Chappell Roan and Ice Spice who was caught sat next to each other at The Vivienne Westwood show both sharing similar wardrobe malfunctions
The rapper and the pop singer also shared pics of their dresses ripping in the back. After Chappell tore the back of her Ludovic de Saint Sernin dress, Ice Spice reacted, “mine ripped in the same spot.”
Courtsey of The Guardian “The making of Elon Musk: how did his childhood in apartheid South Africa shape him?” (2025)
South Africa was rocked by uprisings as apartheid entered its dying years. In 1984, black townships across the country revolted. By 1986, the white minority government had imposed a state of emergency. But in the segregated white enclaves, life was affluent and peaceful.
“While the country as a whole was very much in flames and in turmoil, we were blissfully very safe in our little leafy suburbs, going about our very normal life,” said Jonathan Stewart, who was a year above Musk at Pretoria boys, which also counts the Labour politician Peter Hain, the Booker prize-winning novelist Damon Galgut and the murderer and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius among its former pupils.
“You had this wealthy set, in relative terms, and everybody else was excluded.”
Musk, who was born in Pretoria in 1971, railed on his social media platform X last month against the “openly racist laws” of the country of his birth and responded “yes” to the statement: “White South Africans are being persecuted for their race in their home country.”
After the posts by the man now at the helm of Donald Trump’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge), a special group Trump has created, the US president signed an executive order accusing South Africa’s government of “unjust racial discrimination” against white Afrikaners, citing a law allowing land to be expropriated in certain circumstances. The order cut aid to South Africa, which receives 17% of its HIV/Aids budget from the US, and offered asylum to Afrikaners.
It was not clear the extent to which Musk, who left South Africa in 1989 for his mother’s country, Canada, and then went to the US, had a direct hand in encouraging Trump to issue the order.
Trump has taken an interest in the alleged persecution of white South Africans since his first presidency, when an Afrikaner rights group travelled to the US to claim, falsely, that white farmers were being murdered for their land with the complicity of the government. Trump saw one of the group’s leaders interviewed on Fox News and tweeted his support.
Trump has also been influenced by other interests, including US groups critical of South Africa’s case against Israel at the international court of justice (ICJ) over the war in Gaza, which he referred to in his executive order.
Quickly download your recipes for whipped feta and peanut butter quiche, learn how to master the perfect French braid, and enjoy the hilarious clip of someone pretending to skateboard into a crate of chickens. You could even check out an ’80s makeup tutorial or marvel at a cup of coffee with a cat-shaped foam design. TikTok is gone in the U.S., and we might never see anything quite like it again.
While YouTube has turned into a platform for conspiracy theorists, X (formerly Twitter) is a mess, and Facebook has become a place for your aunts to post in their crafting groups, TikTok remains a space for younger generations.
Gen Z grew up with an endless stream of comedy clips, bizarre food, funny pets, and epic sports fails, conditioning their brains to process rapid, engaging content similar to the flipbooks of earlier generations.
TikTok moves at lightning speed—it’s like a never-ending movie of an unfiltered mind where everyone shares quick, random moments. The platform could easily have been named “Mummy, watch me!”
However, as of Sunday, it’s not accessible in the U.S. due to concerns over Chinese access to Western user data and potential manipulation. Trump might delay the ban in hopes of finding an American buyer. Meanwhile, young Americans—who account for 110 million of TikTok’s global two billion users—are devastated by the loss, particularly those who monetized their content. The real concern now is the lack of content in the U.S.
The UK has embraced TikTok as well, enjoying its bright, colorful, and bold style, along with quirky content. But now, with U.S. content unavailable, Brits are left with more local material, such as a woman comparing prices at M&S and Aldi, or a man from the Isle of Dogs giving car-washing tips.
But not all hope is lost. A British TikTok creator named Kirsty recently posted a clip expressing that while she’ll miss the Americans, this could be an opportunity for the UK. She suggests we should explore Scottish or Welsh TikTok for funnier content, instead of relying on one region. She’s optimistic that British TikTok can become just as exciting and it could be Britain’s moment to reshape TikTok with humor and self-deprecation
Key Bulletpoints:
TikTok’s loss in the U.S. marks the end of a unique era for young people.
Platforms like YouTube, X (Twitter), and Facebook are struggling with relevance.
TikTok has shaped Gen Z’s rapid consumption of fast, varied content.
U.S. TikTok ban causes grief for 110 million American users and content creators.
British TikTok is now left with more local, low-key content after losing U.S. posts.
There’s potential for British TikTok to focus on humor, rain, and quirky traditions.
Three men have been killed in the Moscow region, in what is described as the largest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
On the night of March 10, 2025, Ukraine launched what Russia described as the largest drone attack on the Moscow region since the full – scale war began. The Russian Defence Ministry said 337 drones were intercepted over Russia, with 91 shot down over Moscow region. (See video)
In the Moscow region, three men were killed while working at a distribution centre in the village of Yam near Domodedovo airport. 18 people, including three children, were injured. Dozens of vehicles were destroyed in a car park, and a supermarket and blocks of flats were damaged. Flight restrictions were imposed at Moscow’s major airports.
Hours before the attack, a meeting between US and Ukraine representatives in Saudi Arabia, aiming to end the war, was set to take place. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Ukraine might need to cede territory to Russia as part of a cease – fire agreement. Meanwhile, overnight, both sides reported drone attacks on their respective regions.
[ANDREI VOROBYOV]Vorobyev said two of the men died while starting their shift at a food distribution centre
[Reuters]Flight restrictions were imposed on Moscow’s four major airports due to the attack
Courtesy Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images, The Guardian “Experts warn of North Sea collision’s ‘devastating’ impact on marine life” (11 Mar 2025)
Leaking fuel from the collision between a cargo ship and oil tanker in the North Sea would have a “devastating” impact on marine life as investigations began into the cause of the incident.
Fires continued to burn onboard both vessels 24 hours after the collision off the coast of Yorkshire on Monday morning. A search for a missing crew member was called off overnight.
Downing Street said no evidence of foul play had been found.
Environmental experts warned that the jet fuel leaking from the cargo ship is toxic for humans and wildlife.
“the impact of that on life in the oceans would be devastating”.
An academic in oceanography said the Jet fuel had a “much higher toxicity” than crude oil and that “the impact of that on life in the oceans would be devastating”.
Courtesy The Guardian “Experts warn of North Sea collision’s ‘devastating’ impact on marine life” (11 Mar 2025)
West of the collision site is the Humber Estuary and The Wash, one of the UK’s most important ecosystems which is home to hundreds of thousands of seabirds, said Sandy Luk, the chief executive of the Marine Conservation Society.
“Thousands of seals and their pups call this stretch of coast home at this time of year, and there are protected areas nearby for harbour porpoises and special marine habitats,” she added.
“Our biggest concern to the environment right now is the degree to which these chemicals accumulate or disperse, both into the water column and the distance they travel. This all depends on the weather, the currents and the extent of the spill.”
Dr Paul Johnston, a senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at Exeter University, said: “The jet fuel that entered the water close to a breeding ground for harbour porpoises is toxic to fish and other sea creatures”.
This article from BBC Sport delves into Hamilton’s move to the sport’s most iconic team.
Courtesy EPA ‘Formula One pre-season testing 2025’ (2025)
“The sport’s biggest star… has joined its most iconic team.”
Benson, 2025
Reasons for the move
Hamilton signed with Ferrari in January 2024, just over six months after sealing a new contract with Mercedes.
Mercedes wanted to offer Hamilton only a one-year contract, but the seven-time world champion knew he wanted to stay in F1 longer. Mercedes’ reticence to commit to him led Hamilton to consider his future.
Hamilton, ambitious to win a record eighth title of which he was robbed in a mishandling of the rules during the race in Abu Dhabi 2021, approached Ferrari and the team were keen to take him aboard.
Hamilton’s 2024 Season’s Struggles
Mercedes’ poor performance in 2024 undoubtedly contributed to his decision to move for the 2025 season.
Hamilton was comprehensively out-qualified by team-mate George Russell, finishing 22 points behind after struggling with the characteristics of the car for the whole year.
Is he past his prime?
Hamilton turned 40 in January and is the second oldest driver in F1.
Whilst other drivers have continued in the sport past this age, it is known that sports performance deteriorates with ageing, which puts into question how much longer Hamilton will be able to cope with the physical demands and perform well in the sport.
Can he beat Leclerc?
Courtesy EPA ‘Formula One pre-season testing 2025’ (2025)
Hamilton’s new teammate is none other than Ferrari protégé Charles Leclerc, nurtured by the team since he was a teenager.
He is richly talented and regarded as possibly the fastest driver over one lap in F1 at the moment, excelling in qualifying.
Hamilton is aware of his rival’s talents: “Charles is very professional, very embedded in this team. He is very fast and I am completely aware of that. You have seen his qualifying laps.”
“I told him in Bahrain many years ago (in 2019) he had a bright future ahead of him. It is not going to be easy to beat him. Especially in his home. But we will work together and have some great races, I hope.”
“Charles is very professional, very embedded in this team”
Hamilton, 2025
What does he want to achieve?
Hamilton wants an eighth world title. Given his level of career success, and Ferrari’s history in F1, nothing less than a championship will suffice.
He says: “This team already has an insane legacy and are not short of championships they have won. They have a winning mentality in their DNA.
“The competition is fierce. It is going to be close. but I have a great team-mate, the energy I have seen from the team, there is magic here.
If this is not the case, the minimum of success would be to come out on top against Leclerc.
“There is magic here.”
Hamilton, 2025
One response to “What would success look like? Key questions for Hamilton at Ferrari”
this article from sky news (2015) tells an interesting yet disgusting story
‘Ancient Egyptian mummies smell “woody,” “spicy” and “sweet”‘
– researchers who took part in the new study
“Trained, human sniffers” and tools such as an electronic, artificial nose are used in the research to examine the scent of the nine egyptian mummified bodies.
They said smell was a key consideration for ancient Egyptians when it came to the mummification process, meaning that even after 5,000 years, conservators widely consider the aroma “pleasant” due to the use of resins and oils.
resins and oils
– pine – cedar – juniper
The findings, researchers said, which were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, show that smell can be used as a way of analysing the preserved bodies in a non-invasive way, but they also want to find a way to recreate the smells in museums to give visitors the full mummy experience.
The research was carried out by teams at the University College London (UCL) and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia in collaboration with conservators and curators at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The smell of mummified bodies has for years attracted significant interest from experts and the general public, but no combined chemical and perceptual scientific study has been conducted until now.
-Matija Strlic (Lead author professor)
It is stated that this research has shown ground-breaking results and can help people plan better conservations and deepen the understanding of ancient embalming materials. Adding another layer of extra data to enhance the museum’s exhibition of mummified bodies.
Cat Burns couldn’t be clearer about what’s on her mind in her new track.
Called – you guessed it – Girls! she says it marks a shift from her more “serious” records and is her shot at writing music she didn’t have access to growing up.
“I feel like I never had a song like that for me,” she says. “Especially for all the queer girls.”
She says she’s leaning into a new era where she feels increasingly confident celebrating her sexuality.
The singer, 24, has enjoyed in meteoric rise in the past few years.
Her single Go, first released in 2020, became a viral hit on TikTok in 2023 – rising to number 2 in the charts, propelling Cat on to a Brits Critics’ Choice award nomination later that year.
She tells BBC Newsbeat having songs like that is “super important”, especially growing up and figuring out who you are.
“It’s nice to know that people like you exist and exist freely,” she says.
“And I think the ‘fun-ness’ of the song can show people who aren’t lesbian or queer or bi or whatever that we are just normal human beings who like just so happen to like the same sex.”
In the past year, the charts have been dominated more than once by queer women writing openly about gay relationships.
Chappell Roan’s Good Luck, Babe! tells the story of being in love with a woman struggling to come to terms with their sexuality and spent 16 weeks in the UK top 10.
And after Billie Eilish claimed she was “outed” by Variety magazine in 2023, she followed up with her album Hit Me Hard and Soft, including the single Lunch which explored her desire for women.
Before that though, there’s been slim pickings for mainstream pop songs that celebrate authentic lesbian relationships.
Take, for example, Katy Perry’s 2008 debut I Kissed A Girl.
It’s “a brilliant pop song”, Cat says, but doesn’t go any deeper than the first stage of exploring sexuality.
“I think it’s always good when we make room and allow space for lesbian and queer artists to speak about it whilst we’re further into our journey,” she says.
“Where it’s less curiosity and trying… and it’s more like: ‘No, I’m into it now and really delving to my experience as a queer woman’.”
‘We’re not a monolith’
And the more voices that add to that, the better, Cat says.
“The more representation and more space for different types of queer artist, it can just help paint a more vivid picture of what the community’s actually like and who exists within that community.
“Having people like Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan and, hopefully, someone like myself, we’re starting to show people that we’re not a monolith and we vary across the spectrum.”
“I just want to continue to show people that we’re just not all one way,” she says.
“What you know of something might not always be true.”
As for why it seems more artists are getting comfortable writing about their sexuality, Cat credits social media as well as other artists that have gone before.
“Social media has allowed more queer artists to be queer loudly,” she says.
“Safety-wise, before it was harder. There’s so many icons that have paved the way.
“I’m really happy that I was able to make a song like Girls!, for it to be received the way it has been and for me to be so able to be open about what it’s about.”
With more artists loudly celebrating the LGBT community, Cat says the fan base now has the opportunity to be loud back in their support.
“The LGBTQ + community, we’re a very hard fan base,” she says. “We love our favourite artists down and will do forever.
“We champion and love loads of straight artists, which is great.
“But I think it’s nice that, in the last five to 10 years, we’re now getting queer artists being able to be championed and loved by our own community.”
Only official sources should be trusted amid peace efforts on the Ukraine conflict, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said
The Western media is rife with rumors and falsehoods regarding Russia’s stance on a potential peace settlement with Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He urged journalists and the wider population to rely on official sources of information.
Peskov’s remarks come as the US continues to push for a peace deal between Moscow and Kiev. AFP reported on Monday that Ukrainian officials plan to propose an air and naval truce during talks with US representatives in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Bloomberg earlier cited unnamed sources in Moscow as claiming that Russia was open to discussing a temporary truce if progress was made toward a final settlement.
The Kremlin spokesman, however, dismissed the claim on Tuesday, saying Western media was filled with “incorrect information” and “rumors that do not correspond to reality.”
The Kremlin spokesperson warned journalists against using unnamed sources, urging them to rely solely on “official sources of information and on specific statements by specific people.”
Multiple media outlets, including Reuters and Bloomberg, have also reported that US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, will visit Moscow this week to meet President Vladimir Putin. Bloomberg said the trip is timed to coincide with the US-Ukraine talks in Riyadh.
Peskov declined to confirm Witkoff’s visit, saying the public would be “informed in due course.”
The stakes could not be higher for Ukraine, with the prospect of US military aid and intelligence-sharing being restarted if the talks go well. Trump cut off that critical support after the heated Oval Office argument in which he and his vice-president, JD Vance, rowed with Zelenskyy in front of the world’s media. Members of the US administration have suggested repeatedly that Zelenskyy should hold elections or step down.
Domestically, Zelenskyy’s flagging ratings were boosted by his dressing down in the White House, and most Ukrainians say they would not want elections while the war continues. However, while there is anger at Trump and Elon Musk’s demands, there is a strong feeling that given the difficult situation at the front and exhaustion after three years of war, the Ukrainian president should make every effort to mend relations with the White House.
Since the debacle in Washington, Ukraine has sought to flatter Trump to prevent a peace from being forced upon it. Writing in the Guardian before the talks started, Yermak complimented a
“strong American leadership” but said “a peace must be found that is both just and sustainable”.
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