diagnosed in adults - and is often missed in women in particular.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is widely misunderstood, and the myths and misconceptions about the neurodevelopmental disorders are widespread.

The problem is, these misconceptions can feed into a stigma that prevents people from getting help to diagnose and treat the condition.

So we asked clinical psychologist, Maddi Derrick - the director of an ADHD specialty clinic in Hobart, who also lives with ADHD herself - to set the record straight on four common misconceptions about the condition.

Myth: People with ADHD lack empathy and remorse

There's a common misconception that people with ADHD struggle to empathise with others, or purposefully act in antisocial ways.

It's a theme that hit the news cycle recently, when Liberal MP Andrew Laming revealed his ADHD diagnosis.

The condition is associated with impulsive behaviours and Dr Derrick explains that a person with ADHD does sometimes experience a disconnect between their intention and the outcome of a situation.

Dr Derrick says it is simply not true that people with ADHD aren't empathetic or lack ethics.

"So their intention might be to have a joke or to have banter with someone or to do something else," but their struggle with attention control and their pace of thinking in the moment might prevent them from thinking through the consequences, she explains.

Often, the person with ADHD "afterwards will fully remember what they did and be really horribly remorseful or embarrassed and think, 'why on earth did I do that?,' and feel a lot of shame," Dr Derrick says.

Conversely, in some cases, they won't actually remember the whole situation that well at all, she adds.

In any case, Dr Derrick makes clear that ADHD diagnosis is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviour.

"At our practice at least, we say ADHD is an explanation, but it's not an excuse and you're still responsible for your behaviour," she says.

Be a part of the ABC Everyday community by joining our Facebook group.

Myth: Poor parenting causes ADHD

"I hear this one all the time," says Dr Derrick, but it's a largely genetic condition.

There's no evidence that lax parenting leads to the condition - nor that the condition is caused by eating sugar, watching too much TV, or traumatic experiences, according to ADHD Australia.

That said, it's true that children with the condition benefit from the support of informed parents and health professionals.

For example, they may need a behaviour management plan that encourages good behaviour, supports them in the classroom and manages their energy levels.

In some cases, if parents don't realise their child has ADHD, they may fail to provide that extra support - and even respond in ways that actually exacerbate the child's behaviours.

"That's uninformed parenting as opposed to poor parenting," Dr Derrick says.

In other cases, if a parent themselves has undiagnosed and untreated ADHD, that can result in "parenting that's not helping," says Dr Derrick.

Myth: Kids with ADHD grow out of it

ADHD is a lifelong disorder.

While you may have read statistics saying that many people with the condition grow out of it, "what those statistics are really saying is that X percentage will not meet the diagnostic criteria," because they've developed strategies to mask the condition, says Dr Derrick.

People with ADHD often develop ways to compensate - and in some kids, naturally high IQs further mask their symptoms.

But even with these strategies in place, the condition can take its toll.

For example, a person with ADHD might take a very long time to write an email, says Dr Derrick.

"They don't trust themselves writing it, so they go over and over it again in a perfectionistic way," she says.

"They ultimately deliver this lovely email that doesn't look like they're spending ages ordering their thoughts, but they've actually stayed late at work for an hour and a half writing it."

Then they may go home and fight with their partner because they're always staying late at work to compensate like this, Dr Derrick says.

"Because of the stigma, there's a whole lot of keeping it to yourself and not letting people see the ways you compensate," she says.

Myth: It's easy to spot a person with ADHD

When people think ADHD, they often think of hyperactive little boys, but the condition can present differently in different people.

"Hyperactive girls might look different: they might be talking a lot," Dr Derrick says.

"Or they might be hyperactive with their thoughts - on the outside they might look a bit dazed and not 'with it,' but certainly not hyperactive."

What's more, in adults, the condition might not manifest in hyperactivity as much - it can more overtly affect "your executive functions: problem-solving, planning, all those things that sort of orchestrate complex decision-making type tasks," Dr Derrick has previously explained.

This misconception "leads to a lot of outwardly not-hyperactive kids being missed and in particular, many women and kids getting missed," she adds.

Currently, ADHD Australia estimates that three-quarters of people with the condition have yet to be diagnosed.

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'ADHD is an explanation, but it's not an excuse': 4 common myths about the condition - ABC Everyday

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It's a condition that's under-diagnosed in adults - and is often missed in women in particular. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is widely misunderstood, and the myths and misconceptions about the neurodevelopmental disorders are widespread. The problem is, these misconceptions can feed into a stigma that prevents people from getting help to diagnose and treat the condition.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/election-day-cake-brownie-cookie-stall-recipe-wrap/101072774

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Nothing says federal election day like the smell of a warm sausage sizzle or seeing a colourful cake stall.

If you're planning to contribute to a cake stall this weekend, we've got you covered with some of our best (and easiest) cake, brownie, and biscuit recipes. Plus, some tips on transporting your freshly baked goods.

Easy cakes and loaves

Regardless of how long the voting line is, Julia Busuttil Nishimura's nostalgic lemon cake will brighten up any voter's election day.

If you're worried about the sour cream glaze when it comes to packing your cake, you can opt for a mess-free option by simply dusting icing sugar over the top instead.

If you're strapped for time but want a cake that delivers maximum flavour, look no further than this simple one-bowl chocolate cake. There's no beating required and it can be prepped in 15 minutes - then let your oven get to work.

To make it cake-stall ready, decorate the top with some berries or even sprinkles.

An upside-down cake is nostalgic and this recipe offers versatility, so you don't have to stick with blackberries. For the perfect winter version of this cake, use poached pears or apples.

The mousse-like hazelnut icing is the main character of this cake.

Made with choc-hazelnut spread combined with dark chocolate, it pairs well with the almond meal and vanilla-based batter, bringing this soft textured cake to life.

Add in some colourful sprinkles on top and it'll be a hit with all the kids.

The secret to Thalia Ho's soft and tangy marble cake is the decadent ganache on top made with rich dark chocolate and thickened cream.

It's a cake where each bite gives you the perfect combination of buttery vanilla and the richness of dark chocolate.

Another classic that every cake stall needs is banana bread, but this one by Julia Busuttil Nishimura comes with a zesty, chocolatey twist thanks to a little cardamom, nutmeg and dark chocolate.

If you're not a fan of cardamom, you can swap in other freshly ground spices like vanilla or cinnamon instead.

Biscuit and cookie recipes to consider

Heidi Sze' giant chunky choc chip cookies are the perfect mix of thin, chewy and chocolatey in the middle with crunchy crisp edges on the outside.

While prepping your cookies takes less than five minutes, before you bake the dough, it needs to be chilled in the fridge for two hours, so this recipe will require some planning beforehand.

These bite-sized shortbread biscuits are a buttery, crumbly treat.

They're easy to make, using common ingredients you might have sitting in your pantry. A pistachio to top it off gives it a crunchy and creamy finish.

You can wrap these up in a bundle and sell them as a bag of cookies in your cake stall.

Crushed almonds and a hint of lemon zest make these shortbread bikkies memorable. Want to save yourself a trip to the shops? You can swap the lemon for an orange, grapefruit or lime.

This is the perfect combination of chocolate cookie and brownie, all in one.

Using rich, smooth Dutch cocoa powder with a touch of espresso flavour, this chewy cookie turns out best when the dough is left to settle in the fridge overnight.

It's another item that can be packaged up and sold as a bundle in your cake stall.

Similar to the classic Anzac biscuit recipe, Thalia Ho's version keeps the blend of soft, chewy and crunchy texture but swaps the golden syrup for honey and adds in some salt and rosemary to compliment the sweet taste.

Want more food and recipe ideas? Join the conversation on the ABC Everyday Facebook group.

Grab a tray and bake these brownies and bars

This blondie recipe is another quick, fuss-free recipe that you can whip up in a big batch, making it a perfect addition for a cake stall.

Blondies have the chewiness of a good brownie without the cocoa powder. This one features peanut butter, which compliments chunks of chocolate .

Made with common pantry ingredients like sugar, salt, eggs and flour this fudgy salted caramel chocolate brownie is the perfect contrast of sweet and salty, all in one bite.

If you're short on time, store-bought caramel sauce can work as a substitute instead of making the caramel from scratch.

This is a sweet and chewy snack filled with honey, pepita seeds, oats and almond butter that will fuel your energy, making it the perfect pick-me-up.

It's a great recipe to make in batches and by swapping the almond butter for tahini, it can be a nut-free friendly option too.

Tips for transporting baked goods

If it's been a while since you contributed to a cake stall (or maybe it's your first time), Tasmanian baker Juanny Tan has this advice.

Each week, she transports her freshly baked doughnuts and brownies to sell at local markets near Launceston.

When it comes to transporting your items and making them look appealing on the other side, Ms Tan says: "You can use a white cardboard box that sometimes comes with a window display to store your items in."

You can usually find these boxes at cake speciality stores or party store retailers online.

"Or, if you want to be environmentally friendly, I like to store my doughnuts in big plastic containers, so I'm not wasting packaging and can re-use them," she says.

When you're driving around corners or suddenly stopping, cake containers can go flying across the car, so Ms Tan says take your time when it comes to packing.

"Take time to stack things well," she says.

"A lot of people say the best place to store a cake in your car, is with the air conditioning on and passenger side on the floor."

It's also important to think about the weather conditions and how that might affect your baked goods.

Where possible, the Food Safety Information Council recommends avoiding risky ingredients like fresh cream or raw or partially cooked eggs.

Some other important considerations also include covering food to protect it from insects and germs, and while it's not compulsory, clearly labelling your items and including an ingredients list can be helpful for customers with allergies.

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Easy cakes, brownies and biscuits: 14 ideas for your election day bake stall - ABC Everyday

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Nothing says federal election day like the smell of a warm sausage sizzle or seeing a colourful cake stall. If you're planning to contribute to a cake stall this weekend, we've got you covered with some of our best (and easiest) cake, brownie, and biscuit recipes.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/danny-humble-murder-trial-seven-teenagers-154212344.html

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A group of seven teenagers murdered a "loving and compassionate" father-of-two after joking with him that he looked like one of the TV stars Ant and Dec, a jury has heard.

Danny Humble, 35, was subjected to a "short and sustained" attack around midnight on Friday, 28 May last year after a night out with his partner in Cramlington, Northumberland, jurors were told.

The teenagers, then aged 16 to 18, surrounded him near an underpass, repeatedly kicked him on the floor and left him with a "catastrophic" head injury from which he could not recover, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He was rushed to hospital but despite the medics' best efforts, the "devoted" dad died from his injuries the following day.

Five defendants - Alistair Dickson, Bailey Wilson, Ethan Scott and Izaak Little, all from Blyth, and Kyros Robinson, from Seaton Delaval - are now all aged 18.

Two other defendants, who are 17, cannot be named because of their ages.

They all deny murder.
Read more:

Tory MP jokes about attending parliament to prove he's not suspected rapist
Mr Humble and his partner Adele Stubbs had enjoyed a meal and drinks out after lockdown restrictions were eased and she later recalled they had drunk "a canny skinful".

The teenagers had also been out drinking in local pubs.

Jacob Hallam QC, prosecuting, said a witness, not one of the defendants, was to tell police how he heard some of the group and Mr Humble "just having a little bit of crack on".

The witness recalled they told Mr Humble "that he looked like one of television's Ant and Dec" and how the 35-year-old replied with words to the effect, "Aye good one, lads".

The witness added that one of the group said: "Can I have your autograph? You're my inspiration."

Another defendant said: "Yeah, you do look like him."

Soon after, Ms Stubbs recalled her partner said something like "What did you say?" and people moved towards him before he was hit with an uppercut.

When she got to him, he was unconscious and bleeding on the ground, Mr Hallam said.
Read more:

Politics student, 27, who founded Britain's first neo-Nazi terrorist group faces jail
Jurors were told the fatal attack took 15 seconds.

The witness later told police: "They didn't miss a part of his body, they were all moving around his body, kicking him in."

Mr Hallam said Mr Humble may have hit one of the 17-year-old defendants in the head before the youths surrounded him.

Ms Stubbs tried to perform first aid and dialled 999, trying "desperately but fruitlessly" to save her partner, the court heard.

Some of the defendants stayed around in the aftermath of the attack, jurors heard.
The trial continues.
One of the 17-year-olds appeared to have been crying, a witness was to tell police.

Mr Hallam said all of them eventually ran away.

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Gang 'told dad-of-two he looked like Ant and Dec before kicking him to death', court told

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A group of seven teenagers murdered a "loving and compassionate" father-of-two after joking with him that he looked like one of the TV stars Ant and Dec, a jury has heard. Danny Humble, 35, was subjected to a "short and sustained" attack around midnight on Friday, 28 May last year after a night out with his partner in Cramlington, Northumberland, jurors were told.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-05-19/plant-based-diets-in-prawn-industry/101075804

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When you're buying a dozen fresh prawns for a summer barbecue or Christmas lunch, you probably aren't thinking about what they ate before they reached your table.

But if you love your prawns, you might be interested to know the popular ocean staple could soon be produced in a way that reduces its environmental footprint.

A trial looks at feeding prawns a plant-based diet rather than the traditional marine-based diet

A shift to more sustainable diets is an ongoing focus within the seafood industry

These diets, however, may not yet be feasible on a commercial scale

One Queensland prawn farmer who has been trialling a vegetarian diet for his prawns says switching to plant-based feed could increase the sustainability of Australian seafood.

Matt West, the farm manager of Australian Prawn Farms at Ilbilbie near Mackay, said there had been a long-time push towards more sustainable diets in the industry.

Prawns are traditionally fed a marine-based diet, but these ingredients were left off the menu in a recent trial.

"We thought we'd see how far we could push it and really try and get away from any sort of marine source at all," Mr West said.

Matt West has been trialling a plant-based diet in a sample of his prawns.(ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw )

"Historically, the prawns were fed a diet based on fishmeal; albeit sustainably caught, it's all still a fishmeal-based diet.

"From that wild-catch diet, we went to a more of a fish-waste sort of diet whereby they're using and utilising the waste from, say, the salmon and tuna industry, their heads and tails and things like that, which they crush up and use in these prawn diets.

"There's been less and less reliance on this wild-catch product."

Get the latest rural news

Where are ingredients coming from?

Aquatic animal health expert Andy Barnes from the University of Queensland said while plant-based ingredients were not a bad thing, it was important to make sure those options were still sustainable.

"There are literally thousands of ingredients available that can be tested as replacements for fishmeal at varying different levels, and you really have to test them all and evaluate how sustainable they are and how traceable they are," Dr Barnes said.

"But if you're actually chopping down the Amazon and growing soy there to do that, whereas the fishmeal was coming from a managed fishery, you might not actually be making the diet more sustainable."

As well as knowing where ingredients come from, Dr Barnes said there were two other key features when it came to sustainability.

"If you're thinking about sustainable feeds ... you'll need to make sure you can meet the nutritional requirements of the animal, and then, of course, it has to be affordable."

A truck is used to distribute feed to the prawns.(ABC Rural: Ashleigh Bagshaw )

Not the future just yet

Mr West said the switch to plant-based diets was gaining traction on a broader scale.

"They're already using parts of this concept diet in commercial feed now anyway, so there's a trend to shifting over to it."

It could have impacts beyond just prawns and might eventually be used in the wider seafood industry, he said.

"I think with all of the agricultural industry in general, you know we're almost one big happy family - whatever concept is used in one species, it can be looked at for other species."

But going fully plant-based isn't possible for the time being, Mr West said.

"From what I understand, it's very, very expensive ingredients in there that you can't get on a commercial scale just yet."

Dr Barnes said while Australia's seafood industry had a strong focus on sustainability, there was always room for improvement.

"We do things pretty well here at present and the industry has come so far in the last 20 years in terms of its environmental footprint.

"When we're thinking about sustainability of food systems, things like prawns are exactly where we should be looking, because we don't have to feed them complex and expensive things."

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When you're buying a dozen fresh prawns for a summer barbecue or Christmas lunch, you probably aren't thinking about what they ate before they reached your table. But if you love your prawns, you might be interested to know the popular ocean staple could soon be produced in a way that reduces its environmental footprint.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/chinese-scientists-massive-630ft-deep-120549116.html

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A massive 630ft-deep sinkhole has been found in China in which a stunning ancient forest range has been discovered by researchers with trees as tall as 131ft (40m) and could include species that have not been seen before.

Cave explorers came across the sinkhole near Ping'e village in Leye County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region earlier this month.

The sinkhole is 630ft (192m) deep and measures 1,000ft (304m) in length and 490ft (149m) in width, according to the Xinhua news agency.

The discovery was classified as "large" and experts hiked for several hours before reaching the base of the sinkhole and found three cave entrances.

The sinkhole's bottom is lined with a "well-preserved primitive forest" with the trees growing up towards the sun, according to experts quoted by the news agency.

Chen Lixin, who led the cave expedition team, told Xinhua that the dense undergrowth on the sinkhole floor was as high as a person's shoulders and that some of the ancient trees at the bottom were 131ft (40m) tall.

"I wouldn't be surprised to know that there are species found in these caves that have never been reported or described by science until now," Mr Lixin said.

China's Guangxi region is known for its beautiful and sometimes dramatic karst formations.

Leye County alone, where this current sinkhole was discovered, is home to a number of such sinkholes. The discovery of this new one has brought the number of sinkholes in this county to 30, reported Xinhua.

Karst landscapes are formed primarily by the dissolution of bedrock, George Veni, the executive director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) in the US, told Live Science.

"Because of local differences in geology, climate and other factors, the way karst appears at the surface can be dramatically different," he said.

"So in China you have this incredibly visually spectacular karst with enormous sinkholes and giant cave entrances and so forth," he added.

"In other parts of the world you walk out on the karst and you really don't notice anything. Sinkholes might be quite subdued, only a metre or two in diameter. Cave entrances might be very small, so you have to squeeze your way into them."

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Chinese scientists find massive 630ft-deep sinkhole with an entire hidden forest inside

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A massive 630ft-deep sinkhole has been found in China in which a stunning ancient forest range has been discovered by researchers with trees as tall as 131ft (40m) and could include species that have not been seen before. Cave explorers came across the sinkhole near Ping'e village in Leye County of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region earlier this month.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/entertainment/music/article/3177454/death-depth-canto-pop-hong-kong-lyricist-siu-hak

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In March, Canto-pop star Keung To had an unusual request for lyricist Siu Hak: write an anti-war song using a music demo about love from songwriter Gareth Tong, known as Gareth.T.

For inspiration, the 47-year-old wordsmith, whose real name is Tseung Tsz-hin, immersed himself in older pacifist songs, though the theme is quite rare for Canto-pop. The most memorable one he found, Siu Hak noted, was by former rock band Beyond.

"It was a tough song to write as Gareth originally sang the music demo in English. The opening line was 'loving you', and I had to turn it into something in Cantonese that would fit the rhythm," the lyricist explained.

"Composing Cantonese lyrics with Gareth.T's music is hard because his usual groove and rhythm fit better with the English language."

Despite these challenges, Siu Hak managed to write a hit. What The Work Says (作品的說話) dropped on Keung's birthday on April 30. Within the first two weeks of the music video's release, it had already racked up more than 4 million views on YouTube.

"I'm impressed Keung To chose to drop a song about his wish for world peace on his birthday - it shows his vision and kindness," mused Siu Hak.

In discussing the evils of war, the song's lyrics convey the message that "good and evil are a free choice" and that art is the most truthful way to depict love. It reminds listeners quietly about the importance of kindness.
Hong Kong rising R&B artist Gareth.T shares about his music journey
Besides being a renowned lyricist, Siu Hak is also an artist and cartoon illustrator. He started writing Cantonese music in 2007, and his first chart-topping single was If I Am Eason Chan (如果我是陳奕迅), sung by rock band Mr.

Over the years, the industry veteran has written hundreds of songs, and he is known for a style of lyrics that is soul searching and philosophical.

Among his most unique works is a trilogy of songs written for local singer-songwriter Endy Chow Kwok-yin in 2012. The music examines some of the most abstract topics to have ever been explored in Canto-pop, such as the soul and the material world.
Keung To embarks on a journey of self-reflection in Mirror in the Mirror
In the 2000s, Siu Hak witnessed Hong Kong's music industry being overtaken by the more scintillating music of K-pop and Mando-pop.

Siu Hak said he felt there had been a time when Canto-pop was "a dying scene" that lacked creativity and diversity. Cheesy love songs or karaoke music with catchy tunes dominated the mainstream local scene.

"Karaoke songs that became hits in Hong Kong used to carry rather simple messages, usually expressing emotions about heartbreak or love," he recalled.

But early last year, Siu Hak sensed the beginning of a change when he watched Commercial Radio's Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation - arguably one of the city's most prestigious music awards. The best-known artist of a new wave of Canto-pop, Keung, took home two coveted local prizes - My Favourite Male Singer and My Favourite Song.

Siu Hak said this swell of home-grown talent represented a shift among younger generations: "Times are changing; young audiences demand a change in Canto-pop. They have different tastes in music genres, singing skills and themes."

This phenomenon prompted Siu Hak to drop a hit in 2021 with a sarcastic title, The Music Scene Is Dead (樂壇已死), in which he asks listeners to pay more attention to emerging local stars.

"They are working hard and trying different things to make it a blooming, diverse scene," said Siu Hak.

The lyricist is actively contributing to the evolution of Canto-pop. For Mirror's Jeremy Lau Ying-ting, affectionately known as Jer, Siu Hak wrote eight singles that all fell outside the realm of conventional love songs.

Lau, whose singing talent has earned him the accolade of being the successor of Canto-pop legend Eason Chan Yick-shun, has been praised for his songs touching on issues such as forgiveness, depression and reincarnation.

"Write down what inspires you - phrases you read in a book or heard in a song that touched your heart. This is when your soul syncs with that of the creators," the lyricist said, as he shared advice about cultivating creativity. "Let these ideas sink in you. And then, one day, they will become something."

This was a time for young talent to shine, Siu Hak said, and he tasked teens interested in creative work to believe in themselves and chase their passions.

"We may no longer be as free to speak our minds, but there is still room to tell a message subtly," he said. "You answer only to yourself - be honest and do what you love."

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From death to depth for Canto-pop: veteran lyricist on Hong Kong music scene's growth

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In March, Canto-pop star Keung To had an unusual request for lyricist Siu Hak: write an anti-war song using a music demo about love from songwriter Gareth Tong, known as Gareth.T. For inspiration, the 47-year-old wordsmith, whose real name is Tseung Tsz-hin, immersed himself in older pacifist songs, though the theme is quite rare for Canto-pop.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japan-to-allow-small-groups-of-tourists-to-visit-this-month

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Japan to allow small groups of tourists, including those from Singapore, to visit in May

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Travellers from countries like Singapore will be allowed in. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.abc.net.au/classic/programs/game-show/game-show-history-of-game-music/13862716

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From Pong in 1972 to Elden Ring in 2022, video game music has come a long way.

The first game consoles would only sing in single tones generated within their circuits. Such was the classic sound of Pong, the world's first commercial video game: blips going back and forth like with each strike of the virtual paddle.

As technology advanced, so too did the sonic possibilities. Composers in the 1980s had as many as four channels of monophonic sound, and they would look to choral and baroque writing techniques to make these channels come alive. Many iconic themes were born in this decade, such as Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and Final Fantasy, to name a few.

In the 1990s, game scores went from expertly crafted bleeps and bloops to more complex synthesised sounds, as well as emulations of real instruments, bringing forth beloved classics like Sonic the Hedgehog and Tomb Raider. Soon thereafter, composers could incorporate recordings of live musicians, and by the time the 2000s rolled around, a game score could sound like almost anything the composer could imagine. Gregorian chants for Halo, Hollywood orchestras for Batman, Argentinean guitars for The Last of Us: nothing was off limits any more in the world of video games.

To celebrate the launch of this year's Classic 100: Music for the Screen on ABC Classic, Meena Shamaly takes you on a historical tour of video games, charting their musical evolution across half a century - from humble (yet awesome) beginnings through to boundless expression in the modern day.

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To celebrate the launch of 2022's Classic 100: Music for the Screen on ABC Classic, Meena Shamaly takes you on a historical tour of video game soundtracks: from the bleeps of the 1970s and the four-part hits of the 1980s through to the limitless possibilities of today.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-17/wet-weather-flooding-mould-allergies/101060432

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Matt Webber, Tara Cassidy, Alexandria Utting

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Everything going mouldy at your place? Here’s how to control it in your home amid ongoing wet weather

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After months of wet weather, many people are struggling to contain mould. Here’s how to get rid of it.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/hong-kong/article/3177577/hot-topics-what-know-about-cross-harbour-section-sha-tin

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Hot Topics takes an issue being discussed in the news and allows you to analyse different articles and viewpoints on the subject. Our questions encourage you to examine the topic in-depth - they can be used on your own or with a friend.
Context: Cross-harbour section of Hong Kong's most expensive rail project opens

The Hung Hom-Admiralty section of the long-overdue Sha Tin to Central link, Hong Kong's most expensive rail project yet, fully opened to the public yesterday.

This opening marks the end of a scheme afflicted by repeated delays and cost overruns. The section is known as the cross-harbour extension of the East Rail line from Hung Hom station to Admiralty station, via the new Exhibition Centre stop in Wan Chai.

The East Rail line is the fourth cross-harbour railway route directly connecting the northeastern New Territories, central Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Admiralty station is also now a mega interchange station for the East Rail line, Tsuen Wan line, Island line and South Island line.
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Travel times will also be shorter with the new extension. Using a new signalling system, the nine-car trains on the extended East Rail line will run at 2.7-minute intervals during peak hours.

Journeys between Tai Wai and Admiralty will take 17 minutes - this is 11 minutes faster than using indirect routes. A trip between Sheung Shui and Admiralty will take 40 minutes, 15 minutes less than the previous routing. A journey between Sha Tin and Causeway Bay will take 27 minutes compared with 36 minutes before.

Smart facilities called "Cross-Harbour Easy" are placed on Admiralty station's concourse and interchange platform. They will show real-time train-waiting images for passengers to choose time-saving routes.

To minimise overcrowding, a passenger information display system will show each train car's loading capacity, so commuters can choose ones with more space. It will be at every platform on the line and on the MTR mobile app.

Fares for existing East Rail line trips remain unchanged. But travelling between Hung Hom and Exhibition Centre will cost HK$10.10, similar to other cross-harbour railways.

Passengers can also enjoy interchange discounts of HK$2 per trip using Octopus cards at designated franchised bus routes at Exhibition Centre station.
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The opening of the remaining Hung Hom-Admiralty section of the long-overdue Sha Tin to Central link closes the final chapter of a saga plagued by shoddy work, repeated delays and cost overruns.

Early this month, Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said tests and trial runs on the cross-harbour section of the 17km link had been completed, ahead of the revised target date in June or July.

He pledged to draw a lesson from past blunders related to the project, saying improvements were under way.

"We have enhanced our scrutiny and supervision of the project and related procedures," he said.
Hot Topics: Why are green groups wary of MTR's Northern Link line?
Jacob Kam Chak-pui, CEO of railway operator the MTR Corporation, said commuters would be able to travel from the northeastern New Territories to the heart of Hong Kong Island without changing trains, which would "energise the century-old rail service [the East Rail line]" and "keep Hong Kong moving".

The corporation and its contractors were under investigation several times for their handling of the project, which was fraught with shoddy work and cover-ups. The government, as the project overseer, was also criticised for not detecting shortcomings quickly and taking firm action to ensure things were back on track.

The opening of the cross-harbour extension has been pushed back several times because of various issues, including shoddy work, rectification works at Hung Hom station, and vandalism of the connecting East Rail line by anti-government protesters during 2019's social unrest.

The link suffered cost overruns with a final price tag of HK$90.7 billion, HK$10 billion over the original budget.

Originally slated to open in December 2020, the date was pushed back to the fourth quarter of last year, and the target was changed again to the first quarter this year.

The MTR Corp announced last October that the project would be delayed for a third time until June or July this year because of setbacks caused by signalling glitches. The rail giant has since managed to reduce the delay.

The Tai Wai-Hung Hom section of the Sha Tin to Central link - part of what is now the Tuen Ma line - opened last June after repeated delays at Hung Hom station, where a whistle-blower revealed shoddy work.
Staff writers Question prompts: Learn Cantonese slang: How to ride Hong Kong's public transport like a pro Question prompts: Historian reveals the truth behind ghost stories on MTR's Island line
The East Rail line MTR extension will allow commuters to get from parts of the New Territories to Central faster, with savings along some routes, but bus operators are dreading their loss of business.

Raising the concerns of major bus and minibus operators, lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said KMB, Citybus and New World First Bus (NWFB) expected to lose an overall daily ridership of at least 100,000 when the new section opens.

"They will suffer an exodus of passengers. Just for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel routes at Hung Hom station, the bus operators told me, they will lose 30,000 passengers every day during peak hours," he said.

Tien, former chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), said bus operators had to explore new routes in new towns or housing estates without nearby rail stations, and had to ask the Transport Department to reduce some bus services to rein in costs.

Chau Kwok-keung, chairman of the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, said minibuses took a beating when the MTR's Tuen Ma line opened in June last year, with routes between Hung Hom and Mong Kok or Kowloon City hit hard.

The opening of the new cross-harbour rail line would hit them again, he said. The city has about 4,228 minibuses.
What to explore at the end of the MTR lines
Chau urged the Transport Department to take back 21 bus routes being run by the MTR Corporation, and hand them to minibuses to operate.

Quentin Cheng Hin-kei, spokesman of the commuter concern group Public Transport Research Team, said he was concerned about the healthy overall development of public transport. If people flocked to the MTR, he said, the rail system would be overloaded.

To anticipate changes in commuters' travelling patterns and demand, the Transport Department said it was cancelling cross-harbour bus route 301 from May 15, and would also consider scrapping special departure bus services at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in phases.
Staff writer Question prompts:

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Hot Topics: What to know about the new cross-harbour rail link

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Hot Topics takes an issue being discussed in the news and allows you to analyse different articles and viewpoints on the subject. Our questions encourage you to examine the topic in-depth - they can be used on your own or with a friend.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/pope-declares-10-new-saints-including-dutch-priest-killed

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Pope declares 10 new saints, including Dutch priest killed

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The canonisation was attended by more than 50,000 people in St Peter's Square. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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254 Omicron symptoms for the fully vaccinated

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254 Omicron symptoms for the fully vaccinated

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/nine-omicron-symptoms-affecting-fully-042302335.html

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China has put nearly 30 million people under strict lockdown measures as the country recorded a steep rise in new coronavirus infections, which have hit a two-year high.

The country has taken some of the most drastic measures since the start of the pandemic, even though its caseload is low compared with other major countries because it has tethered itself tightly to a "zero-Covid" strategy.

The latest increase is due to Omicron, reported to be the dominant variant.

First detected in Southern Africa and Hong Kong in November 2021, Omicron was soon confirmed as the dominant variant in the UK in December.

Here, we take a look at some of the most common symptoms with the new variant for the fully vaccinated, and two early warning signs you might have it.
Most common symptoms for the fully vaccinated
Researchers in Norway conducted a study interviewing 111 out of 117 guests from a party on 26 November 2021 where there was an Omicron outbreak. Of the group interviewed, 66 had definitive cases of Covid-19 and 15 had possible cases of the virus.

Of the 111 participants, 89 per cent had received two doses of an mRNA vaccine and none had received a booster shot.

According to the findings published in infectious disease and epidemiology journal, Eurosurveillance, there were eight key symptoms experienced by the group of fully vaccinated partygoers.

These were cough, runny nose, fatigue, sore throat, headache, muscle pain, fever and sneezing.

The study found that cough, runny nose and fatigue were among the most common symptoms in the vaccinated individuals while sneezing and fever were least common.

Public health experts also add nausea to this list of symptoms in vaccinated people who have contracted the Omicron variant.

Although the vaccine protects against the more serious risks of the virus, it is still possible to contract Covid even if you have both jabs and a booster shot.

The mild nature of the symptoms makes it hard for people to distinguish the virus from a common cold.

But, according to Professor Tim Spector, behind the ZOE Symptom Study App, around 50 per cent of "'new colds' currently are, in fact, Covid".
Two early warning signs you may have Omicron
Experts also suggest there are two distinct symptoms that could be a sign a positive test is around the corner: fatigue and dizziness/ fainting.

More than simply feeling tired, fatigue can translate to bodily pain by causing sore or weak muscles, headaches, and even blurry vision and loss of appetite.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, a private practitioner and chair of the South African Medical Association, told Good Morning Britain that fatigue was one of the main symptoms of Omicron when the variant broke out in South Africa.

In fact, 40 per cent of women reported they struggled with fatigue due to Covid compared to one-third of men, according to a poll by Web MD that asked users how often they had fatigue from 23 December to 4 January.

Dizziness/ fainting is the second sign that you may have Omicron. A new report from Germany has suggested that there is a link between fainting spells and Omicron after doctors in Berlin found that Covid was triggering recurrent fainting spells for a 35-year-old patient admitted to hospital.

German newspaper Ärztezeitung said that the doctors could see a "clear connection" between the infection and the fainting spells.

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Nine Omicron symptoms affecting fully vaccinated - and two early signs you might have it

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China has put nearly 30 million people under strict lockdown measures as the country recorded a steep rise in new coronavirus infections, which have hit a two-year high. The country has taken some of the most drastic measures since the start of the pandemic, even though its caseload is low compared with other major countries because it has tethered itself tightly to a "zero-Covid" strategy.

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https://thedirect.com/article/obi-wan-kenobi-disney-rating-low

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After a short break from live-action storytelling, Disney and Lucasfilm will take a blast to the past with the highly-anticipated May release of Obi-Wan Kenobi. This will be Ewan McGregor's first appearance as the grizzled Jedi since 2005's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, with his return bridging the gap between that prequel film and A New Hope.

Lucasfilm has utilized Disney+ to incredible results over the last couple of years, with Emmy-winning efforts on The Mandalorian and a widely-watched spin-off series in The Book of Boba Fett. Now, Obi-Wan Kenobi looks to take an even deeper trip down memory lane as it adds to Obi-Wan's journey while also mixing in new layers to the mythology that began 45 years ago.

With all 11 big-screen Star Wars outings having been rated PG or PG-13, which has continued into the Disney+ spin-offs as they earned ratings of TV-14 for The Mandalorian and TV-12 for The Book of Boba Fett. Now, ahead of Ewan McGregor's return to the galaxy far, far away, his show's rating has fans in a state of surprise.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's Rating on Disney+

Star Wars

Disney+ U.K. has listed the Obi-Wan Kenobi serieswith a TV age rating of 9+, which is notably lower than the live-action Star Wars Disney+ series that have come before it.

For reference, The Mandalorian was rated 14+ while The Book of Boba Fett was rated 12+. Obi-Wan Kenobi's rating is the same as Star Wars: Visions, although it's higher than both animated series in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch (6+).

Disney+

Why So Low for Obi-Wan Kenobi?

Disney fans have seen lower ratings than expected from recent releases across the company's landscape, most recently coming from Marvel Studios' upcoming Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. However, this certainly comes as more of a shock for Star Wars fans considering how much of McGregor's Obi-Wan has already come through on the big screen.

A 9+ rating would seemingly indicate that everything in Obi-Wan Kenobi is more than appropriate for any viewers over the age of nine years old, meaning there may not be as much violence or language as there is in other Star Wars properties. However, while this rating may seem low, there's a precedent set that indicates it could change as the season moves forward.

Marvel Studios' WandaVision saw its rating change from TV-12 to TV-14 after its first couple of episodes, which is what fans are hoping happens for Obi-Wan Kenob i. However, it turns out, this low rating only makes the series that much more intriguing to watch as McGregor brings the story back a few decades in time.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is set to begin streaming on Disney+ on May 27.

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obi-wan kenobi received the lowest viewer rating of any live-action star wars disney+ show to date.

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Disney+ Reveals Obi-Wan Kenobi's Rating and It's Lower Than Expected

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After a short break from live-action storytelling, Disney and Lucasfilm will take a blast to the past with the highly-anticipated May release of Obi-Wan Kenobi . This will be Ewan McGregor's first appearance as the grizzled Jedi since 2005's Episode III: Revenge of the Sith , with his return bridging the gap between that prequel film and A New Hope.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/lifestyle/article/3175974/contrary-popular-belief-dogs-breed-wont-predict-behaviour

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But a genetic study published in the journal "Science" on Thursday involving more than 2,000 dogs paired with 200,000 survey answers from owners shows that these widespread assumptions are largely unfounded.

Many behavioural traits can be inherited, but the modern concept of breed offers only partial predictive value for most types of behaviour, and almost none whatsoever for how affectionate a dog will be, or conversely, how quick to anger.
How to tell what your dog is thinking
"While genetics plays a role in the personality of any individual dog, their specific breed is not a good predictor of those traits," said senior author Elinor Karlsson, of UMass Chan and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

"What we found is that the defining criteria of a golden retriever are its physical characteristics - the shape of its ears, the colour and quality of its fur, its size - not whether it is friendly," she added.

Lead author Kathleen Morrill explained that understanding the relationship between breeds and behaviour could be the first step in understanding the genes responsible for psychiatric conditions in humans, like obsessive disorders.

"Although we can't really ask a dog themselves about their problems or thoughts or anxieties, we do know that dogs lead rich emotional lives and experience disorders that manifest in their behaviour," she said on a press call.

The team sequenced the DNA of 2,155 purebred and mixed-breed dogs to search for common genetic variations that could predict behaviour, and combined this information with surveys from 18,385 pet-owner surveys from Darwin's Ark.

The site is an open-source database of owner-reported canine traits and behaviours.
Pet influencers are on the rise in Singapore
Because existing stereotypes are so powerful, the team designed their questionnaires to account for owner bias.

They established standard definitions for reporting traits such as biddability (dog response to human direction), dog-human sociability (how comfortable dogs are with people, including strangers), and toy-directed motor patterns (how interested they are in toys).

Physical and aesthetic traits were also surveyed.
Why older pets deserve a second chance at life
In all, Karlsson and Morrill found 11 locations on the dog genome associated with behaviour differences, including biddability, retrieving, pointing at a target and howling.

Among these behaviours, breed did play some role - for example, beagles and bloodhounds tend to howl more, border collies are biddable, and Shiba Inus are far less so.

However, there were always exceptions to the rule.

For example, even though Labs had the lowest propensity for howling, eight per cent still did. While 90 per cent of greyhounds didn't bury their toys, three per cent did frequently.

"When we looked at this factor that we called agonistic threshold, which included a lot of questions about whether people's dogs reacted aggressively to things, we weren't seeing an effect of breed ancestry," Karlsson added.

Overall, breed explained just nine per cent of variation in behaviour, with age a better predictor of some traits, like toy play. Physical traits, however, were five times more likely to be predicted by breed than behaviour was.

The idea runs counter to widespread assumptions that have informed legislation. For example, Britain has banned pit bull terriers, as have many US cities.

Before the 1800s, dogs were primarily selected for functional roles such as hunting, guarding and herding, the team said in their paper.
What you should know before getting a dog in Hong Kong
"By contrast, the modern dog breed, emphasising confirmation to physical ideals and purity of lineage, is a Victorian invention," they wrote.

Modern breeds carry genetic variations of their ancient predecessors, but not at the same frequencies - explaining the behaviour divergence within breeds.

The next steps, said Morill, would be digging more into compulsive behaviours in dogs, and connections to human obsessive-compulsive disorder.

One intriguing finding was that dog sociability toward humans was "incredibly heritable in dogs," even though it wasn't breed dependent.

The team found a location in dog DNA that could explain four per cent of the sociability differences between individuals - and that location corresponds to an area of the human genome responsible for long term memory formation.

"It could be that understanding human sociability in dogs helps us understand how brains develop and learn. So we're kind of just scratching the surface," said Morill.

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Contrary to popular belief, a dog's breed won't predict behaviour

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But a genetic study published in the journal "Science" on Thursday involving more than 2,000 dogs paired with 200,000 survey answers from owners shows that these widespread assumptions are largely unfounded.

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251 (videos+passage) New and upcoming movies

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251 (videos+passage) New and upcoming movies

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/entertainment/movies/article/3175497/5-movies-watch-cinemas-reopen-hong-kong-marvels

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5 movies to watch as cinemas reopen in Hong Kong

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Next month, catch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which the Marvel superhero must fix a problem he created in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/viral-clip-shows-man-apparently-204615790.html

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A now-viral video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist skier Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together in Beijing.

The 18-year-old athlete, who often jogs around the city's streets, was accompanied by her mother riding a bicycle at the time of the incident, which occurred on Chaoyang Road.

The man, who goes by Dong Bei Xing Ge on Douyin, received backlash on Chinese social media after the of his encounter with Gu became widely circulated online.

Social media users criticized the man and called him "rude" for not letting the athlete walk away after she took a photo with him.

The man uploaded a video to Douyin on Monday and explained that he just wanted to remind Gu "to be mindful of road safety." He also claimed that he asked Gu's mother for permission before he took the selfie.

"I am a loyal fan of Eileen Gu," the man said. "I didn't try to stop her from leaving. There happened to be a vehicle coming when she tried to cross the road. I asked her to be mindful of road safety. I definitely didn't intend to hold her back."

According to the man, he was excited after taking a selfie with the popular athlete. He then asked social media users to stop criticizing him about their interaction.

Gu, who won two gold medals and a silver medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, is now a beloved celebrity in China . She is affectionately known to her fans as the "Snow Princess" and reportedly lets them take photos with her in public often.

Featured Image via
Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark! Fencer Edgar Cheung becomes Hong Kong's first athlete to rank No. 1 in the world in men's foil China plans to conduct asteroid defense system test that can blow space rocks out of orbit by 2025 When and where to watch Team USA's Asian American athletes during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Jeremy Lin treats himself to pizza after recovering from COVID-19

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Viral clip shows man apparently stopping Olympian Eileen Gu from leaving after a selfie in Beijing

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A now-viral video shows a man seemingly trying to stop Olympic gold medalist skier Eileen Gu from leaving after they take a selfie together in Beijing. The 18-year-old athlete, who often jogs around the city's streets, was accompanied by her mother riding a bicycle at the time of the incident, which occurred on Chaoyang Road.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/ants-simple-way-to-deal-with-outbreaks-at-home/100956844

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If you've found ants in your home, trying to get rid of them can be a bit like whack-a-mole. You deal with one trail of ants, only to find others coming back for more.

There is a solution though, and it doesn't require copious amounts of bug spray.

"If I find them coming into my office, I look for the ant trails. When you find that trail, at least you know where they're coming from," says David Merritt, an associate professor and entomologist at the University of Queensland.

When you find the trails, Dr Merritt recommends using ant-repelling products with boric acid.

"It's a mixture of boron, or boric acid, with honey or other attractants," he explains.

"It's a dark-coloured, honey-smelling fluid that you put along the ant trails.

"They feed on it, then they take it back to the nest and because ants feed each other by regurgitating ... it can really knock a nest back."

These products are generally safe to use when following the instructions on the label. But keep in mind that boric acid is a poison - and can even be fatal if large amounts are consumed.

Dr Merritt says you only need to use a few drops at a time, but it's still important to avoid setting baits within reach of children or pets that can be attracted to the sweet smell.

Try an eco-friendly approach

If you have a minor ant problem, another approach is to spray peppermint oil or vinegar to disrupt the ants' pheromone trails.

"The ants have a pioneer that will go out and find something nice, and on the way back to the nest they'll dip their abdomen to the ground to release pheromones," Dr Merritt says.

"They signal to others in the nest that they've found something good and other ants will follow that trail.

"By following the trail, they're reinforcing it as well. They're quite clever."

You can even run your finger through the trail to disrupt it. But you may find these solutions are only a temporary fix.

"I don't think it will be effective in the long-term," Dr Merritt says.

"If they lose the trail, they immediately go into a search pattern, zigzagging or circling until they get back onto the part of the trail you haven't disrupted."

Why it's difficult to ant-proof your home

Ants are highly adept at finding cracks and crevices, so it's almost impossible to keep them out of your home, Dr Merritt says.

What you can do is limit their food sources, such as sugary foods. Ants also enjoy pet food, so it can help to put away your dog or cat's bowl after they eat.

"Food remnants and scraps should be cleared away. But even if you put them in a bin under the kitchen sink, there's a good chance [the ants] will find that anyway," Dr Merritt says.

"Even if [the bin] is well-sealed, it's amazing how ants can get into them."

Another issue is that ants may forage upwards after rain and flooding, which is why you might be experiencing more ants than usual lately.

"It might become a more pressing issue recently because of the rain," Dr Merritt says.

"They're normally ground-nesting [insects] but they'll forage upwards when the ground is saturated.

"A lot of ants are able to nest in buildings. They don't cause any major harm, but it's very difficult to ant-proof a building."

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Three ways to deal with an ant outbreak at home - ABC Everyday

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you've found ants in your home, trying to get rid of them can be a bit like whack-a-mole. You deal with one trail of ants, only to find others coming back for more. There is a solution though, and it doesn't require copious amounts of bug spray.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-to-lift-more-covid-19-curbs-eases-mask-mandate

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Malaysia to further ease Covid-19 rules from May 1

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Masks must continue to be worn indoors, including on public transport, but will be optional when outdoors. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/hong-kong/article/3175411/celebrate-birthday-hong-kong-idol-keung-fans-organise

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For Keung To’s birthday, fans sponsor Free Ride Day on Hong Kong trams

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This Saturday, everyone in the city can ride the city’s trams free of charge, thanks to Keung Show HK Fan Club.

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246 First human infection with a new type of bird flu in China

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246 First human infection with a new type of bird flu in China

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-reports-first-human-case-of-h3n8-bird-flu

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China reports first human case of H3N8 bird flu

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The H3N8 variant has previously been detected elsewhere in the world in animals, but no human cases have been reported. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/several-major-roads-submerged-by-flood-waters-in-kuala-lumpur

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Several major roads submerged by flood waters in Kuala Lumpur

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The roads were inundated after a downpour that started at around 3pm. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/worlds-oldest-person-dies-in-japan-at-119

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World's oldest person dies in Japan at 119

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Ms Kane Tanaka was in relatively good health until recently and lived in a nursing home. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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243 Green banana flour as the new superfood

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243 Green banana flour as the new superfood

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https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3174365/benefits-green-banana-flour-new-superfood-and-wheat-flour?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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The benefits of green banana flour, a new superfood great for gut health

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Gluten-free, nutrient-dense and loaded with resistant starch and prebiotic fibre, green banana flour is being used as a wheat flour substitute in everything from bread to pizza.

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242 If you have recovered from Covid, this is what you might want to know...

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242 If you have recovered from Covid, this is what you might want to know...

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3174914/recovered-covid-19-how-get-electronic-proof-and?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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How to prove recovery from Covid-19 and enter Hong Kong premises

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New QR code, valid for six months, will be seen as equal to one shot of a coronavirus vaccine for the pass scheme.

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/global/article/3174732/india-slams-who-over-report-claiming-4-million-coronavirus

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India slams WHO over report claiming 4 million coronavirus deaths

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Government figures put the country's Covid fatalities at 520,000, accounting for the third-largest toll after the US and Brazil, but a new report from the WHO estimates that the true rate may be eight times higher than the official count.

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240 More flights are allowed into Hong Kong

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240 More flights are allowed into Hong Kong

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3175098/coronavirus-hong-kong-government-set-scale-back-flight?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

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Hong Kong government set to scale back flight suspension threshold

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Hong Kong government considers risks 'still manageable' and an announcement can be expected 'very soon'.

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239 The relaxing of social distancing measures in Hong Kong

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239 The relaxing of social distancing measures in Hong Kong

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3174461/can-we-go-out-now-what-you-can-and-cant-do-when?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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What you can do when Hong Kong relaxes social-distancing curbs on April 21

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Hong Kong will relax social-distancing measures for select businesses, with gyms, beauty salons, cinemas and places of worship among premises set to reopen.

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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/20/russia-ukraine-war-what-we-know-on-day-56-of-the-invasion

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Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 56 of the invasion

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Zelenskiy says Russia blocking humanitarian corridors in besieged city of Mariupol as fighting intensifies in the Donbas region

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237 Proposed doubling the plastic levy in Hong Kong

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237 Proposed doubling the plastic levy in Hong Kong

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https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/189308/Environment-bureau-proposed-doubling-the-plastic-bag-levy

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File photo.

The Environment Bureau proposed raising the plastic bag levy from the current $0.5 to $1 and expected the bill will be tabled to the Legislative Council as soon as the second quarter this year.

According to documents submitted to the Council on Tuesday, the bureau also suggested canceling the levy exemption for frozen food items.

On the other hand, the exemption for take-away food will remain but it will be limited to one plastic bag for each order.

Government first imposed plastic bag levy in 2015 and the disposal quantity of plastic bags dropped by 25 percent in the first year. Yet, the numbers rose gradually in the next few years.

The Standard Channel

The bureau also planned to impose the waste charging scheme in the second half of next year and the designated garbage bag under the program will cost about HK$0.1 per liter. The daily expenditure for a family of three would be around HK$1 to HK$2.

The bureau suggests providing the designated garbage bags to about 2.9 million households for free when the scheme comes into effect at the first stage.

It proposed a sales network for the designated garbage bags, covering over 2,900 supermarkets, convenience stores, drug store, postal offices and online shops. So far some 30 chain retail stores and 100 small-medium drug stores have expressed interest in selling the designated garbage bags.

Setting up automatic vending machine at public transport interchange or pier that connect remote and rural areas, and develop an app and a smart inventory management system for citizens to place orders for the garbage bags are being considered.

The Waste Disposal (Charging for Municipal Solid Waste) (Amendment) Bill 2018 was passed by the council in August last year. There will be an 18-month preparation period before the waste charging scheme comes into effect and a six-month adaptation period afterwards.

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Environment bureau proposed doubling the plastic bag levy

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The Environment Bureau proposed raising the plastic bag levy from the current $0.5 to $1 and expected the bill will be tabled to the Legislative Council as soon as the second quarter this year.

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236 How A&F was a big part of the white culture

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236 How A&F was a big part of the white culture

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/white-hot-rise-fall-abercrombie-192403151.html

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‘White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch’ Review: How Youth Fashion Turned Fascist

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Fashion, of course, is rarely just fashion — it tells a story about whoever’s wearing it. And in the ’90s and 2000s, the preppy youthquake mall-fashion outlet Abercrombie & Fitch told a very big story. It was a story of where America — or, at least, a powerful slice of the millennial demo — was […]

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/bts-release-next-studio-album-155236528.html

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic BTS

BTS fans, rejoice!

The Korean boy band is officially set to release their next studio album later this year on June 10, their entertainment company, Big Hit Music, announced on Sunday.

"Hello. This is Big Hit Music. BTS will be back with another new album on June 10, 2022. Details on the new album will be provided in a separate notice at a later date," read a statement posted to the fan community Weverse.

RELATED: BTS' RM Teases Plans for a 'New and Unexpected' Collaborative Solo Project: 'I'm Getting Ready'

"We look forward to your love and support for BTS's new album. Thank you," the company added.

BTS' forthcoming album was first teased during the final evening of the group's four-night Las Vegas residency.

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty BTS

There, the date "2022.06.10" - June 10 - appeared onscreen at the end of the show, alongside the tagline: "We are bulletproof."

Following the concert event, BTS posted the video from the show on their official Twitter page.

In the clip, various black-and-white scenes of the popular group appear, before they announce "We are bulletproof" in unison.
Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday. RELATED VIDEO: BTS Teases a "Never-Before-Seen" Performance During The Grammys: "It's Going to Be Epic"
BTS is composed of seven members in total - V, RM, Jungkook, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, and Jimin. The group first debuted in 2013 and is beloved by its loyal legion of fans, known collectively as the Army.

The group's new album will be the first to follow their LP Be, which was released in November 2020. They previously released a compilation album, BTS, the Best, in June 2021 and an EP, Butter (Hotter, Sweeter, Cooler), that same month.

Other past albums include 2016's Wings, 2018's Love Yourself: Tear, and 2020's Map of the Soul: 7.

The boy band most recently performed at the 2022 Grammy Awards, where they sang their popular track "Butter." BTS was up for the best pop duo/group performance award during the ceremony.

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BTS to Release Next Studio Album in June: 'We Are Bulletproof'

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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic BTS BTS fans, rejoice! The Korean boy band is officially set to release their next studio album later this year on June 10, their entertainment company, Big Hit Music, announced on Sunday. "Hello. This is Big Hit Music. BTS will be back with another new album on June 10, 2022.

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234 Lessons are to resume after the Easter holidays

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234 Lessons are to resume after the Easter holidays

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https://www.scmp.com/yp/discover/news/hong-kong/article/3173971/explainer-how-will-hong-kongs-person-class-resumptions

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In-person lessons in Hong Kong, which have been suspended for nearly three months during the fifth wave of coronavirus, will resume after the Easter holiday.

New rules have been imposed for the gradual resumption of in-person classes, including a requirement that all students and teachers take daily rapid antigen tests (RAT). Only half-day lessons will be allowed unless 90 per cent of a school's student population or individual class is fully inoculated - meaning they have at least two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Here are a few details about the arrangements.
Here's the announcement about students heading back to campus
Dates will vary according to different school grades. Online learning will take place if in-person classes have not restarted.

Face-to-face classes in primary schools are expected to resume on April 19 at the earliest and May 3 at the latest.

Secondary schools, meanwhile, will begin resuming face-to-face classes on May 3, after the core subject assessments in the Diploma of Secondary Education exams, with all grades expected to be back by May 10.

One-third of kindergarten students will be allowed back to class on May 3, another one-third will return on May 10 and the last batch will go back to school on May 16.

School and kindergarten operators may decide the resumption order of the various grades.

While secondary schools can resume full-day classes if 90 per cent of their students are fully vaccinated, a circular from the Education Bureau on Monday said primary schools and kindergartens would not have full-day face-to-face lessons for now due to students' low inoculation rates and their weaker self-care abilities.
Covid has made our plastic pollution problem worse
According to government data, 97 per cent of 12- to 19-year-olds have had at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 79 per cent have had two. However, only 63 per cent of three- to 11-year-olds have received their first jab and 30 per cent their second.

Many primary school and kindergarten principals said they did not expect full-day in-person classes to resume before August.

The bureau said international or private schools offering non-local curriculum, with bigger campuses and different teaching schedules, would have the flexibility to arrange full-day classes if they can fulfil the requirements.

All students who test negative are allowed to attend half-day in-person classes, but are required to wear masks on campus, even during physical education lessons.

Only fully vaccinated students can take part in non-academic activities, such as sports and music programmes after school, and practise wind instruments without masks.

School principals said they believed that being able to join these activities was an incentive for students to get vaccinated.

But unmasked activities will be banned at kindergartens due to the students' weaker self-care abilities, and after-school extracurriculars would not be advised unless students were in need of day care services, the Bureau said.

Students and teachers are required to conduct rapid tests every day and only those with negative results are allowed on campus.

Those who test positive must immediately report their results to the Centre for Health Protection and their schools, which will be asked to submit the records to a new platform every morning. Some school heads have expressed concern that this would add to their administrative workload.

Previously, class would be suspended if there was a confirmed Covid case. But under the new rules, the threshold will be relaxed and classes will not be suspended until after health authorities have completed an investigation.
Hongkongers are tired of Covid restrictions
Director of Health Ronald Lam Man-kin said authorities would launch an investigation if 5 per cent or more of students and staff from a particular school tested positive, if 10 per cent or more of the same class had been confirmed infected, or if a patient died or was admitted to intensive care.

He said the 5 per cent line was drawn after considering the 20 per cent threshold for the flu, the fact that the Omicron variant was more transmissible, and that about 4.2 per cent of children aged nine or below had already contracted the virus.

Vu Im-fan, a principal and chairwoman of the Subsidised Primary Schools Council, said RAT could be done once or twice a week if there were just a few confirmed or severe cases found in schools in the future.
How you can help others during the pandemic
Vu said it would be hard to verify every result and they could only trust students and parents. She suggested asking them to note down and sign their testing records in a book.

"A signature means you have a responsibility to ensure it is correct," she said, adding that spot checks could be conducted at schools or get students who looked unwell to undergo testing.

Nancy Lam Chui-ling, a kindergarten principal and vice-chairwoman of the Federation of Education Workers, suggested schools require students to hand in their test results.

The bureau's circular on Monday said schools could conduct spot checks on students.

The government said it would hand out 10 million RAT kits to schools for free, and about 300,000 students in need would get them for free in the coming month.

Vu said she was confident there would be enough test kits, as schools would also buy them or receive donated kits from other organisations.

Lam said the requirement could become a headache for teachers and parents, as some children do not like to having their noses swabbed.

She called on the government to let children undergo RAT the night before so that parents would have enough time to help with the test.

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Explainer: What you need to know about heading back to school

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In-person lessons in Hong Kong, which have been suspended for nearly three months during the fifth wave of coronavirus, will resume after the Easter holiday. New rules have been imposed for the gradual resumption of in-person classes, including a requirement that all students and teachers take daily rapid antigen tests (RAT).

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https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/189126/TVB-stirs-controversy-with-Filipina-portrayed-by-actress-in-%22brownface%E2%80%9D

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Actress Franchesca Wong, who plays a Filipina domestic worker, appears in "Barrack O'Karma 2" with visibly darker skin. (Franchesca Wong via Instagram)

A Hong Kong television show has ignited anger over a Filipina character played by a local actress who darkened her skin, in the latest incident of "brownface" in Asia.

Broadcaster TVB cast Canadian-Hong Konger Franchesca Wong to play a Filipina domestic worker for its series "Barrack O'Karma 2".

Ms Wong appears in the show with visibly darker skin and a clip posted by a colleague on Instagram showed her applying make-up to her legs.

"I am transforming into another person," Ms Wong said in the video, affecting a Filipino accent.

The Standard Channel

"I am sun-tanning right now," she added.

Local media reviews this week of Ms Wong's portrayal have been largely favorable and skipped discussion of race.

But the decision to darken her skin - and the casting choice itself - have sparked criticism, particularly among the city's Filipino population.

"I don't think it's appropriate that she had to darken her skin for the role," Ms Sabrina Man, a Chinese-Filipino former actress working in Hong Kong as a model, told AFP.

"Domestic workers have done so much for Hong Kong, and I think it's disrespectful to them and to Filipinos in general to do this," she added.

"It wouldn't have been difficult to look for someone with Filipino heritage to play the role," she said.

Ms Jianne Soriano, a Hong Kong-born Filipina writer, agreed that there were plenty of Filipino actresses in the city who could have played the role.

"How could anyone say okay to brownface and think that a non-Filipino portraying a domestic helper is okay?" she wrote on Twitter. "We can very much tell our story with our own faces."

There are about 340,000 foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong, mostly women from the Philippines and Indonesia.

Paid a minimum of HK$4,630 (SUS$806) a month, they work six days a week and must live with their employers, in a city that offers some of the world's smallest apartments.

Ms Eni Lestari, a domestic worker and chairperson of the International Migrants Alliance, described the TV show's choices as "an insult" to domestic workers who already often face discrimination.

"Culture is an expression of inequalities in the economic and political life of the community," she added.

Neither TVB nor Ms Wong replied to requests for comment on Wednesday (April 13).

"Brownface" or "blackface" are terms referring to the practice of darkening an actor's skin to portray a person of a different race.

The practice has become taboo in North America and much of Europe where there has been a concerted push for more diverse casting and representation in the entertainment industry.

But brownface controversies continue to crop up in Asia, including in television shows and advertisements.

Last year a Malaysian pop star apologized for using a darkened woman in a music video that promoted a skin-whitening product.

Singapore's state-owned broadcaster apologized in 2019 for an advert featuring an actor of Chinese origin with his skin darkened.

(AFP)

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TVB stirs controversy with Filipina portrayed by actress in "brownface”

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A Hong Kong television show has ignited anger over a Filipina character played by a local actress who darkened her skin, in the latest incident of "brownface" in Asia. Broadcaster TVB cast Canadian-Hong Konger Franchesca Wong to play a Filipina domestic worker for its series "Barrack O'Karma 2".

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-13/koala-sperm-biobank-tool-against-species-extinction/100984344

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A biobank of koala sperm could future-proof the species against extinction and make breeding programs cheaper and more successful, according to new research from the University of Newcastle.

A biobank could significantly reduce the cost of breeding programs

An investment in the program would help overcome the loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding

Port Stephens Koala Hospital is calling for the state government to back its proposal

Koalas were this year listed as endangered across most of Australia's east coast and are predicted to face extinction by 2050.

While there has been some research conducted on assisted koala breeding, to date there has been no dedicated investment towards developing the large-scale collection and storage of koala reproductive material.

"We have no insurance policy against natural disasters like the 2019-20 bushfires that threaten to wipe out large numbers of animals at the one time," conservation scientist Ryan Witt said.

"If the koala population dies in these kind of fire events, there is no way to bring them back or preserve their genetics."

Dr Witt co-authored the research, which was published today in the international journal Animals.

Assisted reproductive techniques have been used for decades to treat human fertility and breed animals for agriculture, but its use for wildlife conservation has lagged behind.

Dr Witt said their modelling demonstrated that techniques such as artificial insemination in koala breeding programs could deliver a 5 to 12-fold reduction in costs.

Dr Ryan Witt and Dr Lachlan Howell from the University of Newcastle.(Supplied: The University of Newcastle )

"Captive breeding programs require larger koala colony sizes to prevent inbreeding, but by integrating assisted reproduction we can reduce the number of koalas needing to be in captivity, lower costs, and improve genetic diversity," Dr Witt said.

"This would free up valuable conservation funding to support a greater number of species, or to support other koala conservation efforts such as habitat restoration."

Scientists have successfully used fresh and chilled sperm to breed koalas, but there remains a knowledge-gap in developing the technique and technology for using frozen sperm.

Lead author Lachlan Howell said it should not stop the collection of koala sperm now.

"We would get started as soon as we could with the banking down of reproductive material and that buys you time to invest in the research and develop the tools," Dr Howell said.

"Time is of the essence."

A funding proposal for a biobanking project has been put forward to the NSW government.(Supplied: WWF )

Port Stephens Koala Hospital president Ron Land said the hospital, in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and Taronga Conservation Society, put forward a detailed biobanking proposal to the state government two months ago but had had no response.

"We're able to start the project immediately, if we got the funding to do so," he said.

"We're bemused that the government is making these statements about how it wants to double the number of koalas in NSW by 2050, yet the silence is deafening in regards to the funding.

"Unless this type of technology is proven and deployed, they haven't got a chance in hell of doubling the amount of koalas in 30 years."

Newcastle newsletter: Local news in your inbox

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Why collecting koala sperm could be the answer to saving the species

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A biobank of koala sperm could future-proof the species against extinction and make breeding programs cheaper and more successful, according to new research from the University of Newcastle.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/girl-salmonella-poisoning-kinder-surprise-egg-072854912.html

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Girl, three, ‘dead behind the eyes’ after ‘salmonella poisoning from Kinder Surprise egg’

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Charlotte Wingfield claimed in a Facebook post that her daughter, Brooklyn-Mai, contracted salmonella from eating the product.

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230 Shanghai is about to leave lockdown in some areas

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230 Shanghai is about to leave lockdown in some areas

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/shanghai-to-lift-lockdown-in-some-areas-despite-rise-in-covid-19-infections

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Shanghai to lift lockdown in some areas despite rise in Covid-19 infections

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Changes will start on Monday after more than two weeks of strict movement curbs.
. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-12/animals-work-together-to-get-ahead-something-humans-can-learn/100957620

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Humans could learn a lot from observing animal behaviour.

Like us, animals are capable of problem solving, empathising and communicating, according to Dr Ashley Ward.

And they have much to teach us about living together harmoniously.

Dr Ward is a professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on the behaviour of fish, birds, krill and other mammals.

It's been his lifelong passion, he tells ABC RN's Late Night Live.

"When I was a child, I would be looking under logs, stones and in streams and ponds just to find any kind of animal to peer at. And that eventually, of course, became my career," he says.

It has taken him all around the world. One highlight was a trip to the Azores, a group of islands in the North Atlantic, where he observed and swam with the world's largest predator - sperm whales.

"This group of five sperm whales turned up, it was absolutely incredible. A large matriarch with potentially her daughter and ... also her grandchildren," he recalls.

"They started frolicking around us and it was absolutely spellbinding."

There was also a dolphin with the pod of whales.

"These species occupy very different ecologies, they have different foods ... [and] this particular dolphin had scoliosis, had a severely bent spine, and yet it was interacting very freely with the group of sperm whales," he says.

Working smarter

While some animals are instinctively social creatures, staying with the herd is usually important for survival in the animal kingdom.

"If you were to go your own way every time danger threatened, then the only certain thing is that you would get eaten," Dr Ward says.

"By using the wisdom of the crowd, the collective intelligence of the group, that's an excellent way to actually solve the big problems in life."

He points to birds as good example of social cohesion among animals.

For instance, Harris's hawks look across the landscape for their next meal by standing on each other's backs. The topmost bird can gain a better view of their surroundings to scout for preyand then they hunt together in groups.

And the V formation some birds create during flight helps them all to conserve energy, in the same way that cyclists draft behind one another on the road.

"Some birds will take that position for a period, and then they'll swap out. But it's not in any way enforced, they simply seem to opt to take that position, and then others replace them when they become tired," he says.

"By doing this, they don't save a huge amount of energy between [them] - five and 10 per cent of the energy perhaps they save [flying in a V formation] - but on a long migration, that can mean the difference between life and death."

Other ways in which animals interact can provide inspiration for humans.

For example, when car manufacturer Nissan was working on their first generation of self-driving cars, developers turned to shoals of fish to try and replicate their collision avoidance techniques, he says.

"The animals are simply following a few basic rules ... if you're too close to your near neighbour, move apart; if you're too far away from your near neighbour, move together. And if you're the perfect sort of Goldilocks distance apart, then copy what [your neighbour is] doing," he says.

He says Nissan realised that evolution had given these animals the perfect system for traffic.

"And so robotic cars, if they adopt these rules, can effectively move in the kind of perfection animals do, if done correctly," he says.

Observing empathy

Some animals, including elephants, appear to mourn death.

Dr Ward remembers a story he heard from a ranger inKenya's Masai Mara National Park about an elderly matriarch elephant making her way across the plains flanked by two members of her herd.

It was clear to the ranger, as well as the other elephants, that she was approaching her last days.

And when she died one evening, the elephants accompanying her, stayed with her body and covered it with branches.

"A few days later, the whole herd returned ... and appeared to undertake some kind of solemn animal ceremony," he says,

"It's difficult to ascribe emotions to animals - we don't know what they're thinking - but there seems to be [a] sense in which they understand death and mourn."

Another creature that has scientists debating its capability to show empathy is the rat.

Often rats are used as a byword for cunning and for dirtiness, but that reputation may not be deserved.

A study published in 2015 studied two cages with rats that were positioned side-by-side.

"One [cage] has a rat, which is delightfully happy, where it's warm and it's dry, and it's got everything that a rat could possibly require," he explains.

In the next cage, the rat is wet, cold and doesn't have anything.

More stories from Late Night Live:

There's an adjoining door between the cages, so the rat in the dry cage is able to open the door and offer his mate a safe haven.

"[That rat] can just sit there enjoying itself in its luxury cage and ignore the other, or it can open the other door," he says.

In almost every experiment, the rat in the dry side of the cage opened the door and let the wet rat in, he says.

The researchers of the study suggest that this was an example of empathy.

"There were some opponents of this who said, quite correctly, we don't know what the rat was thinking. We don't know whether it's empathy," he says.

But Dr Ward would like to think it is.

"Although the debate goes on, I think one of the things that really convinced me was the fact that when the rat in the dry cage had previously had its own experience of being in that wet cage, after undergoing that deprivation, it was much quicker and much more likely to open the cage door to the wet rat," he says.

It seemed to empathise, he says, even though often we can only ever speculate about an animal's motivation to do anything.

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Are rats capable of showing empathy? This animal behaviourist thinks so - and that they could teach humans a thing or two

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Humans could learn a lot from observing animal behaviour. Like us, animals are capable of problem solving, empathising and communicating, according to Dr Ashley Ward. And they have much to teach us about living together harmoniously. Dr Ward is a professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Sydney.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/what-happens-when-covid-19-becomes-endemic?utm_campaign=stfb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2aJZ2AtV0P1gspzHAfNmahRjJ0Uz8Odwl16qnOQZisfbwUlHNSHL2yz14

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What happens when Covid-19 becomes endemic?

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Endemic diseases can take many forms, and we do not know yet where Covid-19 will fall, say experts. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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227 Food storage amidst lockdown in Shanghai

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227 Food storage amidst lockdown in Shanghai

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-61019975

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Some residents under lockdown in Shanghai say they are running out of food, amid the city's biggest-ever Covid outbreak.

Residents are confined to their homes, banned from leaving for even essential reasons such as grocery shopping.

Nearly 20,000 cases were reported on Thursday in China's biggest city - another near-record high.

Officials have admitted the city is facing "difficulties" but say they are trying to improve this.

But public anger is also being stoked by other drastic measures - such as the removal of children from their parents if they test positive.

Shanghai officials later responded by allowing parents who were also infected to accompany their children to isolation centres.

However, according to a Reuters report, there are still complaints over children separated from parents who were not Covid-positive.

The city began another round of mandatory mass testing on Wednesday to identify and isolate every case.

Shanghai residents who test positive can't isolate in their homes even if their conditions are mild or asymptomatic.

They have to go to mandatory quarantine facilities, which critics say have become crowded and have sub-par conditions.

Why is there a food shortage?

When Omicron first emerged in Shanghai a month ago, the city quarantined only certain compounds. Then as the virus spread officials last week implemented a staggered lockdown where the city was split into two and each half had separate measures.

On Monday the lockdown was extended indefinitely to cover the entire city of 25 million people.

Strict rules mean most people have to order in food and water and wait for government drop-offs of vegetables, meat and eggs.

But the lockdown extension has overwhelmed delivery services, grocery shop websites and even the distribution of government supplies.

Many delivery personnel are also in locked-down areas, leading to an overall decrease in delivery capacity.

Locals in some areas of the city say they've been completely cut off.

"Please solve the problem of insufficient delivery capacity as soon as possible," one user wrote on social media site Weibo in response to city officials' video message.

Another person wrote that it was the "first time in my life that I have gone hungry".

Day 17 of my Shanghai Covid lockdown and food remains the priority

As usual, I woke up at 6am to try ordering deliveries

I have 10 apps that I cycle through repeatedly from various stores/platforms for several hours trying to find anything

No success by this method again today
- Jared T Nelson (@Jaredtnelson) April 4, 2022

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Residents have also raised other concerns about price gouging, and how elderly or less tech-savvy residents are surviving.

City officials acknowledged the food struggles on Wednesday, saying Shanghai had enough supplies of rice, noodles, grain, oil and meat but there were delays in distributing them.

"It is true there are some difficulties in ensuring the supply of daily necessities," said Liu Min, the deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce.

On Thursday, Shanghai's vice mayor added the city would try to re-open some wholesale markets and food stores, and allow more delivery personnel out of locked-down areas.

"We have been holding meetings overnight to try and figure out solutions," said Chen Tong.

China is one of the last remaining nations still committed to eradicating Covid, in contrast to most of the world which is trying to live with the virus in its Omicron variation.

The country has successfully enacted full lockdowns before - endured by millions of people in cities including Xi'an and Wuhan - but Shanghai is its biggest city and the case spread this time is much higher than previous outbreaks.

As one of the economic powerhouses of China, Shanghai's shutdown is also fuelling concerns about the impact to China and the world's economy.

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Shanghai: Residents 'running out of food' in Covid lockdown

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Some residents under lockdown in Shanghai say they are running out of food, amid the city's biggest-ever Covid outbreak. Residents are confined to their homes, banned from leaving for even essential reasons such as grocery shopping. Nearly 20,000 cases were reported on Thursday in China's biggest city - another near-record high.

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226 Latest spending voucher scheme in Hong Kong

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226 Latest spending voucher scheme in Hong Kong

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https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3173496/spending-spree-aims-bring-hong-kong-cheer-hardest-times

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Spending spree aims to bring Hong Kong cheer at the hardest of times

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Latest release of electronic consumption vouchers will be welcomed by people just wanting to shop and those who are struggling from the effects of the fifth wave of Covid-19.

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225 English idioms with the word 'word' 

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225 English idioms with the word 'word' 

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https://www.abc.net.au/education/learn-english/word-idioms-and-expressions-in-english/13047806

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Learning a new language involves learning new words but in English, there are many expressions with 'word' in them. Find out more in this lesson.

Don't breathe a word

If you said something to someone that's meant to be a secret, you might tell them to not breathe a word.

What I told you is confidential! Don't breathe a word. I'll get into trouble otherwise.

Word gets out/the word is out

When something's secret but the details are revealed by mistake, that's when you might say the word has gotten out or the word is out. That means the details of something that should have been a secret, has now been revealed.

Word gets out very quickly if you're not careful who you share confidential details with.

Even though the team kept the project codes to themselves, the word is out and everyone's talking about what the team has used.

To say a few words

At an event, when someone is asked to make a speech, you might say they have been asked to say a few words.

We had a surprise guest at our event so we invited her to say a few words.

Eat your words

If you have had to eat your words, that's not good. That means that you had said something before that wouldn't happen but now it has.

You're saying they won't finish in time but they're tracking really well so you might end up eating your own words!

Did not mince one's words

When someone is criticising someone else, you might say they did not mince their words if they were giving negative feedback or speaking the truth even though it might be hurtful.

He didn't mince his words when he provided his feedback to his students on their assignments.

Lost for words

However, when you're so impressed by what someone has done or said, you can say you're lost for words. No words can be used to describe how you feel.

His speech, where he thanked me, was so good. I was lost for words.

Put in a good word

You might put in a good word for someone if you know how good they are or if they have done a great job. This is often used when you're looking for a new job.

I really want that new gig that's currently advertised. If you could put in a good word for me, that would help my application.

Have a word with/Have a quick word with...

If someone wants to talk to you, usually privately, they might ask if they could have a word with you. It can also be a quick thing so they might say: can I have a quick word with you.

Can I have a word with you about what you've planned for the lesson?

She said she wanted to have a quick word with you so I gave her your number.

You have given me your word

If you have given someone your word, it means you have promised them.

I have given you my word. I will create the file for you before the meeting.

Word on the street is/Word has it that...

Word on the street or word has it is used when information is just hearsay, it is not confirmed.

Word on the street is that you have quit your job. Is that true?

Word has it that you're not coming to the opening. Can you confirm that?

Actions speak louder than words

This is used to say that what one does is more important than what one says. It shows one's intentions more clearly.

Actions speak louder than words, so why do job interviews rely so much on words?

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Learning a new language involves learning new words but in English, there are many expressions with 'word' in them. Find out more in this lesson. If you said something to someone that's meant to be a secret, you might tell them to not breathe a word. What I told you is confidential!

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224 (video+transcript) Learning a new language

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224 (video+transcript) Learning a new language

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https://www.abc.net.au/education/learn-english/learning-a-new-language-how-that-is-good-for-you/13206836

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Learning a new language can be challenging, scary and even messy. ELT consultant Antonia Clare explains why this is good for learners.

Think about the following questions before and after you watch the video above. Discuss your answers with a partner.

Before you view:

Think about a time when you found language learning challenging. Why?

How did you overcome the challenges you faced with language learning?

Why do you think it is important to have fun with words in a language?

After your view:

How is a language modified between different groups? Can you think of some examples?

Why do you think it is important to play with language?

Sometimes there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to language learning. Why is this so?

Transcript:

So I think one of the things that that's really interesting that I find interesting is how language changes and it changes within groups. So you notice it particularly with teenagers. I've got teenagers in the house. So that's something that I pick up on and the teenagers will change the meaning of a word that I will recognise. You know, so they'll say that something is sick and I think, "Oh, you know, that must be awful, you know, terrible." But actually no for the teenagers sick is a really good thing. So, so teenagers, you know, to form their, their social group, their gang, they will deliberately change language and they'll make it their own and they will use it within their group and they actually don't really want other people to understand it. So I think that's, that's a really interesting area where, where you see a lot of language change. You obviously get it you know, with the number of different speakers that we have around the world and different groups will use language in a different way. So to me, it's a really, it's a really interesting area. There's a so it's very interesting language obviously is, is always evolving. But to me, this idea that we play with language deliberately, you know, in order to consolidate our relationships. I think that's a really kind of interesting area to work with. And it's a good quality that we can work with our students on that, you know, being playful with language and allowing them to, to have the freedom to play with it a little bit as well. This is good for their confidence. I think I think one of our jobs as as teachers or something that I believe in very passionately is that we need to be authentic. So there's a, there's a tendency, I think, within, within education to simplify things for learners and to make it all very clear cut so that you know, that we have clear rules for the grammar and there's an answer, and this is right, and this is wrong and learners like that kind of security. And so, and I think as teachers, we often like that security as well. You know, we have a rule, we can teach it, we can mark the work. But real language is much messier than that. You know, the, the boundaries are not always so clear cut. So for me, one of the jobs as a teacher is to try and gradually get your learners used to that idea, you know, get them used to tolerating ambiguity and, and being aware that there isn't always, you know, a clear right or wrong answer, there are lots of exceptions to the rules and that they should just be okay with that. It doesn't, you know, it doesn't matter all the time and you can make little mistakes, but so long as it's not really interfering with the communication too much, then, then, you know, then we don't have to worry about it. So I think that's important for, for both teachers and learners to sort of get used to that idea that, that we can't control everything. It's a bit unrealistic language in the real world. Just doesn't work like that.
For daily English language lessons and tips, like our Learn English Facebook page or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Why learning a new language is messy and how that's good for you - ABC Education

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Learning a new language can be challenging, scary and even messy. ELT consultant Antonia Clare explains why this is good for learners.

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https://myelearningworld.com/pros-and-cons-of-online-learning/

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The Pros and Cons of Online Learning: 10 Advantages & Disadvantages

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Understanding the pros and cons of online learning can help both educators and students alike improve and get more from eLearning.

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https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/232698/omicron-largely-evades-immunity-from-past/

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The Omicron variant largely evades immunity from past infection or two vaccine doses according to the latest Imperial modelling.

The new report (Report 49) from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant. This implies that the protection against reinfection by Omicron afforded by past infection may be as low as 19%.

Researchers estimate the growth and immune escape of the Omicron variant in England. They used data from the UKHSA and NHS for all PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 cases in England who had taken a COVID test between November 29th and December 11th 2021.

This level of immune evasion means that Omicron poses a major, imminent threat to public health. Prof Neil Ferguson

The study includes people identified as having Omicron infection due to an S gene target failure (SGTF), as well as people with genotype data that confirmed Omicron infection. Overall, 196,463 people without S gene target failure (likely to be infected with another variant) and 11,329 cases with it (likely to be infected with Omicron) were included in the SGTF analysis, as well as 122,063 Delta and 1,846 Omicron cases in the genotype analysis.

Growth of Omicron

Firstly, the report looks at factors associated with testing positive for Omicron compared to non-Omicron (mostly Delta) cases. The results suggest that the proportion of Omicron among all COVID cases was doubling every 2 days up to December 11th, estimated from both S-gene Target Failure and genotype data. Based on these results they estimate that the reproduction number (R) of Omicron was above 3 over the period studied.

The distribution of Omicron by age, region and ethnicity currently differs markedly from Delta, with 18-29-year-olds, residents in the London region, and those of African ethnicity having significantly higher rates of infection with Omicron relative to Delta. London is substantially ahead of other English regions in Omicron frequency.

Omicron transmission is not yet uniformly distributed across the population. However, the researchers note that given its immune evasion, the age distribution of Omicron infection in the coming weeks may continue to differ from that of Delta.

The study finds no evidence of Omicron having lower severity than Delta, judged by either the proportion of people testing positive who report symptoms, or by the proportion of cases seeking hospital care after infection. However, hospitalisation data remains very limited at this time.

Reinfection rates

To assess the impact of Omicron on reinfection rates the researchers used genotype data, since even prior to Omicron, reinfection was correlated with negative S gene Target Failure data, likely due to random PCR target failure caused by the lower viral loads associated with reinfections.

Controlling for vaccine status, age, sex, ethnicity, asymptomatic status, region and specimen date, Omicron was associated with a 5.40 (95% CI: 4.38-6.63) fold higher risk of reinfection compared with Delta. To put this into context, in the pre-Omicron era, the UK "SIREN" study of COVID infection in healthcare workers estimated that prior infection afforded 85% protection against a second COVID infection over 6 months. The reinfection risk estimated in the current study suggests this protection has fallen to 19% (95%CI: 0-27%) against an Omicron infection.

Vaccine effectiveness against Omicron

The researchers found a significantly increased risk of developing a symptomatic Omicron case compared to Delta for those who were two or more weeks past their second vaccine dose, and two or more weeks past their booster dose (for AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines).

Depending on the estimates used for vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection from the Delta variant, this translates into vaccine effectiveness estimates against symptomatic Omicron infection of between 0% and 20% after two doses, and between 55% and 80% after a booster dose. Similar estimates were obtained using genotype data, albeit with greater uncertainty.

Prof Neil Ferguson from Imperial College London said: "This study provides further evidence of the very substantial extent to which Omicron can evade prior immunity given by both infection or vaccination. This level of immune evasion means that Omicron poses a major, imminent threat to public health."

Prof Azra Ghani from Imperial College London said: "Quantifying reinfection risk and vaccine effectiveness against Omicron is essential for modelling the likely future trajectory of the Omicron wave and the potential impact of vaccination and other public health interventions."
The work, which is not yet peer-reviewed, is presented in the latest report from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Modelling within the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Jameel Institute, Imperial College London. Since the emergence of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) in December 2019, the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team has adopted a policy of immediately sharing research findings on the developing pandemic. Read the full report 'Report 49 - Growth, population distribution and immune escape of Omicron in England'

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Omicron largely evades immunity from past infection or two vaccine doses | Imperial News | Imperial College London

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The Omicron variant largely evades immunity from past infection or two vaccine doses according to the latest Imperial modelling. The new report (Report 49) from the Imperial College London COVID-19 response team estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant.

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221 Protesting against death penalty in Singapore

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221 Protesting against death penalty in Singapore

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/singaporeans-protest-death-penalty-rare-111826385.html

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Hundreds of protesters in tightly controlled Singapore staged a rare demonstration against the death penalty Sunday as fears grow the city-state is set to carry out a wave of hangings.

Authorities last week conducted the country's first execution since 2019 when they hanged a drug trafficker. Several other death row convicts recently had appeals rejected.

Organisers said about 400 people joined the demonstration at "Speakers' Corner" in a downtown park, the only place in the city-state where protests are allowed without prior police approval.

They held signs reading "Capital punishment does not make us safer", and "Don't kill in our names", and chanted slogans against the death penalty.

"Capital Punishment is a brutal system that makes brutes of us all," Kirsten Han, a prominent local activist, said in an address to the crowd.

"Instead of pushing us to address inequalities and exploitative and oppressive systems that leave people marginalised and unsupported, it makes us the worst version of ourselves."

Protests are unusual in Singapore, which frequently faces criticism for curbing civil liberties.

Aside from in "Speakers' Corner", it is illegal for even one person to stage a demonstration without a police permit.

Abdul Kahar Othman, a 68-year-old Singaporean drug trafficker, was hanged Wednesday despite appeals for clemency from the United Nations and rights groups.

Next in line to be executed could be Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, a mentally disabled Malaysian convicted of heroin trafficking who lost his final appeal last week.

His case has attracted a storm of criticism, including from the European Union and British billionaire Richard Branson.

Three other men sentenced to death for drugs offences had their appeals rejected earlier in March.

Prosperous but socially conservative Singapore has some of the world's toughest drugs laws, and has faced mounting calls from rights groups to abandon the death penalty.

Authorities insist that capital punishment remains an effective deterrent against drug trafficking and has helped to keep the city-state one of the safest places in Asia.

cla/sr/dva

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Singaporeans protest the death penalty in rare demonstration

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Hundreds of protesters in tightly controlled Singapore staged a rare demonstration against the death penalty Sunday as fears grow the city-state is set to carry out a wave of hangings. Authorities last week conducted the country's first execution since 2019 when they hanged a drug trafficker.

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220 Special arrangements for Qing Ming Festival

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220 Special arrangements for Qing Ming Festival

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https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3172924/omicron-lurks-china-plans-stay-home-ching-ming-holiday?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

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As Omicron lurks, China plans to stay home for the Ching Ming holiday

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Millions are in lockdown and authorities are advising against unnecessary travel.

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https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3172217/what-do-we-know-about-long-covid?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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Post Covid syndrome affects millions. There's little known about its cause

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Symptoms can emerge months after the initial coronavirus infection is gone.

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https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3172503/add-mindful-breathing-meditation-and-you-have-breathwork?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

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Just breathe: how doing it mindfully can relieve pain and anxiety

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Add mindful breathing to meditation and you're doing breathwork. Focusing all your awareness on your breath and slowing it down will relax your body and mind. You could even start seeing stars.

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217 (video+passage) Breastfeeding in public

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217 (video+passage) Breastfeeding in public

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/ashley-graham-on-public-breastfeeding-210615655.html

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Ashley Graham is establishing her right to breastfeed her children wherever she wants.

The 34-year-old model took to TikTok on Tuesday to post a video about breastfeeding in public. In it, she unlatched her nursing top as if she were about to feed her babies, and lip synced to a trending sound.

"I'm not going to apologize for feeding my child," Graham captioned the post. "Also, my boobs hurt if I don't."

Although the video didn't show Graham actually breastfeeding, people appreciated the statement and praised the mom of three in her comment section.

"There is nothing more beautiful than a mother and her nursing baby. Anyone who thinks otherwise can go to hell," one person wrote. "You are a fantastic mama!!!"

Another commented, "If everyone else can eat in public, the babies can too."

Graham has practiced what she's preaching many times before, sharing a photo of her breastfeeding her first child Isaac at a restaurant back in Feb. 2020, weeks after he was born. She's since tried to normalize breastfeeding and pumping by posting other images and videos sharing how she does so both at home and on the go.

Even after giving birth to her twin baby boys, Malachi and Roman, in January of this year, Graham hasn't shied away from sharing the reality of breastfeeding with her social media audience.

Graham has also been authentic when it comes to other parts of motherhood and pregnancy, as she shares unfiltered photos of her body and encourages women to embrace their stretch marks.

"Changing the model game," a TikTok commenter wrote, "now changing up the postpartum momma time and labor game!!!"
Want lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Life's newsletter.

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Ashley Graham on public breastfeeding: 'I'm not going to apologize for feeding my child'

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Ashley Graham is establishing her right to breastfeed her children wherever she wants. The 34-year-old model took to TikTok on Tuesday to post a video about breastfeeding in public. In it, she unlatched her nursing top as if she were about to feed her babies, and lip synced to a trending sound.

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216 The importance of education in India

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216 The importance of education in India

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/video-indian-boy-schooling-reporter-121606613.html

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A 13-year-old Indian boy recently tore into a reporter who questioned why he would rather go to school than a temple.

The 2.20-minute-long video exchange between the child and the journalist has been widely shared on social media, with many praising the teenager for his clarity of vision and thought.

The fiery teen from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh in northern India fearlessly answered the reporter's question of what he wanted to do when he grew up by saying that he wanted to become an Indian Administrative Service officer and serve his community.

The reporter, from an organisation called SM News, egged the boy on to talk about temples.

But he responded: "When we study, then we'll get a job."

He emphasised that constructing schools was more important than building temples. "I would rather be in a classroom," he said, adding: "God has not blessed us. God will not give us anything. But education will."

Taken aback, the reporter asked him about his caste - a social order that has long been used to discriminate against people. "I am from the Chamar community," the boy replied.

The reporter said: "You are from the Chamar community, and you say this with such pride!"

Caste is one of the oldest form of social stratification that is handed down at birth and is used to divide Hindus into hierarchical groups and to determine their social status. Though caste-based discrimination is banned in India, the system has long been used across South Asian diaspora to entrench the privilege of members of the so-called upper castes while condemning those of lower castes to specific, less desirable roles or occupations.

The community, formerly considered "untouchables", and historically marginalised and oppressed by the so-called upper castes, still face rampant abuse in many parts of India.

Chamars are classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. The term chamar is considered derogatory.

The teenager reiterated proudly added that he looked up to Dr BR Ambedkar, not the gods in a temple.

Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was a celebrated Indian scholar, politician, jurist, social reformer and the chief architect of the country's Constitution.

He was a staunch defender of the rights of Dalits, or formerly untouchables, and led public movements to secure economic, political, and social rights for people from the marginalised community.

The reporter, who was slowly being booed by the crowd that had gathered around them, then asked the teen why he was willing to worship Ambedkar but not gods in a temple.

The boy responded: "Babasaheb gave us reservation and constitution. What did gods do for us? We don't go to a temple. We go to schools."

"God has given us nothing. I would rather get an education in a school," the teenager added.

On social media, Indians praised the boy for voicing his thoughts at a time when India is increasingly becoming unsafe for minorities. Many appreciated his eloquence and intelligence, and called him a "rockstar" or a "legend".

Ravi Nair, who shared the video of the interaction on Twitter, wrote: "Kids like him give us the hope that India hasn't lost everything to the saffron mobs."

Another user commented: "Yes kids like him rekindle the hope of a rational India!!"

"Shots fired. Full power!" another commented.

The young boy was called a "firebrand" and someone who "has answers to everything".

One Twitter user praised him and said: "Wah re Chotey!! [roughly translates to 'well done, lad']. Smash these jokers."

The interaction is especially significant as prime minister Narendra Modi and his party, the BJP, have for years focussed on religion and temples.

In February this year, Mr Modi inaugurated the first phase of a massive Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project in Varanasi that had been built at a cost of Rs 3.39bn.

The project was aimed at transforming the pilgrims' experience of Varanasi, which is known as the temple town of India.

Meanwhile, as per the economic survey presented by federal finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in January this year, India's expenditure on education for 2021-22 was just 3.1 per cent of the total GDP.

In 2020-21, it was 3.1 per cent, while in 2019-20, it was a meagre 2.8 per cent of the country's GDP.

The National Education Policy of India mandates that public investment on the education sector should be 6 per cent of the country's GDP. India has never reached even close to that estimate.

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Video of Indian boy schooling reporter over temple attendance goes viral: 'I'd rather be in class'

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A 13-year-old Indian boy recently tore into a reporter who questioned why he would rather go to school than a temple. The 2.20-minute-long video exchange between the child and the journalist has been widely shared on social media, with many praising the teenager for his clarity of vision and thought.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/aldriech-heywire-shy-kid-still-using-his-voice-to-speak-up/100930722

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What were you doing online as a teen?

I don't know about you, but I definitely wasn't speaking up against discrimination on the internet.

But Aldriech is different.

The 16-year-old, from Broken Hill in New South Wales, uses social media to stay across social justice issues and to add his voice to those calling out injustice.

Because to him, keeping quiet would be worse than speaking up - even though that's what he finds most comfortable as the self-described "shy kid" of his school.

ABC Everyday's Perspectives is all about giving you a chance to share what you're going through. Chances are there's others facing the same highs, lows and life experiences. In a short paragraph, email us your pitch: everyday@abc.net.au

Aldriech's story

Racism isn't "tolerated" at my school, but since 2020 there's still been a lot of discrimination against people of colour. That's what first made me want to speak up.

I just can't believe what goes through some peoples' minds, particularly with jokes masked as "dark humour" and racial slurs.

Still, at first I was scared to share my opinions.

I've always been this soft-spoken person who sits by himself at school. And I've always been better at talking to people through screens than in real life.

But then I realised that strength could help me get my message out further. Social media is the number one communication device these days; I myself have been educated by online posts that opened my mind to different ways of thinking.

I started by messaging my close friends about the discrimination I'd noticed, and they were receptive to talking about it.

That was enough to give me the courage to start posting on my Twitter account about ableism, the patriarchy, homophobia, transphobia and racism.

I don't have many followers yet, but I do get likes.

Even though it isn't something I ever thought I'd do, I don't think I'll ever get tired of speaking up in this way.

I come from a small town. There is a lot that needs to change.

If I keep speaking up whenever I can, maybe someone's mind will change. And then maybe they'll speak up too.

Aldriech is a 2022 winner of the ABC Heywire competition.
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How the shy kid in school became a voice for change - ABC Everyday

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What were you doing online as a teen? As a 16-year-old person of colour living in Broken Hill, Aldriech is always thinking about what he can do to make a difference. This is what he has to say, and how he learned to let go of his fear of saying it.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-03-30/pluto-new-horizons-ice-volcanoes-wright-piccard-mons-nasa/100944066

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When the New Horizons spacecraft zoomed past Pluto in 2015, it snapped photos of what appeared to be two massive ice volcanoes.

NASA's New Horizons probe flew past Pluto in 2015

It sent back images of what looked like two giant ice volcanoes

New analyses suggest the volcanoes are made of smaller upwellings of ice instead

Now, it seems these mega icy features are not two individual volcanoes, but instead were created when several smaller upwellings of ice joined up.

And despite not being the singular, mountain-likevolcanoes some scientists originally believed, they're still unlike anything so far seen in our Solar System.

Southwest Research Institute planetary scientist Kelsi Singer and her New Horizons colleagues came to this conclusion after analysing images and topographic maps of the region.

"Unfortunately, there was not a single 'aha!' moment," Dr Singer said of the study, which was published in Nature Communications today.

"It was more like a long slog for a couple of years ... asking what shape are these features, and how could it all work?"

New Horizons is the first and only spacecraft (to date) to whiz past the dwarf planet.

It sent back images and data that transformed Pluto from a round smudge seen through a telescope to an enchanting rocky and icy world, dominated by a vast heart-shaped ice sheet.

Just south of that ice sheet, there looked to be two gigantic volcanoes.

One, called Wright Mons after the Wright brothers, was about 150 kilometres wide and 4km high.

Its volume is around the same as Hawaii's Mauna Kea, one of Earth's largest volcanoes.

New Horizons snapped this shot of Wright Mons on 14 July 2015 from a distance of 48,000 km.(Supplied: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI )

Just to the south of Wright Mons was another, larger volcano-looking feature, this one around 7km tall at its highest point.

It was dubbed Piccard Mons, after the 20th-century physicist and balloonist Auguste Piccard.

And on the face of it, they looked a lot like an icy version of the typical cratered volcanoes we have at home, said Helen Maynard-Casely, a planetary scientist at ANSTO who was not involved in the study.

"You can totally forgive them for thinking that. When you look at them, they're a round feature with a hole in the middle.

"They look a lot like the cratered volcanoes that we have on Earth."

But as Dr Singer and her crew analysed more images, they realised there was more to the giant "volcanoes" than meets the eye.

Telltale mega volcano signs missing

Picture a volcano.

What comes to mind probably looks like a mountain with a bowl-shaped crater at the top, which is formed when hot rock collapses back into the magma chamber below.

But look closer at the pair of Plutonian "volcanoes", and that doesn't seem to be the case.

A 3D topographic map of Wright Mons and Piccard Mons. Blue indicates lower terrain and brown is higher; green is in between.(Supplied: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute )

Topographic maps showed the bottom of the "craters" in Wright Mons and Piccard Mons were at the same level as the terrain surrounding the raised rim.

The inside "walls" of the bowls were lumpy like the rest of the landscape, and lacked the telltale scars produced when a volcanic crater is formed, Dr Singer said.

"And when we started looking closer at [Wright Mons and Piccard Mons], we realised that they were also smoothly connected to other large structures in the area."

So instead of each being a big single volcano, they were more likely built by a different type of volcanism.

Mushy ice burbled up from beneath Pluto's crust and made a bunch of smaller domes on the surface that happened to join up into rings.

The texture of this icy mix was probably something like a frozen margarita or slushy, with ice crystals mixed with liquid, or perhaps more on the solid side like glacier ice, Dr Singer said.

When this all went down is still unclear, but given the few impact craters on the surface, it likely happened fairly recently - perhaps even in the past couple of million years.

"And we have lots of evidence that this wasn't just one big [volcanic] event. Instead, we think it's episodic and at this point, we have no way of knowing if it could occur again in the future," Dr Singer said, adding that this icy volcanism could well be going on today.

Icy volcanism elsewhere

While Wright Mons and Piccard Mons' origin story may not be what planetary scientists first thought, they're still unlike anything we've yet seen in the entire Solar System, according to Erika Rader, a planetary scientist and volcanologist at the University of Idaho.

Other icy worlds that exhibit volcanic action include Enceladus and Europa - moons that orbit Saturn and Jupiter respectively - but these tend to shoot plumes of water into their atmosphere, rather than ooze hefty ice domes.

Still, it's possible to draw on what we know about volcanic activity on Earth and apply that to Pluto.

"Certain aspects of ice are very similar to silicate rock or melt," Dr Rader said.

"The two materials behave in the same way."

While it may seem far-fetched to think red-hot liquid rock and ice can act similarly, remember that Pluto is on the outer regions of the Solar System, so is very cold, Dr Maynard-Casely said.

"A warm day on Pluto is 60 Kelvin [-213 Celsius]."

Dig under the icy crust, and it's warm enough to harbour a subsurface slushy ocean, thanks to heat generated by, for instance, the radioactive decay of elements in rocks.

So the ice comprising Wright Mons and Piccard Mons (and the domes around them) is thought to be mostly water ice, mixed with a few antifreeze compounds, which allow it to "flow" a bit before freezing at those frigid surface conditions.

Neptune and its moon Triton, shot by the Voyager 2 spacecraft when it flew by in 1989.(Supplied: NASA/JPL/Michael Benson, Kinetikon Pictures )

And clues to how these frozen volcanic cocktails behave could come from the icy Neptunian moon Triton, Dr Maynard-Casely said.

"Triton, we're now beginning to think, is a lot like Pluto."

Not only is Triton the same size, but planetary scientists think it was once a free agent like Pluto too, cruising around the Solar System until it was captured by Neptune and slung into its orbit.

It also has vast ice sheets and mounds created by icy volcanic flows.

But while a mission to Triton was proposed by NASA in 2020, it was rejected last year.

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Scientists thought giant ice domes on Pluto were volcanoes. Then they looked closer

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When the New Horizons spacecraft zoomed past Pluto in 2015, it snapped photos of what appeared to be two massive ice volcanoes.

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213 Long queues for collaboration watches

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213 Long queues for collaboration watches

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-26/low-priced-omega-speedmaster-prompts-global-swatch-store-chaos

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/smith-breaks-down-tears-during-033257523.html

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Oscars 2022: Will Smith breaks down in tears during acceptance speech as he references Chris Rock incident

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Actor apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees

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211 Second black box of a crashed plane found in China

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211 Second black box of a crashed plane found in China

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https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/second-black-box-of-crashed-china-eastern-airlines-plane-found-state-media

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Second black box of crashed China Eastern Airlines plane found: State media

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It was dug out of a slope at the crash site in muddy conditions. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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210 Decluttering helps mental well-being

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210 Decluttering helps mental well-being

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https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3171687/declutter-your-home-and-clear-your-mind-how-spring-clean?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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How decluttering your home improves your mental well-being

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A good spring clean can improve your mood and inspire you. If the thought of all that work is daunting, experts recommend starting small.

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209 How water helps bring health benefits

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209 How water helps bring health benefits

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https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3171218/world-water-day-how-exercising-it-drinking-it-water-key?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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From swimming pool to cold tub to ice bath, how water is key to health

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The most important resource on the planet, water covers 70 per cent of the globe. It also makes up about 60 per cent of the human body, and is vital for a healthy life.

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208 Fashion designers breaking stereotypes

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208 Fashion designers breaking stereotypes

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-24/western-sydney-fashion-designers-breaking-stereotypes/100934524

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When Blessing Chionye Azolibe arrived in Australia in 2009, she started fashion label Trendy B as a way to maintain her connection with Nigerian culture.

What started out as a side project has grown into a full-time career and celebration of the diverse cultures that call Western Sydney home.

Trendy B's first designs were predominantly made with Ankara fabrics, which are traditional African fabrics made of cotton and featuring vibrant patterns.

"Ankara and lace were what I was accustomed to at the beginning. My clients were all Nigerians and they loved those traditional designs," Azolibe said.

"My designs are intended to remind people of where they came from and when they put these outfits on, they can celebrate their traditions and forget about everything else."

In 2011, Azolibe hosted her first fashion festival to "bring the Nigerian community together" in her new homeland.

"I wanted to reach out to the people of my community and hosted the festival as an avenue for common ground among us," she said.

A growing clientele

Trendy B's clientele quickly expanded beyond the Nigerian diaspora in Australia.

"Spouses of Nigerian people in Australia also want to embrace and feel their partners' culture and dress traditionally like Nigerian grooms or brides," Azolibe said.

"There are fashion lovers that just naturally love the flamboyant prints on Ankara fabrics and don't even know that they're African fabrics.

"Some customers are fascinated with what they see from luxury fashion houses on TV, because Ankara or Ankara-inspired prints are now present at some of the world's most prestigious fashion runways such as Paris or London."

The Penrith-based designer said many of her non-African customers were afraid of cultural appropriation when they first tried on Ankara clothing.

"People stay in their safe zone, wearing only their cultural pieces because they are worried about how they will be perceived if they wear other people's cultural clothes," she said.

"As an African, I love seeing a foreigner wearing our traditional costume and consider that as giving credit and respect to where the culture comes from."

"I encourage all of my customers to be boujee, dress up and try what is considered extravagant fashion in cultures other than that which you are accustomed to."

Azolibe hopes more African designs will be showcased at Australia's top fashion events, such as the Australia Fashion Week.

"When people see their culture represented in a centre stage it of course gives them a sense of belonging to the country where they live in," she said.

Designs a reflection of society

Azolibe said working with customers from diverse backgrounds in Western Sydney had "broadened" her mind.

"Western Sydney is where you find the most diverse pool of customers and that is very important to my style of designing, so naturally it provides a huge market for my unconventional designs," Azolibe said.

"I like to explore across cultures and be inspired by several cultures and traditions in creating my pieces.

"Multicultural Western Sydney is my canvas, and my designs are a reflection of that."

Trendy B now offers custom-made pieces that are "unique to each individual" customer.

"We are so blessed in Australia not to have to travel to Nigeria, India or the Philippines to experience their fashion because we have it right here at our doorstep," she said.

"I aim to appeal cross-culturally with my designs by including elements of their cultures in my designs.

"Hence, no two designs are ever the same."

Designing for different cultures

Featured in fashion magazines such as Vietnamese Elle and Harper's Bazaar, Marky Dong's designs are popular popular among Vietnamese celebrities such as Nguyen Huong Giang and fashion idol Lily Maymac.

The designer has chosen to launch his brand Marky Atelier in Western Sydney's Cabramatta instead of in his native Vietnam, which boasts a $6.5 billion fashion market.

Mr Dong says success in the Western Sydney market will present him with opportunities he would not otherwise have in his native country.

"While it is more challenging to design for people of different cultures than simply just Vietnamese fashionistas, success can be a reward that elevates a Vietnamese label to the next level," he said.

"Like the diverse spread of cultures, Western Sydney-siders have diverse wants and needs when it comes to the styles that suit them."

"If I can conquer the hearts of fashion lovers here, I can break into any international market."

Fashion as a frontier to challenge stereotypes

Dong said he wanted to challenge Vietnamese stereotypes and reshape perspectives on Cabramatta.

"The Vietnamese community is well-known for its bakeries and restaurants, but not yet its fashion," he said.

"I want to make Cabramatta a buzzing fashion scene and put the suburb on the Australian fashion map."

The Cabramatta local said it is a "privilege" and "unique experience" to be a Vietnamese fashion designer in Australia.

"Cabramatta was once infamous for gang violence and drug abuse, but has now become a hub for cultural activity, cuisine enjoyment and traditional festivals," he said.

"I have lived here since 2004, and my life and fashion work are deeply rooted in this beautiful area.

"The area is not perfect but I love something imperfect because it is raw and unique, like my fashion philosophy: youthful, rebellious and gender neutral."
Find more local news

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'Western Sydney is my canvas': Multicultural fashion designers celebrate diversity

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When Blessing Chionye Azolibe arrived in Australia in 2009, she started fashion label Trendy B as a way to maintain her connection with Nigerian culture. What started out as a side project has grown into a full-time career and celebration of the diverse cultures that call Western Sydney home.

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207 Getting to know more about the real world

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207 Getting to know more about the real world

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https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/mar/23/theyre-entitled-to-know-the-world-isnt-always-a-safe-place-how-to-talk-to-your-children-about-the-permacrisis

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hen John Adams and his two daughters settled down to watch a family film, he wasn't expecting questions about bombing raids. But as they discussed what to watch, he spotted 12-year-old Helen scrolling through YouTube, looking for clips of air-raid sirens. She wanted to know what it would sound like, if the worst came to the worst.

"The question this morning at breakfast was: 'What are we meant to do if there's a nuclear attack?'" says Adams, a stay-at-home dad from Caterham in Surrey, who runs the parenting blog DadBlogUK. "That one just took me right back to my childhood, when these were real practical questions and everyone knew that you were meant to get under a table or a flight of stairs."

He still remembers deciding that in the event of war, he would climb some high ground near his house to watch for incoming missiles. Now, he's the one digging out maps to show nine-year-old Izzy where Ukraine is. The family has distant relatives in the country, who have now escaped to Hungary, which he thinks has made the war "that bit more real" for them.

Over tea or on the school run, and in those raw moments just before lights out, when children often disclose what's actually troubling them, many parents now face questions they're struggling to answer. A primary school teacher friend spent last week soothing pupils who were panicking that a bomb was about to drop on them; another father I know was floored by questions about whether he would be called up in the event of a world war.

While British children's anxieties pale in comparison with what their Ukrainian peers are suffering under bombardment from Russian rockets, a pandemic that led to rising mental health problems among young people has left many parents wondering about the impact of living through seemingly apocalyptic times.

Books on helping children manage their emotions, from the TV presenter Ant Middleton's Mission Total Resilience, to Tom and Joe Brassington's picture book Bottled, are shooting up Amazon rankings. On Mumsnet, a mother questioning whether her daughter's year 3 teachers should have talked to the class about Ukrainians "having to leave the country with their pets for fear of being shot by Russians", triggered a lengthy debate (the consensus was that it was already the talk of the playground). School-gate chat revolves around whether to turn off the radio, and how to reassure children still reeling from lockdown that life isn't about to turn upside down again.

"I'm a firm believer in lying to the children," says Liz, a writer and parent of three children aged 12, 14 and 16. "We told them we'd all be fine and not to worry during Covid, which we all were. If something terrible does happen, I'll deal with it as and when. While it's all speculation, I am not putting that on them."

But Julia, a mother of three teenagers aged 19, 17 and 14, regrets reassuring them when the virus first emerged in China that it was nothing to worry about; within weeks the boys were in lockdown, and their grandmother had died in a nursing home. "I learned then never to reassure when I couldn't be sure. But I worry that after two years of pandemic stuff, we're straight into even more scary stuff. It's hard being a parent right now."

Dr Jane Gilmour, a consultant clinical psychologist and author of the book How to Have Incredible Conversations with Your Child, recommends honesty. "If you say something that's not true to your child it may harm their sense of trust, and when we're in this period of time when things are feeling unstable then keeping a sense of stability is exactly what they need."

But being honest, she stresses, doesn't mean telling them everything you might know. For a young child, for example, you could use an analogy from everyday life to explain why war has broken out. "For example, if somebody takes something that doesn't belong to them, that's not OK. Your description need not be lengthy."

On questions parents themselves struggle with, such as whether this is the beginning of world war 3, she suggests not getting drawn into detail. "I'd stick to general statements: 'Yes, this is a concerning issue, but the countries are working together to figure out what to do.' Note that day-to-day life in the UK is going to be the same as it ever was."

She also recommends parents establish what children have already heard and pitch things accordingly. "My first question would be: 'What do you want to know?' not: 'What are you worried about?' Older children might be interested in facts, like what does a sanction mean. Other children might want to know about safety, like: 'Am I going to be OK?'"

With younger children, you could watch BBC Newsround together; if teenagers mention something they have seen on social media, don't scoff but suggest looking at it with them. "It might be accurate, but it's important to give them the skills of critical evaluation. If you tut and say: 'Don't bring me stuff you've seen on social media,' you've lost your chance."

And with anxiety-prone children, Gilmour says it's all in your delivery. "The way you act, the tone of your voice, the speed that you talk at - all of these pieces of information help children figure out how they should feel about the world. If parents appear calm, then their children are more likely to feel calm." Getting children to identify their emotions, or describing their emotions back to them ("I think you're feeling anxious ...") can help them feel more in control.

For children spiralling from one what-if scenario to the next, she suggests encouraging them to write down or record their worries through the day and then set a daily check-in time to discuss them; help them recognise which fears have faded since writing them down, which are big and which are relatively small. "Worries are very often intense in the moment but disappear with time."

Parents can also explain that while the news may seem bleak, life won't always be like this, and that some, such as the psychologist Stephen Pinker in his book Better Angels of Our Nature, argue that the overall trend of human progress is away from violence.

Some families, however, are struggling with more complicated questions. Natasha emigrated from Russia to Britain two decades ago, and while her two sons were born here, her parents are still in Moscow. She has been showing her 14-year-old pictures of anti-war protests in Russia, explaining that many ordinary Russians abhor the invasion, while others support it only because they are fed propaganda.

"I had this chat to just help him with what to some degree we all have - this internal dilemma, something awful has been done, and it's not in our names," says Natasha, who spent much of the last week in tears. Her 19-year-old, a fluent Russian speaker, is grappling with similar questions of identity. "He was getting into some scraps online even before this, when people were saying anti-Russian things, and I've had to have conversations with him, asking him to tone it right down. I've had to explain that it potentially might have consequences for him."

The boys haven't seen their grandparents for three years due to Covid, and Natasha is worried about the impact of sanctions imposed for a war her parents don't support. "I'm worrying whether my mum's cancer drugs are going to be available in a couple of months, because they're expensive. Two weeks ago, I could PayPal them some money, but I can't any more because of sanctions. Their savings are halved in value because they're in roubles and prices are going super-crazy for everyday stuff."

As the editor-in-chief of a national news magazine, Anna Bassi regularly finds herself tackling distressing subjects. What makes that trickier is that the Week Junior's readers are all children, aged eight to 14.

In one issue this month, she devoted five pages to Ukraine, covering everything from how economic sanctions work to pictures of refugees being welcomed in Poland, along with posters to colour in. Following careful consultation with parents and teachers about what fears children are expressing, it also tackled Vladimir Putin's threat to put nuclear weapons in a higher state of readiness. "One mother told us that her son had said: 'I've heard that Russia has weapons that will melt your skin and kill us all.' Some of it is absolutely heartbreaking," says Bassi.

So the magazine explained that Putin was trying to send a message to the west, but that didn't mean nuclear weapons were going to be used, and that adults were working to stop that happening. It also highlighted ways children could help, such as fundraising for refugees or writing to their MP.

But Bassi stresses that whether she's covering war or climate change - the magazine avoids the phrase "climate crisis", judging that it can heighten anxiety for kids - there's a delicate balance between giving children constructive things to do and overloading them with responsibility. "There's a lot of talk about this amazing generation of children who care so much and are going to save the planet and I strongly feel that the burden shouldn't all be on their shoulders. It's really important to demonstrate that there are adults whose job is to prevent climate change too."

Like Adams, Bassi grew up in the 80s under the threat of nuclear war, and doesn't think the world is necessarily a scarier place now than it was then. The difference, she argues, is that "children are exposed to more of it because of social media". With her own children, 12 and 16, her priority is putting what they have heard elsewhere in context. "I think there's a real danger of allowing them to build a picture of world events on overheard snippets of information." The magazine's formula is to provide facts, explain the context, but then move quickly on to what's being done to help.

It's an approach Michael and his partner have used with their two sons, who they adopted aged three and one, just before the first Covid lockdown. Adoption involves discussing difficult emotions openly, he points out, which was unexpectedly good training for talking about a deadly virus followed by a war. They have explained it as a bully country attacking a smaller one.

"I still don't really know what language to use, except to think back to the TV they like: superheroes and rescue missions. So we talk about rockets flying through the skies and buildings on fire, and then focus on the rescue efforts of Ukrainians to 'save the day' and get people safely out," he says. "It's our job to make them feel safe in their new home, but they're entitled to know that the world isn't always a safe place. Sadly, they experienced that themselves in their previous life."

What the past two years have brought home to many parents is the sobering realisation that we can't protect children from everything. There was no hiding the pandemic from toddlers once playgrounds were locked and they couldn't see their grandparents. It's hard to shield teenagers from a war when TikTok is full of video footage from Kyiv.

Gilmour points out that living through uncertain times can help children acquire the tools to deal with shocks in adult life. "One of the things we have got to develop as parents is ways of managing uncertainty," she says. "I'm not saying this is an easy period in family life. But it's an opportunity for families to say: 'This is a concerning time, but we're going to keep calm and carry on.'" Even if, sometimes, we're doing so with fingers crossed.

Some names have been changed. For more information on how to talk to children about war, visit Unicef and Save the Children.

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'They're entitled to know the world isn't always a safe place': how to talk to your children about the permacrisis

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hen John Adams and his two daughters settled down to watch a family film, he wasn't expecting questions about bombing raids. But as they discussed what to watch, he spotted 12-year-old Helen scrolling through YouTube, looking for clips of air-raid sirens. She wanted to know what it would sound like, if the worst came to the worst.

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https://www.theguardian.com/food/2022/mar/23/back-in-the-office-10-luscious-packed-lunches-to-beat-the-soggy-sandwich-blues

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ne huge downside about the return to the workplace is lunch. At home, with full access to your kitchen and all the food you own, lunch could be a small event, a chance for you to break up the monotony of the day with a new recipe you'd been eager to try. Meanwhile, back at the office, you basically have to skint yourself every day on a mediocre shop-bought sandwich you've eaten a million times before. But it doesn't have to be this way. Below, you will find 10 excellent, imaginative, quick and relatively easy lunches that you can make at home and eat at work. You're welcome.

Let's start with the classics. The problem with sandwiches is that, unless you're prepared to put a little effort in, you're doomed to a life of damp sliced bread and wilted cheese. A little more time and preparation and you could be sauntering into work with Rebecca Oliver's smoked mackerel, fennel and almond sandwich. Heaving focaccia, packed with smoked mackerel, grated horseradish and a spectacular fennel sauce: this is about 15 minutes' work for something leagues above the norm.

Then there is the pan bagnat, which is basically a niçoise salad sandwich. Perfectly Provence's recipe is a little more labour-intensive than most, asking you to make your own mayonnaise, but I won't rat you out if you'd prefer to spoon something out of a jar instead. The perfect thing about a pan bagnat is that it's much better if you squash it down and leave it in a fridge for a few hours before you eat it, so it's a good candidate to make before bed.

Pitta filled with cheese and assorted veg. Photograph: Natasha Breen/Alamy

We're all about making something tasty and different to eat at work, not sandwiches that require a 40-minute ritual the night before. In which case, allow me to present Thomasina Miers' easy-peasy pitta pockets. Cut a pitta in half and fill it with carrot ribbons, chopped spring onions, cheese and lettuce. It takes seconds to make, and packs a mighty punch.

If you find bread a little too unimaginative, Rosie Birkett has a brilliant alternative in her savoury crepe wraps. The crepes are seasoned with turmeric and cumin and, when cooled, provide the perfect delivery vehicle for any filling you like. Birkett suggests cold roast chicken or cheese, salad and herbs, but she isn't the boss of you.

Let's take a moment to remember the wonder that is readymade puff pastry. Grab a roll of it next time you go shopping, and you will enter a world of excellent lunch tarts. Caroline Craig and Sophie Missing have compiled a selection of four excellent toppings - my personal favourite is sausage, fennel and mustard - that you can quickly throw together, take to work and then drop all over your office floor.

A homemade farro salad. Photograph: bhofack2/Getty Images/iStockphoto

We probably need to address salads here. On paper, a salad is about the best thing you can eat for lunch - light on the stomach and potentially packed with nutrition. In reality, they're often joyless and wilted by the time you come to eat it. Enter Grace Elkus's antipasto grain salad, which comes billed as an "ultimate no-wilt" dish. The base of the salad is farro, which will hold up against pretty much anything, but comes livened up with mozzarella, peppers, olives and tomatoes. Make a big batch of this on Sunday night and it'll see you through most of the week.

For something more compact, Skinny Ms' taco salad in a jar recipe is hard to top. Cook some turkey mince, whip up a quick yoghurt and avocado dressing, then pile it into a mason jar with salad, cheese and smashed-up tortilla chips. Unbeatable.

Daunting but delicious ... Korean kimbap. Photograph: Mi Jin Jeon/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Kimbap is a Korean rice roll, wrapped in seaweed and served in slices, and provides the perfect lunch portion. As My Korean Kitchen's recipe demonstrates, it's a dish that requires a lot of preparation. Carrots must be julienned, rice must be cooked, an omelette must be made. And, if you're new to it, the assembly can be a little fiddly. But persevere! This is the world's best sandwich alternative.

A slightly easier alternative than the rice rolls would be a gyeran-mari, a filled omelette roll that's most usually served cold or at room temperature. Korean Bapsang's recipe is the most basic version - the omelette is filled with just carrot and spring onion - but once you've found your feet, you can start experimenting with ham, peppers or anything else you like.

And now, finally, the daddy. Taste's Kathy Knudsen has come up with a defiantly unhealthy, but blindingly brilliant, carbonara slice. That's right, it's a spaghetti carbonara that is essentially baked into a crustless quiche, then cut into rectangles and chilled. Tell me you don't want to make this as soon as you can.

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Back in the office? 10 luscious packed lunches to beat the soggy sandwich blues

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ne huge downside about the return to the workplace is lunch. At home, with full access to your kitchen and all the food you own, lunch could be a small event, a chance for you to break up the monotony of the day with a new recipe you'd been eager to try.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/science-journals-planting-a-tree-for-habitat-restoration-at-kranji-coastal-nature-park

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Science journals: Planting a tree for habitat restoration at Kranji Coastal Nature Park

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With plans to plant one million trees by 2030 to restore Singapore's green canopy, the heart of the effort will likely have to be community-led. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/how-to-save-money-on-groceries-and-food/100926592

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If you've taken a trip to the supermarket lately, you might have noticed that some food is costing more than usual.

When you factor in other rising costs, like fuel, you might be finding your budget isn't stretching as far as it normally would.

However, with a bit of planning and some substitutions, you can keep costs down while still enjoying healthy, home-cooked meals.

"You can feed a family of six, really, for the same price you can buy one [fast-food] meal if you're really smart about the way you cook," says Nicole Constable, who runs a nutrition education and skills program with OzHarvest.

Here are some tips to keep in mind next time you're at the supermarket.

Plan ahead to save time and money

Clare Collins, laureate professor in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle, says planning ahead for meals and snacks is important for keeping your food budget in check.

"You plan [for] the meals and snacks ... and it's not like you have to cook a fancy meal every night," she says.

"You can make enough for two nights and keep it in the freezer for the busiest night, or the night you're late to come home."

The main advantage of doing a meal plan is that it can help you reduce impulse buys at the shops.

Professor Collins worked with other dieticians and nutrition researchers to create "No Money, No Time", a free resource with affordable recipes, meal plans and advice for younger people.

" For $55 per week, we showed how they can eat as a meat eater or vegetarian, meet all their nutrient requirements and save a heap of money," she says.

What products are you noticing going up in price at the supermarket? How are you finding ways to save? Contact everyday@abc.net.au.

Have a budget for foods you want but don't need

The most recent Australian Household Expenditure Survey, from the 2015/16 financial year, found Australian households spent an average of $237 a week on food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Professor Collins says a large part of that is "discretionary choices" including meals purchased away from home and junk foods.

"Have a budget for your discretionary food. Then aim to stick to that budget and it will help you rein in your food dollars," she says.

Another tip is to do a quick inventory of your pantry and fridge before shopping to avoid buying food you already have.

Be a savvy grocery shopper

Ms Constable, who runs a national program on healthy eating and affordable cooking for OzHarvest, says there are plenty of ways to save money at the shops.

When comparing prices, look at the unit cost - for example, how much a product costs per serve or per 100 grams.

Buy meat to freeze - save money by buying it on special or when it's close to its use-by date. You can also save money by marinating or flavouring meat yourself.

Frozen vegetables and berries can be cheaper - and they have the same nutritional value.

Buy fresh foods in season - always look to see which fruits and vegetables are on special. You can also look to save money at the supermarket by buying imperfect foods.

Buy generic brands to save money.

Consider switching out meat for legumes or pulses - This can help you with adding vegetables to your diet and will save you money, too.

One of Ms Constable's favourite low-cost meals is lentil curry with rice.

"It's is a common one we cook up. It's about $1.80 per serve, with rice, and you can feed a family of six for under $12," she says.

Another family favourite is a vegetable and cheese omelette. You can use frozen vegetables or whatever leftovers you have in your fridge.

More affordable meal ideas

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Food is becoming more expensive. These are the grocery budget tips we all need - ABC Everyday

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If you've taken a trip to the supermarket lately, you might have noticed that some food is costing more than usual. When you factor in other rising costs, like fuel, you might be finding your budget isn't stretching as far as it normally would.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/chinese-aircraft-carrying-133-accident-082717516.html

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A China Eastern Airlines passenger plane carrying 132 people crashed Monday in a mountainous region in south China, according to the country's civil aviation agency.

The number of casualties was not immediately clear, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Emergency responders were en route. The People's Daily quoted a provincial firefighting department official as saying there was no sign of life among the scattered debris.

The airline released a statement, saying: "the company expresses deep condolences to the passengers and crew who died in the plane crash."

It also said that "the cause of this crash is still under investigation [and] the company will actively cooperate with the relevant investigation."

No number of death mentioned in the statement. The airline told state media CCTV that no foreign passengers on the plane.

Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the families of those caught up in the "tragedy".

Terrible news about the China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735. My thoughts are with the families of all those caught up in this tragedy and the search and rescue teams currently responding.

- Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 21, 2022

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 jet.

"Can confirm the plane has crashed," China Eastern Airlines said in a statement in which it also gave details of a hotline for relatives of those on board.

【Crash site】A Boeing 737 passenger plane carrying 133 people from China Eastern Airlines had an accident in Teng County, Guangxi and then triggered a mountain fire. At present, the rescue team has gathered, the casualties are still unknown. pic.twitter.com/udlT6qqKWZ

- 豆腐Toufu.exe🀄️ (@y1499003) March 21, 2022

Chinese President Xi Jinping said he was "shocked" by the crash and called for an investigation into the accident, state media reported.

"We are shocked to learn of the China Eastern MU5735 accident," state broadcaster CCTV reported Mr Xi saying, while he also called for "all efforts" towards the rescue and to find out the "cause of the accident as soon as possible".

Mr Xi added that authorities must immediately activate the emergency mechanism, make every effort to organise search and rescue, and properly handle the aftermath.

The State Council has appointed officials to coordinate and deal with the incident, to find out the cause of the accident as soon as possible.

Mr Xi also ordered his government to strengthen the investigation of potential safety hazards in the field of civil aviation, pay close attention to the implementation of responsibilities, ensure the absolute safety of aviation operations and ensure the absolute safety of people's lives, state media reported.

Flight MU5735 was en route from Kunming to Guangzhou when in crashed in Tengxian County near the city of Wuzhou, according to the emergency management department of the Guangxi region.

The plane was a 6-year-old 737-800 aircraft, according to Flightradar24.

The crash had caused a mountain fire, the emergency department said.

Videos on social media purportedly of the crash site showed a forest fire and billowing smoke in a lush mountainous area. Other videos showed locals next to airplane parts

Media cited a rescue official as saying the plane had completely disintegrated. A fire sparked by the crash burned down bamboo and trees before being put out.

A Boeing spokesperson said: "We are aware of the initial media reports and are working to gather more information."

The plane had 123 passengers and nine crew members on board, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The administration said the airplane lost contact over the city of Wuzhou. The flight crashed about 2:38 p.m. in a mountainous area near Molang village in Tengxian County, according to the emergency management department.

"The CAAC has activated the emergency mechanism and sent a working group to the scene," it said.

A video captured by a local mining company's security camera showed the plane flying essentially straight into the ground at a high speed.

The website of China Eastern Airlines was later presented in black and white, which airlines do in response to a crash as a sign of respect for the assumed victims. Boeing China's website also switched to black and white.

Online weather data showed partly cloudy conditions with good visibility in Wuzhou at the time of the crash.

The flight departed the city of Kunming at 1:11 p.m. (5.11am GMT), according to FlightRadar24 data. The flight tracking ended at 2:22 p.m. (6.22am GMT).

The safety record of China's airline industry has been among the best in the world over the past decade.

According to Aviation Safety Network, China's last fatal jet accident was in 2010, when 44 of 96 people on board were killed when an Embraer E-190 regional jet flown by Henan Airlines crashed on approach to Yichun airport in low visibility.

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China plane crash: No signs of life after Boeing 737 carrying 132 goes down

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A China Eastern Airlines passenger plane carrying 132 people crashed Monday in a mountainous region in south China, according to the country's civil aviation agency. The number of casualties was not immediately clear, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Emergency responders were en route.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/20/heatwaves-at-both-of-earth-poles-alarm-climate-scientists

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Heatwaves at both of Earth’s poles alarm climate scientists

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Antarctic areas reach 40C above normal at same time as north pole regions hit 30C above usual levels

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201 More Russian soldiers have entered Belarus

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201 More Russian soldiers have entered Belarus

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/more-2-500-russian-bodies-175136929.html

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The bodies of more than 2,500 Russian soldiers have been transported to Belarus under the cover of darkness to disguise the true number of casualties in Ukraine, doctors have suggested.

Locals in the Homel, a region in southeastern Belarus less than 150 miles north of Kyiv, have told of hospital wards crammed full of "terribly disfigured" soldiers and morgues overflowing with corpses, as Russia quietly transports its wounded and dead across the border.

One doctor at Homel's regional clinical hospital told Radio Free Europe that, by March 13, more than 2,500 bodies had been shipped by train or plane back to Russia from the region, though The Telegraph has been unable to independently verify the figure.

Another medic in Mazyr, a town home to 100,000 people, added that efforts to transport bodies back to Russia were increasingly taking place under the cover of darkness to minimise unwanted scrutiny.

"Earlier, the corpses were transported by ambulances and loaded on Russian trains," the doctor said. "After someone made a video about it and it went on the internet, the bodies were loaded at night so as not to attract attention."

Establishing the exact toll of the war in Ukraine has so far proved elusive, with the two sides producing widely differing estimates of military fatalities.

Russia acknowledged on March 2 that nearly 500 soldiers had been killed and 1,597 injured, but has offered no updates since. Meanwhile US intelligence this week put the figure at 7,000 - an estimate deemed "conservative" - while Ukraine claims 14,000 Russians have so far died.

The Homel region of Belarus may offer some clues about the death count.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the country's strongman leader, is a close ally of Vladimir Putin - and on Saturday insisted that the Russian president is "a sane, healthy person".

"He will catch cold many times at our funerals. He is a completely normal and reasonable person," he told a Japanese television channel. "The West better throw this hoax out of their heads ... all of that talk is to undermine trust in [the] president inside Russia."

Prior to the invasion on February 24, tens of thousands of Russian troops were positioned in Belarus, close to Ukraine's northern border. From that vantage point thousands crossed the border in a push Kyiv - but the advance has been slow, the fighting intense and the losses substantial.

Now, locals in Homel are reporting an influx of bodies in "black sacks", with Mazyr's only morgue reportedly overflowing by March 3.

"Passengers at the Mazyr train station were shocked by the number of corpses being loaded on the train," one man said. "After people started shooting video, the military caught them and ordered them to remove it."

There have also been reports of a surge of injured Russian soldiers arriving in need of medical attention.

"There are a lot of deaths. Limbs are being cut off and there are a lot of shrapnel wounds," a human rights worker in Mazyr told The Telegraph last week. "All these are mostly very young guys born in 1998-2002."

The sheer number of patients has reportedly triggered a shortage of surgeons, with locals being discharged to make space. There are also fears that there may soon be a shortage of everyday medications for the general population.

"There are so many wounded Russians there - it's just a horror," one resident told Radio Free Europe. "[They're] terribly disfigured. It is impossible to listen to their moans throughout the whole hospital."

But even in Homel, the exact picture is murky as doctors and nurses treating the injured have been ordered not to discuss the situation - underlining just how desperate officials are to stop casualty numbers reaching the Russian public.

"Those who could have said something, they were fired or they have quit," the human rights worker said last week. "Those who have remained are forbidden to even take their phones to work. There is total control."

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More than 2,500 Russian bodies 'sent to Belarus in dead of night' as Kremlin hides true death toll

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The bodies of more than 2,500 Russian soldiers have been transported to Belarus under the cover of darkness to disguise the true number of casualties in Ukraine, doctors have suggested.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-21/could-you-have-covid-and-not-realised-you-are-infected/100921512

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It seems not a day goes by without learning someone in our inner circle of family, friends and colleagues has COVID-19. When we ask how unwell our acquaintance is, the responses vary from "they're really crook" to "you wouldn't even know they had it".

This is in line with studies that report moderate to severe illness in a minority of people (usually older with other risk factors) and that up to one in three positive people exhibit no symptoms.

Given the ubiquitous presence of this highly infectious coronavirus in our community and the high rate of asymptomatic illness, those who have not been diagnosed with COVID might wonder, "how would I know if I had been infected?" And, "does it matter if I have?".

Read our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

How COVID-19 is diagnosed

Most people know they've had COVID because they had a fever or upper respiratory tract symptoms and/or were exposed to an infected person AND had a swab test (PCR or rapid antigen) that detected the COVID virus (SARS-CoV-2) in the upper airway.

At the beginning of 2022, many people with consistent symptoms or high-risk exposures were not able to access PCRs or RATs to confirm their diagnosis, but instead presumed themselves positive and quarantined.

It is possible to diagnose past infection in those who never tested positive. A blood test can look for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (also known as immunoglobulins). When we are infected with SARS-CoV-2, our immune system launches a precision counter strike by producing antibodies against viral targets, specifically the Spike (S) and Nucleocapsid (N) proteins. COVID vaccination induces a similar immune response against the S protein only. The S antibody "neutralises" the invader by preventing the virus from attaching to human cells.

These antibodies can be detected within one to three weeks after infection and persist for at least six months - potentially much longer. A blood test that shows antibodies to S and N proteins indicates someone has been previously infected. Detection of antibodies to the S protein only indicates vaccination (but not infection).

At the beginning of 2022 many people with symptoms could not access a test to know for sure if they had COVID.(ABC News: Michael Barnett )

The problem with antibody tests

Before you rush off to get a COVID antibody test, there are a few notes of caution. There is still much to learn about the characteristics of the immune response to COVID infection. Not everyone mounts a detectable antibody response following infection and levels can decline to undetectable levels after several months in some people.

Because there are other circulating seasonal coronaviruses (such as those that cause the common cold), tests may also pick up antibodies to non-SARS-CoV-2 strains, leading to "false positive" results.

Commercial and public hospital pathology labs can perform SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, but the interpretation of results should be undertaken carefully.

So, antibody testing should really only be done when there's a good reason to: say, when confirming past infection or effectiveness of vaccination is important for the current care of an individual. Diagnosing a post-infectious complication or eligibility for a specific treatment, for example. It could also be useful for contact tracing or for assessing the background population rate of infection.

Read more about the spread of COVID-19:

Antibody testing a population

"Seroprevalence studies" test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in repositories of stored blood that are representative of the general population, such as from a blood bank. This data helps to understand the true extent of COVID infection and vaccination status in the community (and informs our assessment of population susceptibility to future infection and reinfection). It's more useful than daily reported case numbers, which are skewed towards symptomatic individuals and those with access to swab testing.

New research from the World Health Organization, which is yet to be reviewed by other scientists, reported the results of a meta-analysis of over 800 seroprevalence studies performed around the world since 2020. They estimated that by July 2021, 45.2 per cent of the global population had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies due to past infection or vaccination, eight times the estimate (5.5 per cent).

There are plans to conduct fresh seroprevalence studies in Australia in the coming year, which will update local data and help us understand to what extent the Omicron wave has washed through the population.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

Will winter bring a COVID-19 onslaught?

Does it matter if I have had COVID and didn't know?

For most people, knowing your COVID infection status is unlikely to be more than a topic of dinnertime conversation.

While some studies have pointed to a less robust and durable antibody response following mild or asymptomatic infection compared with severe illness, it is not known how this influences protection from reinfection. Certainly, the knowledge we have antibodies from past infection should not deter us from being fully up-to-date with COVID vaccination, which remains the best protection against severe illness.

There are reports of people with mild or asymptomatic COVID infection developing long COVID - new, persistent or relapsing symptoms that last four weeks or more after initial infection. Symptoms can include shortness of breath, physical and mental fatigue, exercise intolerance, headaches, and muscle and joint pain.

However, the likelihood of developing this condition appears higher in those who suffer a heavier initial bout of COVID illness. This might be linked with higher viral load at that time.

Even those with a mild infection are at risk of developing long COVID.(ABC News: Che Chorley )

Bottom line

As we enter the third year of the COVID pandemic and given that up to one in three infections may be asymptomatic, it is likely many of us have been infected without knowing it.

If you are experiencing lingering fatigue, brain fog or other symptoms that could be long COVID, you should talk to your GP. Otherwise, knowing our COVID infection status is unlikely to be of much practical benefit. Antibody testing should be reserved for specific medical or public health indications.

Being up-to-date with COVID vaccination is still our best defence against severe illness moving forward.
Ashwin Swaminathan is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University Medical School. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.

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Could I have had COVID-19 and not realised it? And does it matter anyway?

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Given the ubiquitous presence of COVID-19 in our community and the high rate of asymptomatic illness, those who have not been diagnosed with the virus might wonder, "How would I know if I had been infected?" And, "Does it matter if I have?"

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-15/long-lost-wartime-postcade-found-townsville-shopping-centre/100908700

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From Turkey to Townsville: How did this wartime postcard end up 3,500 kilometres from its intended destination?

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A postcard sent by a soldier from the battlefront in World War I has turned up at a busy Townsville shopping centre and will be delivered 106 years late.

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https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-cases-expected-rise-variant-195131395.html

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Yahoo Finance reporter Anjalee Khemlani details the latest news on COVID-19 and how cases are expected to rise due to the emergence of a new variant in Europe.

Video transcript

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance Live. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel has reportedly sold about 2.8 million shares of the company, worth more than $400 million since the start of the pandemic. CNBC reports that Bancel began unloading about $3.6 million in stock a week in January of 2020. The shares skyrocketed on the development of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. Now Bancel's sales are executed under an SEC rule intended to prevent insider trading. Moderna's stock is up over 600% since the company first announced it was working on the vaccine.

BRAD SMITH: A new COVID variant has been discovered with scientists including-- and well, concluding here, a combination of known variants were the reasons for the newest strain. Yahoo Finance health reporter Anjalee Khemlani has more of these details for us. Anjalee, what do we need to know about this?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Well, Brad, what I would say is, of course, on one hand, we've got Deltacron, which is that combination of a Delta and Omicron variant. And on the other hand, we've got the [INAUDIBLE] Omicron subvariant that is causing a lot of concern overseas, as well as here in the US. That is behind what we're seeing are surges both in China, as well as parts of Europe. And that is why Biden health officials and other White House officials are really looking at what's going on there to what it might mean for the US.

Some reports suggesting that we might see yet another surge by this spring, which is kind of one of the earliest predictions. There were some suggesting it might go out until summer. We're already starting to pick up an increase in cases through wastewater surveillance. And that's one of the parameters that the CDC looks at. The other, of course, being testing, but that, as it has shifted more to at home and, broadly speaking, has reduced around the world, is cause for concern by the World Health Organization, which said that this is possibly, quote, "just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the full picture of what exactly is going on with COVID."

Also incoming White House COVID-19 response team director Dr. Ashish Jha tweeted today that, quote, "We are not done. We are very likely to see more surges of infections. We may see more variants. We can't predict everything with certainty, but we have to prepare to protect the American people, whatever Mother Nature throws at us," pretty much summing up sort of where things are right now.

BRAD SMITH: And Anjalee, one of those protections has been the widespread availability of vaccinations. And for some of the vaccines that we've seen thus far, there's been a ton of research and development that's gone into them, we do know. However, that also comes with a ton of intellectual property that many of the companies would like to hold onto. However, some of them moving to open source them. So where do we stand on the intellectual property side of these vaccines?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: Well, what we know is that since the past year, we've seen at the World Trade Organization, there's been a push to really present a waiver of the patents. And that has come to some fruition. There is an agreement now between the US, EU, India, and South Africa that would basically allow for COVID-19 vaccines to be domestically produced without patent consent of the patent holder. And that would be for three to five years. It would only affect developing countries who have accounted for less than 10% of 2021 global exports.

That excludes China, but it's important to note it includes India, which, while it does house the world's largest vaccine maker, did have a ban on exports in 2021, as it suffered through the Delta wave. So it actually qualifies India there. Predictably, the drug organizations are quite against this, saying that it would stifle innovation in the future and sends the wrong message. Meanwhile, public health advocates are saying that it's not going far enough, that it should include treatments, which the World Trade Organization did note that it could expand to include in about six months.

So that's where things stand now. We're waiting, of course, on the agreement among the 164 members of the World Trade Organization. Meanwhile, interesting news on the patent front when it comes to Pfizer's COVID-19 oral treatment, Paxlovid. That, 35 generic drug makers have hopped on board to produce it globally at a cheaper cost. And we have seen that this is sort of part of an agreement that Pfizer had back in November, allowing for a voluntary license that would affect 53% of the world's population.

Part of the agreement, which is through the Medicines Patent Pool, backed by the UN, is that they would have these countries that could produce it and then provide it to the rest of the world. And we had CEO Albert Bourla of Pfizer earlier tweeting, quote, "Bottom line, for as long as the pandemic lasts, Pfizer will not profit from the sales of the treatment." And this affects mostly the lower income countries, and the sales from them is what Pfizer will not profit for, as long as the public emergency is in place. Back to you.

BRAD SMITH: OK, and so it sounds like many of these companies are simply waiting for the WHO or for specific countries to also step off of the emergency or public health crisis classification or the WHO to move away from the pandemic classification here then.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That's right, yeah. So that would be sort of the end of any goodwill, if you will, when it comes to providing any patented technology to these lower income countries or to the developing world at large. We know that also in the background, of course, the World Health Organization has been working on that South Africa mRNA hub. But a lot of this is set to really not come to fruition until later this year or next year. So it also depends on where we are in the pandemic. By then, we could still be in it, as we see that vaccinations in some parts of the world are really low. So it really is, just as I've been saying for the past few years, a wait and see.

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Coronavirus: Cases expected to rise as new variant surges in Europe

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Yahoo Finance reporter Anjalee Khemlani details the latest news on COVID-19 and how cases are expected to rise due to the emergence of a new variant in Europe. RACHELLE AKUFFO: Welcome back to Yahoo Finance Live. Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel has reportedly sold about 2.8 million shares of the company, worth more than $400 million since the start of the pandemic.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/man-charged-hate-crime-punching-063837149.html

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A man from Yonkers, New York, has been arrested on hate crime charges for allegedly assaulting a 67-year-old woman of Asian descent by hitting her more than 125 times, stomping on her seven times, spitting on her and calling her an "Asian b****".

Yonkers police identified 42-year-old suspect Tammel Esco on Monday and charged him with attempt to murder and assault for the attack that was caught on surveillance video.

"This is one of the most appalling attacks I have ever seen; to beat a helpless woman is despicable and targeting her because of her race makes it more so," Yonkers police commissioner John Mueller said in a statement on Monday.

"This defendant must be held to the maximum punishment allowed by law to send a clear message that hateful, violent behaviour will not be tolerated in our communities," he added.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family, that she may make a full recovery."

Police said the incident occurred on Friday evening when the woman passed by Mr Esco on her way home, which was when he allegedly shouted the racial slur at her.

She ignored him and kept walking. CCTV footage released by Yonkers police showed the suspect followed her into her building and attacked her from behind as she tried to unlock a door to the lobby, knocking her down to the floor.

The suspect then proceeded to punch her in the head and face more than 125 times.

Police added that he alternated fist strikes before foot-stomping her seven times and then spitting on her.

In a statement, Westchester county prosecutors said the woman suffered bleeding of the brain, facial fractures and multiple lacerations to the head and face.

"We also understand that many in the community may experience fear and trauma as a result of this incident," Westchester DA Mimi Rocah said.

"We will continue our work with our community and governments partners throughout the county."

Prosecutors said that while Mr Esco was first charged with second-degree assault and second-degree attempted murder on Saturday, he was later slapped with a new felony complaint on Monday, elevating both charges to a hate crime.

In a statement, mayor Mike Spano said: "Hate crimes are beyond intolerable in our city. I applaud our Yonkers Police for swiftly apprehending this violent criminal and removing him from our streets. I expect the suspect to be charged to the fullest extent of the law for his heinous actions. I continue to keep the victim and her family in our thoughts and prayers."

Mr Esco will appear in court again on 25 March.

Crimes against Asians have seen a spike in the pandemic both in New York and elsewhere across the US.

A national survey by the group "Stop AAPI [Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders] Hate" found more than 10,000 incidents reported in the last two years alone.

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Man charged with hate crimes after he was filmed punching Asian woman 125 times in random racist attack

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A man from Yonkers, New York, has been arrested on hate crime charges for allegedly assaulting a 67-year-old woman of Asian descent by hitting her more than 125 times, stomping on her seven times, spitting on her and calling her an "Asian b****".

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https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3169803/why-low-self-esteem-affects-so-many-people-how?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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Think you’re not ‘good enough’? Expert tips on fixing your low self-esteem

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Many people suffer from low self-esteem, but few recognise it or know how to fix it. The author of Reboot, Reflect, Revive: Self-esteem in a Selfie World shares stories and advice on what to do.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-15/coffee-is-about-to-get-more-expensive/100901202

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It is a daily ritual for millions of Australians, but if you have noticed the price of your morning flat white or soy latte increase, brace yourself - it is likely to get worse.

Prepare to be paying up to $7 a cup by the end of the year

Shipping costs and natural disasters in coffee regions are being blamed for the price increase

Australians consume one billion cups of coffee annually, but cafe owners say an increase in price won't change that

By the end of the year, coffee lovers will be paying up to $7 for a regular cup as cafes nationwide struggle to absorb growing overhead costs warned David Parnham, president of the Café Owners and Baristas Association of Australia.

"What's happening globally is there are shortages obviously from catastrophes that are happening in places like Brazil with frosts, and certain growing conditions in some of the coffee growing areas," Mr Parnham said.

"The cost of shipping has become just ridiculous.

"It's nearly five times the container prices of two years ago due to global shortages of containers and ships to be able to take things around the world."

Frosts in Brazil have impacted supply.(Supplied: Melbourne Coffee Merchants )

The pain will be felt from the cities to the outback, but Mr Parnham said the increase was well overdue, with the average $4 price for a standard latte, cappuccino and flat white remaining stable for years.

"The reality is it should be $6-7. It's just that cafés are holding back on passing that pricing on per cup to the consumer," he said.

"It is overdue and unfortunately it can't be sustained, and at some point the consumer has to bear that."

Bounce Café in Townsville was initially hesitant to hike its coffee price by 50 cents.

Bounce Café said its customers have been very happy to support their business despite the increase in price.(Supplied )

But roaster Raoul Hauri said it hadn't made a dent in sales, with more than 300 customers still coming through the doors for their daily fix.

"No one really batted an eyelid," he said.

"We thought we would get more pushback, but I think at the moment people understand.

"They are happy to support local businesses."

Paving the way for Australian producers

While coffee drinkers will be feeling the pinch, Australian producers like Candy MacLaughlin from Skybury Roasters hopes the increasing cost of imports will pave the way for growth in the local industry, allowing it to compete in the market.

"[In the ] overall cost of business, we haven't been able to drop our prices to be competitive, so we've really worked on that niche base," Ms MacLaughlin said.

"Now we can take all of those plus play in the same space as the internationals because our price point, although won't be similar, it will be in the same ballpark."

Candy and her husband Marion produce 40 tonnes of coffee annually but they are prepared to scale up operations(Supplied )

Skybury Roasters is based on the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns and produces 40 tonnes of coffee beans annually, but Ms MacLaughlin said they were ready to scale up to meet demand.

"I think the demand for Australian coffee at the moment is an ever-changing landscape and more and more Aussies are starting to question where their food comes from, who is growing it," she said.

"All those things will help us to grow our coffee plantation once more."

She said the industry could eventually emulate the gin industry, with boutique operations cropping up across the country.

"What you will get is all these kinds of niche coffee plantations who develop a very unique flavour profile and then market in funky packaging and appeal to certain markets," she said.

"That's where I see the next stage of the Australian coffee industry going."

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Daily coffee is about to get a whole lot more expensive

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It is a daily ritual for millions of Australians, but if you have noticed the price of your morning flat white or soy latte increase, brace yourself - it is likely to get worse.

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194 (video+passage) Queen Elizabeth is getting more fragile

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194 (video+passage) Queen Elizabeth is getting more fragile

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/queen-elizabeth-too-frail-walk-190000538.html

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Queen Elizabeth has become too frail to walk her dogs.

The 95-year-old monarch hasn't been able to walk her beloved Corgis around Windsor Castle for the last six months, and some Palace insiders suspect she may never be able to again, following her recent health struggles.

A royal source shared: "She is not well enough [to walk the dogs].

"The Queen usually turns to her beloved Corgis in time of crisis and stress and took them out almost every day after Prince Philip fell ill and then died last year.

"They are an enormous source of solace, so it is a real shame."

Despite this, the Queen still loves spending quality time at home with her dogs.

The royal insider told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: "Dogs remain very much part of Windsor life."
Watch: Why the Queen Won't Attend the Commonwealth Day Service
Meanwhile, the monarch recently carried out her first in-person engagement since recovering from COVID-19.

The Queen - who tested positive for the virus towards the end of February - made a return to royal engagements on March 7, when she met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Queen was first revealed to have COVID-19 on February 20, shortly after her eldest son Prince Charles also tested positive for the virus.

At the time, a royal spokesperson said: "Buckingham Palace confirm that The Queen has today tested positive for COVID. Her Majesty is experiencing mild cold-like symptoms but expects to continue light duties at Windsor over the coming week. She will continue to receive medical attention and will follow all the appropriate guidelines."

During her recovery period, the Queen - who is the longest-serving female head of state in history - continued to carry out light duties but cancelled some virtual meetings.

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Queen Elizabeth 'is too frail to walk her Corgis'

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Queen Elizabeth has become too frail to walk her dogs. The 95-year-old monarch hasn't been able to walk her beloved Corgis around Windsor Castle for the last six months, and some Palace insiders suspect she may never be able to again, following her recent health struggles.

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3170333/hong-kong-observatory-reports-minor-earthquake

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Hong Kong Observatory reports minor earthquake

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The Hong Kong Observatory said the quake, which struck early Monday morning, had a magnitude of 4.1.

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192 (video+passage) Vegetable options beyond bok choy

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192 (video+passage) Vegetable options beyond bok choy

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/six-leafy-asian-vegetables-to-try-beyond-bok-choy-thanh-truong/100897936

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Your tastebuds will thank you for trying these six leafy Asian veggies - ABC Everyday

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Bok choy sure is easy to find, but it isn’t the only leafy Asian vegetable out there. Fruit Nerd Thanh Truong wants to help you branch out.

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191 A bit of urine may be good for plants

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191 A bit of urine may be good for plants

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/why-weeing-on-your-plants-is-good-fertiliser/100848746

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You've spent your hard-earned cash on some fancy new plants, put them in a nice sunny position in your garden and showered them with love and water ... but they aren't thriving.

The cause of your horticultural woes is probably lurking beneath your feet.

"If the soil is lacking in nutrition, structure and organic matter then your plants aren't going to do well," says Paul West, chef and host of River Cottage Australia.

"[Beginner gardeners] get some poor soil or just plant it into a bag of potting mix that just doesn't have a lot of nutrition and they wonder why their plants are failing."

Plant food - the minerals and nutrients absorbed from soil or fertilisers - is the most under-appreciated element of a garden's needs, Paul says.

So how do you improve the quality of your soil? Here are some simple home remedies to feed your plants.

Wee bit of urine goes a long way

Believe it or not, your urine has a "broad suite" of things that can nurture your garden.

Brisbane's Griffith University recently announced it was looking into the economic viability of harvesting urine from public toilets to convert into liquid fertiliser, saying useful nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium were being lost to the city's wastewater system daily.

Paul says foliar or liquid-based fertilisers, including human pee, can provide plants with a quick top-up of nutrients.

"That old adage of weeing on your citrus trees has stuck around for so long because citrus trees are a gross feeder - they're a very hungry plant," he says.

"No doubt some gardeners notice when they continued weeing on their citrus trees - and maybe they had a favourite one that was closer to the house - it was doing so much better than the other ones because it had that constant top-up of nutrition."

If you find the idea of urinating on your plants shocking, you might want to steer clear of golf courses, sporting fields and public gardens.

Horticulturist Annette McFarlane, told ABC Radio Brisbane that many large commercial golf courses and councils already use composted sewage and treated liquid from their toilet facilities to keep fairways, pitches and gardens green.

What about poo?

Local governments restrict the use of human waste on residential gardens, and for good reason.

Unless properly treated, it can transfer dangerous pathogens to plant matter and to humans who harvest and consume those plants.

It's worth mentioning that even when treated to remove pathogens, human waste should never be spread around vegetables, fruit or other edible plants.

Human manure may not be a feasible DIY fertiliser option for home gardeners in Australia, but chicken, cow and horse manure is plentiful and readily available from roadside stalls and garden stores.

Feed worms, not landfill

One of the easiest ways to start bulking up your soil is to start a compost bin or worm farm.

While setting one up isn't necessarily free, getting your hands on a constant stream of organic material to fill it shouldn't be a problem.

If you're feeling creative, other household goods made of natural materials also have the potential to nourish your vegetable patch.

"Everything that was once a living organism is capable of breaking down and becoming food for the garden," Paul says.

"You could run an old wooden table through a chipper and use that. There's really no limit."

You can also ditch the compost bin completely and try "trenching" - a method of digging kitchen scraps directly into a trench in the soil and planting on top.

This is particularly effective if you only have a small amount of waste to compost.

Working with weeds

Tenacious little invaders seem to pop up in the garden every time your turn your back but don't let the back-breaking work of pulling weeds go to waste.

Instead of throwing them in your green bin, consider brewing a compost cuppa.

Annette says making "weed tea" is as simple as putting green waste into a large bucket with a lid, covering it with water and letting it "steep" for a few days.

"It's a great way of recycling nutrition ... As soon as the water is coloured there is some good nutrition in there and you can start putting it out on the garden."

Tips for using liquid fertiliser:

Make sure the mixture is the colour of weak tea.

Water the soil, rather then the foliage of the plants.

Apply during the cooler part of the day, like in the evening.

Wash your veggies with plain water, or with some mild soap to remove residue on the leaves.

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Why weeing on your plants might actually be good for them - ABC Everyday

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You've spent your hard-earned cash on some fancy new plants, put them in a nice sunny position in your garden and showered them with love and water ... but they aren't thriving. The cause of your horticultural woes is probably lurking beneath your feet.

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190 Compulsory testing and 'lockdown' in HK

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190 Compulsory testing and 'lockdown' in HK

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3168999/hong-kongs-coronavirus-lockdown-what-we-know-and?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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Hong Kong's coronavirus lockdown: what we know and don't know

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Experts encourage people to regularly call support network of friends, eat healthy diet and moderate time spent watching television news.

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189 A young boy being abused by a domestic helper

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189 A young boy being abused by a domestic helper

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/maid-assaulted-boy-soiled-diapers-spread-faeces-075604372.html

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Maid assaulted boy, 2, who soiled diapers and spread faeces

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May Than Oo, 30, whacked the crying toddler with a new diaper and a towel, and later on with a hanger.

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188 Taking Covid vaccine despite recovering from it

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188 Taking Covid vaccine despite recovering from it

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https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3169650/do-i-still-need-vaccine-or-booster-if-ive-already-been-infected?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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Do I still need the vaccine or a booster if I’ve already had Covid-19?

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Infection can induce antibodies and cause so-called natural immunity but questions remain about how much protection it offers and for how long.

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187 (videos+passage) Heavy rain in the area of Disney World, Florida

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187 (videos+passage) Heavy rain in the area of Disney World, Florida

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/disney-guests-shocked-unexpected-fla-182255521.html

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Disney guests wade through floods after surprise storm: ‘Never seen the likes [of this] in 17 years’

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Guests at the Walt Disney World Resort were forced to wade through ankle-high waters following a flash flooding in Florida.

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186 Is the fourth dose of covid vaccine necessary?

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186 Is the fourth dose of covid vaccine necessary?

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3169566/should-hong-kong-start-rolling-out-fourth-doses?module=perpetual_scroll_1&pgtype=article&campaign=3169566

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Should Hong Kong start rolling out fourth doses of Covid-19 vaccine en masse?

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Several experts say there is no pressing need to begin offering fourth doses, as three offer adequate protection, but others say a fourth shot can better protect vulnerable seniors.

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/school-lunch-box-ideas-recipes/100792426

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Lunch box ideas to make back-to-school life easier - ABC Everyday

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Stuck for school lunch box ideas? Swap the standard sandwich for these simple recipes.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/nowhere-nowhere-back-life-under-190738863.html

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The Ukrainian town of Volnovakha was almost completely destroyed in the first days of the war, with intense shelling targeting civilian homes. About 90% of buildings have been damaged or reduced to rubble, and the dead lie unburied in the street, residents say.

Hundreds if not thousands of people are still sheltering in basements without heat or electricity, and dwindling supplies of food and water. Russia has not made good on offers of a ceasefire and humanitarian corridor to allow evacuations.

Marina, 38, an economist and mother of three, tells the story of her family's hellish week under fire - and their terrifying escape.

"My life is split into before and after these events happening in my country. I couldn't hold back my tears about all the destruction.

"When we heard the news that the Russian federation was planning to 'liberate' some territories, we didn't believe it, we didn't even think it was possible in the modern world. That's why we decided to stay in the place we live.

"If we had imagined for even a second what was coming, we would have risked trying to escape the very first moment the shelling started. Our children, who are five, six and 13, have got psychological trauma from this that will last all their lives.

"On the 24th of February, we woke up to the sound of shelling, Everyone was scared. We have two children at school, and one in kindergarten.

"We didn't know what to do at that moment, but we decided to prepare our basement, and make some stockpiles of food and water. My brother came over with his family so there were 12 of us altogether.

"The very first day, we tried to go back to the house from the basement when it was safe, but after hearing blasts and explosions all around we soon abandoned this idea.

Related: '90% of houses are damaged': Russia's Syria-honed tactics lay waste Ukraine towns

"After the first day, only the grown men left the basement. We waited for them and they went to cook some food, warm some water, but then the gas and electricity were cut off, so there was no light and no tea. When we had electricity it was OK; we had a heater, and it was damp but at least warm.

"I believe it was the second day that the power went out, but I have confused memories about the time, because it was days of total hell living in basements.

"When they cut the electricity, it was freezing and particularly hard for the children. Shells started to fall on the street near us; all the fences and walls of the house which look on to the street were hit by shrapnel.

"After that attack we made the decision to move from there to our parents' house, which is in another part of town we thought would be more safe. We took only our documents, put the children in the car, and drove straight there.

"But in the end we didn't even spend a single night there. A shell had hit the garage of a neighbour's house. It absolutely smashed it. We decided it would be too dangerous to stay, because if a shell hit the house directly we would be buried under the debris.

"There was a municipal building nearby that had a kind of half-basement with some windows. It was too hard psychologically for us being in the dark in the basement all day and night, so we went there, even though it was dirty, damp and smelt bad.

"There were 37 people stuck there. We brought pillows, blankets and camp beds for the kids, but we adults just slept sitting up.

It was impossible even to go to the nearby houses to collect supplies or cook them, because the shelling was so intense

"There was a little gas at first but very few supplies - just what we had on us - and it was impossible even to go to the nearby houses to collect supplies or cook them, because the shelling was so intense. We couldn't even calculate a window of opportunity to leave, although we had a car.

"For water, we just had a little that had not been cleaned or filtered from a nearby well; the men would run there. We used a toilet for a bucket.

"There was also a kid with us there who has Asperger's. He was screaming all night. No one could explain the situation to him and his mother couldn't calm him down.

"Eventually some soldiers found us. They shared the food they had and told us they would pass on the information that there are civilians stuck here needing evacuation. After that, they helped us a few more times, coming by to share food.

"The biggest problem was that we had no communications. So when the soldiers finally came after three or four days and told us you have five minutes to evacuate, some people started to panic, and said Putin will kill us.

"Despite that, all 37 people ran out, and they put us in an armoured car, because the tyres on normal cars would all burst. That's how we got away from that hell.

"They dropped us at a village near Volnovakha and left us in the school. We spent the night on the floor, but we were happy because we couldn't hear any shells and gunfire.

"But now we have nowhere to go, and nowhere to go back to. We don't know what to do next. We are desperate; we didn't expect the scale of destruction that we saw when we came out of the basement.

"Even when we were sitting there and hearing the shelling, we didn't expect that. The houses are all destroyed. I've seen the footage on the internet.

"We don't have a lot of money to support ourselves or to travel. We need to find a new place where we can start again. We have nothing but a few papers and what is on our phone. Even our family photos that we stored on our computer don't exist any more."

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'Nowhere to go and nowhere to go back to': Life under fire in Ukraine

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The Ukrainian town of Volnovakha was almost completely destroyed in the first days of the war, with intense shelling targeting civilian homes. About 90% of buildings have been damaged or reduced to rubble, and the dead lie unburied in the street, residents say.

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3169399/old-unvaccinated-disaster-waiting-happen-how-hong?module=live&pgtype=homepage&fbclid=IwAR2jTW27NciaAxn7_CP3Hu3bq9HAWpQiL72cddwGq75mXK5GjXiij1T2zKY

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Covid-19 crisis at Hong Kong's care homes: a disaster waiting to happen

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Understaffed homes without proper isolation facilities could not cope with keeping sick residents.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/life/food/what-not-to-eat-when-you-are-down-with-covid-19?utm_campaign=stfb&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR2k1_P3CAkAw46dfRIYdxANXnkAHanaQhOP780YkIDYw3kHs0SQhP0tlc4

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What not to eat when you are down with Covid-19

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There is no evidence that coconut water will cure one of Covid-19, said a dietitian.
. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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181 Updated rules regarding testing and quarantine in HK

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181 Updated rules regarding testing and quarantine in HK

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3168598/coronavirus-hong-kong-fights-fifth-wave?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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A closer look at Hong Kong's latest rules on Covid-19 testing, quarantine

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Changes such as registering positive results using rapid antigen tests on a government portal can help speed up confirmation of Covid-19 infections.

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180 How some Russian solders feel towards the war against Ukraine

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180 How some Russian solders feel towards the war against Ukraine

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/were-deceived-used-meat-shields-112939549.html

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Russian soldiers have urged their families to "rise up against Putin" and accused him of using them as "meat shields" in videos posted online by the Ukrainian Security Service.

One prisoner of war says that everything he was told by his Russian superiors was "bull----", while another breaks down in tears as he says there was no attempt to pick up the corpses of his fallen comrades.

It comes after the Ukrainian defence ministry invited Russian mothers to travel to Kyiv to pick up their captured sons and take them home.

Military prisoners are increasingly being used as part of a propaganda war being fought on social media in an attempt to undermine support in Russia for Vladimir Putin's war.

The Ukrainian Security Service is using its Facebook page to post films of wounded, demoralised and weeping Russian soldiers accusing Putin of sending them to fight a war they do not support.

In one video, a young soldier speaking to the camera says: "We were deceived and used like meat shields."

Another says: "I wasn't even aware of going to kill [people]. They wanted us to go to war like cannon fodder. All of us were shot immediately."

The youngest of the soldiers to appear on video, who gave his name as 19-year-old Rakhmankulov Rafik Rushanovich, said: "They said we'd pitch tents in the field and stay there. I didn't know. I was scared. Don't come here. Better get together and rise up against Putin. It's all because of him."

Smirnov Yevgeny Ivanovich, 21, said: "I didn't know I was going into Ukraine. I was fooled. We were fooled. They wanted to use us as cannon fodder. We acted like Germans: we attacked people, and they were simply defending their land.

"I can't understand what Russia wants here. Don't go to Ukraine. People live their lives here, and the military are defending themselves against the Russian army to protect their families. You're invading and attacking civilians."

Part of the narrative the Ukrainians are attempting to establish is that conscripts who were told they were being sent to defend the Russian border with Ukraine were forced to cross the border and quickly found themselves in combat as part of an invasion force, against their wishes.

Video shared on Ukrainian channels of a captured Russian soldier apparently being fed by locals. The post says he burst into tears when he was allowed to video-call his mother. So many of these troops are just teenagers, with absolutely no clue what this war is really for. pic.twitter.com/oCPUC8cKcO

- Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) March 2, 2022

A soldier wearing a civilian coat over his army fatigues and apparently speaking to relatives in Russia said: "I can tell you one thing - everything they say to us is bull----.

"I am sitting here with those who brought me and I just don't understand why we were told all this crap in Russia."

Others complained they were fighting against "peaceful people defending their territory", while others said they were "lied to".

A soldier who seems to be talking on a mobile phone to his family said: "They don't pick up corpses. Even the funeral did not come." He then burst into tears.

Kravchenko Pavel Timofeevich, 20, told his captors: "We were in a convoy. When we crossed the border, we asked the commander: 'What is it for?' He said: 'Don't ask unnecessary questions'. We were surrounded, we didn't even fight back, we surrendered immediately. The convoy got destroyed immediately. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live."

Others also told of being duped into fighting the war. A 22-year-old soldier who gave his name as Knyazev Mikhail Mikhailovich said: "We came here for military drills." Another, Magomed Gadzhi, said: "They didn't say anything, just said 'you're going'. They said we'd go and come back. There are peaceful people everywhere. No one wants a war."

A similar story was told by Yura Teyelkov, 21, who said: "The commander said: 'We're going' - and I went. We covered a few kilometres and were shot at. I didn't know I was going to kill anyone. Everyone gets killed immediately. I had surgery. No one abused me. Mum, dad, I'm fine. I get food, I'm healthy."

Ukraine claims almost 6,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the start of the invasion, and even Russia has admitted to losing almost 500 personnel with 1,597 wounded. Hundreds more have been taken prisoner or surrendered.

Many of the prisoners of war filmed by the Ukrainian Security Service were filmed in front of a Ukrainian flag. Several had bloodstained bandages covering their wounds.

One man had bandages covering almost his entire leg for what appears to be a severe knee injury. He also had bandages on his hands and injuries to his face.

Another man, with his camouflage jacket over his shoulders like a cloak, moved it aside at one point to show an injured arm. Others have bandaged heads.

A soldier speaking on his phone said: "They sent us to death. The entire battalion has died. Everyone was killed. I'm still alive. They're putting me on trial. There's an option of getting swapped as a POW. You can help if you get the public involved. Maybe you go to the village chief. This is how things are."

The person on the other end of the phone said: "I want you to come home." The soldier replied: "I love you too.

"You go to the village chief and write to the soldiers' mothers. Those ------s are not taking away the bodies...everyone is killed. Don't get depressed too much. Just tell them to get POWs swapped. They're not beating me, not torturing me, giving me food. I love you. Kiss my son for me."

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'We were deceived and used like meat shields': Anger of the Russian soldiers duped into killing

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Russian soldiers have urged their families to "rise up against Putin" and accused him of using them as "meat shields" in videos posted online by the Ukrainian Security Service. One prisoner of war says that everything he was told by his Russian superiors was "bull----", while another breaks down in tears as he says there was no attempt to pick up the corpses of his fallen comrades.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-03/inside-the-separatist-republic-that-triggered-the-war-in-ukraine/100871262

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To the West, Russia's invasion is seen as vicious and unjustified. Not here

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Alexandra Lygina is a 20-year-old student on a mission to fight Nazis. "We can't live in the same country as the Nazis," she tells me. "We can't forgive all that we experienced through the years. How can I live in one country with those who killed my loved ones?"

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178 The importance of learning common expressions

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178 The importance of learning common expressions

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/wheel-fortune-contestants-stun-viewers-040435242.html

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Wheel of Fortune fans are in amused disbelief over a viral clip of contestants failing to solve a recent puzzle despite multiple tries.

While competing on the show, a contestant named Laura was tasked with solving the puzzle: "Another feather in your cap," which was nearly completely filled out on the board.

However, despite the puzzle missing just a few key letters, Laura struggled to guess the final words to complete the phrase, with the contestant first guessing: "Another feather in your hat."

After Laura lost her first opportunity to solve the puzzle, the opportunity moved to a contestant named Christopher, who incorrectly guessed that the puzzle included a "G".

The third contestant, Thomas, was left bankrupt by the spin of the wheel, with the game eventually circulating back to Laura, who again guessed incorrectly when she suggested: "Another feather in your lap."

"Oh the feather is moving around," Pat Sajak joked as the game continued.

On Christopher's second guess, he asked whether the puzzle contained a "D," to which he was told no.

After Thomas lost his try, Laura added another letter to the puzzle, a "P," before attempting once again to solve it. However, the additional letter did little to help her guess on her third try.

"Another feather in your map?" Laura guessed, prompting the incorrect buzzer to sound again.

Christopher then lost out on his third attempt at the puzzle when the wheel positioned itself on bankrupt, at which point Thomas guessed that the puzzle included a "C" before correctly guessing the phrase.

The clip of the six failed attempts, which has since been viewed more than 194,000 times, has been met with shock on social media, where users have expressed their amusement over the episode.

"I'd like to solve... ANOTHER FEATHER IN EVERYTHING BUT YOUR CAP," user @WheelRob tweeted alongside the video. "Thank you, Wheel, for not editing out six of these eight lost turns in a row like you normally would."

In response, one person tweeted: "Hahah, this is SO PAINFUL TO WATCH."

"All kudos to Pat Sajak's professionalism, because I would've absolutely LOST IT," another person wrote.

Others suggested that the clip could help them feel better about themselves, with someone else writing: "Whenever I get frustrated completing Wordle on my sixth try, I'll pull up this video & not feel bad anymore."

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Wheel of Fortune contestants stun viewers after failing multiple times to guess puzzle correctly: 'Agonising'

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Wheel of Fortune fans are in amused disbelief over a viral clip of contestants failing to solve a recent puzzle despite multiple tries. While competing on the show, a contestant named Laura was tasked with solving the puzzle: "Another feather in your cap," which was nearly completely filled out on the board.

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177 Is 'dynamic living with covid' the way to go?

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177 Is 'dynamic living with covid' the way to go?

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https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3168274/dynamic-living-covid-policy-hong-kong-should-be-pursuing?module=perpetual_scroll_1&pgtype=article&campaign=3168274

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‘Dynamic living with Covid’ is the policy Hong Kong should pursue

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The soaring infection rate has made a return to zero cases impossible. Attempting it is costing the economy, yet to ‘let rip’ would endanger many more lives. The solution is a flexible Covid-19 policy that allows maximum freedom for the general population while protecting the vulnerable.

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176 Teaching and learning to be organised

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176 Teaching and learning to be organised

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https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/organising-kids-with-a-go-zone/100867016

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Overwhelmed by the never-ending mess your kids make?

Luckily, finding ways to deal with it might be easier than you think.

Professional organiser Julie Whiting has a few simple that can make living with kids and getting them off to school or childcare a bit easier.

Step one: Set up a 'go-zone'

"A go-zone is something we put near the door to consolidate all the things that you need in the morning - it's like a set of starting blocks for your children's day," Julie says.

Some ideas:

A piece of furniture: use a cube unit, an old bookshelf or even just a couple of chairs and tubs to house their school bags and shoes. Keep shoes down the separate to bags because they tend to be dirty.

Some tubs or cardboard boxes: one for each child, which will store their hats, drink bottles, instruments, and sports gear; a communal one for sunscreen, umbrellas, hair ties, you name it; and, if you'd like, one for yourself so you never lose your car keys again!

A box for snacks: having some snacks near the door that your kids can choose to pop in their lunch box, is a bit of an incentive to get moving. Not to mention it makes organising a little bit fun for them.

An over the door hanger: this is a perfect solution for hanging school jackets and it's perfect for if you're renting as you don't need to drill any holes.

A chair or something similar for your kids to sit on while they tie up their shoes.

A mirror: this lets them check themselves and make sure they haven't forgotten anything.

Step two: Organise the toys

Professional organiser Julie Whiting says there are ways to stop your kids leaving their toys strewn across the floor without ruining their fun.(ABC Everyday: Matt Garrow )

It's a familiar scene: toys strewn to the four corners of the earth. But even though it may seem like a sign of your kids having a fun time, it's not necessarily the case.

"Having all the toys spread over the floor or in the room at all times does not inspire play," says Julie, "[as] it can be counterproductive and overwhelming for children."

To counteract this, grab some boxes, ideally soft fabric ones but you can just repurpose product boxes, and start labelling.

If your child isn't reading yet, get them to help you make some drawings to go on the labels for easy identification.

And then get creative depending on your kids' toys: for example, make a Lego box, an arts and craft box, a box just for balls, and so on.

There are a few benefits to sorting toys like this:

Makes it easier for your kids to find what they need.

Packing their toys away is quicker and simpler (there are no excuses for not knowing where things go!).

Limits the amount of stuff they can accumulate (it's a good way to teach them that space is finite resource).

Now that you've got your toy tubs set up, put some away.

Then, once the current batch of toys are losing their lustre, swap them out for the ones you've been keeping in reserve.

"The novelty of having a refreshed supply of toys is priceless," says Julie, "and it means they get more value out of their toys. They'll play with them for longer, which is what we want, right?"

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How a 'go-zone' can help kids get out of the house on school days - ABC Everyday

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Overwhelmed by the never-ending mess your kids make? Luckily, finding ways to deal with it might be easier than you think. Professional organiser Julie Whiting has a few simple that can make living with kids and getting them off to school or childcare a bit easier.

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https://sg.yahoo.com/style/benjamin-kheng-enduring-love-swimming-get-started-swim-sport-073811895.html

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Striking a balance in life may be as simple as carving out time regularly to indulge in an activity of your choice. Yahoo Life SEA chats with personalities who share their passion for a sport or wellness activity they enjoy, which helps them take on the world with zeal. We hope this monthly series will inspire you to find an interest that will add that sparkle to your life.
Benjamin Kheng is a multi-hyphenate Singaporean talent. A musician, actor, presenter, writer, and former national swimmer, who trained since he was six, Kheng is no stranger to putting in rigorous hours to hone his skills. He was the keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and vocalist of local band The Sam Willows which is on hiatus since 2019. He is currently flying solo. His recent work includes "Fresh Feelings," which is available online.

Yahoo Life: What is the one sport, fitness or wellness trend you love, and how did you get started?

I'd say swimming. I gave 12 years of my life to compete in it, and I have only just started getting back into it last year, thanks to the Masters' community*.

What are its benefits, and what do you love about it?

I'm planning to write a book on the benefits of swimming. But TL;DR - it's a complete body workout, with low impact and risks. At the same time, you get some sweet vitamin D. Swimming is affordable, and most importantly, it's an essential a life-skill.

How often do you indulge in it, and with whom?

I was doing it professionally, twice almost every day, and 35 hours a week. It was horrendous. I am currently in the *Masters' community (and as a quarter-life crisis adult), and it's a wonderful feeling to get into the sport two to four times a week. I'm either with my training group in Singapore Swimming Club, X-LAB or with a couple of swimmer friends who want to do some laps.

Was there any point you wanted to give up? Why? How did you bounce back?

YES! When I was competing every morning at 5:30 am before training. But I fell, and am still falling in love, with the therapeutic nature of the sport - you're at one with yourself and working on the same few things constantly. Also, the sound of the water around my ears helps me think.

What gears/tools do you need for the sport?

Swimwear, goggles, cap, and a smile. When you get more into it, a pull-buoy, fins, paddles, a snorkel, the list goes on.

Shop these items:

Share with us one thing you learnt from this sport or what you wish others to discover about it.

It's some cheesy inspirational stuff - the only thing you can control is you. I can't dictate how a race would go, but all I can do is work on myself and better myself each time I come back.
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Benjamin Kheng shares his enduring love for swimming and why you should get started

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Striking a balance in life may be as simple as carving out time regularly to indulge in an activity of your choice. Yahoo Life SEA chats with personalities who share their passion for a sport or wellness activity they enjoy, which helps them take on the world with zeal.

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174 Vaccination pass scheme rolled out in HK

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174 Vaccination pass scheme rolled out in HK

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3167882/coronavirus-what-hong-kongs-vaccine-pass-scheme?module=service_journalism_hk&pgtype=homepage

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What is Hong Kong's Covid-19 vaccine pass scheme and how does it work?

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The scheme, set to launch on Thursday, allows only vaccinated or exempted residents to enter specific premises, with exemptions in certain instances.

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173 Man stood in front of a tank in order to stop it from proceeding

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173 Man stood in front of a tank in order to stop it from proceeding

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https://sg.yahoo.com/news/ukrainian-man-kneels-front-russian-131907415.html

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Ukrainian man kneels in front of Russian tank after trying to stop it with his bare hands

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The man knelt in front of the Russian tank

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https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3168299/coronavirus-hong-kong-infected-residents-trapped?module=lead_hero_story&pgtype=homepage

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Infected Hongkongers share fears, anger over prolonged wait at home for help

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday that about 30,000 infected patients had been stuck at home as the city races to build isolation facilities.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60503037

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Ukraine conflict: Russian forces attack from three sides

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Moscow launches a deadly attack targeting cities and military targets, as civilians attempt to flee.