Latest news with #French-Italian
Metro
5 days ago
- Science
- Metro
Scientists begin melting Earth's oldest ice to unlock 1,500,000-year-old secrets
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Unassuming, icicle-like tubes could help answer mysteries about Earth's climate. They are the world's oldest ice cores, which have just landed in the UK after being drilled from the depths of Antarctica. While most of Britain is reeling from weeks of back-to-back heatwaves, scientists in Cambridge find out what the rare blocks of ice can reveal about climate change and our home planet. But to get hold of the ice, they first had to drill for 1.7 miles down the ice sheet at the South Pole. The giant stick of ice was then cut into more manageable chunks and transported to Europe. Scientists hope the pieces will reveal why the planet's climate cycle shifted more than a million years ago, helping to predict Earth's future response to rising greenhouse gas. Dr Liz Thomas, from the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, told Reuters: 'We really are exploring a completely unknown time in our history. 'We are hoping to unlock all these amazing secrets.' The new core ice, which was drilled near the Concordia research station in the 'White Continent,' beats the previous 800,000-year-old ice, which was drilled in the early 2000s. Until now, scientists have relied on marine sediments to study the climate cycles. over millions of years. But ice has a special feature invisible to the naked eye – entrapped bubbles showing the atmospheric conditions, amount of greenhouse gas in the air and chemical evidence of temperatures at the time when they were released. And to not make the job too easy for the scientists, Antarctica is the only place on Earth where such a long record of the atmosphere is found. Summer temperatures at the French-Italian Concordia station range from -30°C to -50°C, and can reach a brain-numbing -80°C in winter. Dr Thomas continued: 'Our data will yield the first continuous reconstructions of key environmental indicators—including atmospheric temperatures, wind patterns, sea ice extent, and marine productivity—spanning the past 1.5 million years. 'This unprecedented ice core dataset will provide vital insights into the link between atmospheric CO₂ levels and climate during a previously uncharted period in Earth's history, offering valuable context for predicting future climate change.' The world's largest ice sheet remains shrouded in mystery and intrigue as relatively little is still known about Antarctica. More Trending Geologists believe the continent was once covered in rivers and forests. Satellite data and radars revealed ridges and valleys, suggesting the icy no man's land looked very different 34 million years ago. Meanwhile, conspiracy theorists have their eyes set on Antarctica after Google Map sleuths believe they have found a secret door buried in the mountainside. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Scorching 40°C temperatures 'will soon become the new normal for the UK' MORE: I love living in London — but it's absolutely vile in the summer MORE: Blame, thoughts and prayers – the uncomfortable truth about politicians and natural disasters
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Brain scans reveal changes due to exposure to extreme conditions affect physiology, cognition
New Delhi: A study analysing brain scans of crew members who spent a year at an Antarctic research station has revealed changes due to exposure to isolated and extreme environments with potential impacts on physiology and cognition . The findings, published in the journal 'npj Microgravity', have implications as extended space missions are planned from around the world, researchers said. The team from the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand found an overall reduction in white matter and a reduced grey matter in brain regions known to help with memory, language and spatial awareness. Astronauts experience considerable stress in space, and understanding its effects on the brain can aid in assessing risks and building resilience, the researchers explained. They pointed out that analogue environments - locations on Earth with features similar to those found on the Moon or Mars- such as the Antarctic Concordia Station, simulate "isolated, confined, and extreme" (ICE) conditions. The findings are also relevant for individuals in the general population where a perception of isolation -- or loneliness -- has been on the increase, and many have experienced chronic stress over the past years, the team said. The researchers, including those from the University of Pennsylvania and the New Zealand Brain Research Institute, analysed MRI scans of 25 crew members who spent 12 months at Concordia (a French-Italian research facility). The scans, taken before the mission, immediately after, and five months post-mission, were compared with those of another 25 individuals not subjected to isolated, extreme conditions . The team found an overall reduction in white matter, along with decreased grey matter in the brain's temporal and parietal lobes, hippocampus, and thalamus. These regions are critical for processing sensory information, memory, language, and spatial awareness. While it is known that white and grey matter naturally decrease with age- leading to age-related cognitive decline- other factors like diseases and lifestyle choices can also contribute to these reductions. The study revealed that improved sleep and physical activity, such as gymming, during periods of isolation and confinement were linked to a lesser loss of grey matter, suggesting that lifestyle choices may have protective effects. Moreover, the levels of white and grey matter were observed to return to pre-exposure levels five months after the participants returned from Antarctica. "Life in space and on Earth entails exposure to and requires resilience to stress. Elucidating the effects of prolonged stress in extreme conditions highlights significant, but transient brain changes relevant for optimal physiological and cognitive functioning," the authors wrote. "The current data and future studies in (isolated, confined and extreme) environments, including space travel, reemphasise the need to identify specific countermeasures that may mitigate changes in brain anatomy when individuals are isolated," the team wrote. "The relevance of the current findings has broadened with the increase in isolation in the general population," they further noted.
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Victoria Beckham continues to put on a brave face as she plugs new £44 blush from her beauty brand amid ongoing feud with son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Peltz
Victoria Beckham continued to put on a brave face on Tuesday as she plugged a new product from her beauty brand amid her bitter ongoing family feud. The former Spice Girl, 51, and husband David, 50, are in the midst of an escalating rift with eldest son Brooklyn Beckham and his actress wife, Nicola Peltz. But amid the family fallout, Victoria brushed aside her woes and got back to business as she promoted her Colour Wash liquid blush on her Instagram page. Sitting in a room with a white towel wrapped around her head and donning a silk bathrobe, Victoria showed off her radiant complexion with a light and dewy makeup palette. In the tutorial video, the beauty applied the product, which retails for £44, on her cheeks and lips as she explained that she is 'obsessed with it going into summer'. 'I can get that cute little flushed look whilst literally spending my whole summer in the shade,' she told her followers. The fashion designer appeared in good spirits as she talked through the new product with her fans amid her recent heartbreak over her rift with her eldest son. Last week, it was revealed that Brooklyn and Nicola's Instagram accounts no longer follow his younger brothers Cruz, 20, and Romeo, 22, in the latest family drama. However, Brooklyn's friends told MailOnline on Friday that Cruz and Romeo have actually blocked them on the social media platform. This would make sense given that Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola are still following Victoria and David. Cruz and Romeo were still following Brooklyn and Nicola earlier this week but appeared to take action after Brooklyn posted a birthday tribute to sister Harper, sharing a family photo without them in it - which Nicola reposted. There was much speculation whether Brooklyn would reach out to Harper on her 14th birthday on Thursday, but despite him doing so, it seems all is not well in the camp. Brooklyn's birthday tribute to Harper marked his first public interaction with his family since he paid tribute to his grandmother Sandra on June 26, despite remaining silent and shunning his father's 50th birthday earlier that same month. Sources close to the family have told MailOnline of their fears that Brooklyn and his wife Nicola have also distanced themselves from Harper after they failed to visit her when they flew into London in May to film an advert for French-Italian clothing brand Moncler just over a mile from the family home in Holland Park. David and Victoria had no idea whether Brooklyn, who Harper has idolised since she was a little girl, would message her privately or publicly on Instagram because they have no communication with him. The news that Cruz and Romeo had blocked their older brother followed Cruz's many pointed digs towards Brooklyn on social media last month. Amid the escalating feud, Romeo stepped in as he shared a very pointed statement about 'appreciating people that love you' and insisted 'life was too short' to not tell people you care about them. Brooklyn and Romeo have been living a somewhat fractious relationship over the last few months following claims Romeo's ex-girlfriend Kim Turnbull was the reason behind their rift. Kim addressed the speculation June 16 and insisted she has only ever had a friendship with the eldest Beckham son. Sharing a statement on her Instagram page, she said: 'I've avoided speaking on this topic to prevent adding fuel to the fire, however it's come to a point where I feel the need to address it so I can move on. 'I will not continue to receive harassment or be embarrassed on the basis of lies, to fit a certain narrative. 'I have never been romantically involved in ANY capacity at ANY point with the person in question. 'Nothing between us has occurred further than a school friendship at age 16. I would like to remove myself from the ongoing conversation & set the record straight for the sake of everyone involved.' Kim had been at the centre of the row after Nicola claimed that she felt uncomfortable around her, with sources close to the US heiress saying that Kim had dated Brooklyn when they were teenagers - which she then denied. Last month, Romeo and Kim then split after seven months together, with friends saying that the romance 'fizzled out' three weeks after David's 50th birthday. Following their split, friends said things remain 'amicable' between Romeo and Kim, and that their parting is 'nothing to do' with Kim being blamed by Nicola for being the catalyst for the feud that has ripped the Beckham family apart.
Gulf Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
France has become less attractive to foreign investors
Yoruk Bahceli and Leigh Thomas, Reuters France is missing out on the investor optimism that has defined Europe's markets this year, hamstrung by its strained public finances and political volatility that threatens to paralyse policy until at least 2027. Global investors and French executives cite the risk that budget negotiations could trigger another government collapse in the autumn, while pessimism among French households is dragging on consumer spending and economic growth. Centrist Prime Minister Francois Bayrou has faced eight no-confidence motions in parliament since taking office in December and his minority government is now struggling to find 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in spending cuts for the 2026 budget. The contrast with neighbouring Germany, whose new government is preparing to loosen historically tight purse strings and pump billions into the economy through defence and infrastructure spending, could hardly be starker. "While all the other highly indebted European countries — Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy — have taken advantage of years of inflation to reduce their public debt ratio, France — whose deficit is now the highest in the euro zone — is increasingly diverging," said Pierre Moscovici, head of the Cour des Comptes public audit office and a former finance minister. To narrow the budget gap, Bayrou will have to convince opposition parties to stomach spending cuts only slightly smaller than those proposed in the 2025 budget that brought down his predecessor. Germany's historic embrace of looser fiscal policy and the impact of President Donald Trump's sometimes erratic policymaking on confidence in US assets have given a boost to European financial markets and other investments this year. A key beneficiary has been Italy, which has seen the risk premium paid on its 10-year debt compared to that of safe-haven Germany drop towards where it traded in 2010, before the euro zone debt crisis escalated. But the 10-year risk premium paid by French debt over German is still at 70 basis points, well above levels of around 50 bps seen before French President Emmanuel Macron called a shock snap election last summer. The French-Italian yield gap is meanwhile near all-time lows, even though Italy has a bigger debt pile. Candriam's chief investment officer Nicolas Forest said he favoured German, Italian and Spanish bonds and was underweight France, a situation he called "completely unusual". French stocks are missing out, too. The blue-chip CAC 40 index trades below where it was before the election was called and is lagging Europe's STOXX 600 aggregate. The Paris index has returned just 5% this year, four times less than Germany's DAX. Simon Blundell, co-head of fundamental European fixed income at BlackRock, the world's biggest investor, said he had no big positions in French debt and favoured Italian bonds, encouraged by political stability in Rome and declining volatility. Even if France's government survives the autumn, investors expect the budget squeeze to underwhelm as a fix for fiscal strains and so fail to increase the appeal of French assets. "Any compromise political parties find will be really temporary in terms of measures, and not great for debt reduction and deficit improvement," said Candriam's Forest. And even presidential and parliamentary elections in 2027 may not fully dispel the political uncertainty, if no party emerges dominant. To prod opposition parties to back Bayrou's budget, Public Finances Minister Amélie de Montchalin has suggested France could turn to an IMF bailout if it does not decisively grip its finances. Carrefour CEO Alexandre Bompard said such doomy talk only caused the French to save more, jeopardising a consumer spending recovery that he said was more fragile than in the supermarket giant's other European markets. "If we have 5 percentage points more savings than other European countries, it's because we have an extraordinarily high level of political and fiscal uncertainty," Bompard told an economics conference in Aix-en-Provence on Friday. With consumers hesitant to spend, French business activity has consistently lagged European peers this year, even though the private sector is less exposed to US trade tensions than Germany or Italy's more export-focused economies. Brushing aside any prospect of IMF intervention to prop up France's public finances, the Fund's French chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas insisted Paris could no longer put off getting its fiscal house in order. "France is not exempt from the laws of gravity, so we're going to have to adapt," Gourinchas said in Aix-en-Provence. "We can't fly, we're going to have to plan our landing and make spending cuts."
Time Out
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
This stylish NoMad hotel was just named New York's best by Travel + Leisure magazine
In a city packed with dazzling hotel openings, heritage icons and scene-stealing rooftops, earning the title of New York's best hotel is no easy feat. But Travel + Leisure readers have spoken—and the winner of this year's World's Best Awards is the opulent, maximalist dreamscape known as the Fifth Avenue Hotel in NoMad. A relative newcomer, the hotel opened in late 2023 and quickly became a favorite for both well-heeled travelers and in-the-know New Yorkers. With interiors by Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, the 153-room property feels like the love child of a Gilded Age mansion and a Wes Anderson set, blending jewel-toned walls, antique curiosities and luxurious amenities (hello, Dyson hairdryers and 'maxi'-bars) into a singular experience. One T+L voter raved, 'Everything was on point from the moment I walked in the door until I left a week later.' But it's not just about good looks. The service at The Fifth Avenue Hotel is as elevated as its design. Guests staying in the Mansion suites, located in the historic 1907 building, originally designed by McKim, Mead & White, are greeted by personal butlers who offer welcome drinks and iPad-powered tutorials on controlling everything from lighting to blinds. It's the kind of place where if your room needs a walkthrough, you know you've made a good choice. Downstairs, the hotel's food and drink offerings are just as seductive. The cozy, wood-paneled Portrait Bar serves meticulously crafted cocktails in a setting that feels like a secret society's private lounge. And the hotel's signature restaurant, Café Carmellini, is helmed by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini, who delivers French-Italian elegance with dishes like duck tortellini and squab en croûte. When it comes to the competition, this year's list was full of shake-ups: None of 2024's top 10 hotels returned, proving just how fast the city's hospitality scene evolves. Other notable entries included Gansevoort Meatpacking at No. 2 and Hotel Barrière Fouquet's New York at No. 3. But it's The Fifth Avenue Hotel that reigns supreme in 2025—and with its intoxicating scent, impeccable service and theatrical flair, it's giving New York something rare: a hotel that feels like an escape, even when you're right in the middle of it all.
